Baja Peninsula with the F'ns

[articulate]

http://www.markdstephens.com/baja_mexico/highway_3.jpg

I originally titled my trip “Baja Sin Nombre (http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4542)” for a very simple reason – I wanted to enter Baja mentally clean, with as little premonition as possible for what the dusty peninsula means to other people. Sin nombre is Spanish for “unnamed” and I wanted to name it for myself after my own experiences there.

Are you still with me?
Here’s what I learned:

Baja - for all its funky roadways, cultural idiosyncrasies, and damn good drinkin’ villages with fishing problems – is more than a strip of sand and rock that hosts desert races, surf bums, and expatriates.
Huevos rancheros is hard to find before 11:00am
Never underestimate how long it will take to drive 30 miles of washboard road
Turn on your left blinker while another vehicle is passing you on Mex 1
The desert near Catavina is still whispering my name
It’s a shame Bay of LA beaches are trashed with dead dreams, old uninhabited mobile homes, and piles of rusty junk. The bay is so very striking with all those islands, but the beaches . . .
When camp gets windy, just bring the beer into the tent
If you think you’re lost, just keep going
Most plentiful business in Baja? Llantera
The little sign above the 10’x10’ shack on the side of the highway that says, “World Famous Tamales” is true
Wave; say “Buenos dias”
Ask, “Donde esta . . .”
People around the world are just want to make a living, get to tomorrow, and be happy along the way
It’s still pretty cold and windy on the Pacific coast in March


Trip details:

6 nights, 7 days
1550 miles
Average moving speed: 36.1 mph
Lowest elevation: -56.6 ft
New tree knowledge: Boojum, Elephant, and Cardon
At San Borja, a young kid named Angel ran to me and explained that my friend “Carlos” (Chuck) was there that same morning. He’d camped there the night before with some friends and they were quite “happy” all night long. I wonder what he meant . . .
Vehicle failures: my passenger side front turn signal rattled off somewhere, and um . . . the transmission on my dad’s Rover blew up only an hour after we crossed back into the U.S. How’s that for luck?
Brooke, despite being nearly 5 months pregant, loved the driving, the missions, and the beach camping.


Here, I have some photos that we shot with our little digi cam. My slides will be back from the photo lab in a day or so. Brooke shot most of these, but a few are mine:
http://www.markdstephens.com/baja_mexico/whale_2.jpg

http://www.markdstephens.com/baja_mexico/whale_4.jpg

http://www.markdstephens.com/baja_mexico/colonet_3.jpg

http://www.markdstephens.com/baja_mexico/colonet_2.jpg

http://www.markdstephens.com/baja_mexico/whale_3.jpg

http://www.markdstephens.com/baja_mexico/colonet_1.jpg



This is brought to you with extra special thanks to: Al Walter, KC, BX, and Dos Equis Cerveza. Honorable mention to all the washboard roads that lead to pristine beaches.

Otherwise, it's good to be home.

[blupaddler]

Sorry we didn't meet you in Santa Rosalillita...

We spent one night there and continued on. Found some truly beautiful places.


Did you guys get any part of the storm that came through on Thursday?
Where did you cross back at? Did you guys meet up con Charlito?
Are the beach/cliff pics Punta Baja/San Carlos?



Glad you guys had a good trip.
We just got home, it was truly wierd having to "stop" at stop lights.

[jeffryscott]

You found the whales - SWEET. What a great sounding trip and I can't wait for more pics. Welcome back, I guess (don't take that personally, just that with Baja behind, you two are back to reality ... and somehow Baja sounds better than reality. Ba(ja) Humbug.:suning:

[Boston Mangler]

Awesome Pics As Usual Mark!

Very cool!

:campfire:

[Ursidae69]

At San Borja, a young kid named Angel ran to me and explained that my friend “Carlos” (Chuck) was there that same morning. He’d camped there the night before with some friends and they were quite “happy” all night long. I wonder what he meant . . .


I hailed ya all that next day, we ended up at Daggets for a night since Archelon was full, but Daggets was nearly full as well, we left to our secret beach north and stayed there 2 more days. Sorry we missed you amigo.

