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[pic] Gorgeous Sand dunes of Pismo Beach - Tatooine of California?

halbergman.com — Beautiful picture, the geek in me reminds me of Star Wars..

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  • hydroplane, on 10/11/2007, -0/+27The Jundland Wastes are not be traveled lightly...
    • mvanhorn, on 10/11/2007, -2/+6haha I had to google that to know what you were talking about.. and it took me too "wookiepedia" haha http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Jundland_Wastes
    • RamezaniK, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2It's just the lighting effects that give it a "Tatooine" vibe. Pismo, or the whole California Central Coast area doesn't really look very much like that.
      • esotericguy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1i was just thinking that. i go there every year and have never seen it lool like that.
    • vaxguru, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Lol, that line was the first thing that came to my mind after looking at the picture and when I opened the comments page, lo and behold, you said it =P.
  • effektz, on 10/11/2007, -3/+3Mirror at http://bestpicever.com/pic-253-Pismo-Beach-sand-dunes
    • pyrokinetic, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Actually, while I appreciate the idea behind the mirror, I'm confident that my server can handle the traffic surge. I'm also contemplating putting a small watermark on the high-rez version of the image as your website doesn't give me attribution, notice of copyright, or at the least a linkback to my website. Would you mind giving me credit on your site or removing the image?
  • MikeonTV, on 10/11/2007, -3/+6http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3e/Tuskenraider.jpg
  • SmackMyMac, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8Are those Krayt Dragon bones?

    Utinni!
  • echolalia, on 10/11/2007, -4/+1As if there is a Tatooine in every state?
  • secretwhistle, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1The downside being the internal bleeding thanks to the inner geek and his lightsaber solo...
  • muse09, on 10/11/2007, -0/+15Whoa, I was actually in Pismo Beach 2 weeks ago (I live in Missouri) and it is one of the most beautiful beaches I've been too.. there is a very low population there too.. here are some pictures I took from the balcony of my hotel (Best Western).. and at the beach.

    http://i18.tinypic.com/4vg0f3a.jpg - hotel view
    http://i18.tinypic.com/4maq3h0.jpg - hotel view
    http://i14.tinypic.com/4ya0di9.jpg - beach sunset
    http://i19.tinypic.com/4t8fqmh.jpg - private beach over the cliff from the hotel
    http://i11.tinypic.com/4m7x7xk.jpg - beach at night
    • tatltat, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I think I see Johnny Depp pole vaulting that gap in the second pic.
      • sheldonwilson, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1This is right where the dunes part of Pirates of the Carribean was shot. (Davey Jones' Locker)
    • dub97603, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Cool, I stayed at the Shorecliff back in February.
    • ez12a, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1i went there about a year or two ago. I guess i went at a bad time cause it was cloudy pretty much every day with choppy, dirty brown colored water that contained more than a few dead jelly fish. It was chilly and I needed to wear a wetsuit while i was boarding. But you are right when there aren't many people that go to the beaches.
      • Jeffmr1, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Haha, i live around pismo...sorry not a bad time, sounds like a normal time.
    • Figgueroa, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0brings back memories....I'm going in 2 weeks!!
    • chrisbarr, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Wow, looks like its out of the Myst games
  • handheldchimp, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2If anyone comes up to you asking you anything suspicious...just wave you hand in front of them and tell them the opposite

    *Gets kicked in jail*
    • jazbek, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1thanks for the tip, handheldchimp! :D
  • microchp, on 10/11/2007, -1/+21...spent many years driving in the dunes there. I got several hundred people un-stuck that didn't know how to drive in the dunes. It was fun to follow the rangers around the perimiter and see what crazy stuff they would do to the ranger trucks. Fourth of July was the best time to be there.... lots of ineteresting people would come out and get drunk out of their minds.

    As a little side note, but somewhat related to this... There were full scale pyramids and temples built just south of there, not far from Pismo Dunes, just north of Vandenberg AFB. They stayed there quite a while but almost nobody knew about them. You could only see them from an airplane (via Oceano airport was easiest). Also, almost directly southeast of that location are a couple massive oil refineries, mostly hidden by eucalyptus trees.

    There was a tow truck driver that went by the CB handle of Digger that could tell some crazy stories about some of the things he had seen in the many years of getting tourists unstuck.

    I have many great memories from that place too. We had many bonfires on the beach and almost always had a ranger telling us about how that was the biggest fire he had seen... and to put it out, sometimes.

