S1: Welcome to the podcast where young voices from the Imperial Valley. Share stories about growing up in our community. And today we're heading out to the desert. If you grew up in the valley , chances are the dunes are just some of you where you visit. They're a part of your culture. Places like superstition , Glamis and Ocotillo are places where families spend their weekends writing , racing and making memories. For a lot of local teens , that passion starts very young , with family , with friends , and sometimes with a few crashes along the way. One student told us his first memories of riding started with the family trip to the desert. Oh well , it all started when we were all young. Um , I remember going out to the superstition one time and it was just me , my family , my deals. We were just all right there. Just on the quads , on their bikes. We were just riding. You're listening to voices at vibe. We'll be right back. That moment , being surrounded by family and the sound of engines across the sand was enough to spark a lifelong love for writing. I think I started writing because my parents , they had like a little an old , old little three Wheeler. And I , like I always seen my older brother writing it , and I wanted to , like , always write it. And then they finally threw me on the bike and I like , really liked it. So then , uh , they took me out to the desert , like all of us. And then I was writing and then I fell off. But then , like , I got back on and then it was pretty fun. Eventually curiosity turns into confidence , and confidence turns into adrenaline. Uh , like two years back , I had my first race , and that was really fun. I really liked this up. For many Valley teens , writing isn't just recreation , it's a sport. The Imperial Valley sits next to some of the most famous off road riding areas in the country , and people travel from all over the world just to right here. You can stay there for like , over a week. Like people from Las Vegas , from Arizona , San Diego. Like you. You wouldn't even believe. Like , from out of. Like , everywhere they come to here , like Imperial Valley. Glamorous. Like , it's kind of crazy. Some writers even travel across the country. I follow these people on TikTok , and they're from from Texas. And they come out here like every other weekend just just to come out here and ride. And it's crazy because , like , they're from Texas and they're. And there has to be like. Like different spots over there. And for them to come over here. That's kind of like a big , big achievement for like our small town. You know , it's like puts us on the map a little bit more. If like celebrities come out here , they feel movies out there. It's really like it's it's crazy to think like we're only , what , 30 minutes away from it. That's crazy. Like , they filmed like Jumanji out there and like. And we're right here. Like , it's actually crazy how it's mad close when you grow up here. It's easy to take the desert for granted , but hearing stories like this reminds you of how special it really is. But a question what is , uh , like the razor life out there in Glamis?
S2: Oh , I think well , not even. It doesn't even have to be razor , but raise your life. It definitely is. Like we're off roading and Glamis is really a big industry. Like , honestly , it's very popular. Like in , like in , like millions of people go. Like thousands , if not thousands. Millions of people go to the show every year , but especially for Razer , they always have. They have this thing called Camp Razer , and that's where it really brings the people together and stuff.
S1: Riding in the dunes come with some risk , of course , and sometimes the best stories start with the crash.
S3: Sometimes it's kind of scary because , uh , when it's late at night , you can't really see that much. And if you bump into something or fall into a hole , you can get injured. But , um , yeah , like , it's pretty fun. I have a great time with my family and stuff. Oh , and. Yeah. Like my first ever bad crash , I guess you can say was on the quad two. Um , I was with my aunt , and , like , I was in front , and I was , like , driving , like she was the one , like , uh , kind of like , pressing on the gas and , um , like , we were driving. It was in Mexicali , but it was like. Like further Mexicali , like going to San Felipe. And like my grandma , she has , like , a ranch over there and like , there's a little bit of houses and like , oh , my aunt was like , oh , let's go for a ride. And so I went. I went in and , um , basically like , uh , she was passing on a super fast and she told me to take a left. And so I turned left , but like , I didn't know , like how fast it turned left. So I like , did it right away and like , the quad literally went sideways and like , there was a house , like , right next to it. And like , we literally the car like because we went flying off the quad , like , literally like she like she took me with her and I just see the I like I opened my eyes because I got scared and I just see the car , like still driving and I just see it hit a gate and I just hear boom , like the gate noises. And I was like , oh my. And then like , we got super scared. So we just got back on the quad and we left without even saying anything. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. Like , I'm not gonna lie , for the first time. The first time I ever flipped , um , it was on a card thing. I remember I. I didn't even want to get back on the card. My stepdad made , like , he forcefully made me get back on the card. And that was the first first time I ever got into an accident. So , like , I don't know , at that time , I. That's the only time I could say it wasn't funny or it wasn't fun because it hurt. Uh , it hurt my butt a lot. It's all my bikes that I've ridden. They've all been heavy downs. Like , you know , like you start off with , like a like a a not so good bike and you gotta fix it up , like , because I don't know about you , but like my parents , they always made me like. Like if I wanted a fast bike , like , oh , I had to learn how to work on it. Like , I had to learn how to do all my stuff , but , like , I had to. I had to work for everything. Like , I'm surprised , actually , that I'm not the only one. Like , I didn't even know you. You had to do that. Then you like. Um , but yeah , when I was younger , if I wanted a new bike , I would have to work on my my bike. Like my first bike that would I ever got? I would have to work on that one and do whatever I wanted to that one. And then whenever I had the money or whenever my parents had the money. What do you mean you won? But then , like , sometimes I'll just stick to my bike because , like , at the end of the day , like , I , I ended up liking my bike more because what I put in , I put in time into that bike , like , I , I think the bike is like pretty cool how I had the bike , you know. I just wanted to drive it real quick because we were about to leave and my stepdaughter was like , go drive one more time before we were leaving. I'm like , ah. So I went into the hills wherever I was , and I was like , it's a dumb little golf cart. I was driving it and it was going pretty fast. I was going on jumps and everything. I remember once I hit a jump , I remember hitting one of the jumps. I hit it and I hit it. I go flying up cause the car went jumping up and the whole car flipped on me , and I went flying outside of the freezer like I was literally hanging outside of the razor , like I wasn't even in the freezer anymore. Like , I don't know how that happened. It was just really funny. Luckily , he was okay , but the lesson stuck. Always wear your seatbelt. It was like maybe my second week of learning how to like , like , use a clutch and everything. So I was like , I would like dump the clutch. So that way the front of the bike can pop up. And I was like , dude , if if I just hold the gas for a little bit longer , I'll learn how to wheelie. So then I just kept doing it and doing it , and I kind of got the hang of it. But then one time I got a little too cocky and I tried to do it like like do it like , but off of a jump. So my , my front tires would go extra high and I did it and boom , the , the back tires gripped on the dirt and it shot the bike in front of me and , and like , I couldn't do anything because , like , I was on the ground. And I when I put my head up , I see the bike , like driving by itself towards a group of cars. And like , next thing you know , I got up boom and hit it , hit a trailer , hit somebody's trailer and had to go up there and like , say like what happened? But I didn't tell him that I was trying to learn how to really. I said that it was my first day riding. After crashes like that , riders have a choice to quit or get back on. Dang , I remember I didn't even want to get back on the car my stepdad made. Like he forcefully made me get back on the card. And that was the first first time I ever got into an accident. So like , I don't know at that time , I that's the only time I could say it wasn't funny or it wasn't fun because it hurt. It hurt my butt a lot. For some students , writing is more than just weak and fun. It's a dream. Do you race it? No , but I wish that's one of my goals for sure. But racing isn't cheap. Uh , like , I don't want to throw a number out there , but I have , like , over , like 8000 in modifications , but it's not really a lot. It's just expensive. But. Yeah. Oh my God. Eight , $8,000. That's a that's a lot of money. Still seeing racers from the Valley succeed. Keeps that dream alive. Name is Brock Hager. You know who he is now? Yeah , definitely. I know who that is. I'm pretty sure a lot of people know him because I think he's like , he lives in the valley where he grew up in the valley , and he wins a lot of these races. So yeah , he's very popular. And yeah , he's someone that a lot of people look up to , even me. Um , what's something that stands out about him like that? You like , like want to pursue? Well , something that stands out. Is that , like , he's from the valley where I'm from , so , like. That's crazy. Like , if someone from here could do it , that means , like , multiple people could do it. So I feel like that just motivates me more. Like , if they could do it , I could do it too. So you're listening to voices there. I stay with us? One thing every student agreed on the desert is more than just sand. Like super high places. Um , because we're in such a small area and , like , our desert is literally our backyard. So that's crazy. It's where families gather , and we're friendships grow and we're young. Writers began dreaming about what is possible. Before we go , we wanted to hear from some students who experienced something bigger than just a weekend ride. The Baja 250 , in San Felipe , Mexico , is an international race that brings together drivers , teams and families from all over the world. For some Valley families , this isn't just an event , it's a tradition. We talked to a group of students who went together this year , some for the first time. Here's what they have to say. How's it going? My name is Santiago Valdez. I'm here with Isaac Garcia. We're going to be talking a little bit about the Baja 250 , San Felipe 250. Uh , me and Isaac been out there our whole lives since we were little kids. We've gone together a few times , maybe , and , uh. But we're going to change the perspective a little bit. Uh , we took many out there for the first time. How was it with your first experience , man? What was your first impression out there? No. During the engines , hearing the loud engines.
