All,

I'm trying to do a kite buggy expedition with my wife as a holiday.

Do you know an area in the USA where you can buggy for days, and put your tent up at night?

Thanks in advance,
Bart Bozon

Ivanpah and El Mirage are the both "the Mecca" for not only the locals but
known the world over as Ivanpah hosts the annual NABX (previously the
Spring Break Buggy Blast) http://www.nabx.net/ and El Mirage a number of
other events.
Not to forget the DBBB, Oregon and other meets.
Take your time and peruse thru this forum you will find a wealth of info.

How about Thanksgiving in Galveston, Texas?

http://deadbirdbuggybash.com/

Greetings, BartBozon!

Others have cogitated on the feasibility of kite buggy expeditions here in the U.S., not the least of whom is the inimitable Corey-Lama, or Corey Jensen, of Windpower Sports in Las Vegas.

Discussions almost always return to the Black Rock Desert in Northern Nevada. This huge dry lake basin is ringed with usable hot springs, making camping out on a warm (or cold) desert night just a little more interesting. And, there are literally hundreds of miles of "playa" or dry lakebed.

Our late-night, buggy-camp discussions of this topic included a "chuck wagon" supply crew who would drive ahead of the buggiers, set up camp, prepare a hot, gourmet meal, and then await the arrival of GPS-guided buggy riders, hungry and tired from long, high-mileage treks at the mercy of Nevada's blistering desert winds.

Nothing to stop one from using a well-equipped RV (with, preferably, 4-wheel drive) to access this awesome landscape and trek about for daily buggy fun in the thousands of square miles of the Black Rock. Be warned, however... civilization is sparse (a definite understatement), and survival depends on good planning and being able to carry everything you need for the trip, and knowing how to take only photos and leave only footprints. The Bureau of Land Management takes this area seriously, especially since the annual Burning Man Festival began using it, and they can be nit-pickers if they find permanent evidence of your passage upon the playa.

Weather in the Black Rock can go from sunny, benign, and spring-like to torrential rain, lightning, and white-out dust storms, in the space of ten minutes, literally. And you DON'T want to experience the kind of mud produced on an eons-old dry lakebed. You need short-wave or other dependable weather reportage access, and GPS, and a fondness for solitude and self-dependence, to play in these places.

Good luck in your hunt for an expedition venue... if it happens, take pictures, keep a journal, and share with all of us eager desert rats!

Best regards,

Mike Dooley :moon:
(aka Lack-O-Slack)
(aka WindRider)
(aka The Karlsbad Kite Kriminal)

Thank you very much for your feedback!

The suggestion for the black rock dessert seems very interesting. Do you have some good web sites on it?

Regards,
Bart Bozon

I've already found a lot of information on the different sites...

What month would you advise to go?

Thanks in advance,

Bart Bozon