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FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | MAY 2017 41 We play the second Monday and the third Saturday of the month. Every week we have a training table and we welcome everyone. We start at 4 pm on Mondays and 3 pm on Saturdays. This is fun and we are friendly so come on down and check us out. Contact: Cheri Howard (951) 756-1216 or howards1249@ gmail.com. ~ Cheri Howard Phase 10 Bridge for Fun Now that spring is upon us it's time for us to get out of the house, put winter behind us, and join new activities. We are fortunate to have so many to choose from here at Four Seasons. Why not learn to play bridge? Bill Guy is always willing to teach new players or help those who need to brush up on the game. With so many new homeowners moving in we are sure to see more and more bridge players. We usually have four tables on both Monday and Wednesday. It is a mentally challenging game, which we all need the older we get, but we also have fun players in our Bridge for Fun groups. So think about giving it a try and call Bill Guy at (951) 845-5627 to learn the game or for information about Monday's game, or Verina Rector at (951) 769-1687 about Wednesday's game. We meet both days at noon in the Lodge Card Room. ~ Tom Halley Rummikub Come and join us on Sunday afternoons from 2 to 4 pm. We play every second, third and fourth Sunday of the month, to have fun with new friends and old friends. We will NOT be playing on Mother's Day this month. If you like Rummy and mah jong you would like Rummikub. We've had good turnouts since starting. We will be playing in the Lodge Card Room. We also have training tables for all newcomers. Hope to see you all there. If you have any questions or if you need extra training call John Hendzel at (909) 435-6592. ~ John Hendzel OFF THE GRID EMCOM TRAINING AT BAKER TO VEGAS: Telephones, cell phones and the Internet may be off-line for one to three days after a disaster. When all else fails, Ham Radio can operate without any electricity or cell towers. The best training ground short of a real disaster is the LAPD's Baker to Vegas relay race. The 120-mile foot race is run in 20 stages, each around six miles long. The circuitous route follows a back road out of Baker, CA through Pahrump and into Las Vegas, Nevada. The foot race started 30 years ago as a physical challenge for the LAPD. The race is staged by a massive volunteer effort. Race officials and the almost 300 teams have their own Ham Radio Operators. The Hams monitor 2m, 440 and 220 bands. The operators are usually too busy to watch the race. SPARC, the local Ham Radio Club in the Pass has helped support the yellow jackets of Communication Support Services. CSS has sponsored up to three teams in the past. This year they were helping on the Doctor's Net on Commercial Radios with Ham Radios used as backup. Each stage had a medical team staffed by a doctor. The Doctor's Net was to be used by doctors to call Medical Base to get help from a more experienced physician. There was little action at the second stage where I was located. I think it was because the stage was flat and it was at the beginning of the race. One of my co-workers referred to us as an "insurance policy." Radio Operators helping with the race learn to operate off the grid; there is no electricity and all radios are operated using batteries or generators. The race takes place in a desolate region of the California Desert. The area is a buzz of activity for almost a day and a half with 50,000 people milling around the stages. Everything returns to normal by Monday and the desert is left to the lizards, rattlers and roadrunners. Knowledge of these procedures will become invaluable to all Ham Radio Operators in an emergency. The more things we can learn to do with less equipment the better off we will be. We meet the last Friday of the month at 10 am in the RCN Conference Room. Info., Alfred Blair, alfredblair@hotmail.com, (909) 620-7720 or cell (909) 753-8356. ~ Mike Mendoza Four Seasons Radio Club

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