Like the title says, I really want to know how the sand makes you feel, whether it's the dunes, the scrub, the desert, I really feel that knowing what motivates you would help us know, and understand, each other, just a little bit better. Keep in mind I don't care, don't be embarrassed, nobody will judge you, I know there are a variety of reasons, camaraderie, party time, horse power, duning skills, tuning in with nature ( I witnessed a great example last Vets Day), or a combo of all. I'll go first,
I've been in the sand many, many times, but the desert, the dunes are so huge, the horizons so distant, they make me feel small, so inconsequential, that I feel I should be silent. The sunrises, the sunsets are so beautiful that I feel I can never have a better day, that I will never improve my life. The wind blows and a new canvas has been laid, so that I have another chance at a masterpiece. and then the camaraderie, the family, the friends that I have anticipated seeing again, just....being with, to have this experience with. I truly believe that I would continue my annual pilgrimage, with or without the toys, part of my love for Glamis is the toys, the testing of ourselves, the fear, the pushing of limits, mechanical and mental, and then there is the simple easy rides that are equally enjoyable, soaking in the sites, checking out Gods critters, just looking, watching, sensing the sand and its many delights.
My love of the sand can be best be described as "peace", my ten best nights of sleep are in Glamis, I'm at peace.

Tim

Beautifully said TT, and that post is going into the McScrappbook.

The sand at Mother G, when the wind blows, the sun is shining, and the ground looks as it's talking, Slap feels powerless yet alive. Knowing that when we is gone, she'll still be there, talking to the next generation, the next, and so on. But when you are by yourself, and you are surrounded by her beauty; trees, bushes, scrubs, critters, it's all about you. And you said it TT, you are at peace.

Beautiful thread.

I think that Tim said it all (quote the pushing of limits, mechanical and mental) but there is no grater feeling almost serene then a cool wind blown summer evening on a tall dune with the sand blowing across the lip like a never ending trail. Total silence except for the wind and the sound of the sand rolling across the dune.

The sand is where my wife and I reconnect, and get rid of the poisons that accumulate in us through work, traffic, bills, family issues, all the stress we encounter in our daily lives. It is where we can just be, riding together, making camp, cooking meals. We are closer then than when we are at home. There is no "I got 4 more minutes and I have to be on the road". We get up when we wake, we sip coffee watching the sunrise, we revel in watching the dogs play in the sand. We ride all day, look up friends that have come to the dunes, cook a delicious meal, then sit and watch the camp fire with a toddy before early bedtime and dreamless restful sleep.

It is the ultimate battery charger. It puts the soul back in.

It's funny, I was telling my buddy, Chuck, during our trip home, that the pain goes away....he just laughed, but it does, I don't know if it's the weather, the altitude or just the stress free enviroment, but my pain goes away....

The things that have been said above and more but I will add.
Being a old surfer and skateboarder I look at the dunes like a giant rolling skatepark. Rolling in and out and meeting the next transition.
Its waking up in the morning just before sunrise and pushing my dirtbike out of camp so when I start it it won't freak anyone out and watching the sunrise. Its also a good time to still see the critters.
Its taking off my boots out in the big dunes where the sand is virgin and walking around in my barefeet and feeling the soft sand. This freaks out my friends. LOL
And YES to everything else already said in above threads.

Agree with everything above.
The sand for me is my life.I believe I was even conceived at the dunes. It brings back all the memories of my father and all the good times had by friends and family.
When I was a kid I would get so upset at my dad when he would just sleep or relax instead of hitting the dunes with the sandrail....now that I am much older and he is gone I know exactly how he felt and what he was talking about.

Just sitting back listening to all the noises or the silence at times and watching your kids play and grow infront of you and showing them the things that have been passed down to you.

I am even getting teary eyed thinking of past memories and new ones with my own kids.

AWESOME THREAD!!!

Barefoot in the sand... drinking a cold one.. warm outside, but not to warm..not to cold... Im in heaven!!

YEAH!!
You feel the heat from the sun but the brisk breeze blowing makes it even better.

oh yeeeaaaahhhh .. I dont like it when its to cold...

Standing with my feet in the sand with a Hot cup of Morning coffee or an ICB are my Happy THoughts I use when visiting the Dentist, Doctor or when the wife is Pissed of and ready to swing.

the sand, no matter where you are, takes away all the BS you left behind. I could be stressing about this or that at home, but in the dunes, or even in camp, nothing matters. I have a bad temper in a hot garage with a fan blowing, sweating working on my quad or rail, but even wrenching out in the straight sun, it doesn't bother me at all.

