MagicMtnDan
FRF Addict
We came, we drove, we conquered.
6 Raptors and crew got together this weekend in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and Ocotillo Wells for Raptor Run 4 and it was a big success.
Participants:
Dan (aka MagicMtnDan, aka Banned On The Run, aka Quotes)
Brian (aka BS, aka Uggs)
Tim (aka XJRguy, aka Son of Eyes of God, aka Dawgus' Dad)
Mark (aka Mark T - hey, he needs more nicknames)
Chad (aka Chevy Guy who traded in his Dodge on his Ford Raptor)
Jeffrey (aka Son of Karl)
The owners/drivers had a great crew on this trip including: Denise, Carissa, Kilja, Chris, Colette, Karl, Sadie and Mickey (aka Dawgus). It was great having them with us.
The weather was fantastic - 80 degrees in the daytime (felt hotter - that desert sun is hot) and shirtsleeve weather at night (got chilly early in the AM but no one's complaining except whomever slept in the bed of their truck and had to go inside when it got cold).
Friday night everyone made it to Borrego Palm Canyon campground. Denise made Carne Asada (steak) with rice and beans and Brian and Carissa pitched in with chips, salsa and guacamole. Together with the tortillas we enjoyed a Mexican food festival and then sat around the campfire shooting the ****, talking smack, telling jokes and stories enjoying ourselves. We had a great time around the campfire which is one of the best reasons to go camping.
Saturday morning we got together - Chad came in early (he made it to the area around 4 AM and caught some Z's in his truck before he came to the campground around 8). Jeffrey and his Dad Karl showed up and then the lady Rangers with guns showed up. They exercised their authority giving us conflicting directions which meant we got more directions from them. We had enough and around 9:30 we headed out of the campground.
We drove into the Texas Dip, took San Felipe Wash to Cut Across Trail over to Arroyo Salado Wash which we took into Ocotillo Wells. All the washes are great and Arroyo Salado Wash is certainly no exception. Wide open and in very good shape the conditions were right for the Raptors to do the wash.
Saturday afternoon we drove to Fish Creek Wash - a beautiful wash with plenty of great scenery. The wash is open and wide in the beginning and it narrows down as the miles go by when the canyons get tighter. We continued past Wind Caves where many hike up the hill (to the Wind Caves) where there usually are a number of vehicles parked. They were out in force and people had set up camp on the other side of the wash.
We kept to the right (see map http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/638/files/ABDSPmap.pdf ) and continued onto Hapaha Flat Road heading for Pinyon Drop-off (a one-way drop-off that we wouldn't be able to climb). As the canyon got tighter we came to a stop and left the Raptors in an area where other vehicles could get by and we hiked for a while deeper into the canyon.
We looked a the steep cliffs some with vertical walls made of sandstone and rocks mixed in (see the pics) and checked out the flowers. This is a great spring in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park as SoCal has had lots of rain and now that the sun is back
the flowers are blooming. This is primetime for desert flowers.
Brian told us that the canyon we were in is where Mickey Guidry's Jeep was found. It was creepy knowing that the 16 year old may have died in the area we were hiking and driving in. The only vehicle that came by while we were hiking was a 4WD Chevy Tahoe with only a driver in it. I talked to him and he said he went up further to the drop-off and he said there's really no way to go up and it's marked as a one-way coming down (towards where we were) on the maps. He said there were some Jeeps coming down and we expected to see them but they never showed up.
We got back in the Raptors and turned around and headed back downhill out the way we came out of the narrow canyon into ever widening ones. Along the way we were surprised by a Park Ranger in a two door Jeep Rubicon driving very quickly with his emergency lights and siren on. It's a good thing we came upon him where we did - it might have gotten very interesting had we encountered him at a blind corner or in a dusty wash we could have been hauling ass.
A while later we came upon another emergency vehicle - a pickup sized fire department vehicle with his emergency lights on. And later we saw an ambulance coming our way. When we got back out on the road we saw a full-size firetruck coming towards us as well. We don't know for sure but given the information we had it was a pretty safe bet that one or more of those Jeeps got in trouble coming down Pinyon Drop-off and that was not a happy thought. We hope that whomever needed help wasn't in very bad shape. It's pretty remote back in that canyon and it takes a while to get there even if you're driving a high-speed capable Ford SVT Raptor (which the emergency vehicles weren't). If someone was in bad shape the emergency crew would probably get them to an open area in the wash and have them Medi-Vac'd (helicoptered) out. We didn't see a heli so maybe that didn't happen.
