Desert Messenger

March 21, 2018 www.DesertMessenger.com 3 Off Road Show Me Ride natural gas lines can be buried anywhere, even in areas where homes don't use natural gas. So it's important that EVERYONE knows how to recognize and respond to a natural gas leak, wherever they are. IF YOU SUSPECT A LEAK • Exit the area or building immediately. Tell others to evacuate and leave doors open. • From a safe place, call 911 and Southwest Gas at 877-860-6020, day or night, whether you're a customer or not. A Southwest Gas representative will be there as soon as possible. • Don't smoke or use matches or lighters. • Don't turn on or off electrical switches, thermostats, or appliance controls; or do anything that could cause a spark. • Don't start or stop an engine, or use automated (garage) doors. A leak may be present if you: Natural Gas Safety Wherever you live, work, or play. For more information about natural gas safety visit swgas.com/safety or call 877-860-6020 SMELL: a distinct sulfur-like odor, similar to rotten eggs, even if it's faint or momentary. HEAR: a hissing or roaring coming from the ground, above-ground pipeline, or natural gas appliance. SEE: dirt or water blowing into the air, unexplained dead or dying grass or plants, or standing water continuously bubbling. By Jackie Deal Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! That's the best way to describe Sat- urday's off-road ride. (Yes, that IS a word, check it out!) Over 100 peo- ple enjoyed a beautiful day's ride in the desert. Some of them for the first time- me included! First off, let's put to bed one of the ugly myths that people believe about off-roading. "ATVS/UTVs go dashing around the desert willy-nilly, tearing up vegetation and destroying everything in sight!" Wrong! The desert is laced with trails that are numbered by the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) and off-riders stick to those. If they didn't they'd be flying off a crest, crashing into a ravine, smashed against a boulder and be dead within 5 minutes. Our all-day (a little over 35 miles) trip was one of those sponsored by the Arizona State Parks and Trails Off-Highway Ambassadors, the La Paz Re- gional Tourism teams and the Arizona Sunriders ATV/UTV club. There are three off-road clubs in the county that participated: Salome Desert Riders, Bouse Ghost Riders and Quartzsite Arizona SunRiders. The Quartzsite Improvement Association (QIA) provided the staging area and a scrump- tious prime-rib dinner with music by Vickie and Dave that evening. I'd like you to join me on my first-time all-day ride. The riders staged (see? I'm learning a new vocabulary!) at the QIA for coffee, rolls and direc- tions. We were divided into three teams of about 15 -16 ATVs. I was fortunate to be paired with an excellent driver, John Sanchez from Los Angeles, California who drove a RZR ATV with great skill. He outfitted me with goggles (a necessity) and a face scarf from his sister in law, Jeri Sanchez. John's RZR sported a harness that lacked only a parachute to be ready for sky-diving. Well, it had two straps over the shoulders down to the waist, it hooked at the waist and over the chest and I felt very secure. The shoulder straps kept me from having to brace myself to keep from flying forward. One thing I soon figured out: this is like riding a boat in choppy water. Don't get rigid and brace yourself, go with the flow. Yes, we went round and round and up and down. At times I could see only sky ahead, and as we crested the hill John yelled (you have to yell over the engine noise), "If you can't see it, it doesn't exist. So slow down." And when the world leveled out, John did slow down before plunging straight down the other side. It seems that no road is too steep, up or down, for an ATV. And 30 miles an hour on the level in an ATV feels like 90 on the highway! Of course it was bumpy and not like your Grandmother's rocking chair and don't bring your knitting or reading along! Off- roading is for going to places you never see from a car or an RV. The Quartzsite area is peppered with old mines, abandoned structures and things usually never seen. You feel like you're a million miles away from civilization when the vast vistas of desert spread before you. Why do off-roaders do it? I asked several and the main reason seems to be: because it's fun! Now think back to when you were a kid, didn't you play in the dust and dirt? (If you just sat in front of TV and played video games, I feel sorry for you.) Off-roading is a chance to be a kid again. Were we dusty? You betcha! We cleaned our goggles off four or five times and still at the end they were coated with fine desert powder. My hair (wear a tight-fitting baseball cap- I didn't) was blown straight up and back and only three shampooings induced it to get close to my head again. ����� | J��� S������ SEE SHOW ME PAGE 8

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