Oceano Dunes Get Together In Honor of Per Volquartz

[Robert Oliver]

something like this... I think they will drive it to the site, set it up and pick it up for you.

http://www.centralcoastrv.com/

This is the off-season, so sites and rentals should be easy.

[Robert Oliver]

I know the dunes pretty darn well... growing up right next to them and photographing them as often as I can.

This is, by far, the easiest option for getting ULF into the best section of dunes in my opinion. Hopefully I'll be there with my little sub-miniature 4x5 camera....

I sometimes park there and take a rough little trail that skirts the RV resort, with the full understanding that they could have me towed at any time they wanted since I am parking on their private property. I always go by myself, and make sure I don't disturb any of their guests. So far, I've never had a problem.

[Asher Kelman]

Just to be sure, the dates are Feb 24,25 & 26th? One thing I've been told is that the double size RV bed is really what is a single bed in any other parlance. So don't think that two 240lb guys, even if friendly can squeeze into one double RV bed.

Asher

[Robert Oliver]

On a positive note, wouldn't need as many blankets though...

Just to be sure, the dates are Feb 24,25 & 26th? One thing I've been told is that the double size RV bed is really what is a single bed in any other parlance. So don't think that two 240lb guys, even if friendly can squeeze into one double RV bed.

Asher

[Ted Stoddard]

Asher

Yes the dates are confirmed! I'm working on a meeting place give me time guys it's not easy I'm 3 hours ahead of you western boys so I'm making lots of phone calls mañana

The sand carts sound like a great idea and I may have to order one for myself!!

I'll post and get something written up asap!

[Michael Clark]

You are doing a fine job Ted. Maybe we could all pitch a couple of bucks and hire Mark as our guide.

Mike

[KevinR]

Hi all,

I'm an outsider here. I have shot 4x5 though, if that helps. Here's an IR I shot at Convict Lake (Eastern Sierra): http://freightyard.net/cheridy/ConvictLakeIR.jpg.

I'm a local near Oceano Dunes and have been lurking here a couple weeks as I'm a huge park advocate. I can help answer any questions or put you in touch with the right people who can. I want to throw out a couple things at you:

Carts: All I can say is you'll need something with awfully darn big wheels to go through the sand out there. Might be helpful in the flats, but any incline--especially a slip face--and you're going to be carrying the cart.

My next thought is all this large format stuff in a big group is going to make you a prime target for questions about a film permit. I'm guessing at least one of you sells your art commercially and I'd definitely settle that issue with park staff before making a trip.

Your dates are good. It's the weekend after President's weekend (I think?). President's is a crowded holiday, but the weekend after should be fair. Week days would be better for your purposes (less foot prints around), but you can always find virgin dunes if the wind is blowing or you hike far enough.

Pacific Dunes RV park is ideal. The Pismo Dune Preserve, which is what you walk into from the RV park, is closed to OHV use (and dogs off-leash). Oso Flaco is another excellent area, but the long boardwalk out is a bit of a haul. May I suggest you look into Pacific Adventure Tours Hummer Tours?

http://www.pacificadventuretours.com/

Perhaps you could arrange a ride to the south end of the open OHV riding area (and a tour throughout the riding area). From the south end of the park there is a gate where you can access the Oso Flaco boardwalk just about 200 yards from the beach. The boardwalk has been improved and goes all the way to the beach now. From that gate you can also follow the boardwalk east to Oso Flaco lake which is a very scenic area to take photos from the boardwalk which crosses over the center of the lake.

I personally wouldn't stay at the rental houses you linked to earlier in this thread. They are a long way from Oceano and premium priced.

Snowy Plover nesting season starts in March. The nesting areas won't be roped off yet in February. This **should** apply to Rancho Guadalupe Dunes as well. Of course, you should check with Santa Barbara County Parks on that, but the dunes there are very scenic. Since the road washed out you have to hike a long way to the beach, but a cart would work very well at this location since you're on the road most of the way and the rest is fairly flat hard pack sand.

Winds could be a problem. The windy season is typically considered March and April and winds blow hardest in the mid to late afternoon. Morning would be prime shooting time. I've completely destroyed one video camera shooting in the wind. Of course I was putting the camera right down to the ground in the saltating (blowing) sand grains! Video came out great though... have a look:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX7AZTUxwcA

Bring bags that can tightly close around your equipment if you go out in the wind. Even a loose bag will gather sand inside; tape it or rubber band it shut. Before opening anything, brush/blow/shake out sand from loose bag ends/flaps and from around the crack where cases open. Bring brushes and compressed air. You'll spend a lot of time each night cleaning and you'll take home tons of sand no matter how hard you try not to.

