Little Leo's Overland Adventure to Baja and Back

[joeyabisa]

I decided that we would have a feast that evening. I had three 24oz ribeye steaks left in the freezer and tonight we would share one. I bought some mesquite charcoal and some flour tortillas at the Pemex earlier and I already had some tomatoes, onions, and anaheim peppers. There it was, I was going to make some fajitas.
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With a full stomach and happy soul I thought the only thing missing was a fire so Leo and I combed the beach and other palapas for driftwood and firewood that perhaps people had left behind. We scored on both counts. We had a nice little fire on the beach, both just kicking back and reflecting on life. ...well, I was anyway. Leo was busy playing in the sand with his toys.

 

[joeyabisa]

The next morning I woke up before the sun came up to take some pictures at sunrise.
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At some point in the evening a couple of campers had set up camp four palapas down. I would wake up now and then and could hear them. It seemed like they’d been up all night drinking and talking. When I came down from the tent one of the men was in the water facing the upcoming sun and the other was passed out on a rock wall. That’s when 4 coyotes came into their camp, looking for food probably. Good thing I threw all our trash in the fire the night before, minus the plastic which was hanging high up in a garbage bag in the palapa.
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It looked like three adult coyotes and one juvenile. They were sniffing around men's tents, then they circled the sleeping man on the rock wall. I hollered over to the men. The one in the water looked at me and I pointed to the coyotes and where his friend was sleeping. He looked over but didn’t want to get out of the water. I yelled again but nothing from the passed out man. The coyotes came closer in on him, all sniffing. The juvenile must have touched his arm while sniffing because the man was startled awake. He sat up seeming a little dazed and not grasping the full gravity of the situation. The surrounding coyotes didn’t back off, they just stood watching him. That’s when he started yelling and swinging his arms to scare them off. They backed away a bit toward the tents but didn’t retreat back into the desert.
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I thought this could get interesting. These coyotes had some big huevos and seemed to be assessing the situation and could perhaps think that they could take this man. That’s when I went over to my wood pile and started flinging 3 foot long by 2 ½ inch thick driftwood at them like a boomerangs. They didn’t budge until one branch came within inches of one of the coyotes. That coyote started to run back into the desert, then they all started to head back into the desert. They stuck around perhaps a hundred yards but headed toward them picking up rocks along the way and throwing them while the man that was sleeping was doing the same thing. They eventually disappeared.

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Again, this is one of those times I’m bad with a camera. My photo opportunity had come, I had the camera on the tailgate of the truck but didn’t even think to take a picture. I did get some photos of the sun coming up before the excitement though.:wings: Oh, and the man in the water never came out until the coyotes were gone. Talk about leaving your friend hanging. I wonder what he would have done if things had gone south. The men never came over to talk and I never went over to them. Maybe they didn't speak English and that this American/Filipino Gringo didn't speak Spanish and communicating would have been just too hard. They eventually packed up their stuff, we waved at each other, they left and Leo and I had the whole beach or perhaps this whole side of Gonzaga bay all to ourselves again.
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[joeyabisa]

