Oct 3-5th is the first weekend in October and the weather is usually pretty cooperative with high temperatures in the low to mid 80's during the day. The evenings around that time of year are always great with some cool "t-shirt weather" temperatures. On that Saturday of kickoff weekend, a bunch of DDR members from the forum will be meeting up out at the south pole at 2:00 PM for the traditional "meet-n-greet". It gives everyone from the board to meet up, chat, put a face to a name, plan a ride, etc. Even if you aren't a member of the forum, come on out and say hi! There's always a good sized crowd that shows up. For more information on kickoff weekend, click here for trip reports from last year's kickoff weekend.

Call them crazy, call them what you want, but these are some true sandaholics who know how to have a good time. An estimated 100+ duners (mostly DDR members) showed up at Dumont Dunes Saturday, Aug 9th. It's a tradition that has been growing in popularity since 2006, the summertime Dumont night drags and night ride. Normally a trip to Dumont in the middle of summertime is never even a thought for some people. However, going out in large groups makes it safer and brings duners together for some good times in the sand.

It was well over 100 degrees just before the sun went down. There was a good breeze which resembled the feeling of a hair dryer in your face, but as the sun dipped below the mountain line the temperatures started dropping and duners began hitting the sand. Some conquered the ever-so-hard to read summertime dunes and razorbacks while others headed straight to the hill. Banshee Hill, the main attraction spot for summer nighttime drag racing, was lit up with large lights to help everyone see. Many riders with bikes ranging from 250ex's to 450's to stretched-out drag Banshee's showed up to run each other up the hill throughout the night. Even a few sandrails and dirtbikes took advantage of some drag racing action. It was another memorable time at Dumont thanks to the great members of this site and all the others who showed up. There's more pictures and member trip report posts on the forum. Check it out. Click here

The next Dumont Dunes BLM/ TRT (Technical Review Team)/ public meeting has been scheduled for SATURDAY, September 6th, 2008 at 10 AM. These meetings are usually on a Tuesday. This meeting has been scheduled for a Saturday in hopes that the public can more easily attend. Everyone's positive thoughts and concerns regarding Dumont are always taken into consideration. Come out and show your support and have a voice for Dumont Dunes.

Get directions to the Barstow BLM Field Office

As many of you know, the fringe toed lizard has been under very close watch by environmental groups and agencies. This lizard lives at Dumont Dunes, mostly in the surrounding areas where vegetation and brush are present. It is extremely important that we, as responsible duners, work together on this issue with a very proactive approach to help protect the lizard and keep Dumont Dunes open for us OHV riders. Rather than U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service listing the lizard as endangered (which could possibly result in a permanent closure of Dumont Dunes), the agencies are discussing the possibility of writing and agreeing to a conservation plan for the lizard. This conservation plan would protect the lizard from OHVs while keeping the dunes open to duners of Dumont. Working with the BLM and FWS will be a positive step in a direction that will support the conservation plan.

CLICK HERE for more information on how you can help!