There are no pictures for this run, at least none that will be posted.

Mistake #1:
Pete was set to take his Land Cruiser with the smaller kids and I was taking the quads for the bigger ones.  We agreed to meet at the Cottonwood entrance to the Florence Junction play area so I could get a jump on unloading while Pete went to the church to meet up with any members going with us for the run.  Sadly, no one showed up, so Pete headed out to meet up with us.  We decided to change and make it an exploration run, going into an area we had seen but never tried.  Unfortunately, more bad luck was lurking as the quads were unloaded: 2 of the 5 had dead batteries.  I told my wife it was not going well and maybe we should just pack it in for the day, later that would come back to haunt me.....
 
After a trip to Apache Junction for batteries and time for the install, we were ready to get moving and the kids were excited to ride.  We donned our protective gear and hit the trail.  Up Cottonwood, just past the camp area, there is a turn to the right. As I said, we have noticed it many times but never ventured in that way. Google Earth reveals a lot of trails so we went in to explore.  The trail wound back through some beautiful areas, it was fun on the quads with a couple sticky spots for the Cruiser but overall not bad.  The trail ended abruptly at a dirt road we had never seen.  We turned left and went in search of more trails and that was just what we found!  We stopped at a great place for a break that had some really fun trails for the quads to play on but after a short time we had to leave as one of the kids was due back early.
 
Mistake #2:

Once again back out on the dirt road and heading for the trail to take us to the trailer, Pete stepped out a bit and got a lead.  I decided to catch up and talk to him so I throttled the quad up to 30-35 and started after him.  I entered a long sweeping curve and let the quad drift a bit in the silt and sand, holding a good normal line but things went terribly wrong and I ended up going sideways coming up to the hard packed center, to fast to bail and way to fast to correct!  The quad hit the hard pack and bucked sideways, pitching me clear......I don't remember much but, flying through the air.  I knew it was going to hurt!  I landed on my left hip and elbow, rolled to my back and slid to a stop somewhere toward the edge of the road.  About that time the quad caught up with me as it was rolling backwards and parked a tire on my chest.......its amazing how heavy that quad really is and I must say it is bad enough to get thrown off your quad without running over yourself in the process!!!! 
 
The rest is pretty fuzzy. I was dazed and there were a bunch of rocks in my back so I did not want to lay on them any longer but everyone kept saying to lay down.  My chest, arm and hip were really hurting bad and the rocks were irritating.... I finally got to sit up, get the helmet off and get a drink....o yea, forgot to spit out the dirt first so the initial drink was more mud!! Long story short, they cleaned and dressed what they could and then loaded me into the Cruiser for the trip back to the trailer.  That last section of trail was a lot shorter going in than it was trying to go out!
 
Mistake #3:

Once back at the trailer, Pete and the rest stayed behind to load the quads and he gave Barb the keys to the Cruiser to take me to the hospital.  On the way, I convinced her it was not necessary to go to the ER, the Urgent care would be fine.  I had a fair bit of road rash (those are the only pictures for the day) and I was sure I broke a rib or three but also sure that was the extent.  After the Urgent care, an ambulance ride to the ER, multiple X-Rays, CT scans and 12 hours.......It was decided that I did in fact have a fair bit of road rash and 1 broken rib, but added to that was a non-displaced fracture of my left hip socket.  Surgery was discussed a bit but the surgeon decided to let it heal on its own first and stressed that I would have to be careful or I would end up in surgery and it was not a good one!  I was convinced.  It was a good choice too, as it healed fine and after 2 months I was off the crutches and doing much better.
 
Thank you to everyone that was out there and helping, but a special one to Barb and Pete for all they did then and after that to help.  There was also a couple in a Jeep that stopped and helped in the first aid, I don't know who they were but I appreciate their willingness to help.  To all the group, I need to say that I am sorry for the scare but especially to my son Ben who was right behind me and watched it all happen. I can not begin to imagine what it feels like to think you have just watched your Dad die in a stupid accident.
 
Now I must say a few points for safety gear.  If you ride a quad or a motorcycle, please remember to wear the right safety equipment.  My head skipped hard off the hard pack and rocks. If I had not had my helmet on, well, only the Lord knows how it would have ended. As it was I limped away, hurt but alive to ride again!
 
God Bless
Kreation Krawlers

 

Addendum from the wife:

He did NOT convince me to take him to urgent care, I convinced HIM! (Actually he didn't have a choice.) He wanted me to take him home where he could just patch himself up (assumedly with duct tape as usual) and take some drugs for pain. It was I who, fortunately, had control of the vehicle or he would have never even gone to see the doc until about 2 hours into the ordeal when I would have had to call an ambulance.

 

What he failed to tell you was the reason he took an ambulance ride from the urgent care to the emergency room. While shock is inevitable in situations like this, be aware that sometimes it might not set in until much later.  About 2 hours after the accident, as we were discussing with the doctor about getting him over to the emergency room to get a CT of his hip, his blood pressure plummeted to 70/46 and he passed out.  This cemented his ride in the ambulance vs. me taking him over there in the car. Praise God this happened in the urgent care and not out on the trail. Remember, any time shock is involved, do your level best to keep the injured party awake and warm.

 

Now, we have this extra pair of crutches.......