We spent that day doing more of the same- playing in the water, eating, sitting under the palapa, playing in the water some more, Leo climbing up and down the ladder to the RTT. I was wishing we had a blow up raft. I should have just gotten one online and had it shipped to Sweetwater to our friend's house before we left on our trip. As for the alternator and auxiliary transmission cooler... At this point I don't think I need to install them anymore.
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I guess now would be a good time to talk a little bit about some of the things we brought with us. An ARB 50 quart freezer fridge, an Optima group 31 AGM battery, a battery charger, Honda 2000i generator, a Thetford curve porta potty, Camp Chef oven/stove, Coleman pack-away deluxe camp kitchen. And, worth the mention is the Ivation Super-Bright 16-LED Dimmable Rechargeable Lantern Light / Table Lamp.
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I'd like to start with the ARB 50 quart freezer fridge. When I first bought it I was a little peeved that I'd spent so much money on something like this. It wasn't up until now that I became happy with it. I had frozen steaks on the bottom, produce and milk that was still good after almost 2 weeks on the top and let's not mention the frosty ice cold beer! It also makes life easier with a 4 year old- Ice cold juices, cheese, milk, fruit, etc. This thing works and works well. I don't even have a propylene sleeve/insulating jacket for it. It's 103 degrees outside and who knows what the temp is like in the truck bed with tailgate closed and the truck shell windows shut. I don't know what it's like for others with the same fridge but I have mine set at 24-25 degress which makes it about 30 to 32 degrees on the bottom good enough to freeze my steaks and other frozen goods and produce on top that doesn't freeze. Oh, and beer and drinks somewhere in the middle (almost frozen). This setting seems to work with the ambient temps outside between 99 - 103 degrees. Again, I don't know what the temp is like inside the truck bed/topper with everything closed up but you know it's got to be hotter.
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The Optima AGM group 31 battery keeps the fridge going. No problems with this so far. I charge it up every 3 days or so with the generator. I could probably wait longer but I don't want the battery to be discharged below the 50% mark. When I run the genny I also charge, the Ivation lantern, my laptop, and Leo's ipad (which also can use a USB cigarette lighter charger).
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The Thetford Curve porta potty I haven't used once. It's just taking up space.
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The Coleman pack-away deluxe camp kitchen is awesome but overkill on this kind of trip. It was great when there was more of us camping because as you can guess this is just one more thing to setup, pack up and stow away. Currently just taking up space but we'll see what happens on the rest of the trip.
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The special mention goes to the Ivation LED lantern. Now this sucker is bright, super lightweight and lasts a long time. It's perfect as an overhead light for the palapa or larger spaces. I'm super happy with this thing. I got it from Amazon and I'll probably pick up another one or two because they're so handy. Thay have a recessed hook that folds out and you can hang them upside down. I feel they work better upside down for down lighting than they do as standing up on a table. I love these lights.
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Also for lighting I have the Ivation lantern, I also have a small lantern for the tent, two led flash lights, a small ultraviolet light (to search for scorpions), a head lamp and a large spot light that's great up to 100 yards.
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The Camp Chef oven/stove is great but on this trip is a little overkill. We use the stove a lot but have only used the oven for toasting bread. This would be a better fit in my off road camper/trailer build.
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Last but not least is our Honda 2000i genny. This is the power plant. It's what gives us the conveniences of "Glamping" and I like Glamping. This will also be the power plant for my camper/trailer build once it's complete.

 

[joeyabisa]

The other thing I forget worth mentioning is our roof top tent (RTT). It gives me a greater sense of security. With a 6 inch lift on the truck and installed above the roof rack, we're almost 8 feet off the ground. I feel safer with Leo being up there. Especially after this morning with the Coyotes. You always hear stories about coyotes running off with babies and pets. Leo's bigger than a baby but if there are four hungry, opportunistic coyotes, bad things could seriously happen.

 

[joeyabisa]

After two days at Gonzaga I felt it was time to move on. It was a nice relaxing place but let's continue the adventure. We'll travel south on the 5 and see what awaits us. It was about 9am when we left. Still with no map I thought we'll just keep going on like this. What surprises will we run into. Well, shortly after leaving Gonzaga, southward, surprise! The nice blacktop that was route 5 turned into a dirt road. We were driving next to, a raised wide portion of flat smooth dirt which would in the future be the smooth blacktop of the continuation of route 5. Progress marches on to the left of us, deeper into the Baja bush. Soon the true Baja experience in this area will be gone. Droves of 40 foot RV's will clog this 2 lane super hwy in the winter to reach once serene, secluded, desolate beaches, coves and bays. But in Baja there's a saying- "manana" tomorrow, and manana could be decades in Baja. Hopefully.
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I don't know how many kilometers we'd driven when the march of progress ended. No more front end loaders, scrapers, graders, and dump trucks. Now it was a serene desertscape with cactus, brush, and plants. The classic Baja that one imagines. It was slow going. This is where I should have aired down the tires but I was so paranoid that the cheap compressor from walmart wasn't going be able to pump us back up and I didn't know if there would be air at the next gas station that I decided against airing down. Well you could imagine what it was like in my truck driving on this boulder strewn, rocky, corrugated track with the tires pumped up at 55 psi. Yeah, it was slow going. Leo of course was having a great time. I decided to pull over and unlatch him from his car seat and let him bounce around. We were in Baja right? Who's gonna give me a ticket?
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We were coming up on some hills. Huge hills that consisted of gigantic boulders. I'm sure there's a name for such hills but I didn't know what it was. The road or track or whatever you want to call it got worse. Leo was climbing from the backseat to the front seat. Singing "Bobble Head, Bobble Head" and bobbing his head around and laughing like a maniac. I of course tried to keep my concentration forward. So up and down these hills, around bends, through gorges we bobbled along. My truck sounded like one big earthquake that was never going to end. I thought about all the things in the back, tons of tools, cases of drinks, food, etc. What would get damaged? Would the canned drinks explode? What if the RTT rattled off it's mounts and fell off the truck. Could my suspension handle all this violence. How about my welding job on the airbag mounts, will they hold?
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I came around a bend and ran into a person sitting under a large boulder in the shade. He was carrying a gallon jug of water that he was drinking from and he had a shirt wrapped around his head Arabian style. He looked out of breath, his rear tire looked flat. I've been told never to pick up strangers in Baja. I said hola as I passed and he replied with a wave. I felt bad as I passed him because it was 102 degrees out and he was pushing his bike in this unforgiving stretch of land. We plodded on. I was wondering when this would end. Every bend we came around and hill we topped I looked for the end of it but there was none in sight.
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I don't know how far we'd traveled nor how long timewise but we seemed to be coming out of the hills or mountains depending on how you looked at them. We were entering into a valley. The road was less rocky but the corrugations seemed worse. There would be no rest from the violent rattling. Now we were on a straight track. I would travel on the sandy side tracks when I could but those were just as bad because now you had to look out for sand traps and the hard parts were also corrugated so back on the more traveled track I went. I took it out of 4 wheel drive to conserve on fuel. If I went too fast it seemed my truck started to rattle a little sideways. So forward we went. Then in this valley, out of nowhere. No trees, no water, in a dry, sandy, dusty parcel of land, an outpost!

