My Journey

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Yes Melanie told me that she'd send pictures of Mex as she progresses. And I can't wait to see them. I really miss the little pup.....

So yesterday I met with an insurance agent and got policies for the rig. Last night I was reading up on traveling in Mexico and noticed that you're not allowed to take a truck camper towing another vehicle into Mexico. You can take an RV and another vehicle but not a truck camper unless you have a passenger. I was pretty nervous this morning as I approached the border.....



I was immediately pulled out of the line (which I had expected actually). But the Mexican border guards were great. They loved my dogs which just might be the reason we passed through. They checked my vehicle registration and passport, then took a look inside the camper, and that was it. I was good to go. I made one stop in Mexicali to get diesel fuel in my extra cans. Once again the dogs were a huge hit.....



We eventually connected with Route 5 towards the south of Mexicali and headed south for San Felipe, Mexico. We made a few stops along the way.....no reason to hurry.....



The drive is mostly through desert with a small mountain range to the west. The road was excellent and we had no issues. There's one military check point that we passed through but once again the guys were so friendly.....





Since setting up camp, we've spent the afternoon walking along the beach and exploring our surroundings.....



It made me sad to see the dead porpoise on the beach.....



This guy was riding his horse along the beach with his dog.....



We made it into town for a little bit. Can't wait to explore it tomorrow. And now we are camped on the Sea of Cortez, just north of San Felipe, Mexico......



I can hear the waves slapping against the shoreline, smell the smoke of campfires nearby, see the millions of stars in the vast night skies, and find myself being very content in Mexico.....

 

[parkkitchings]

Jerry......Wish I was headed back down that way this year. Baja is a must do for travelers. You'll find plenty of stellar campsites and the further south you go the better it gets. Let me know if you need any recommendations.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Hey Park.....that would be extremely helpful if you can share some nice spots they've you've found. We will head south from here, eventually crossing to the Pacific side, and continuing south on Route 1. Thanks.....

Sunrise on the Sea of Cortez.....



A couple cups of coffee and some healthy cereal followed by a 6 mile walk along the beach.....



Many interesting things to see as we walked. Jellyfish are everywhere.....tells me I'll need to be careful in the surf.....



These fishermen were towing their boat.....



Later I helped them free their tow vehicle from the soft sand.....



The weather is near perfect and the views are spectacular.....



We appreciate even the smallest things in life.....



There's something new everyday when we travel.....

 

[bigskypylot]

See now, if you had cats, they would probably have thrown you in the slammer! Everyone loves dogs

 

[ClayH]

Wow, I just got caught up from back in Dec. You have had a lot to deal with and the episode with the pup really pissed me off at first but then I got to the happy ending. Your good people.
Your doing the exact same Mexico trip I want to do soon so I will look forward to many more updates and pictures.

And Park, I see your coming through Oklahoma. If you need a place to park overnight, I have lots of room on my small acreage. I'm SW of OKC about 25 miles. Your map route looks to be US-75 which is a ways east of OKC.

 

[Trailboss]

My annual thanks to your for your reports and photos, and thanks for the tears reading about Mex. You definitely have a place reserved in Heaven. May all your sunsets be beautiful.

 

[unkamonkey]

Animals enrich our lives. I remember all of the dogs that all of us have had over the years and I think I have had more cats that attached themselves to me. I'm not really a cat lover but there has been a few that I miss...
I was up helping a lady fix up a winter enclosure for her borrowed old roping horse Larry. I was out in the field moving things around and felt something on my shoulder. Larry wanted attention so he laid his head on my shoulder. He was just a big happy dog.
Send pictures of Mex as you get them, You know many of us are waiting to see how she does.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Thanks Clay & Trailboss....and yep I'm also looking forward to Mex pictures. I think a lot about what would have happened had I kept her.....

After my second night in San Felipe, I decided that I'd move on. But before I left I needed to visit with these guys to get my truck and camper washed and waxed. The day before they quoted me a price of 450 pesos. Since I hadn't waxed it prior to storing it in Montana, I really wanted to get it done. Since the price was so cheap, I decided to provide all the materials required.....you know, sometimes I'm all about a great deal, but I know how much work this is. They did an excellent job for me.....



I had asked them if they had access to a ladder and they said sure, don't worry.....