The sand removes all the toxins, I just love to sit on a dune and watch others playing. Especially at sunset, very soothing to the soul


Even if everything I own is broke down, I still have a great time.

chaffed





Actually, that is what Mama and I call it; Riding the poison out.

I highlighted some of my favorite passages, it sounds as if we have much in common, as if we share the language of the earth....

I live for that moment immediately after a close call. You've just missed a witches eye or landed a jump you never thought you would land. The bike slides out from under you but you manage to save it or you come up on a drop off so fast you don't think you'll be able to slow down. The back tire locks up. The front tire locks up and your still sliding towards that giant bottomless vertical dropoff and you're praying your guardian angels wings are big enough for both of you because you're going over. The front tire slips over the top of the abyss but you've managed to scrubb enough speed that you slide down the slip face instead of leaping off of it like some kind of day glo flying squirrel. That instant when your adrenaline is surging and your heart is beating at redline but you throw a little grin to yourself. You've beat the odds again, one more time. That's what I live for and glamis gives it to me.

For me its like getting done with a long run where everything stressful in your brain is gone. You feel complete and accomplished without even doing anything ( unless you want too )
It makes all the bad days at work, stress, money, marital and everything else in between just go away. Its a great place to reset your life and realize what you work for. Work to live, not the other way around. It brings people together wether its on the shores of the ocean, the river or the desert. I tend to not get along with some of my neighbors but there im just happy to see people with the same interests as me.
Allright enoug emotions haha. I need to get back to egg nog and pirates of the caribbean 2.

I've been at the top of volcanoes. Through vast oceans. Deep in forests. Smack in the middle of concrete jungles.

Not one of those places has earned my respect like the desert has. It's the one place where I can apply everything I know and I still have never felt like I've mastered it. The desert can scare the shit out of me in a million ways, but it has never scared me away. It's not a place for the weak minded, weak of heart or weak-willed.

I know I'm not alone when I say that although I love sharing times with friends and family around a campfire or chasing each other around on assorted toys, I can't think of anything better than a good hour on my own, out in the middle of nowhere. Just me and the dez. Amazing how clear everything becomes.

Although, these days I get less time on my own because I have a little girl that likes to follow me out whenever I wander away. I don't mind as much as I thought I would. As a matter of fact, I loved the first time she stopped me in my tracks, told me to shhhh with her eyes as wide as trash can lids. She whispered, "Dad, why is it so quiet?" It wasn't that she was scared, she was hooked! I love it!

I was trying to think of a way to say that I love the way the sand can scare me into wanting to do it again. You summed it up nicely. Thanks for that.

Many years ago, long before I really got into riding sand, I'd head out into the Borrego desert from my depressing little shithole job in a depressing little shithole town. I tried to get out every other weekend if I could, just me and my truck and enough food water and fuel to see me through to Monday. Didn't really matter to me if the trails were challenging, or even if I'd already been over them twenty times that year. I just needed it.

My friends and coworkers would ask me what I did on my getaway days. "I sit on a rock and talk to lizards," I would tell them. They'd laugh, or shake their heads, or awkwardly change the subject. They didn't get it.

I didn't care. Neither did the lizards. They're pretty cool that way.

Now I can't get away nearly as often, or often enough, but the lizards don't care. They're still good listeners. Sometimes, I'll crest a dune and see the endless trackless ebb and flow marching off to the horizon, and I'll have to whisper a thank-you to the lizards for keeping me sane...

The lizards get it. They're pretty cool that way.

The Glamis Sand. It's the Best Education for Man! Peace

I like WLD-OTZ earlier comments.. The daily commute to the office or meetings and always feeling that more can be done , or more money can be made has turnd me into a aggreisive high strung short fused lunatic..
The second I pull off the 78 and the tires meet desert all my worries, anxiety and stress melt away.
I love to ride and when I come back into camp after a good hard ride I cant wipe the smile off my face,really I cant. The wife and I never hold hands or walk the dogs together or even share a cup of coffee but out there, out there I can see my own smile and hers and all of a sudden were 16 again holding hands and displaying waaaay to much public affection... I think it makes me young again and puts many of my worries and concerns into perspective....

Well that does it, I wasnt going to go out this weekend but I think I need to now !
Click to view attachment

You Sir, are an adrenaline junkie, I bet you like to lead, and I bet you are really fun to follow. Yep, fear is a wonderful thing, you face it, you beat it and you defeat it.

"Courage isn't the absence of fear, but rather the knowledge that something is more important than the fear." -By What's-his-name

In some of our cases, adrenaline is more important than fear!

