dunefreak

Can you believe the holidays are almost here? That means Thanksgiving is right around the corner! It is a week-long dune trip for some groups when friends and families gather at the dunes to prepare their annual feasts. This is also the weekend where you can catch the waterpumpers! What is a waterpumper? A waterpumper is a water-cooled, V8 powered buggy, typically front engine design and with massive or multiple paddle tires. Back in the 60's and 70's, the only buggies you would see at the dunes were cars that were powered by air-cooled engines, typically Volkswagens and Corvairs. When the Dune Masters formed in 1968, they were putting together V8 powered buggies originally built from cut-down car frames. Back then, water-cooled engines were new to the scene. They soon took on the name, "waterpumpers". The Dunemasters and Sandpipers Group will be meeting there for their 50th year of Thanksgiving at Dumont Dunes! Most of their group will have families with 3 and 4 generations. photo courtesy of Dunemasters & Sandpipers Catch the waterpumpers in action as they compete in their annual hill climbs and drag races. Schedule Friday 10 AM at Comp Hill: Hill Climbs Saturday 10 AM: Drag Races along the backstretch towards North Pole. The late Milt Clements completing at the Dune Masters’ 1970 Thanksgiving Hill Climbs at Dumont Dunes. Photo courtesy of Bill LeFever

The BLM is waiving the entrance fee on Sunday, November 11th in observance of Veterans Day. Please note that this is only for Sunday. Whether you plan on hitting the dunes or not, be sure to display your American flag proudly and thank a veteran for his or her service.

The dust has finally settled and everyone has made it home safely from another great weekend at Dumont Dunes. Over 12,000 excited duners headed out to be part of the annual Halloween tradition. Some came out for the thrill of running the dunes while others were just there to party in the stimulating atmosphere of Dumont. If you've been going out to Dumont for a while, you are used to hearing about accidents, arrests, and medical calls when these many people get together on a big holiday weekend. But this year was different. Although law enforcement issued 68 citations, NO arrests were made and there were NO major medical calls. Even during peak duning hours when the dunes had a ton of traffic, our group noticed drivers and riders were very alert, using hand signals (the ones with more than one finger 😁), yielding to others, and just plain playing it safe to avoid any close calls or collisions. photo by Christine Potter These bird's eye views show how the camp area was loaded with circles of campers. Even during the day when temperatures were in the 90's, Comp Hill was full of people! Vendor Row was slightly smaller this year, but shaved ice and ice cream vendors stayed busy serving up stuff to keep everyone cool. When it came time to trick-or-treat, the camp decorations went up and everyone got into their costumes. It seems many groups try to one-up each other (or themselves) each year which is great! Everyone really gets into the Halloween spirit out there, especially the Romo Motorsports camp. They all dressed up in wacky inflatable costumes. Some hit up camps the old fashion Dumont way and a large crowd gathered at the 2nd Annual Trunk or Treat put on by Friends of Dumont Dunes and the BLM. It was much more organized this year and the organizers and LEOs did a great job of keeping it safe. Over 5000 people showed up. photo by Romo Motorsports photo by Brooke Ardenski photo by Heather N Siders The costume party continued at Comp Hill at night especially when a dance stage, complete with lights and music, was trailered over. It drew quite a crowd but eventually came to a halt when law enforcement shut it down. photo by Mike Colosimo Follow the Halloween Trip Reports and Discussion here... Halloween Video by @metalalien