3 hours later and they were done. I was heavy on the tips plus check out those gloves they're wearing. Everybody got gloves from the Quartzite RV show.....



Then a quick ride around town before I left. I loved San Felipe (as I type this I'm wishing I'd stayed much longer).....



I saw a couple of great looking rigs on my way out.....





We headed south out of San Felipe and our next planned stop was Puerticitos and the hot springs. The road is paved all the way but I will say it's some of the roughest pavement I've ever encountered. There were some great views of the Sea of Cortez.....





We got into Puertecitos late since we had a late start, the road was rough, and we'd made a few stops along the way. When I pulled into the town I immediately got bad vibes. They wanted $20 to stay and it was just too touristy for me so we left and continued south. We didn't stop again until we reached Bahia San Luis Gonzaga and it was late. From everything I've read on the internet about traveling after dark, I found myself nearly terrified so I took the first campground I saw.....



Now I know it doesn't look dark in that picture but believe me, when the sun drops behind the mountain, dark is not far behind. Also, the picture would make you think it was a nice site, but the reality was that the place was packed. One neighbor was using a construction generator that was so loud and had the worst fumes, on the other side another generator, and to top it off, a screaming baby (but then could you blame him ?).....

I went to bed that night thinking that this is a beautiful place. I need to move first thing in the morning.....

 

[justBill]

Thanks for the updates. Safe travels.
It is great to see that Mex found a good home also.He seems to be healing better than expected.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

The following morning was yet another strikingly beautiful sunrise. A guy sure can get accustomed to this. Now I'd love to share some pictures of them, but unfortunately XP won't load most of my pictures, so I'm limited.....

Anyhow, like I said I didn't much care for that campsite so we moved down the road a few miles to a remote one. It was perfect, shared it with 2 other campers.....



And what could be better than having your own private shower with plenty of ice cold water not more than 100' from your campsite.....



The weather has been amazing here. Mostly in the 70's and clear blue skies, a slight breeze comes off the sea.....





The water is like the fountain of youth to my dogs. I can see their joint pain ease it's way out of their bodies.....albeit temporary.....it brings a good feeling to my heart to see it.....



So this day we walked often on the beach, by days end more than 13 miles. I love searching in the reefs and the rocks for stuff. It reminds me of searching for goodies at a flea market. One surprise after another.....



Nature really is the best form of art.....





As was the porpoise, it was sad to see this whale on the beach, maybe 30' in length. It was providing many good meals for the vultures.....



I saw my first pod of whales at the mouth of the bay. I'm not sure how many there were, as they traveled from the south. Fishermen have a camp set up here and spend their days on the water. I found the head of a young shark in the water, recently caught by the fishermen. As someone who's had the privilege of making numerous deep dives with sharks in the Atlantic Ocean, this really pissed me off. I also noticed that the fishermen discard their old filament nets along the beach.....no doubt many are deposited into the sea as well.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

I attempted to be coy when photographing the fishermen. Me being pissed off is one thing. Pissing them off could be a whole new game. It really is odd the contrast between the beauty and solitude, yet you encounter death everywhere.....



At the sun's peak, we took the Jeep to the local tienda (store) to grab an orange soda. It's funny, I'm usually a Coke guy, but the whole Latin thing transforms me. Three Sprinter vans were parked there. These seem to be extremely popular with the guys from up north. I'm seeing them everywhere now.....



Then an evening walk down the beach.....







As always, we are grateful for the opportunity to travel, trying to enjoy every day as best we can.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

The following morning we left camp with mixed feelings. I liked it here a lot, just like San Felipe, but I had an urge to move. Maybe it was because I spent so much time hanging out with Mex, maybe it's the allure of seeing what else is out there. I don't know but we departed and drove south. Now the road from Puertecitos to Bahia San Luis Gonzaga is in great shape, probably rebuilt in the past few years. But from Bahia San Luis Gonzaga to it's intersection with Mex Route One it's is a whole different story. It's about 25 miles of really, really bad road. I'd compare it to any bad highway I've traversed in the Andes Mountains or the Himalayas as well. I took pictures along the way to share.....













There's only one habitant that lives along this road. That's the infamous "Coco". His place is even located on the map of Mexico. Coco is an old man now, he has no legs but seems to get around fine.....he sells drinks and food to travelers.....they say his place is a must stop.....