S4: On the trophy trucks , seeing them both really fast.
S1: Was it was it lucky a trip like that? You were right next to the trucks. Like , you could literally , like , stick your hand out and almost get hit. Yeah.
S3: It was like.
S1: The adrenaline rush , the feeling , the speed , the noise , the energy.
S5: It's what keeps people coming back.
S1: San Felipe is all in Mexico , right? But we see all these people who've come from around the world like it's crazy seeing Australians coming all the way over here to San Felipe for like an hour and a half away from home , seeing Australians race these big trophy trucks and spending all these moneys out there. Um , something something that's super crazy to me is , is seeing like , the Red bull sponsors , the monster sponsors , all , all kinds of people. We see the biggest of the big , which is monster and Red bull to the smallest of small where it's a family racing team and it really brings everyone together.
S5: It's not just an event , it's global.
S1: At the end of the day , it's family tradition , weather , whether it be , um , the big , the big guys that have been racing for generations , or the little family that scraped all the money together to get a truck in there to get a dirt bike in there , get a quad in there. And it's honestly so inspirational for.
S5: Multi-million dollar teams , two families building something together. Everyone has a place out there.
S1: Um , we were just chilling , waiting for all the trucks to show up , and we hear a guy next to us. Yo , you guys want a bird? You boys hungry? You want a burger? You want a hot dog. And you should have seen the way the boy's eyes lit up. Everyone was hired. Everyone was dehydrated. We all needed some water and some food. And like that , we all jumped up and went to go chatted up with them , grab a burger , grab some chips and it was just a good time. And that's that's what half of Baja is , man like , coming together and like helping out where people are needed and just just enjoying each other's presence because everyone's out there to have a good time. Everyone's out there. Nobody's out there to let's do this. Like , ah , like have a demi downer. Like everyone's out there. We're trying to have some fun trying to win this race. We're trying to have a good time.
S5: And that sense of community. It's what makes the experience unforgettable. Just buddies like , no. And there was parents , but it was just like two dads , just in case. But but usually I just go with like , my dad and his friends or my mom and my dad when I was younger , you know? But this was the first time I generally experienced like , whoa , like more freedom. Like , well , I don't got someone , like telling me something constantly. I don't got someone like being on me constantly. So I just felt like it was more free and like , we , we could do pretty much do whatever we wanted. You know , we had we let us , let us as friends , just , like , make multiple core memories. Like we made multiple nicknames for each other. Just off that , just off that one trip. And just like this is a trip that we're never going to forget. Like , we for sure. We'll never forget this.
S6: For many of them , it wasn't just about racing , it was about being together.
S1: But his grandpa has a house up there that we were chilling out for a little bit and just having good times with him , coming together , like , give him hugs , like a guy , a guy. None of us have really met. He embraced us with full arms and it was a great experience. And that's probably my favorite memory of the family.
S6: Whether it's your own or people you just met is at the center of it all. Baja.
S1: Baja. Is everything Baja is is so much more than you think. Uh , Baja is the memories you make , the people you're with. Uh , and if I if there if I could close it with one thing , it's that everyone. If you have the chance to get out there , get out there , whatever it's on. If you're with your buddies , you're going alone. If you're going with your family , get out there. Because Baja is something that you can never like that you should never miss.
S6: From riding in our backyard. To.
S5: To.
S6: Experiencing something that brings the world together , it all connects out here. The desert isn't just somewhere we go. It's where we grow up , where we fall and get back up. It's family. It's weekends. It's the valley. For a lot of us , it's only the beginning. This has been voiced by the desert Roots. My dreams. And thank you for listening.
S1: Desert roots. Baja dreams , hosted by Samuel Ruiz and Daniel Torres. Stunning guests Isaac Garcia , Ben Lopez , and Santiago Valdez. Edited and produced by Doctor Thomas Taki. Episode music by JCL led by Ozuna , Nicolas Valdez Romero and Spartan Sound Productions. Credits. Music by Emanuel Twilight. Technical and operational support provided by KPBS. Technical producer sound designer Adrian Villalobos , KPBS audio operations assistant Rebecca Chacon , and KPBS Director of audio Programming and Operations Lisa Jane Morissette. This programming is partially made possible in part by the KPBS Explore Content Fund.
