dunefreak

This year I've decided to skip the buggy weighing. Most everyone who has been to a buggy roundup knows what their car weighs by now plus that takes up a bunch of time that we can use for duning. We'll still have dune trivia and the raffle though! I just wanna have more time in the dunes with everyone. I think ~2-3PM will be a good time for trivia and raffle. It'll still allow time for a sunset run and sunset hill. Let's just hope the W cooperates this year!

I always like to give our vendors a chance to chime in and let everyone know that they'll be out there and what they'll have available for duners. If you are a vendor on vendor row this week or weekend, please post up! I know one of the site sponsors, Desert Bling, is already out there. They have Thanksgiving shirts and hoodies. I believe they are available for pre-order and pickup at Dumont if you want to snatch one up. https://www.desertbling.com/dune-crew-dumont.html

We'll be doing another raffle on Saturday so if anyone has any donations, giveaways or swag they'd like to include, please get them to me when you get out there. Thanks!

Super badass car! GLWTS

Dumont isn't in Death Valley. If it was, we couldn't ride the dunes. But yeah, it's very remote. lol Just rent a motorhome. Camping at Dumont is a big part of the fun and the whole experience.

Great report and pics. Thanks for sharing!

Don't touch it until buggy roundup then! 😆 Looking forward to seeing everyone!

Thanks for sharing your weekend. It's weird how warm it still is right now. It might be hot for buggy roundup at this rate! lol

Correct. I'm pretty sure Polaris was a big part of making sure that SxS helmet law went into effect shortly after all the Rhino lawsuits. Therefore I would image the law will change when these hit the market because it would be in their best interest to do so, but who knows? As of right now, the new 2.0L RZR would no longer be classified as a ROV or SxS because it does not meet the cc requirement for the law as it's is stated by CA (link below). https://ohv.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=27288 What is an ROV? An ROV is a Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle and is designed specifically for recreational use rather than construction, farm or other utility use. An ROV is also commonly referred to as a Side-by-Side, a Recreational Utility Vehicle (RUV), or a Utility Terrain Vehicle (UTV). CVC Section 500 reads: Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle means a motor vehicle meeting all of the following criteria: (a) Designed by the manufacturer for operation primarily off of the highway. (b) Has a steering wheel for steering control. (c) Has nonstraddle seating provided by the manufacturer for the operator and all passengers. (d) (1) Has a maximum speed capability of greater than 30 miles per hour. (2) A vehicle designed by the manufacturer with a maximum speed capability of 30 miles per hour or less but is modified so that it has a maximum speed capability of greater than 30 miles per hour satisfies the criteria set forth in this subdivision. (e) Has an engine displacement equal to or less than 1,000cc (61 ci).

Damn it. I noticed a black bag out towards Talladega but didn't stop because I thought it might have been nothing. I should have stopped.

We missed ya out there this trip!