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We got closer. There was a sign written with strings of beer cans- it spelled out "Coco's Corner"
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[joeyabisa]

Who is Coco and what is this place? When we pulled into a corralled area there was a large man sitting on a Honda quad. With authority I should add. I take it this was his domain. In this corralled area there were toilet bowls arranged in a semi-circle. Toilet art! There were abandoned looking trailers. I guess I watch too many horror movies because now I'm thinking of "The Hills Have Eyes". People were going to come out of those trailers. Leo and I got out of the truck and walked toward the man on the quad. "Are you Coco?" I asked. "Yes" he nodded. Coco was a large man with no legs. I was afraid to think of why he had no legs. Leprosy? Don't think about it.
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He asked us if we wanted anything to drink- all he had was water and beer. "A bottle of water for my son and a Tecate for me." I said. He replied "I don't have Tecate, Tecates are for putas. Pacifico!" Well then, there it was, Pacifico. But let's back up a moment and take this all in- Coco is a large man with no legs, wears knee pads for shoes, does toilet art, sells only water and Pacifico, likes off road paraphernalia and has countless panties hanging from his rafters. WHAT? Yes, Coco has a thing for panties, g-strings, and other underwear. There was even a diaper hanging up there.
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[joeyabisa]

Okay, on a more serious side. Coco is a nice man. He'd lost his legs to diabetes. He was a retired mechanic from Ensenada, discovered this valley in 1966 with a gringo friend. Tried to acquire the land back then and went back every few years to acquire it and finally did in 1990. If you did a 360 degree turn and looked at the valley and mountains it was beautiful and you could see the appeal. He loves the solitude there and doesn't ever want there to be a main road to lead to his little corner. He seems to enjoy having visitors come see him and he let's you sign and write in his little book of visitors. Leo enjoyed his company and found him entertaining.

 

[cellularsteve2]

Just read your thread.Way to go Joey on doing this with your son. I admire you. I have a 4 year old and we just started talking about LA to Alaska next summer. Your trip is inspiration. Have you seen any changes in your son?

Steve

 

[gohuge]

Awesome adventure. Reading this reminds of my childhood adventures with my dad in his 48 Willys jeep.
Keep it up Joey. You are creating amazing memories for you and your son, and hopefully igniting a
spirit of adventure in him that he may pass on to his. Win win for sure.

 

[joeyabisa]

Just read your thread.Way to go Joey on doing this with your son. I admire you. I have a 4 year old and we just started talking about LA to Alaska next summer. Your trip is inspiration. Have you seen any changes in your son?