Angel was a cool kid, glad he passed on the message. :sunflower The tour he gave us of the mission was amazing. He and his whole family were so sweet to us. We chatted with him around the fire that night helping him with his English and us with our Spanish. I gave him my dictionary and he was pretty happy. Angel went to bed at 9 and we stayed up drinking and went to the hot springs late that night, maybe that is what we meant. We were pretty happy. :D

My group met Robb & Cat for some amazing whale watching, many touches, the whales made me tear up, they are so amazing.

Almost 4k miles in 2.5 weeks, I'm tired... I'll post up pics in time.

Oh yeah, I had several QSOs with Jack and Al from the Puertecitos area and they were in El Golfo! Ham radios are fun. :D

[goodtimes]

Hey, all you baja bums...YOU ALL SUCK!!!! :REOutArchery02:

Ok, maybe it's my job that sucks....

Glad to hear everyone is making it back safe....other than the fact that "making it back" means you are no longer "there"...and "there" is where we all want to be.

Lookin' forward to the stories amigos!

[articulate]

Did you guys get any part of the storm that came through on Thursday?
Where did you cross back at? Did you guys meet up con Charlito?
Are the beach/cliff pics Punta Baja/San Carlos?

At Rosalillita, we did camp at Alejandros and met George "the local" and a couple who'd been camped there all week. We rolled in after dark on the 19th, and they cooked us dinner. Pretty cool. Got a little bit of a storm in GN on Wednesday, but on Thursday we were in Bay of LA. It was windy, but not storming. That photo of the cliffs is at Bahia Colonet. It's a rocky beach (obviously) so it's not all that great of a place if you want sand.

Never saw The Chuck, but got the message from Angel. That was cool. "Negro Nissan" was how they knew 'twas me. Hilarious. You folks left an impression on that kid.


I hailed ya all that next day, we ended up at Daggets for a night since Archelon was full, but Daggets was nearly full as well, we left to our secret beach north and stayed there 2 more days. Sorry we missed you amigo. . . .

Oh yeah, I had several QSOs with Jack and Al from the Puertecitos area and they were in El Golfo! Ham radios are fun. :D
Daggetts! Hilarious! We tried that place first but cruised north a little ways and camped at Campo Pinos, which I guess is abandoned. Stayed for two nights. I can't believe we didn't cross paths at some point in there; I should have listened to the voice in my head and continued to La Gringa. :violent-smiley-031:


Hey, all you baja bums...YOU ALL SUCK!!!!
:roost:

[Ursidae69]

Never saw The Chuck, but got the message from Angel. That was cool. "Negro Nissan" was how they knew 'twas me. Hilarious. You folks left an impression on that kid.


Daggetts! Hilarious! We tried that place first but cruised north a little ways and camped at Campo Pinos, which I guess is abandoned. Stayed for two nights. I can't believe we didn't cross paths at some point in there; I should have listened to the voice in my head and continued to La Gringa. :violent-smiley-031:


Yeah, we hung out with Angel and his brother for quite a while. I learned a lot from him about his ancestry, the Cochimi tribe, and about the area. I learned that the call the Gila Woodpecker "La carpentera". Being a bird biologist, I liked learning the Mexican names for the birds around his garden. Staying at San Borja was was of the many highlights on my trip. Glad he found the Negro Nissan. :ylsmoke:

We left Daggets around noon on the 21st. We just stayed there the evening of the 20th, it was too windy and too damn crowded. The hot shower was nice though. We didn't go to La Gringa, but a nice beach called Ensenada Alcatraz further north. You get there through the dry lake bed near the San Borja road, following it north, then down a long canyon back to the Sea of Cortez. The roads are not on the maps.

[goodtimes]

We didn't go to La Gringa, but a nice beach called Ensenada Alcatraz further north. You get there through the dry lake bed near the San Borja road, following it north, then down a long canyon back to the Sea of Cortez. The roads are not on the maps.

How was the beach this year Chuck? That spot is high on my list of cool places to be.


Never saw The Chuck, but got the message from Angel. That was cool. "Negro Nissan" was how they knew 'twas me. Hilarious. You folks left an impression on that kid.

Chcuk has a tendancy to do that to people. Usually it takes years of therapy before the nightmares go away. :p

[Ursidae69]

How was the beach this year Chuck? That spot is high on my list of cool places to be.


