I haven't had a chance to make it to the big sandbox yet so i will be making my first trip on the 14th of Nov. I will be staying in the Gordon's Well/Buttercup area and just wanted to know if anyone had any suggestions. Also not sure what it would cost for a weekend (fri./sat./sun.) and can you pay at the site or where? Thanks for any input, it will be greatly appreciated. :burn:

yes you can pay there.they take your money easily.which place do you think you will go.buttercup is on one side of the freeway and gordons is on the other side.

:?: Buck, we going to the dunes???????

yeah you pay $30 for the "weekend" eventhough it says a week. so yeah they are defenately taking your money quickly. a suggestion is to stay away from teh BLM. they will bust you for every little thing. thats the biggest one, they are cracking down this year and any little infraction they wil bust ya.

This will be SandNDI's first trip to. Ya John were going, finally. Thanks Yamiboy I will try and keep it cool why we are there. Dont want the first time to be a bad one. Hey c-diddy, not to sure what side, like i said never been. I guess there is some drags going on that weekend, which side is that taking place? I would like to see that but also want to do a lot of riding. So I am not to sure, any suggestions? And how hard is it to go from one side of the interstate to the other :?: Thanks again!! :mrgreen:

There are informal "drags" just about every weekend - just don't be expecting a tree or timing lights or even people actually racing head to head. The drags are more of just a relatively flat striaght stretch everyone meets at to show off at. They happen at Gordon's which is the north side. If you're camped in the "dunebuggy flats" which is really the only area to camp over there then the drags happen on top of the ridge on the east side that separates the flats from the dunes. Down towards the southern edge of the ridge where it meets the other ridge that runs parallel to the canal.

If you like tight dunes with lots of slipfaces and razorbacks with lots of jumping then Buttercup on the south side is a lot of fun. If you prefer more top gear all out in the buggy then Gordon's is a better choice since the dunes are bigger and smoother with less razorbacks.

You can cross the bridge over the highway at Gordon's to go between Gordon's and Buttercup as long as you have enough gas so you don't really have to choose one side over the other.

Camping at Buttercup is right off the pavement so it's somewhat easier to get to - Gordon's it's a dirt road and there are some soft spots in the flats to watch out for. But there's more room at Gordon's for bigger camps.

Buttercup also has pit toilets and a better chance of spotting new "immigrants" due to it's proximity to the border...just be carefull not to go too far south or the Border Patrol may have some words with you when you cross back.

:bounce: desert-rat-ical, I'm going to take my 17mm socket for my quad, are you going to remember to take your 14mm socket for the small lug nuts on yours????? :black:

Ok SandNDI (The name comes from following, not leading) I cant help but think that you oversized lug nuts are trying to compinsate for something else. HEY, dont you have a smaller stroke :?: :?:

:x I'm sorry for that, tee hee, I'm sure your yamaha will be faster after we adjust the valves. Just kidding you my brother>>>>>

Hey Jason thanks for the info, I need all the help I can get :? I am sure looking forward to this trip. Are little dunes here is not much but it lets us get the paddles on. And it has a couple of hot tubs to sit in after riding all day. One little hill, about 150 yrds. that we can run up and a bunch of little trails. Makes for a good day riding but as everywhere else just getting to crowded. Just a couple of years ago there wasnt hardly anyone out there.....but i guess you guys know how that goes. Thanks again for the info.

Anyone else going to be out there on Nov. 14th???

Bring your grin. It grows as the weekend goes on. Peace

Well its just 4 days until I make it down to the big sandbox and i sure am stoked about it. Dont know if any of you have been to the little "dune" here in Safford/Bowie but thats all I have had the chance to ride in. So you should understand why I am so excited. From everything I have read, I think I will be going to Gordons. Sounds like A good place to start.

I read in Sand Sports or somewhere that there is some sand drags going on this coming weekend. Anyone know if there is any truth to that? Hope to see some of ya out there this weekend.

There are organized drags from the ASDRA this weekend in Yuma. Here are some directions to the dragstrip that I wrote up for the GD.com drags we had there last year:

http://yumaduners.com/jth_upload/drags_directions.jpg

If it's your first time in the big dunes Gordon's is probably a safer bet - but be sure to go with a group! It's a much larger area and very easy to get lost. A good tip is to stop on the ridge between the flats and the dunes and get a feeling for the horizon before you head into the big dunes. There are several towers with blinking lights on top which are visible from almost anywhere in the south dunes and you can usually use them to find your way back. One is near the bridge over the canal at the entrance to the flats, one is by Pair-a-dice and one is a little further east. Once you learn which is which it's easy to navigate by looking for them out in the distance when you get to a tall hill.

If all else fails you can use the go in one direction trick:

North Edge: Patton Valley and closures. If you see the red stakes you're at the closures. Just follow the stakes to the west to find the sand highway.

West Edge: Sand Highway follow it south to Dune Buggy flats

East Edge: Dunes turn into desert follow edge of dunes south to highway and pickup ridge to get back to camp easily.

South Edge: Canal - don't go over the ridge too fast

Buttercup has more technical dunes (smaller bowls with more razorbacks) so if you like to jump it's a better bet. Apparently there are new border markers up so it's a lot harder to get lost at Buttercup unless you run into a sandstorm and can't see 10 feet in front of you! There are power lines that run over the camp area and you can usually spot them from anywhere in the first finger of dunes to find your way back. But since Buttercup is smaller you can always just keep going in one direction and eventually you'll find your way:

West edge - Dunes run out - then go north following the edge of the dunes to find the highway.

East edge - Canal, just follow it north to the highway and back to camp.

South Edge - Mexico, if you see farmland you went WAY too far and are deep in Mexico. Just go north until you get back. But hopefully with the new markers it's easy to spot the border.

North Edge - Highway, tough to miss!

Hey thanks a bunch Jason, like I said, I need all the help I can get. I know what you mean about getting lost though. Seems I am always showing someone the way back to camp at our little dunes. Mainly gotta go from memory though or look at the stars. Its out in the middle of nowhere and nothing around to navigate by. So the towers with the flashing lights will be a nice change. Again thanks for all the info, I might even print a copy of those directions and stick'em in my pocket, couldnt hurt!!!!!

Well me and John finally made it to the big dunes. We actually went up to Gecko, and camped there. The next trip will be down in Gordon's Well area. Now let me tell ya, its everything i have heard and then some. I was just totally blown away at how big the bowls are, unreal!!! John is still working on his rail, and mine wouldnt be much in the big dunes and I dont have paddles yet so we took the quads. But it was still a lot of fun, I did have a permenant grin the hole time we rode. And those high dollar buggies at the drags in the evening were just unbelievable. It seem like the rotary's were sure fast but nothing like a good ole American V-8. I dont know how anyone can go and not get bit by the bug. I am not sure about the big weekends but there sure seem to be a lot of good people out there on this one.

I just wanted to thank all of you for all the info you have given me over the last few months, it came in handy. This was my first trip, but not my last. There should be plenty more to come.