Off limits areas: Pretty much if you hop a fence it's at your own risk. There are several Chumash Indian middens (a fancy name for a trash heap) which are pretty neat. These are protected archaeological sites (despite that they've been rummaged through plenty in the early/mid 1900s). Most of the closed areas are State Park property, some of it is SLO Land Conservancy, some is private (Dunes Lakes), some is oil company property. Getting caught ranges from being asked to leave to a citation. Probably would jeopardize any film permit also.

I suggest you create a community Google Map and scope out the areas you want to visit and mark up the map with the tools and flag pins available in Google Maps. The Google imagery is very good and you can zoom right in for a virtual tour. There's not much of any of the Dunite sites left, but I have some 1939 and 1958 aerial imagery that shows where the cabins used to be. The last remaining cabin has been moved behind the Oceano Railroad Depot on Highway 1 in downtown Oceano.

Pet peeve: The stupid dune grass is Ammophila Arenaria (European dune grass) and it's an invasive weed planted by the hundreds of acres to stop blowing sand last century. Everyone takes photos of the stupid grass... the city of Grover Beach even ignorantly features the weed grass on the city web page (http://www.grover.org/). It's a dang weed! It's not natural. It's invasive. Same with ice plant (Carpobrotus Edulis). Don't feature weeds in your "natural" photos. I can point you to what the native plants are if you want plant images. Rant over.

The Ten Commandments site at Guadalupe was recently in the process of being excavated. I'm not sure what the status of that is. There was some funding issues and they may be holding off for now. Call the Dunes Center (http://www.dunescenter.org/) in Guadalupe and I'm certain they can answer questions and offer help.

Sounds like an awesome trip.

Kevin

[Curt]

A very general question; approximately how far is it from any parking to the dunes? In feet, yards or miles, no inches or centimeters please.

I don't want to use a cart, sherpa, dune buggy, rv drop off, horse, mule, helicopter, boat or hang glider. OK, I'm good with a mule but the others are out.

[KevinR]

A very general question; approximately how far is it from any parking to the dunes? In feet, yards or miles, no inches or centimeters please.

Well that's a bit of an ambiguous question--- depends on where in the dunes. If you're talking about the Pismo Dunes Preserve, then the RV campground is the best access. There's parking right next to the trash dumpsters in the RV campground right next to the dunes access. Of course that's private property, so if you don't park on their property you've got a couple hundred yards. But if someone is staying in the campground I'd be surprised if they don't allow visitors to park. You might want to make special arrangements if a whole crowd of cars wants to "visit" though.

If you park on Pier Avenue in Oceano it's a long walk. Half a mile or so, plus the Arroyo Grande Creek will be flowing in February and that's going to be a wade without a vehicle! But, you can pay $5 and drive your car right onto the beach and park right next to the Preserve (on the ocean side of the Preserve, as opposed to the RV campground which is on the east side of the Preserve). If your car can handle a few inches of water, then you can drive right across the creek. BUT, if it has been raining recently then the creek can become impassable.

If your destination is Guadalupe Dunes then you park right on the roadway (before the washout) and you'll basically be right in Guadalupe Dunes. It's a good 1/2-mile to 1-mile to get to the beach, but you don't need to go all the way to the beach, right? Check with Santa Barbara parks department to see what the restrictions are in hiking into the dunes. Like I said previously, February isn't plover nesting season so I believe you can pretty much go anywhere. Except I'd bet the Ten Commandments site is off limits.

If you want to hike into Oso Flaco, you park at the parking lot and walk in on the boardwalk. It's a fairly short distance to the lake, then another 1/2-mile to the beach and dunes.

[Michael Clark]

Like I was saying,if we all pitch in a couple of bucks we could hire Kelvin as our guide (sorry Mark). Ha,Ha just joking.Kevin that's great info, we will die-guest it and come up with a plan,Ted is our fearless leader but needs input from us to organize a plan. So lets get ideas going back and forth as a starting place. Mark and Kevin if you want to join use you are more than welcome and thank you for your input.
Mike