Dude you're lucky to be breathing! Moses lake has lots of room to camp, on sand. St. Anthony's is a very large dune area in Rexburg Id. From Spokane that means I-90 to Butte MT then turn right on I-15 down into Idaho, about an 8 hour trip. Most of the pictures on my page are from there.

 

Raptor without question.

 

What do you guys think of the YFZ? I am a pretty big Yam fan so I would like to get something from them. What are the advantages/disadvantages between the YFM and the YFZ?

 

The YZF is really quick. I have not ridden one, so that's about all I know. Word on the street is they are not especially comfortable for long rides.

If dunes are your thing, you REALLY need to at least test-ride a DS before you make your decision. You can easily get a good used one for under $4000. You described the Raptor as "top heavy," so you already know it's not as ideal as so many riders think it is. We're not dealing with East Coast mud trails here. A Raptor needs a lot of $$ invested to be better than a DS in the dunes.

My hometown is Moses Lake. The dunes there are OK for the occasional ride, but you can cover the whole area in a good day. Part of the year they open up the west side, and there are some pretty fun trails to explore. I'd recommend NOT to go on a big weekend. The crowds and dust are just too much. I think half the riders in the state come to ML for Memorial Day. The best ride I've ever had out there was July 7 this summer. There was a big wind storm the night before that smoothed over all the rough sand from the holiday riders, and my cousin and I were the only ones out there. We left the first mark on every hill. If you catch a day like that, ML is a great place to ride.
Oh yeah, and the DS is the best thing to ride there. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]