3 weeks exploring Baja...

[LilKJ]

Just got back from my first trip south of the border... it was absolutely amazing... Stay tuned for the report... maybe I can motivate some others to go have some fun.

[LilKJ]

OK here goes.... official trip report :5SHOTS:

Day 1-3

I finished a 48 hour shift and headed straight home at 8am to finish packing the Jeep with our goodies, say our goodbye's, and hit the road to Calexico... (with a brief stop in AZ to camp)



We met up with our travel companions in Calexico and picked up some last minute things at Walmart... we were hitting the border early the next morning at the main Mexicali crossing.



The border area is quite the shady place... some form of loud alarm was blaring when we got there and many broken down vehicles sat around... as I would imagine they had been for some time...



After bouncing around between various offices, paying some money, and getting some stamps... we got the green light and were across the border in 5 minutes or so. Onward to San Felipe!! We didn't spend any more time than we had to in Mexicali.



Seems safe...


We made it!!


We decided to stay at Pete's camp and almost had the place to ourselves...




San Felipe is quite the beach-combers paradise....

[LilKJ]

But I had more important fish to fry... and put into tacos.... and eat


And the other essentials...


Everyone called it a night early... we had big plans for the next day...

[LilKJ]

Day 4

So we're in Baja now... time to get down to business.... we headed south on Mex 5 out of San Felipe. Our destination for the day was Papa Fernandez in Gonzaga. We had heard that the road was bad... haha

Fueling up in San Felipe...


And south we go... into the unknown


The new highway was gorgeous and smooth... complete with one of the 3 pull offs we saw the whole trip.


...then came the first of my troubles for the trip... Nicole told me we lost something off of the trailer and I looked in the mirror just in time to see my 20# propane cylinder about 8 feet off the ground tumbling down the road. I pulled over to see exactly what had happened and saw this slight trail behind me.... uh oh...


The ratchet strap had somehow loosened and the propane cylinder jumped out while crossing one particularly steep "vado". Once that happened, the straps went slack and the diesel cans dragged on the highway. I was spilling diesel out of 2 holes worn into the bottom of the containers.


I decided to dump out our 2 water cans and pour the diesel into the water containers... I'll go without spare water before I let 10 gallons of diesel go into the ground. I don't need that kind of juju hanging over me this early in the trip... a quick inspection of the propane cylinder showed no dents, no leaks... those things are stout!

Back on the road... our first wild burros...


We drove through Puertocitos and the road instantly took a turn for the worse...


We aired down and headed off into the rocks and washboard... pictures cannot convey how washboarded this road was...

[LilKJ]

I also lost a Yakima tower on the road... they weren't up to the task of holding the rooftop tent... sadly, this quick fix held better than the rest of the towers.


Problems with my trailer persisted and we soon ran out of daylight... you need a FULL day to run that road... then things took another turn... someone posing as police tried to stop us on the road. Three vehicles: one mid 90's Chevy PU, one S10 Blazer, and an older Toyota PU blocked the road and turned on red flashing lights on their dashes. I promptly went off the road and drove around them... they chose not to follow us and I don't know what they wanted...

We finally arrived at Papa Fernandez and set our camp in the dark... I was eager to see just where we were when the sun came up

[bat]

Is that a snake trail in the wash board pic on the left