    The yearly pass pays for itself and is worth it if you spend any time on the central coast. Avila Beach is also a good place to visit.
  • sockpuppets, on 10/11/2007, -1/+8It's all well and good until you turn your back and a sandworm swallows your whole family. And don't even get me started about the time my TomTom misrouted me into a Sarlacc pit.
  • Cathartik, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1They travel in packs to hide their numbers.
  • CDHarrisUSF, on 10/11/2007, -2/+10Show me two suns... then I'll call it Tatooine.

    Otherwise, it's just sand.
  • TheWizardsBaker, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1WOO-TEE-DEE!!
  • HairyReasoner, on 10/11/2007, -0/+15Is this Pismo beach?

    Must have took a wrong turn at Albuquerque.

    • eaasness, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3"Here we are Pismo Beach and all the clams we can eat"
  • whodaimen, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1I live ten minutes from there, haha.
  • fergatronanator, on 10/11/2007, -2/+0Wow...that's cool
  • krebcycle, on 10/11/2007, -6/+3break me a ***** give
  • CrasyMike, on 10/11/2007, -5/+2OMG, my backyard. The Yoda's hut of Earth!
    WHOA! A golf ball! The Death Star of Earth!
    C'mon, just because it has lots of sand doesn't mean it's the Tatooine of Earth.
  • leo78, on 10/11/2007, -3/+3Somebody call Bugs Bunny.
    We finally found Pismo Beach!!!!
    HA HA HA
  • FrostRaven, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I live about a 3 hour drive away from Pismo, been there many times and I love it. It really is one of the prettiest coastal areas of California - I prefer it to almost any southern cali hot spot.
  • M1YGRNDN, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Nice dunes. I go there at least 3 times in the summer. Super tight spots to just kick back relax and enjoy most of what cali has to offer.
  • Daevlong, on 10/11/2007, -0/+9The spice must flow.
    • cephelotron, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3It is by will alone that I set my mind in motion. It is by the juice of Sapho that the thoughts acquire speed, the lips acquire stains, the stains become a warning. It is by will alone that I set my mind in motion.
    • brianzero, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Planet Arrakis, Source of the Spice.
  • chrisOrbit, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2I live about 20 min away from Pismo beach. I have to say that is a great shot of the dunes. I am sure it took an exceptional amount of work and timing to get it. Great pic, wish my shots looked that great.
  • punisher18, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3youre ***** me *sigh* damn central coast, just too damn beautiful....glad i live there :D.


    ( side note im moving to Washington because its much much cheaper to live there. something like 350 a month for an apartment compared to 890 where i am now on the central coast)
    • chrisOrbit, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Word $900k for a ***** house in SLO, recockulous. I'm doin the opposite though. Movin to Santa Monica for work. $2k for a 1br, ugg.
    • ub3rgeek, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5Paso ftw?

      naw who am i kidding paso sucks :(
    • karmakanic, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Well, you're either going to have to learn to like gray skies and light rain (west of the Cascades), or ultra-dry & cold high desert (east of the Cascades). If you ask me, the sunny skies alone are worth the extra $540 per month. Oh, and then there's Washington women. Did you know that all of the plain (or just plain ugly) women from California move to Washington and Oregon. It keeps California's selective breeding program going. (They breed Beautiful People.)

      (I have lived all three places. I know you think I'm joking, but I am not.)
    • sheldonwilson, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1805! I've lived on the Central Coast all my 28 years. I live in Santa Maria. Sounds like we should all have a Diggnation get-together...
  • anagai, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3yes that is pismo beach dunes, but this pic is heavily filtered. Colors are nothing like that in reality.
  • wisie, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Beautiful photo
  • djblaze805, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I only live about 20-25 minutes from there and it's been years since I've been to the dunes.
  • rushad, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3beautiful photo dont spoil it by sayin it reminds u of star wars
  • freonchill, on 10/11/2007, -0/+10looks more like DUNE than Tatooine
  • CurlyHayami, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4If I can't make it to Tunisia someday-this'll do.

    I wanna walk around and say, "My joints are nearly frozen!" so bad!
  • stklaw, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1That's a beach?
  • daybreak, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Seems to me that Grover Beach is the one with sand dunes (aka Bakersfield Beach) x_X
    • bwebb, on 10/11/2007, -1/+0I was just about to say that same thing. I'm a former resident of Bakersfield myself (for anyone reading...it is 113 degrees in Bakersfield during the summer typically....bad...do not go) and I can't count the number of people I've run into on the dunes over the years that I had just seen on the previous Friday in Bakersfield.

      I guess it helps that Pismo/Grover is about the closest entertainment (1.25-2 hrs depending on speed) that is also less "Satan's-Balls-Style" warm.