The inside of his place has some unusual decorations.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

My guess is that my average speed on this stretch of road was 5 to 10 miles per hour. It would appear that Coco doesn't much care for the desert dust and he's had these trenches cut in the road. They were seriously brutal for me.....the semis must have hated it.....



After our brief stop at Coco's, we pushed further south and west as well.....





I didn't see another RV type rig on this section of road. Most people drove trucks of some sort, some with pop up truck campers. We passed this EarthRoamer from Montana.....



Late afternoon found us driving south on Mex 1. And it's true what they say.....there are no shoulders and the travel lanes are way too smalll. And we finally saw the livestock along the highway. This was all true ! I had planned to head back to the Sea of Cortez and visit Bahia de los Angels but at the last second I didn't make the turn off and we continued south. We drove until we arrived in Guerro Negro. It was another mistake. This city located on the Pacific side was cold and windy. I was longing for the Sea of Cortez. Last night we holed up here for $5. Time for a new plan.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

I was up the following morning, stuck my head out the camper door, and immediately made my new plan. The winds had subsided but it was still cool, too cool for my likings. The good news here was that this place had hot showers which I had paid $2 extra for the night before when I registered.....after a few hours I was ready for my hot shower but the place was shut down (10:00 a.m.). Apparently they'd all gone whale watching. Just as I was pulling out they show up and my mood changes immediately as I realize that I'm getting that hot shower afterall. Then we took a quick drive through Guerro Negro. It seems like it could be an interesting town to explore but that will happen on the return trip when it should be warmer (I've read that the west coast is always cooler but will begin to warm up in March).....

There's a large military outpost at the border between Baja North & Baja South. There's this huge transformer looking thing and Mexican flag that marks the border between the two states. I was surprised when I saw the time changes on my devices as it never occurred to me that they would be on different time zones. Looks we're back on Arizona time (which is the best since it gets dark later).....



After our ride thru Guerro Negro, we were back on Mex 1 driving mostly south, and a bit east as well. The first stop of the day was in Vizcaino (Junction) for a late lunch. Lunch was all that was the planned ahead of time (maybe I should start calling it the idea). Anyhow we are still in Vizcaino this morning. I like it here. It's warm, the people are friendly, I've got a great spot to camp in town for $7 per night, and it's got that small Mexican town feel to it (not touristy at all since it's an inland town). So of course we've been walking around exploring.....









Our campsite is located in the back of a hotel (Hotel Kadekaman) on the west side of town. They've got actual camp sites here with hook ups but I parked in the back away from everyone (actually there's only 2 cyclists camped here) which I think puzzled them.....



Now I hadn't mentioned this earlier but the auxiliary fuel tank holder which was welded in El Centro didn't last on that rough road. I'm actually amazed that it was still back there when I made my first stop and noticed that the can was nearly dragging along the roadway. Anyhow, as I walked thru town last night I passed a welder (6:00 p.m.) and he agreed to repair it right away. He used heavy duty metal, built a new bottom plate, and a double plate on the back side, redrilled everything, and reinstalled it. Two hours later it was done.....400 pesos.....and a really big tip (he had no change). But seriously, I was super happy and they were extremely helpful .....







I had dinner last night late at a sidewalk taco booth. Damn it was some good authentic Mexican food. Walked back to the camper around 9 after stopping in at a bakery for a Mexican treat.....

I'm kind of curious to see if we leave today. I haven't bothered with making a "plan".....

 

[parkkitchings]

Jerry.....just south of Guerro is a placed called Laguna Ojo De Liebre Natural Park http://nowheretobetour.blogspot.com/2015/03/laguna-ojo-de-liebre.html When heading south on Mex 1 you'll come to a cement sign on the right depicting a whale. Turn right here and follow the road to the Campo del Ballensas on Scammon's Lagoon. You'll come up on a guard shack and they'll take down your info and then let you through. Great camping and a great place to go out and watch the whales. Take everything you'll need before heading out as there is nothing other than a small restruant and bar. No groceries of any type. There are some designated campsites but if you drive all the way out to the end there is dispersed camping. Great place to kick back for a few days. Beautiful sunsets and bird life. Having a close encounter with a whale and her calf is quite the experience. I'd highly recommend going out here.