Old bull and young bull..... because if it scary nuff to get your heart going, you aint doing it right. Fast, smooth, and looking ahead.

this is a great thread.. the desert and the sand are the things i think about to get me through the work days. it makes it all worth it when you finally pull out onto the freeway headed out to play in the sun and the sand.. its a place that makes you feel so small and makes all of your worries just disaper..it is something that you cant explaine to someone that hasnt had a chance to see it for them selves.. some of the best times of my life have been in the dirt/sand and i wouldnt change it for anything!!!

The sand is really the only time I get with my wife. Kinda sad when I think of it. I mean, I see her everyday, but it's usually goodbye in the morning, and I'll meet you at some point in bed tonight.

We get quality time together in the sand. She makes me breakfast, I make her dinner, and we get to sit down and enjoy each others company for more than 5 minutes. Things are crazy at home most of the time. The sand gives us a nice breath of fresh air.

The sand means family to me, period.

its the only time i ignore my phone, email, texts etc with out stressing. if your not out in G with me i could care less about talking to you. only place im ever truly living in the moment!

"Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway." John Wayne

Then that makes you my dune brother. I look forward to meeting you.


Yes, yes, and yes. I love to lead the right group. I have been told I am fun to follow and I do my best to make the runs fun for all but secretly, I'm trying to lose them all.

We got a few times a year at minimum as many as 10 if its a good year.Tday we go for the whole week sat to sat.This is one of our favorite trips cause its relaxing.We have 2 kids 5 and 9 they love to ride i take my buggy,cr500,and wifes quad too.

I may or may not drive the car alot it just depends either way i have fun even if it means sitting in camp all day watching my kids ride and i have a cold beer in hand while the radio is on and the sound of motors in the dunes.Then t day get the smoker out and cook the turkey.

I only take 2 full weeks off during the year and the other week is for our lake powell trip.

it's where i go to be amongst the chaos, so I can relax

sore if she dont shower

X2

This is a great thread. Its a difficult thing to correctly put into words, but I can say that I love it. It really doesnt matter what end of the dunes Im in, but the first time I hop on my quad, suited up and ready to go, it really is one of the funnest, most childlike feelings I ever have. It takes me back to when I first started going to G with my dad (who has not been on the same trip with me for a couple of years now) and I was just amazed at the size and beauty of seemingly useless piles of sand. There is a weight that is lifted off when you get there, thats for sure, weather its bills, job, an unclear future, or just a dirty pool at home, that I dont even think about until Monday. Its fun, and as much as we bitch and moan about the politics out there, its still on my "top five places in the world" list. I went once last year, dont think I made it out the year before that, and cant say about the 08-09 season. We MIGHT make it out this year, but so far havent spent a weekend in the sand for the 2012 season. The fuse stays lit though, by hanging out in the garage with my basic Honda quad, prepping and detailing it in every way I can think of, in hopes of a trip sometime soon. Even there, being around the pieces of machinery that I own, that I maintain, and that I know how to ride and handle better than anyone else, the excitement of the sand is felt. Sites like this, and people like you, who I would love to build relationships with (even though I have been around the site for almost 8 years now) help me get through each week I cant make it out, and I am thankful for that.

I recently married a beautiful woman that I am very much in love with, and my lifestyle has changed a bit over the years. We have so much fun together, riding our mountain bikes, mentoring high school students, and just hanging out when our free time overlaps. Dune trips are not as high of a priority anymore, as she hasnt been bit by the sand fleas [yet], and because we really cant afford to do anything like that whenever we desire, but the joy Glamis brings really is priceless, and a feeling that I will hold onto forever. I have a feeling that some day Candace and I will share that passion, and I look forward to it so much.

Here is a pic of us on the only trip she has been on. She was sick the whole weekend, and wasnt able to really take it all in. Heres to redemption!

Ridesand, first, beautiful lady, and yep, I know of no other sport/activity,lifestyle that can bring so many different folks together, regardless of race/sex/nationality/employment/ etc....and it's not just G, it's, it's well mainly it's the sand or more accurately how being in the sand/in the forest, on a trail, climbing a dune makes us feel, hanging with old, as well as new and sometimes, future friends, it's all these things. I often wonder how, not only Glamis, as well as this site, can bring so many folks together, and more often I wonder how so many can come together and become friends, some are hard core sand junkies, some have never set foot on sand, some live near and others travel from across the country, and other pilgrimage begins in far away lands...but the call is strong, they say that men think about sex every seven seconds......for some of us, we think about Glamis, or our extended G family at least that often.

Just remember, some of us take a hiatus, for any number of reasons, from the things we love, but we always go back, I hope to meet up with you and your lady, I like to think of all as my comrades, my friends, some are close and the rest are future close friends, and yep, that includes those of you that disagree with me, even if yore wrong haha. And thanks to our friends that began, and continue to keep GD.com up and running.
Tim