We headed back to our campground for our 2nd night around the campfire. Later on we did an informal Candlepower Showdown. Brian's got 4 HID lights on his lightbar. Tim has 4 HID lights (KC brand) on his Ford Racing lightbar. And Chad has 4 lights on his Ford Racing lightbar. Both Tim and Chad have two driving lights on the outsides and two pencil (spot) beams inside the driving lights. Chad also had an LED lightbar (I think it's 30" wide).
Those two trucks' lights are so incredibly bright I cannot describe it. What I can tell you about is the nausea I felt after looking at their lights. They both are so bright that I got sick to my stomach from the intensity of the light. It took some time afterward before I started feeling better and every time I closed my eyes I could see burning white spots (retinal damage?).
We enjoyed yet another great time around the campfire. I'll try to share this story with you about the kid in the adjoining campsite who had a large stick that he set on fire in his campfire and was waving it around looking kind of like a light saber. He was having a good time waving it around quickly meanwhile two of our crew (Chris and Colette) had their iPhones with a light saber sound application that changed the sound as they waved their iPhones around. I told Chris to go over near the kid and he did. Chris (and Colette) waved their iPhones around like the kid so we heard the light saber sounds while the kids waved his stick around. We were laughing hysterically thinking about the kid thinking that he was imagining his flaming stick was a light saber when suddenly he heard what sounded like light saber sounds.
Sunday (today) morning Chad headed out on his drive back to Las Vegas. Brian left shortly after as he wasn't feeling well. The rest of us finished breaking camp and we headed out on our way back to our homes satisfied that we had a great time running the Raptors, doing the wash and having fun with good people, friends we've made thanks to the Raptors that Ford made for us.
These are amazing vehicles that are made for running the desert. And we do our best to enjoy them safely. Except for Brian not feeling well, everyone went home in great shape with smiles on our faces.
We hope you'll be able to join us on a future Raptor Run!
6 Raptors and crew got together this weekend in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and Ocotillo Wells for Raptor Run 4 and it was a big success.
Participants:
Dan (aka MagicMtnDan, aka Banned On The Run, aka Quotes)
Brian (aka BS, aka Uggs)
Tim (aka XJRguy, aka Son of Eyes of God, aka Dawgus' Dad)
Mark (aka Mark T - hey, he needs more nicknames)
Chad (aka Chevy Guy who traded in his Dodge on his Ford Raptor)
Jeffrey (aka Son of Karl)
The owners/drivers had a great crew on this trip including: Denise, Carissa, Kilja, Chris, Colette, Karl, Sadie and Mickey (aka Dawgus). It was great having them with us.
The weather was fantastic - 80 degrees in the daytime (felt hotter - that desert sun is hot) and shirtsleeve weather at night (got chilly early in the AM but no one's complaining except whomever slept in the bed of their truck and had to go inside when it got cold).
Friday night everyone made it to Borrego Palm Canyon campground. Denise made Carne Asada (steak) with rice and beans and Brian and Carissa pitched in with chips, salsa and guacamole. Together with the tortillas we enjoyed a Mexican food festival and then sat around the campfire shooting the ****, talking smack, telling jokes and stories enjoying ourselves. We had a great time around the campfire which is one of the best reasons to go camping.
Saturday morning we got together - Chad came in early (he made it to the area around 4 AM and caught some Z's in his truck before he came to the campground around 8). Jeffrey and his Dad Karl showed up and then the lady Rangers with guns showed up. They exercised their authority giving us conflicting directions which meant we got more directions from them. We had enough and around 9:30 we headed out of the campground.
We drove into the Texas Dip, took San Felipe Wash to Cut Across Trail over to Arroyo Salado Wash which we took into Ocotillo Wells. All the washes are great and Arroyo Salado Wash is certainly no exception. Wide open and in very good shape the conditions were right for the Raptors to do the wash.
