Where is the nicest place you have over-landed to?

[FrenchieXJ]

I have been blessed to have had many travels over my lifetime.

I have done travels to many places over our lifetimes. Each place has had their own wonderful experiences. Each place is different for many reasons. One persons place may be a “Paradise” and another’s a “Junk Yard”!

Where and when was some of your best experiences?

Where were some of your most unique experiences?

What surprised you the most about that place?

What was special about these places, (scenery, people, funny, scary or experience)?

Would you recommend this location for others?

Would you want to return for another visit?

Do you want to keep it to yourself?

 

[FrenchieXJ]

Baja California in the days before pavement

Traveling by motorcycle and 4X4 into Baja, before Hwy. #1 was fully paved. In the 1970's, this was a slow drive to Cabo San Lucas. A week was making good time, to reach Cabo San Lucas.

The pavement process was unique, as they had a different way of paving the roads. Getting the road surface constructed was much different then I was accustom to seeing.

They would grade the surface to close to what they wanted. They continued to have traffic drive on the surface as they worked it out. This was for compacting the road base. They would scrap the last top surface or bring in some new dirt. Making a mound line with a ridge down the middle of the lane.

They would take a old in ground (Fuel Station) fuel tank to make a boiler to heat the oil. With a couple of piles of dirt to hold up the tank above the surrounding area. They would collect the old vehicle tires found along the road, into a pile under the tank. With some oil poured over the tires, this was the heat source to heat and soften the oil. They would drain the hot oil/tar into a oil tanker truck. Then haul that out to the construction site.

These tires were in great supply all along the route. The tires which were pushed to their limits were just waiting for the next calling. Environmentally this would not meet most of our standards, but it did clean up the roadsides and was a efficient use of what was at hand.

Then they would drive to the working area, they would open a drain from the tank, over the dirt pile in the middle of the lane, and drive forward. Then with road graders they would push it back and forth in the lane mixing the two items together into a road tar base. Once mixed the spread it out over the road location and let the compactors (road traffic) drive across it compacting it.

The thickness was for the most parts of the road between ½’”and 3/4" thick. It took many years to get it completed, sort of fixed. When it was what, they called finished, the maintenance started. The oldest areas were repaired and some of the pot holes, (grand canyons) were sort of patched.

You would knew how long each segment was done at a time, as the whole section would fall apart, all at the same time. Driving along the paved sections, I would wish for no more pavement, as the dirt was smoother, even with the wash board surface.

The scenery was fantastic if you were not driving. If you were driving then you could not take your eyes off of the road. The road width was constricted to be the tire width of a semi-trucks tire width, plus 2 inches.

Their was no shoulder along the side of the road. It was just dirt, gravel and large rocks. The pavement was so narrow the light dirt and sand was blown away from the edge of the road by trucks and vehicle traffic blowing by. This left the right side of the lane a nice drop off of 2" to 6". This would work like the rumble strips with a bit more of a wake-up then the noise of the rumble strips. Many a vehicle would crash off the side of the road. You would see the remains of the vehicle sitting along the side of the road for years all burnt up.

As time went along they made improvements of bridges, culverts and concrete gutters along the sides.

Well in more recent years I left Cabo and spent a night at a friends house in Los Barriles. Being I was a single vehicle, I left their house at 8:00 AM and hit the road for the border. I stopped for fuel as needed and dinner in Guerrero Negro. At Guerrero Negro the sun was setting so I followed a semi-truck to the border (The truck would clear and beasts out of the way, from the roadway). I made it to TJ (Tijuana) by 3 AM. I got sent to secondary to wait for the California bug inspectors to clear my vehicle, for 2.5 hours I sat there waiting. The drug sniffing dog and handler came by 3 time sa I sat their. Once they got to me a 3 minute check and I was on my way home. This was a 90 minute drive from the border to home. I arrived as the sun was peaking over the hills.

This is the change from the years gone by. They actually have asphalt plants bringing in road base and machines to lay a actual road with hot tar, paved and rolled road.

When I am by myself, I can put the miles under my wheels. I can not count the hundreds of times I have traversed Hwy. #1. It is always a exciting trip. With a lifetime of driving Baja’s hwy #1 I know the road fairly good.