      While I highly recommend visiting the dunes to anyone, if you're going to drive on the dunes themselves a car is not an option and I would recommend that you have someone who has been on dunes before. You can come across some extremely unexpected terrain that seconds prior looked smooth as glass. Trust me, I've seen some ***** up vehicles in every sort of position imaginable in those dunes.
  • sathias, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Next stop, Pismo Beach... and all the clams that I can eat.
    • bwebb, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Apparently Splash Cafe' in Pismo has the most ridiculously awesome clam chowder ever according to most accounts (I guess there is one in San Luis Obispo as well but I've heard not as good).

      I usually get a corn dog when I'm there due to the fact that my throat tends to swell completely shut within 15 minutes of ingesting any type of saltwater/freshwater/shell fish. WOO! Go me! :)
  • Mc_Carter, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Well I live in grover beach right next to pismo beach and those dunes are in oceano and yes it is tatooine because there is nothing to do here but be bothered by tourist in lifted trucks and get harassed by local cops that have nothing better to do.
    • daybreak, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3I was driving in Grover once and literally almost got into a car wreck because every other vehicle but mine was a monster truck and I couldn't see around any of them! T_T
    • bwebb, on 10/11/2007, -1/+0You could move if you don't like the tourists. I seem to remember my parents talking about the dunes when they were young circa 1960-1970 so unless you live in a cave or are above the age of 75 you most likely knew it was a tourist locale when you moved there.

      It just so happens that the most reliable methods of transportation on the dunes are an ATV, Dirt bike, or a truck...you know...being that it is all sandy and uneven-like.

      Also, I don't remember many trucks on Tatooine in Star Wars so I don't really get your reasoning behind the correlation between Tatooine and trucks...I could be mistaken though. Had you stuck with the police harassment portion I could have gone with you (those stormtroopers sure were dicks).

      Otherwise, dugg down for being cantankerous.
      • Mc_Carter, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Well I didn't move here I was born here and I wouldn't mind the tourist if they weren't such douche bags. All they do is come over here and drive up the cost of housing making it almost impossible for people who have lived here their whole lives to buy a house so if the prospect of me having to leave this wonder full are because of rude and obnoxious people who drive around with confederate flags in the back of their trucks makes me a bad person so be it.
  • slicedoranges, on 10/11/2007, -4/+2Digg up if you go quadding or dirt biking there.
    • slicedoranges, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Uh, and I guess digg down if you haven't.
  • pyrokinetic, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Wow... I guess I really need to update my site now.

    (plug alert!)
    By the way, prints are available of this or any other photo on my site. Email me if you're interested. hal(at)halbergman(dot)com
  • meteors, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2By the way, "Tatooine" is the name of a real town in Tunisia, where Star Wars was filmed.




    -j
  • SaiaRiddle, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I used to slide down the smaller ones on big slabs of cardboard. Oh it was everything you'd imagine it to be. Pure. Awesomeness.
  • polock, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0yes yes yes
  • polock, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0oh twice
  • Athelias, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3I live there. What they aren't showing you is all the assholes from Bakersfield trashing the place.
    • bwebb, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Actually, I've met more assholes from places other than Bakersfield trashing the place. Not to say that assholes from Bakersfield don't trash it, because that definitely happens, but the most trashy ***** I've met on those dunes come from Cal Poly and Cuesta in SLO.
      • SLYK, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1exactly.

        i'm sure if the photographer turned around, you would see all these assholes. he's standing at the southern protected fence line, looking south. there's no one over there that doesn't want a ticket.
  • BlackCow, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1If you ever get a chance to visit pismo beach rent ATVs and take em out on the dunes. One of my favorite memories of visiting California.
  • chrisinsocalif, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Just gotta be careful of the sand people.
  • WoollyMittens, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6No drop of rain falls on Arrakis.
  • bperin, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2NO not Tatooine, California. Stop the stupid star wars analogies and appreciate the world that actually exists around you.
  • TonyTheTerrible, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3is it star wars or star trek that has the warp 10 ship thing?
  • empirefalling, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2That is photo is of the real Earth. Star Wars, Dune and the other stories mentioned here are not real and are ridiculous. This will be the picture all over the Earth if the United States does sign the Kyoto Protocol and implement strict rules upon it's elite using and abusing the resources and environment that belong to all humans. Severe restrictions on the use of Americas industries, automobiles, water uses, farming, frivolous constructions and so on which produce billions of tons of unwanted carbon into the atmosphere could prevent this picture from depicting say....Florida within the next 50 years.
  • sksnashville, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Bergman's portfolio is truly amazing and worth a full flick-through
  • kcreasey, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Nahh! Looks more like the dune sea on Arrakis, thought I saw a sand work in the distance!
  • UrbanVoyeur, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1More like the Erg of Arrakis.
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