Wild Ride Back to the USA

After a tranquil week camped on the shores of the Pacific at Ensenada, it's time for Hans, Ursula, and I to point our Winnies back towards Yuma and the U.S.  Last year, we drove the scenic Highway 3 through Baja's wine country, the Guadalupe Valley, and crossed back into the U.S. at small city of Tecate (yes, where the Mexican beer of the same name is made!).

The route last year, along US Interstate 8 was pleasant enough, but after looking at the maps, we all start getting very intrigued and excited by a certain section along Mexican Highway 2D... see it?

Week in Ensenada

Our final night of last year's Baja trip was spent at this ho-hum RV park with an outrageously amazing view of the Pacific ocean.  When Hans and Ursula suggested we revisit Ensenada this year, we didn't have to think about where we wished to stay-- Ramona Beach RV Park would be it!

Our week's agenda would be to check out Ensenada's great seafood, explore Rosarito up the coast, tour the Guadalupe Valley wineries, watch some amazing sunsets...and celebrate my birthday!

Traversing the Baja

Last year, we experienced the Baja peninsula from the very top to the very bottom (and darn near everywhere in-between!).  So, this year's itinerary is pretty tame by comparison-- traverse the Baja from East to West.

Before making the journey to Ensenada, though.  We have one more area to explore-- the coastline south of San Felipe along the Sea of Cortez.

Beach Paradise At Last!

All good things come to those who wait!

After 4 noisy, dusty nights parked next to the sand dune of racing ATVs and dune buggies, the hoard of race fans went home.  We were finally rewarded with our pick of the best of the 2 best beachfront campsites in all of San Felipe!  It didn't take more than a few minutes for Hans, Ursula, and I to decide to extend our stay here an extra week.

Now, we'd finally get to discover some real San Felipe living!

San Felipe 250 Race Weekend

It's the last weekend in February, and the little town of San Felipe, on Baja's Sea of Cortez coast has swelled from a sleepy population just under 10,000 to a busting-of-the-seams 30,000 or more.  Fans from across North America have come to watch the spectacle that has made Baja off-road racing world famous.

While the Baja 500 and Baja 1000 races are more well-known, the San Felipe 250 is run by the same organization (SCORE International) and draws a robust and loyal crowd every year. It's even televised by CBS Sports (broadcasts start on April 10th)!

Hans, Ursula, and I dust off our cameras and head out Friday morning for the first event of race weekend-- Contingency Row.

Stumbled Into a BIG Crowd

After a whirlwind 2-month Baja trip last winter with friends Hans and Ursula (where we boondocked on gorgeous beaches,  snorkeled with sea lions, touched baby gray whales, explored historic missions, soaked up city life in La Paz, conducted a 1,000-mile taste-test of the ultimate best Baja fish tacos, and so much more), we had even more ambitious plans this winter to explore mainland Mexico.  

But, as other commitments started whittling away at our time block, the idea of a shorter, less stressful trip began to look more and more appealing.  The big mainland trip is now postponed until this Fall, and for the moment, we would now head to northern Baja for a quiet, peaceful, relaxing month of sandy beaches.

We carefully planned our trip to ensure we'd return to the U.S. before Mexico's mega beach holiday-- Semana Santa (Easter Holy Week).  But we failed to avoid another event (that would transform our first week in Baja into anything but quiet and peaceful) -- the SCORE San Felipe 250.

Little Tracker's Big Day & a Yuma Reunion

On my last day in Ajo, I decide to take the little yellow Tracker for another off-pavement jaunt into the Arizona desert.  This time, it's to a new-to-me National Wildlife Refuge west of town.

Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, at 860,000 acres, is the third largest NWR in the lower 48 states.  Most of it is complete wilderness, but a couple 4-wheel-drive roads exist along the edges of the park.  I decide to give the Charlie Bell Road access point a try just west of Ajo.

The entrance sign is pretty sun-baked.  Not much rain ever gets to these parts of southern Arizona.

15 Favorite Images of 2015

As we paddled out onto the crystal clear waters of Baja's Bahia de Concepcion last January, little did Millie or I know what monumental changes were in store for us in 2015.

Cancer took Millie just 2 months later, and a month after that, I got my own cancer diagnosis.  Life is very different now at the end of 2015 than it was at the beginning-- not in a significantly better or worse way necessarily, just forever changed.

My photography took a bit of a back seat to the more urgent matters of life this year.  Not as much time and energy for tripods, dragging out the best (heavy) lenses and cameras, or enduring long waits or long hikes to get "the shot."

Yet, looking back over all of my 2015 images, I did manage to experience some pretty diverse scenes this year-- so without further adieu, here are my 15 favorites from 2015.  Enjoy!

