We’re towing a broken-down, smog-belching brickbat to the Oceano Dunes and parking it right next to that fancy-schmancy, $75,000, rarely used sand rail dune buggy that was supposed to be such an ...

Over the mile-long hood of a 1969 Dodge Polara, I watched various lifted 4x4 trucks spit sand as they paid their entrance fee at the ranger booth and powered onto the beach. "Am I going to get stuck?" ...