View of the dunes, with 2 quads in the background
Two weeks ago, we camped for a weekend out in the Imperial Sand Dunes off the 8 freeway. It was a fun trip with perfect weather - high of 75 F in the middle of winter. For those familiar with the Imperial Dunes, we took a ride out to Test Hill, where I decided to test out a Yamaha Raptor ATV. After driving up Test Hill 3 times with no issues, I brought my son up to the top and gave him my camera to shoot some photos of me.
In order to go up where he was shooting, I had to drive up a different face of the dune. This one was steeper and softer, with tracks erased by falling sand soon after they are made. I think I may have stayed on the throttle a little too long or not seen where the top was. In any case, the ATV started doing a wheelie at the top of the dune and I flew off the back of it.
With the camera shooting at 5 shots per second, the whole thing happened in about a second. I was on my way up the hill and the next thing I knew, I was laying on the ground, unable to breath.
Fortunately, the bar on the back of the ATV prevented it from flipping over or landing on me. The ATV was fine.. I was not so much. My back took the brunt of the impact and I had the wind knocked out of me. Fortunately, my family was nearby and drove me back to camp in my sister's dune buggy.
Two weeks later, I still have back pain, but it is definitely getting better. It's the reason I haven't been diving in a few weeks and it's going to be my excuse for not being ready for my first 10K run in 2 weeks. :(
Quads in the dunes
The telephone pole out at Gordon's Well
Imperial Sand Dunes:
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Scott
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