I know the warnings about the roads, livestock, potholes and washouts. This is what I did and I do not recommend this to anyone else. I had finished up my work and was ready to go home for some rest and home time. I am sure at some point or points I may have exceeded the speed limite.

What was special about this was the contrast of the pre-pavemrnt and post pavement time it took to get from end to end of Baja.

I am sure this will sound strange to some people. I actually likes the old dirt road better. It had a personality all of it’s own. When you got to your destination where ever that was, you got there because you worked for it. You new it was a challenge and you took it on!

The road was a test that you need to pass to get the reward. When we reached our destination you appreciated it.

There was not a lot of people around. You had it to yourself, so you took care of it.

We had and still have a few private places we go to. We do our best to keep it to ourselves. I do this as for myself “Baja” is “Solitude”!

Frenchie

 

[ThundahBeagle]

Never been to Baja but I've known a few dirt roads. The road to Chichen Itza gets pretty choppy (20 years ago...havent been since so not sure about now). Leaving Cancun there was a sign "Chechen itza, gas" with a left arrow. So off we went. Never did see a gas station. Just some guy on a bicycle riding up and down the road with a few gallon jugs of gas in a handlebar basket. Seemed sketchy. And dangerous if he was ever hit by a car.

We'd just about run out of gas and asked the locals where the heck the station was. They asked us in return "well. Didnt you see that guy on the bicycle?!"

Lesson learned

 

[ThundahBeagle]

Maybe not the most "wow" place, but PEI, along the northern stretch of the Northumberland Straight, there are some beautiful grassy outcroppings/cliffs overlooking a very shallow beaches of warm waters and red sand. The ground there is very red as well. Iron rich. I wont say a particular spot.

Just such a pastoral area in summer, either overlooking the ocean or walking and swimming along in the beach, and you have to go SO far out before the drop- off. It's a nice sense of calm with a view of the mainland a few miles off.

And in my experience, the people on the island have always been nice.

 

[BritKLR]

Colorado's Apline loop or southern BDR route to Blackbear to RimRocker trail to Moab, explore Moab to points back east. 5-7 days, camping everynight, on a motorcycle, a little shorter in an fj60.

 

[FrenchieXJ]

Baja Then and Now

In a previous post I discussed about the roads. The oldest map I still have is a 1970 AAA map of Baja, it was what was the best at that time.

It did not start out to be a goal but it was many years later. That was to drive every road (route) on the map. I believed that I accomplished that. Note; I did not drive every street in the cities, These were the connecting routes between areas and to ranches, beaches or the old missions. They were 2 tracks and sometimes less the a 2 track.

The main problem was the water & fuel in the old days. Dragging a homemade trailer along was very important as fuel was very limited. Getting fuel from ranchers, 55 gallon drums, hand pumps (May-West glass top pumps), and only Pemex Gas Stations with Nova gas Regular leaded fuel.

Our first time into a place we were taking our chances, not knowing what was there. Generally there was not much and we did not want anything.

When the Mexican government wanted to get the American tourist into Baja North and South they put in the paved Hwy. #1. They put in stations a tank of fuel travel apart and they put in RV and camping spots for the travelers, visitors to use. Many of the ruins of these can still be seen along the highway today.

The challenges was when you left the highway and took the side roads. If we were lucky we would find a rancher or fisherman with extra fuel. We would go only as far as we had fuel to get us back out.

The people we would meet were generally the surfers, looking for the special waves. They had their own set of names for the surfing locations. It was like a cult that you belong to with a secrete code to talk to them.

We have find some very remote locations. Most of the routes would end up at a bay or cove, they would have a seasonal fish camp or Rancho. The ones which continued through were the fun ones. When the mid 1970's came along the locale and state governments started cutting in more roads. It was some time during this time I was losing to the “driving every road challenge” I placed on myself. I do believe that for a short time I had complected the challenge. The trouble was only if I was to drive constantly, I would only find new road if I stumbled onto it. The mappers were far behind on the mapping.

In my later years when driving some of the roads I see part of the original route #1 road I (we) drove so many years ago. My mind goes back to that time again and I am driving it again.

They have made improvements and better dirt roads for today. Many are still challenges can be like the old roads, as when after a storm comes through they can raise havoc with them just as they did with the first roads.

