Learn vehicle maintenance and desert driving basics at workshop this Saturday in Joshua Tree (4/25)
If you’ve ever been stuck in the sand, you know that our landscape can pose unique challenges to driving a vehicle. This weekend, the Firehouse is hosting an automotive workshop where participants will learn basic skills about car maintenance and driving in the desert. Here is reporter Adeline J. Wells with more on the event.
On Saturday (April 25), the Basic Auto Care Workshop will return to the Firehouse in Joshua Tree. The instructive community program was created ten years ago by hi-desert resident Sarah Lyon, and seeks to be an accessible way for drivers to learn basic auto care skills.
Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, Lyon is an artist who got her start in mechanics through motorcycles and taught herself basic maintenance. She then embarked on a cross-country motorcycle trip while working as a freelance photographer and was inspired by the many mechanics she met along the way.
“I came up with a project for myself called the Female Mechanics Calendar, and I rode the motorcycle around the country, found women mechanics working in their shops, and photographed them for this full color calendar. I did that for three years. Meeting all of those women, all types of mechanics, I got a little bit more confidence that I could maybe work on my own cars as well.”
Lyon attended community college to get her ASE certification as a mechanic and worked in an auto shop before moving to Joshua Tree in 2016. She came up with the idea for an auto clinic after becoming involved with the Feminist Center for Creative Work in Los Angeles, which hosts a wide range of community programs.
“I had taught a motorcycle mechanic clinic back in Louisville, and I thought, well, what’s a more practical thing that more people would be able to take advantage of and learn from?”
Since then, Lyon has been teaching the Basic Auto Care Workshop throughout the Hi-Desert, Los Angeles, and beyond. The course encompasses discussion-based class instruction about car systems as well as hands-on practice. Skills include learning how to check and maintain fluids, change a tire, and jumpstart a battery. Lyon also tailors the clinic to auto issues specific to the landscape, teaching participants how to get unstuck from unruly desert sands.
“It’s important to have a little bit of knowledge of how to do things on your own if you’re away from cell service. When I first came out here, I was driving out in Wonder Valley, and I got my two-wheel drive truck stuck in the sand on the side of the road. You see that all the time, people who just come out here and don’t realize how soft the sand is and how deeply buried you can get very quickly if you are panicking.”
In addition to the workshop, Lyon created an auto care manual to summarize the skills taught, using both photographs from past workshops and her own illustrations of the processes. Maintenance Required: Basic Auto Care Workbook and Resource Guide will be for sale at the workshop.
“I like for participants to be able to locate their manual, which is often in their glove compartment. If they don’t have one, to find something online where they can have that information. They should come dressed, able to get down on the ground, so they can look under the car. Make sure you can access those tools and the spare tire, and that your trunk is not too full. Just come prepared to get a little dirty!”
Sarah Lyon’s Basic Auto Care Workshop will be held on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Firehouse, located at 65430 Winters Road in Joshua Tree.
A $15 to $20 donation is suggested.
