At 97, Evelyn Tallman has visited many places, but her favorite is the Oceano Dunes.
“How many times? I drove [at the dunes] for years," she said.
From a young age, Tallman says she was passionate about cars, especially dune buggies and one specific purple one built from a pile of parts. Tallman named her Betsy.
Since 1960, Tallman has been actively involved in recreational off-roading on the beaches and dunes in and around Pismo Beach.
"My family enjoyed it and after I once got out there, I started enjoying it as well. It's very pacifying to ride through the dunes," Tallman said.
During that same decade, she worked with General Motors' Moon Rover on the Oceano Dunes. She also helped Hollywood with technical knowledge of sand dunes and vehicles for movies and commercials filmed there.
Jim Suty, founder and president of Friends of Oceano Dunes, values her work.
“She was well-respected by her local community, you know, and county, as well as at the state level. Not many people can ever say a bad word about her," Suty said.
A recent phone call was a surprise to Tallman’s family.
“When my wife called, she was in tears, and… it sounded like something was wrong with my mother!“ said her son, Ronny Tallman.
The news that the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame chose Tallman to be part of their Class of 2024, alongside 11 others, brought them all to tears.
"All the people around here that know her, that's the first thing comes out of them. She earned it," Ronny Tallman said.
Known as the "Purple Lady of Pismo," Tallman is planning to wear purple at the Nov. 3 ceremony in Las Vegas.
“I hope that I can make it because I haven't been that very well, but… we're working on it," she said.