Baja is always a adventure in one way or another. When you see on tires where it said “Baja Proven” it really meant something! Today it is not quite the same as the growth of the peninsula with towns cropping up or expanding, your not days away from civilization. You have other people their that may be able to help you. Do not worry there are still very remote locations in Baja California.

Do not take this to mean that “Baja can not still be a killer, it can”! The beauty of Baja is one that has unique plants. Some if these plants grow only in Baja and some others are found in other places around the world. but it is all in a smaller area of Baja.

Over the years I have found human remains of the past. I do not know who what or why they were their, I just found them. They are left to where they were upon my discovery of them. Where they continue to rest in peace.

I have said this over the years about many places that it is the people, their culture and how they adapt to the world around them that makes travel worth the challenge to get their.

Baja and Mainland Mexico tourist, Fly-in Fly-out vacations, are not really experiencing Mexico. The servers, house keeping and bar tenders are not “Mexico”. They may be Mexican people , but they are geared to meet the needs of the tourist people and not themselves.

You can read it and watch videos of what overlanders think of the border towns. Most do not like them and would rather avoid them. Unfortunately they are where the paper work needs to be taken care of. They are why most people come away with thinking this is the rest of the country is. What he fly-in’s at resorts have created a not the U.S. and not Mexico zone. Only when you get away from the tourist spots can you get a glimpse of the people and life they live.

You know when you’re the only one or two U.S. citizens at a families ranch fiesta, that you are seeing the true culture.

I am using Mexico as a example but this to a certain extent, can be said about many countries as well.

Farming has grown in the arid areas of Baja to meet the needs of the growing populations. For the last 25 years there is not any creek or river in Baja that runs to the sea anymore. They have put in so many wells in for the fresh water, that the fresh water which was flowing under ground to the ocean salt water. Now many of the costal farms are getting brackish water in them and not fresh water. The fresh water that was holding the salt water at bay is losing the battle. They are pumping out more then what is being put in. There are some farms along the coast that have stopped farming some of their land do to the salt water.

Back to the “then and now”; Are the beautiful views along the coastline still specular? Yes they are!
Are the Vistas the same of the mountains, plains and canyons the same? Yes they are! Is the quiet beach you have been going to for many years, your private beach that very few knew about still the same? Not as many today.
The days gone by surfers and fisherman were the only ones we had to deal with and we really liked seeing a few people from time to time.

As what a close friend who had been going to Baja since the 1960's said a few years ago on one of our many trips to Baja. She was very happy to have seen and explored it back then. It is not the same any more. She said it is not bad or good “Just different”!

I agree that it is not the same and Baja will never be what it was. I am not saying that it is bad, I agree it is just different. I still return but the places are not quite the same any more.

I have pulled up to a small house/rancho and ask for directions. The woma is making tortilas and ask us if we would like some. They are very poor, but they will share what little they have with strangers. This is Mexico I grew up loving. This is not the special occurance, this the way they are as people.

Frenchie

 

[netllama]

Absolutely Namibia. The scenery, the wildlife, the rawness of it all. Of the 38 African nations I've been privileged to visit, Namibia stands out amongst them all.

 

[Ace Brown]

I suppose my favorite destination was San Ignacio in Baja. My first time there was November 1970. We we’re returning from just having raced in the Baja 1000. Stopped in San Ignacio for a little R&R. Just happened to hit some town fiesta. Great time hanging with the locals until they cut off the generator at 10 pm. We struggled to find our way back to our rooms in the dark. The power was just bare wires strung from room to room.

In the morning daylight we saw a young boy playing in the dirt with a toy car. Decades later i found out that boy became the mayor.

There was a traditionally painted Taco Truck parked beside the town plaza. It was there in 1971 snd again in 2007. Sadly it was gone upon later visits.

That plaza was so peaceful. Cool
and fully shaded by palm trees. Comfortable benches to sit and chill. Just across the street was a beautiful mission. Cool and quiet unless service was on.

Nearby was a freshwater lagoon with shore side camping. Shaded by huge fig trees. The water was home to cackling grebes. Fun ducks to watch.

I also spent a few days there waiting to get an alternator replaced. Not the same as a casual visit but I fondly remember how helpful everyone was.

Other great spots in Baja: Agua Verde but that will be another chapter.

Wish i could post some favorite photos from then but not possible here. But they are in my mind forever.