1,500 rally in Moses Lake Sand Dunes for annual Bounty Hole

MOSES LAKE — Around 1,500 people from across the region rallied to the Moses Lake Sand Dunes on Saturday for the local off-road vehicle group’s largest event of the year, according to a crowd estimate by an on-site sheriff’s deputy.

Though the crowd was an average size for the annual Bounty Hole, an annual event hosted by the local Sand Scorpions ORV Group, far fewer competitors signed up this year than in years past, said Rich Archer, director for the group and event organizer. This was partly due to uncertainty on the part of organizers whether to hold the event in the first place, only making the decision two weeks prior, Archer told the crowd Saturday.

People at the event appeared to have violated a number of state mandates, including those under Gov. Jay Inslee’s Safe Start guidelines for counties to reopen their economies after coronavirus-induced closures, according to local and state health officials. Few attendees wore masks or maintained social distancing, despite dozens of signs throughout the site posted by organizers.

A dozen competitors in heavily modified vehicles turned out to skip or crawl their way through waist-deep mud pits, some blowing out their engines, plowing over markers, or racing straight off the course in the process, all to the roar of over a thousand spectators. While most drivers came from across Washington, a few came from outside of the state, including the day’s first-place winner, who traveled to Moses Lake from Oregon.

Some tore through the course at high speed, like Jeremy Bales, who blasted his way to second place in “Lil Mo Nasty,” his purple and lime-green 2006 Chevrolet Colorado, in just eight seconds. Others took two or three times as long to go half the distance, before sinking several feet into mud pits that filled with water as they were dragged out by a combine.

By the end of the Bounty Hole, it was apparent that Chevrolet was a big winner, as the top three vehicles were Chevrolets.

Brian Hesse, who drove “Dirty Dawg II,” a 2017 Chevrolet Colorado, managed to snag third place despite driving off the course, having skipped through most of the course in only 11.74 seconds.

The day’s champion, who walked away with $5,000 in prize money, was Jeremy Bond and “Nemesis,” another 2017 Chevrolet Colorado and a returning favorite of the Bounty Hole. Bond skipped over the course at high speed, getting a full truck-length ahead of Bales in 13.07 seconds. The goal was distance, and time was secondary.

After the tow line to Bond’s truck came undone, organizers and volunteers dove into the mud pits to tie the line back on and rescue the award-winning truck.

After the Bounty Hole was finished, course markers were removed and drivers — those whose vehicles still worked after the beating they had received — circled back to the starting line to compete for the “Freestyle Badass” award. By the end of the night, Zane Buchanan, driving a ’79 Ford Crew Cab, had earned that title and $1,000 in prize money.

It was a raucous and joyous moment for organizers and spectators, who themselves had to drive out in hundreds of side-by-sides, Raptors, Jeeps and trucks to a tucked-away site inaccessible to most road-legal vehicles.

But it did appear to contravene state mandates. State and local health authorities said Sunday that Grant County Sheriff’s Office, which had deputies present, who were also not wearing masks or social distancing, was responsible for enforcing state health mandates.

Sand Scorpions member and organizer Brandon Douglass said Sunday that the group had tried to promote social distancing and asked people not to attend the event if they might be sick, and that they had not heard any agencies express concerns.

Sheriff Tom Jones was not immediately available for comment.