Steve

Hi Steve, Thanks for the kind words! That sounds like a wonderful trip you have planned. I would love head west and up to alaska. The biggest changes I've seen in Leo is that he talks a lot more. He has never been a big talker, most of the time only talking when you asked him a question or he wanted something, or interested in finding something out . Since he's been strapped to his car seat when we're driving it seems his only way of interacting with me was to talk to me. Now when we're in the truck he explains what he's up to and what his toys and stuffed animals are doing. I've taught him most of what the street signs are as we pass them and now he tells me what's coming up- curve to right, curve to the left, speed limit, etc.- a real backseat driver! Lol! Also, he's starting to carry on conversations. The whole experience has been fascinating.

 

[joeyabisa]

Awesome adventure. Reading this reminds of my childhood adventures with my dad in his 48 Willys jeep.
Keep it up Joey. You are creating amazing memories for you and your son, and hopefully igniting a
spirit of adventure in him that he may pass on to his. Win win for sure.

Hi gohuge, Thanks! Yes, those childhood memories is part of the reason I wanted to go on this trip with Leo. Like you I have fond memories of my childhood with my dad. Part of this trip after Baja is to go through Winslow, AZ because when I was 4 ( Leo's age) I have good memories of living in Winslow with my dad. I could only hope he remembers this when he's older and that it does ignite a spirit of adventure in him.

 

[joeyabisa]

In the two or so hours Leo and I were there a couple of people had come by to visit with Coco. I have a feeling even though he lives alone, he doesn't want for visitors. Before we left Coco's I decided to air down the tires. I couldn't possibly deal with getting back on that road with the tire pressure the way it was. At first Leo didn't want to get back in the truck. He wanted to stay there and play with the Coco's cats. I eventually coaxed him out of the shade and toward the truck with an oreo cookie. As soon as he felt that sun beating down on him he went running to the truck screaming “Shade, Shade! Daddy turn on the A/C!” Hahahahaha! How spoiled kids are today. When I was a kid we didn't have A/C in our cars. Our A/C was the window rolled down while driving down the road.
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We said our goodbyes to Coco and headed out the gate. I took one more look at Coco's Corner. I don't know all the reasons or what transpired in Coco's life to cause him to want live out here alone but as I get older I somehow partly understand and sympathize with his choice. I too would someday want to live in solitude in the serenity of a place I find special. Take care Coco! See you manana!

 

[joeyabisa]

So back on the dusty, corrugated road we went. Our ride was markedly better since we aired down the tires. We climbed over more hills and out. There were a couple of areas in the hills where the edge of the road was washed out. I was hugging the side of the hills but nothing too scary. At one point Leo had either dropped or thrown GiGi, his favorite giraffe pillow, his most valued possession out the window. He started crying and saying “Come back GiGi, come back.” I stopped the truck and looked but couldn't see GiGi. We turned around and found him (Yes, him) about 1/8 of a mile back. With GiGi back in the truck all was well.
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As we got close to Hwy 1 an army truck full of soldiers passed us. We waved and they all waved back. I wondered if they were all going to Coco's corner. I pulled over before we got back on the Hwy to get Leo all buckled up. We headed south- next stop was Bahia de Los Angeles, Bay of Angels. Btw, we didn't know we would hit Hwy 1 at this point nor did we know we would be going to Bahia de Los Angeles. Our original plan was to head to San Francisquito but in talking with Coco he informed me as well as showed me on his map that we had to go to LA Bay first then head 80 miles on dirt track through the desert to get to San Francisquito. Remember, we have no map. We're winging Baja by the seat of our pants.
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Hwy 1 was uneventful except the huge pot holes. I pretty much drove in the middle of the hwy to avoid them. You just have to watch for oncoming traffic and get back in your lane when cars and trucks were coming at you. It seemed at this point time and distance didn't matter anymore. I had no clue how far we'd driven or what time it was. When we reached the Bay of LA, coming through the hills, what lay before us was a spectacular sight. Of course I don't have a picture of it because I'm lame.
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Leo even commented on it. One moment you're driving through the desert mountains with cactus and boojum trees, then boom! It just opens up at you, an azure blue bay, with mountains to the sides and islands dotting the distance. It's very dramatic. “What's that?” Leo asked, “Is that the beach?” The concept of a bay hasn't come into his understanding or vocabulary yet. “Yes, that's the beach” I answered. “I want to go there, I want to go in the water, now” he demanded. “Are we goin campin?” he continued. “Yes” I replied, yes we are!

 

[ibanezer]

Great thread man. Really enjoying following it.

 

[joeyabisa]

Great thread man. Really enjoying following it.

Thanks ibanezer! Thanks for following.