Thanksgiving 2016 Weekend Recap

Thanksgiving at Dumont is more than just a holiday weekend. It's a holiday week. Duners started rolling in as early as Sunday in preparation for the big holiday in the sandbox. The early birds were no turkeys for getting there before the crowds. The dunes were still in great shape and offered some great duning and tranquility.

As the week went by, the dunes became more and more tracked out, but they were never super busy all at once. Thanksgiving may draw a large crowd, but it is usually spread out. Duners have the the long weekend to play so there is no rush to get out and pound the dunes like you see on weekends like Halloween or President's. There is plenty of time to relax or goof off in camp.

By the time Thursday rolled around, the camp area was filling in, but was significantly less people than Halloween weekend. As seen from the dunes above, the Dune Masters and Sandpipers' camp was easy to spot. Every year they are, by far, one of the largest camps out there.

Thursday was an extremely mellow day. After all, it was Thanksgiving! Feasts were prepped and turkeys were dropped in the cookers.

The one thing about Thanksgiving that is unlike any other day at the dunes is the smell. You can literally drive through the camp area and smell all the food cooking. 

Once it was time to eat, camps sat down together in true Thanksgiving tradition. 

Those turkey comas didn't stop some duners from having fun though. 

Unfortunately, Friday morning started off with a Blackhawk medevac hovering over the dunes behind Banshee Hill. There was a bad accident with a truck crashing and landing upside down in the early morning hours. Full story here, http://www.dumontduneriders.com/news/truck-crashes-in-dunes-requiring-rescue-thanksgiving-weekend-r103/

There were a bunch of duners in the dunes on Friday making for some tracked out dunes. Some chose to avoid the rutted sand by kicking back at Comp Hill to watch the annual waterpumper hill climbs hosted by the DuneMasters and Sandpipers Club.

As mentioned earlier, there wasn't quite as much action as Halloween weekend, but there was still that Dumont holiday buzz in the air. It's a wonderful sound.

Once the sun went down, the party began. Fireworks and lights lit the camp area up. 

Saturday's great weather allowed for some more fun in the sun. 

The waterpumpers drew quite the crowd along the back stretch of sand highway for the sand drags.

As the day wound down, the weather kicked up. Someone must have mentioned that W word! Around 5PM, 50-60+ mph gusts came up out of nowhere, whipping through camp forcing duners to retreat to their trailers and RVs. Many people got caught right in the middle of it while they were out in the dunes and at vendor row when it hit. Getting back to camp was a challenge since it was a complete white out! There was almost zero visibility but everyone managed to get back safely one way or another.  

Then just as quickly as the "W" came, it subsided. It only lasted a few hours. Shortly after 9PM, flags were barely dancing in the breeze. As duners cautiously made their way back outside, they got their campfires built back up to stay warm.

Sunday morning was epic. Mother nature had smoothed out the hammered dunes.

The skies were blue, but not for long. Partially cloudy skies quickly turned into ominous clouds and the storm made a comeback.  

And just like that, the beautiful morning turned into another sand storm. That's Dumont for ya! It just goes to chow how quickly the weather can change out there.  

That's a wrap for Thanksgiving Weekend 2016. Hopefully everyone had a great weekend. Thanks to all of those who submitted the great photos, videos, and updates from your weekend.

Thanksgiving 2016 Community Album 

http://www.dumontduneriders.com/invision/gallery/category/27-thanksgiving-2016/

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