DOM Desert Riders

The D.O.M. club visited Lucerne Valley this past weekend. Lucerne Valley is the closest destination the club visits. The club typically goes there twice each season. This ride was a little more special than any before. Why you ask? Because we just got not one, but TWO new quads! Laura got an '07 Honda 250EX, and Nina got a Viper Mini 50. (Brady got Laura's old quad - an '05 Honda 250EX with very little mileage on it). I got a piece of coal.

Here's a picture of our family taken Sunday morning while on a ride:

Left to right are - Nina, Brady, Laura and me. Thanks to Fred and Daisy Wier who joined us on this putt-putt and snapped the picture for us.

This trip was a little short for us. We left home Saturday morning @ about 5:00 a.m. and got there @ about 9:00 a.m. It doesn't take 4 hours to get to Lucerne from our house, but it did this time. No we didn't get another flat on the way, and I have to thank God for that (I prayed a lot on the way there).

This time we decided not to leave on Friday evening, which would have guaranteed a stop-and-go traffic jam. Too much wear and tear on the brakes, transmission, and my patience for that drive. Then while listening to the evening news Laura and I heard that CalTrans was closing the 15 north transition to the 215 north at the bottom of the Cajon Pass from Friday night (1-19) to Monday morning (1-22).

So the following morning we started off with the intention of taking the 60 to the 215 then going north up the pass. That's when we saw a CalTrans message sign saying the 215 north was closed at the 15 north. In our minds - both routes towards the Cajon Pass were closed, so we changed directions. We took the 5 north to the 14 north to Pearblossom Hwy., which took us back across the other side of the mountains to the 15 where we continued up the pass.

That detour took an hour, but it was a beautiful drive on a road I've never taken. Too bad I was pulling a trailer. Once we arrived at camp, we talked to another club member that took the 15 north all the way through the pass - bottom-to-top. RS said there was no construction on the 15; no lanes blocked, nothing. RS said all the construction was on the 215 north just before the 15 merge. Lucky me.

Why am I telling you this? To bore you, and to help me cope with the frustration of inaccurate information. No, Laura and I didn't hear incorrectly. The news clearly said the 15 north, and even pointed out that there could be as much as a 3 hour delay. Laura noted that a friend of hers from work was going to Las Vegas on Friday after work, and would be stuck in that traffic.

Here's a newsflash: This post is supposed to be about the D.O.M. ride at Lucerne Valley, not the drive there. Okay, tomorrow's post will be all about the ride. See you then.

Well I hope you didn't think I would forget to post the third part of this series? Well, I've been busy. Really busy. I've actually taken a hiatus on posting on my other blog. I just have too many things going on between work and home life. Take a look at the title of this post for example: Thanksgiving Ride At Charlie's Place (part 3). Thanksgiving. That was not one, but THREE major holidays ago!

Anyway, these pictures were all taken the last day of the ride weekend - Nov. 26. One of the things we occasionally do is stop at a restaurant on the way home to take a break from all the traffic. This time we stopped at the Original Roadhouse Grill in Victorville and were joined by former King & Queen Kenny & Casey, and hopefully future King & Queen Butch & Patti.

This first picture is of Nina and Cassie. Unfortunately, Cassie (and her family) didn't get to join us out at Charlie's Place, but we were glad she could join us for lunch this afternoon:

In this picture all the kids are shown: Back - Cassie, Nicole, Brady; Center - Lisa, Katlin, Joey, Amanda; Front - Nina.

In this picture most of the "big kids" are shown: Back - Butch; Center - Patti, Laura; Front - Casey, Kenny. I say most of the big kids because I'm not shown. I'm taking the picture.