A Bit of Heaven & Hell - Returning Up the Baja

It was a mere 715 miles from Bahía de Concepción to the U.S. border.  An easy 2-day drive on most U.S. roads, but Baja Highway 1 sets its own rules.  Hans, Ursula, and I decided we would make the narrow, winding, shoulder-less drive in 6 days rather than 2.  After 7 weeks in Baja, we were now moving at the same laid-back pace as most of the locals (rather than that of over-scheduled, over-stressed, and over-stimulated Americans). 

Along the way, there would be gray whales to touch, French baguettes to savor, cactus trails to hike, and plenty of serene beachfront sunrises and sunsets to enjoy.

There’d also be a few moments of terror and mishap too…no journey that includes climbing “the Grade of Hell” past 3 volcanoes would be complete without a bit of terror and mishap!

Candles as far as the eye can see!

Studying our Baja route via Google maps, I knew we’d be driving through the very large Valle de los Cirios (Valley of the Candles) nature preserve.  At a gigantic 9,737 square miles, it’s Mexico’s largest land-based protected area, and is simply incomprehensible how vast it really is until you begin to traverse it in-person. 

Once you finally reach this park’s southern border (and think you’re now back to civilization),  you quickly begin crossing another large park, the Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve (Reserva de la Biosfera de El Vizcaíno), which protects numerous islands, lagoons and marine life in addition to volcanoes, sand dunes, and desert lands.  Together, the 2 parks consume a whopping 1/3 of the entire 1,000-mile Baja peninsula!

Our 490-mile route from Ensenada to San Ignacio took us 2 full days of driving to cross these parks driving along the very, VERY narrow (but paved) Baja Highway 1.  While one can easily drive 500 miles a day in the U.S., on the Baja during the shorter days of winter,  250 miles a day is about the best one can do driving an RV!

Bienvenidos a Baja!

(Welcome to Baja!)

After such a glorious introductory trip to Mexico last winter (see my blog posts from Dec 2013 thru Mar 2014 visiting the mainland’s west coast and central colonial cities), I wanted to check out the Baja peninsula this winter to see how it compares.

As luck would have it, my View friends from Denver (Hans and Ursula), were planning their first RV trip to Baja, and thus the idea of a “mini Skinny Winnie caravan” was hatched!  We would leave the U.S. in mid-December to hopefully get a jump-start on the post-holiday snowbirds.

Our rendezvous location was up in the very chilly hills about 40 miles east of San Diego, at Potrero County Park.  Less that 10 miles from the Tecate border crossing, it’s a popular meet-up spot for RVs headed to Baja. 

“Dental Camp” at Algodones

Evelyn and I both needed some dental work, so our first stop was to Algodones, Mexico near Yuma, AZ.  Coincidentally, my friend KamperBob was also in need of a dentist, so he drove down from his winter camp hosting gig at Death Valley National Park to join us for the week.  Rather than haul his RV out of it’s winter resting spot, he decided to try a more minimalist approach and just bring his tent.

We enjoyed a spectacular sunset one night from our hilltop boondocking “Dental Camp” just north of the Algodones border crossing.


On Monday morning, Bob and I headed into Algodones to our dental appointments with Dr. Eva Ureña.  We both appreciated her thorough explanations (in English!), careful skill, and friendly staff.  The prices were pretty great too (compared to the U.S.)!  In between our appointments, we walked around the streets of this small Mexican border town focused exclusively on serving the needs of American “medical tourists” seeking low-cost dental, optical, and pharmacy services.



Nina from WheelingIt did a great couple of posts earlier this year about Algodones, so I won’t repeat the basic information here.   But, besides all those great medical services, you will find sidewalks literally overflowing with all kinds of touristy goods to feast your eyes upon—purses, hats, blankets, pottery, jewelry, leather goods, and even piñatas!

Bob admired this fetching Snow White piñata…

 
While I was not quite sure what to make of this robustly-endowed baby piñata!



But, Algodones seems to have a little something to bring smiles to everyone!



On Tuesday, I put the “Recreational Engineer” to work installing my previous solar components to my new RV.  I knew there was a good reason why I had never permanently installed my solar components to my last RV (I must have known I’d be trading it for a new one!).

I wanted a system that would let me still keep the solar panels portable while keeping the controller and monitor panel well-secured and easily accessible.  Bob came up with some brilliant solutions of mounting the controller just inside the step well on the passenger seatbase (so I can still easily connect and disconnect my solar cables to the controller), and then found a perfect-fitting spot at eye-level for my battery monitor right between the door and the kitchen cabinets.  Bob accused the two dogs (Millie and Molly) of being “government supervisors” in their paws-off approach to helping out with the work effort!



With work done, Evelyn, Bob, and I enjoyed a few good meals out on the town in Yuma and even put together an impromptu vegan potluck. 



It turned very windy and a bit colder for our last night at Dental Camp, so we had to keep the outdoor furniture on the ground and move the party inside the RVs!



Overall, we got some great work done on our teeth (and RVs!) and had an enjoyable week.  Dental Camp 2013 was a rousing success!