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I’m back at the Sunset Campground in Death Valley for a few days.

Each day I’m on the road I try to go for walks to help with staying in shape and to get out and about in the fresh air. I’ll be 68 years old this June and am thankful that so far I’m not suffering any real health issues. It’s nice to wake up each morning feeling good with few aches and pains. I know many folks are having a hard time and I pray for them each day. Here’s a few photos from this afternoons walk around the campground.

I made bacon and eggs for breakfast this morning…love my bacon. This was lunch….I know you guys don’t care about what I eat but most of the stuff I post is for me to look at 50 years from now when I’m sitting in a rocking chair at the nursing home 🙂

My new $1500 green silicone spatula is working great!

29 Jan 1200….left DV this morning after grabbing a shower and doing laundry. Right now I’m holed up in Baker CA….high winds and huge dust storms….I’ll continue on later down to the Walmart in Yucca Valley for the night.

Hope…stopped in Barstow at their Walmart…a few RVs and trucks here for the night…and a few California Foot Travelers Association members wandering in the parking lot…

31 Jan 0500…Up and at’em early this morning…I’m in Johnson Valley CA out in the dessert…the King of The Hammers off road races are starting up…here’s a link to see what it is…nearly 500 competitors and 50,000 spectators are expected to attend. My two friends Rich, John, and I got here a couple of days early and the place was already going bananas! We made a big circle with the motorhomes and my van for a nice compound. Two more of their friends will be arriving soon with their big motorhomes to complete the “Wagon Train” style ring.

Rich’s Lexus V8 powered rock crawler. He took me for a ride today and I couldn’t believe the huge cliff faces and rocks this thing climbs up and over!

Can you count the levers used to control this thing! There’s six of them…totally cool.

Each night will be full of sitting around the fire ring, drinking livations, and lying to each other about all kinds of things 🙂

31 Jan 0800….Today was spent walking around seeing some of the vendors setting up and rock crawling in Rich’s buggy. The event really doesn’t start until Monday but there are THOUSANDS of folks here already. Glad we came early to get a nice camp spot somewhat out of the dust. And dust there is…it’s crazy. Here are a few shots from today.

Unlimited class…Unlimited everything. LOTS of horsepower.

See the buggys coming down the rocks? They then turn left and head up the hill.

John and his propane powered Toyota based rock crawler.

Looking down on part of the race course from the top of a mountain. The dust is some of the racers prerunning the course

Looking down on the event. In a few days this whole valley will be full of folks.

01 Jan 2am….Well this sucks…haven’t been able to sleep at all tonight…idiots running up and down the road all night in their buggys…generators going all night…and the dust is about to kill me. I’m packing up and gonna head out for a few days to catch my breath. I’ll probably come back for the big races this coming weekend. Until then I’m headed back to Quartzsite. Gonna get the van cleaned back up and find a nice quiet place to park. Rich and John have been super host here at the races and have educated me about rock crawling and the event in general…much appreciated guys 🙂 See ya in a few days!

Had a nice drive down to Quartzsite…little traffic which is always good. The record in California is still 100%. There are many great folks in CA. It’s a wonderfully beautiful state. But…every time I’ve stopped for fuel, food, or to sleep, I’ve been hit on my beggers. In a state that’s prides itself on inclusion and saying to all of us they take care of the downtrodden I’m beginning to think the folks in charge of stuff there are not doing their job…or don’t care….

2 Feb 1700….Beautiful morning here at my campsite just north of Quartzsite…bacon and eggs to start the day. Had a nice shower yesterday at the Main Street place…feeling good. Got the top of the van and the front end cleaned. Decided since the temps are cool I’d start giving the van a waxing…I’ve got plenty of time and not much to do. I do it in sections so it doesn’t seem like so much work. Did the front this morning…one of the sides tomorrow and so on. Easy. Got done around 1000 and have been inside mostly all day watching the live feed from The King Of The Hammers of road racing in Johnson Valley California. Many different classes racing all week with the big boys running this Friday. That class is the 4400’s…unlimited four wheel drive buggy’s with 1000 hp motors. Here’s a link to last years race, enjoy.

Not my photos but somethings to show you the excitement.