Aqua 

surfponto

Administrator

Posts: 1364

I'll start off by saying how important it is to be prepared for any situation anytime. You should always have the tools you need to get your vehicle out a rut if your going off road. Also have a emergency back up such as plenty of water and shelter if you can't get out.
Saturday 7/30/2016 was a good day for the desert. The weather was very nice considering the heat and high humidity. Little did we know how much we would appreciate it later on.
My dad and I decided to check on the aqua drums and add water to them. We started out on the Island between I8. We just did it for fun and thought it would be cool to look at the things people threw out their cars in the past. Oddly enough as i'm driving I hear, "RORY, RORY STOP!". I stop my truck and see someone running towards me from behind. I reverse my truck and as I get close I realize it's my cousin! What was she doing out here? Turns out she was there with some friends checking the area out as well. Small world.




Abstract art on the road



Our first stop was west of Ocotillio on a dirt road off of Evan Hewes Hwy heading towards Dos Cabezas. I remember going through this area as a kid and seeing the abandoned buildings. It was creepy. I stopped my truck on the road and hiked to the drum because I didn't want to chance my truck getting stuck in the heavy sand for I don't have 4x4. Of course my truck some how got stuck anyways. So we had to build up some rocks to get grip. Why would we have to do that you might ask? Because I didn't bring out any tools like I mention on top of the post to get myself out. Fortunately we were able to get out but decided to take our losses and head to the drums off of S2.

As I did a U turn to head back I got my truck stuck once again. Now it's really not going anywhere. After about 20 mins I call my insurance (MAPFRE) to help assist. I have to say they were extremely helpful. After learning I was stranded in the desert they literally called me every 20 mins to check on me and the progress of the tow.
Well the tow company was a joke. The guy who called me from the company was nice and all, but could not take simple directions. The road I was on was even on my gps. It was frustrating. On top of that he wasn't even the driver. Instead he would relay my directions to his driver for he could't speak a word of english. No big deal right?
Finally after a hour or more we see the driver in the distance. He stops at the dirt road and my dad and I grab our day packs and start heading towards him. As we get closer to him he than goes in reverse and makes a U turn. We figured he would wait for us and at least take us to town. Instead he proceeds to take off leaving us in the dust. The guy calls me back and tells me his driver isn't comfortable going down the dirt road. I said to him that was fine and all but can you at least have your driver stop and take us to Ocotillio. Than we see the driver racing at us as if he now realized we were stranded in the desert.


So after he pick us up he takes us to the Chevron where we see another tow service. We figured being in Ocotillio that they were probably desert experienced. I go into the gas station where two sweet girls were able to give me a card for the tow. I call Reagan Shallal who was very helpful. He gave me a price and told me if his guy couldn't get me out I would have a total refund. I took him up on his deal and he had me walk back into the gas station where a man named Jim was casually standing. He's a really nice guy and I enjoyed talking to him. We got in his Mercedes 4x4 and off to save my truck. He asked us what we were up to and he gave us some of his own story's about the illegals and the border patrol. He told us a story of a large group of illegals in Corrizo Gorge dressed as boy scouts. I thought that was funny and kind of sad too.
As we pulled up to my truck I looked in Jim's eye's and could see pulling my truck out would be a piece of cake. After all, I just needed to be pulled not towed. Sure enough he gets us out in about 20 mins. He made it looks so east. Yet he had all the right tools and a 4x4 to get out of any situation. Lesson learned.

After the ordeal we decided to hit the Lazy Lizard up for a beer or 4. Great place to take a load off and talk to locals. We had the privilege to talk to Donna who also had some story's for us. She's been the bar owner for the last 10 years or so. Her and her husband own a atv rental for Ocotillio Wells. After talking to her I realized the border patrol issue was much more than I realized. When I say issue, I mean all the cameras in our desert that anybody can be filmed on at any time. I had no idea of that. I asked her how the town was doing with the wind turbines. Shes said half the town was very unwelcoming to the workers. She said she didn't mind them because they gave business and they couldn't help the politics. I agreed with her while flipping the bird at the turbines haha. After a while of kicking back we headed to Ramona stopping at each drum to give water. I also gave Donna a bunch of water as well. She was very appreciative as we were too for our beer.



The last stop of the day was Doug aka Butterfield. We've become very good friends over the years ever sense he took over. He's a great guy and I love giving him company. Say hi to him if you ever get a chance. He also has a decent book selection in the store. Really good deals on his beer for being in the desert.
We end our day successfully as we helped fill the aqua drums and got to know some locals. All the drums had exactly 6 waters and didn't look like anyone had been around. We added two water for each one. Remember that water can save anybody's life not just illegals. Always be smart and prepared.

Thanks for reading, Rory
edited by Roryborealis on 8/1/2016