Saturday afternoon we drove to Fish Creek Wash - a beautiful wash with plenty of great scenery. The wash is open and wide in the beginning and it narrows down as the miles go by when the canyons get tighter. We continued past Wind Caves where many hike up the hill (to the Wind Caves) where there usually are a number of vehicles parked. They were out in force and people had set up camp on the other side of the wash.
We kept to the right (see map http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/638/files/ABDSPmap.pdf ) and continued onto Hapaha Flat Road heading for Pinyon Drop-off (a one-way drop-off that we wouldn't be able to climb). As the canyon got tighter we came to a stop and left the Raptors in an area where other vehicles could get by and we hiked for a while deeper into the canyon.
We looked a the steep cliffs some with vertical walls made of sandstone and rocks mixed in (see the pics) and checked out the flowers. This is a great spring in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park as SoCal has had lots of rain and now that the sun is back
the flowers are blooming. This is primetime for desert flowers.Brian told us that the canyon we were in is where Mickey Guidry's Jeep was found. It was creepy knowing that the 16 year old may have died in the area we were hiking and driving in. The only vehicle that came by while we were hiking was a 4WD Chevy Tahoe with only a driver in it. I talked to him and he said he went up further to the drop-off and he said there's really no way to go up and it's marked as a one-way coming down (towards where we were) on the maps. He said there were some Jeeps coming down and we expected to see them but they never showed up.
We got back in the Raptors and turned around and headed back downhill out the way we came out of the narrow canyon into ever widening ones. Along the way we were surprised by a Park Ranger in a two door Jeep Rubicon driving very quickly with his emergency lights and siren on. It's a good thing we came upon him where we did - it might have gotten very interesting had we encountered him at a blind corner or in a dusty wash we could have been hauling ass.
A while later we came upon another emergency vehicle - a pickup sized fire department vehicle with his emergency lights on. And later we saw an ambulance coming our way. When we got back out on the road we saw a full-size firetruck coming towards us as well. We don't know for sure but given the information we had it was a pretty safe bet that one or more of those Jeeps got in trouble coming down Pinyon Drop-off and that was not a happy thought. We hope that whomever needed help wasn't in very bad shape. It's pretty remote back in that canyon and it takes a while to get there even if you're driving a high-speed capable Ford SVT Raptor (which the emergency vehicles weren't). If someone was in bad shape the emergency crew would probably get them to an open area in the wash and have them Medi-Vac'd (helicoptered) out. We didn't see a heli so maybe that didn't happen.
We headed back to our campground for our 2nd night around the campfire. Later on we did an informal Candlepower Showdown. Brian's got 4 HID lights on his lightbar. Tim has 4 HID lights (KC brand) on his Ford Racing lightbar. And Chad has 4 lights on his Ford Racing lightbar. Both Tim and Chad have two driving lights on the outsides and two pencil (spot) beams inside the driving lights. Chad also had an LED lightbar (I think it's 30" wide).
Those two trucks' lights are so incredibly bright I cannot describe it. What I can tell you about is the nausea I felt after looking at their lights. They both are so bright that I got sick to my stomach from the intensity of the light. It took some time afterward before I started feeling better and every time I closed my eyes I could see burning white spots (retinal damage?).
We enjoyed yet another great time around the campfire. I'll try to share this story with you about the kid in the adjoining campsite who had a large stick that he set on fire in his campfire and was waving it around looking kind of like a light saber. He was having a good time waving it around quickly meanwhile two of our crew (Chris and Colette) had their iPhones with a light saber sound application that changed the sound as they waved their iPhones around. I told Chris to go over near the kid and he did. Chris (and Colette) waved their iPhones around like the kid so we heard the light saber sounds while the kids waved his stick around. We were laughing hysterically thinking about the kid thinking that he was imagining his flaming stick was a light saber when suddenly he heard what sounded like light saber sounds.
Sunday (today) morning Chad headed out on his drive back to Las Vegas. Brian left shortly after as he wasn't feeling well. The rest of us finished breaking camp and we headed out on our way back to our homes satisfied that we had a great time running the Raptors, doing the wash and having fun with good people, friends we've made thanks to the Raptors that Ford made for us.
These are amazing vehicles that are made for running the desert. And we do our best to enjoy them safely. Except for Brian not feeling well, everyone went home in great shape with smiles on our faces.
We hope you'll be able to join us on a future Raptor Run!