It was amazing still. :D We had some pretty nasty wind one night. Nothing we couldn't drink our way through though.



Chcuk has a tendancy to do that to people. Usually it takes years of therapy before the nightmares go away. :p

I'm going to let that slide punk. :ar15: :shakin:

[seth_js]

Hell yeah man... can't wait to see this pics.

[kcowyo]

http://www.markdstephens.com/baja_mexico/colonet_2.jpg

That's digital and not a slide.....? :bowdown:

Looks like another excellent south of the border escapade, from one of this boards' premier "doers."

I wish you two had a trust fund so you could full-time it and relay to me one great read after another. Sounds like you found what you needed on the seashores of old Mexico.

Anxiously awaiting more....:lurk:

[datrupr]

Great pics, Mark, and a good tale. Now, where is the rest of the trip report. And we are in need of one from Chuck too.

[articulate]

Boys! I just about flipped out when I found this photo in my pile of slides today.

Here's the scoop: Just outside of Gonzaga Bay, we passed a military checkpoint where the boys came out and asked if we spoke Spanish. Two of the kids needed a ride to the store, and we agreed to take them. They jumped in the back of the truck on top of the Eezi-Awn and we took off down the road. Brooke was driving, so I rolled down my window, turned on the camera, and held it out the window facing back over the top of the truck; A blind shot of sorts. I could tell that they were facing backwards, so I thought I'd get a funny photo of the backs of their heads as they sat on top of our tent while bouncing down the road.

Ah, but the gods smiled upon me! My karma quotient was up. Look at what I got . . . as a blind shot, I'd say this is close to one in a thousand chances:

http://www.markdstephens.com/baja_mexico/3_federales_bw.jpg


It also felt good to be taking regular ol' photos of the desert again. I haven't done that in a while:
http://www.markdstephens.com/baja_mexico/3_road4bw.jpg


The crazy Boojum trees:
http://www.markdstephens.com/baja_mexico/3_boojum.jpg

She might be pregnant, but she still appreciates a decent silver without drinking it:
http://www.markdstephens.com/baja_mexico/3_cocos2.jpg


Coco's Corner; this asks a question . . . answer in your own way:
http://www.markdstephens.com/baja_mexico/3_cocos3bw.jpg

Good ol' fashioned dirt road drivin' south of Gonzaga Bay:
http://www.markdstephens.com/baja_mexico/2_road7bw.jpg


Thanks for stopping by. :)

[navara-au]

Boys! I just about flipped out when I found this photo in my pile of slides today.

Here's the scoop: Just outside of Gonzaga Bay, we passed a military checkpoint where the boys came out and asked if we spoke Spanish. Two of the kids needed a ride to the store, and we agreed to take them. They jumped in the back of the truck on top of the Eezi-Awn and we took off down the road. Brooke was driving, so I rolled down my window, turned on the camera, and held it out the window facing back over the top of the truck; A blind shot of sorts. I could tell that they were facing backwards, so I thought I'd get a funny photo of the backs of their heads as they sat on top of our tent while bouncing down the road.

Ah, but the gods smiled upon me! My karma quotient was up. Look at what I got . . . as a blind shot, I'd say this is close to one in a thousand chances:

http://www.markdstephens.com/baja_mexico/3_federales_bw.jpg


Thanks for stopping by. :)


God I hate you!!!!.....you can take a shot like that without even looking???

Bloody Hell! I give up..:mad:

Honestly that's as good a photo as you could get, you would have to be very proud of your self.....and the fronty in b&w looks awesome too.

[goodtimes]

Yea, what he said! :mad: I gotta work much harder to get pics 1/2 as good. You and your Karma suck. :shakin:

Seriously...that is a sweet shot!!!!

[articulate]

God I hate you!!!!.....
:) I didn't expect that kind of reaction.

Okay fellas: I throw away my bad slides and don't let anyone see those. I've only gone through about 115 shots so far, and I've kept 35. The others I just threw away. And those 35 aren't all spectacular - some are just for posterity.

What kind of photographer shows his crappy shots to the public? :smilies27

[bigreen505]

Damn nice shots Mark! :bowdown:

Here's my photo tip for the day. Throw out the unusable shots (way over or under exposed, out of focus), and either page or box the "b list" shots. Selects get printed, go in portfolio, sent to stock agencies, clients, etc. B-list shots get re-examined after a year.