This was the first year we missed Halloween but I can definitely say we didn't miss it. lol We skipped it on purpose to get out and enjoy the dunes without the crowds and noise. We rolled in Friday night and it was really nice. I managed to get stuck in the softest spot in camp, but @lvnalolife pulled me out. Then after we got settled and unloaded, a camp pulled up nearby and here comes the mariachi music from their RZR. I thought this was happened on holiday weekends? no? They drove away but parked about 1000 ft from camp blasting it at 3AM. I drove out there to have a little talk with them and they were cool enough to turn it down...until I got back to camp and then it went right back up. So I headed back out to ask them to turn it down again. They did but then just drove another few hundred feet away and cranked it back up. Super annoying since I was much more polite then I anticipated on being. Saturday morning we woke up to the damn W. It wasn't horrible but it was a bit annoying. We got a really good dune run in. The dunes were super smooth. Very soft and some unpredictable spots though! We stopped at Talladega for a break. On the way back from our ride, we took the south end back to go look for a memorial that was placed on top of the dunes. A lady (wife of the man who passed last Halloween weekend) posted to the DDR FB group about it. I suggested we relocate it to a safer and more appropriate place, Memorial Hill. She agreed so we went looking for it. To my surprise, I drove right up to it. It was just up the dune from that steep valley behind Comp. It was already knocked down and laying in the sand. We picked it up and headed back to camp with it. I built a wood base for it since the top of Memorial Hill is nothing but solid rock. We would stack rocks on the base to keep it upright. So the whole crew headed over there to put it up. The sand has blown in to form a small dune almost higher than the cable fence. @tmerrell and me John's memorial is now is a much better place and his wife is super thankful. I stopped to visit the memorial for @sanddunesaddict which we put up years ago. Slightly weathered, but it's still looking good. Back at camp we all relaxed and waited for the W to calm down. It really didn't but we headed out to dune anyways. It wasn't bad once you got out in the dunes, but man there was some sketchy stuff out there. We drove right off a dune because there was no transition. It just dropped off and was square edged top and bottom. The car took it ok and Lou B managed to do the same behind us. We stopped over at Sunset hill and spent a good hour and a half or so over there. The weather was perfect and it was super relaxing. We stayed until it got dark and the moon came out. Back at camp was the usual...make some dinner and crack some beers around the fire. The weather was clam and thankfully there was no more loud music from our neighbors. A little later into the night, a RZR flipped over backwards on the 2nd finger dune. that's how steep the dunes were! He was ok but before they could get it uprighted, a RZR crashed or tipped on the steep face hill. They managed to get him down and everyone seemed ok. Sunday morning it was still pretty breezy. We helped a guy get his toyhauler unstuck and then EMS rolled in because a guy went off a similar dune to what I went off but he injured his lower back. Life flight came out and flew him to the hospital but he'll be ok they said. I was bummed because I hadn't been able to fly my drone all weekend. It finally calmed down though and I took it for a quick flight over camp. We pretty much just relaxed all day and hung out before heading home. It was a short trip, but a great one spent with our friends. I am happy to report the buggy performed flawlessly and ran great. We will be back out for buggy roundup next month unless I get the itch for another off weekend. I sure missed Dumont this summer.

Check with Dale at H Town Performance. He's a great fabricator. He might be able to help.

Hey Paul. I don't know the solution. I've tried for years to get people to post more on the actual forum than Facebook but nobody wants to leave that site. I've given up. I'll continue to keep the site going because people use it, but it's pretty annoying (and a bit of a kick in the balls) how everyone prefers to just use FB these days. DDR was around before Facebook and it's the reason alot of people are friends today. But to be honest, not too many people really posted trip reports even back in the day on here. It's always been pretty much just me, sand-chick, and a few others. As a solution, I would recommend starting a thread like, "show me your Halloween weekend pics or trip reports".

😆 thanks Katie. Just glad we could help. Everyone needs a Speed strap! 🤘🏻 It's a lifesaver for sure. That guy was so scared to take my advice of "dude just floor it & stay in it!" 🤣

While part of your statement is true, you have to remember this is America and one of our freedoms is being to listen to whatever music you want. You can even speak whatever language you want as well. It's not a law to speak English, however I feel if you are a citizen of this country you probably should. I'm just saying, not all of the Mexican population is like what you describe. The majority of them are respectable duners. Posts like this divide us and cause hate therefore only make the problem worse. There are bad apples in every group and color. I see alot of white teenagers driving side x sides at unsafe speeds and distances from camps. They are downright dangerous a-holes and have clearly had zero parenting. I agree the mariachi (and all) music goes a bit too late and way too loud. Many of them are pretty disrespectful in that department. I wish we could come to some sort of agreement when it comes to music out there. It's actually a BLM rule that nobody follows.

Possibly Kelly's RV

Ouch that sucks. Sorry it took so long to reply to your message. Hopefully H Town can get you fixed up.

Someone messaged us on our Instagram and found a wallet. It was turned in at the ranger's station on Thursday of Halloween weekend.