When you first come upon the checkpoint at Pier Avenue, you notice something interesting: the first is the intense wind blowing constantly, and the second is the sand that it carries, sweeping all over the streets and sidewalks as you draw ever closer.

Gusty winds made setting up camp a bit of a hassle, but we all made it happen.

Those same two elements – sand and wind – are what gave California one of the coolest off-road areas around the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area, also known as “Pismo” or “Pismo Dunes” in years past (the names are still tossed around today). The area stretches across five miles of coastline, with a total area of about 6.25 square miles available for donuts, prerunning, hucking, and just plain fun.

A newbie to the dunes, I had the opportunity to go check out what this place was all about as part of the Toyota Dune Run. My 4Runner was sadly not up for the trip due to some gremlins, so I called upon my friend Darrell to sponsor my trip up there. He agreed and we set off on Friday morning.

The Toyota Dune Run was organized by several people who knew each other through both real-world and online connections. On the forefront were Trevor and Tim, who took charge and made as many calls, texts, emails, and Facebook posts as possible to gather together fans of both off-roading and the Toyota brand. The idea generated from the two of them knowing many people through online forums and social media networks, and finally asking the question: “Why don’t we all meet and wheel together?”

Fast forward to the weekend, and there were anywhere between six to a dozen vehicles that passed through the camp at one point or another. We all came from different walks of life – student, armed forces, construction – but we all came prepared and pumped for the days ahead. Tents were set up, grilles were started, foldout chairs were deployed, and beer was never too far away as the moon rose over the eastern dunes.

When night fell, the fire was lit, the lights came on, and the music and good times carried on well past midnight.

Speaking of dunes, as a first-timer to the area, I could not have guessed there would be so much out there. I’d always pictured Pismo as a “Glamis Lite,” but even in those six square miles, there were so many bowls, whoops, and hills to cover, it would have taken more than a couple of days to check out all that there was to see, as sparse and lifeless as it might have seemed. I was probably never more than a mile away from another living soul, but there were times when it felt like the opposite.

Getting someone unburied from the sand was a team effort.

I suppose sand has a way of doing that to a person. Deep, soft, and somewhat fine, it had a way of getting everywhere and being an obstacle unto itself. It could bury trailers, stall UTVs, and practically eat my shoes as I walked around. On more than one occasion, it proved the bane of one of our party’s existence as his 2WD Tacoma got stuck again… and again… and again.

The wisps of wind did a funny thing too, carrying low-level currents of the stuff at all times and creating a haze that blurred our depth perception. This was bad for off-roading, as it was quite nerve-wracking to drive around and wonder just how steep the slope was on the other side of a dune; it could only be done if I hopped out and looked for myself.

Some could only make it for a day, others could only make it for a few hours, but all of us had a great time. I’m looking forward to the next time I get to head out there, but I’d better make sure I have a 4×4 before I do so.

Toyota was the bond, but Pismo was where we were brought together.