Rationale: You never know when you are going to get a request for an image that you threw away because it wasn't quite what you wanted. Also, we tend to evaluate photos based on how close they are to the vision we had of the scene. It takes a while to forget what the trip/scene actually looked like and be able to really evaluate the photograph on its own merits.

I really hope to be able to join you all for a trip sometime. I was tentatively planning to join the Sedona trip this weekend, but logistically it was not going to happen.

[kcowyo]

Ah, but the gods smiled upon me! My karma quotient was up. Look at what I got . . .
Pure Baja Magic!

Nice work and Brooke got some choice shots too - :clapsmile


*edit - Does your Mom know you refer to her as an F'n?

[blupaddler]

Kinda off topic...

Nice picture. But I don't remember seeing black and white slide film for sale anywhere???:confused:
Is this a special type of Baja film?

[Skillet]

Yes, fine pics, fine writeup and fine, fine trip.

It has only been a few months and I am chomping at the bit to return.

Grand. Thanks for sharing.

:beer:

[blupaddler]

It has only been a few months and I am chomping at the bit to return.



Shoot, it's only been five days, and I can't wait to get back. I need to find a lost trust fund somewhere.

[Baja Trekker]

Ok, maybe I'm a bit late on this thread, but I'm new to the forum... Just wanted to say nice report and photos! Keeps a Baja addict like me going. Thanks for sharing!

greg :camping:

[Desertdude]

Mark stellar photography! Every-time I see another one of your photos it gives me more fuel for thought on camera angle...

Between your F'n Baja trip and Chuck's adventure - I gotta learn to go South more :bigbossHL:



Thanks for sharing your trip :clapsmile



::::

[Purple People Eater]

I'm Jealous. That is all.

[bajasurf]

Late to respond: There is black and white slide film and it is Agfa Scala(200 asa) and I have shot many rolls of it and the results are beautiful. If you Google for Agfa Scala many pages with photos will be presented. Good Luck, George Lanning

[Carlyle]

I can't wait to get to LA Bay in March...

[toyrunner95]

i wanna gooo tooo baaahaaaahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaa! WAAAAAAAA!!!

awsome pics man.

[articulate]

Fond memories. Thanks for bringing this one back on the radar.

I don't know if I posted this photo yet, but it came from this trip. Now... who would trust a battery with this name?
http://www.markdstephens.com/baja_mexico/1_gohner.jpg

[bigreen505]

I don't know. I head the Chevy Nova was not a very popular car there either (no va).

[LexusAllTerrain]

Fond memories. Thanks for bringing this one back on the radar.

I don't know if I posted this photo yet, but it came from this trip. Now... who would trust a battery with this name?
http://www.markdstephens.com/baja_mexico/1_gohner.jpg


Good find!:rally_guys:



Is that GOHHER brand?:Wow1:

[cpg]

Good find!:rally_guys:




Is that GOHHER brand?:Wow1:

I run 2 of them they work great.

[p1michaud]

Are you still with me?
Here’s what I learned:

Baja - for all its funky roadways, cultural idiosyncrasies, and damn good drinkin’ villages with fishing problems – is more than a strip of sand and rock that hosts desert races, surf bums, and expatriates.
Huevos rancheros is hard to find before 11:00am
Never underestimate how long it will take to drive 30 miles of washboard road
Turn on your left blinker while another vehicle is passing you on Mex 1
The desert near Catavina is still whispering my name
It’s a shame Bay of LA beaches are trashed with dead dreams, old uninhabited mobile homes, and piles of rusty junk. The bay is so very striking with all those islands, but the beaches . . .
When camp gets windy, just bring the beer into the tent
If you think you’re lost, just keep going
Most plentiful business in Baja? Llantera
The little sign above the 10’x10’ shack on the side of the highway that says, “World Famous Tamales” is true
Wave; say “Buenos dias”
Ask, “Donde esta . . .”
People around the world are just want to make a living, get to tomorrow, and be happy along the way
It’s still pretty cold and windy on the Pacific coast in March



I wish I was there now, we are in the middle of a pretty good snow storm right at this moment. Great photos and trip report.
Cheers,
P