How Much Did This Cost?

Desert Cruiser
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Re: How Much Did This Cost?

Post by Desert Cruiser »

You asked so here it is --- the road to Puertecitos is paved and when we were there last time they were finishing it up right before you got to the town. It's like a super highway.

Now for the road to Gonzaga Bay --- one of the first places we went in the Cruiser when got it was to Gonzaga Bay. It was a blast and if you want to ride on roads like that and not feel the washboard then do it in an FJ Cruiser. Nice trip. Have any of you seen the geysers just behind the town of Gonzaga Bay? Most people don't know they are there.

Also Just below the Doctors (intersection 40 miles below San Felipe) is a great restaurant where they probably use road signs to cook tortillas.

Don....
Dan
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Re: How Much Did This Cost?

Post by Dan »

Don,
I've been to Gonzaga Bay several times, but never saw the geysers.

There is a very high incidence of firefighters who have vacation homes (mostly trailers, but some permanent structures) in both Puertecitos and Gonzaga Bay. Since about 1968, it has been illegal for non-citizens of Mexico to purchase real estate (since the Mexican government nationalized all landmass, not many people have been interested anyway). So, most of these vacationers have medium and long-term leases with the landowners. Those who have very long leases build homes. Very few are actually expatriates, since most don't live full time down there. But at any given time, you can see familiar faces pop out of their trailer or show up at the restaurant/bar down by the water in Puertecitos. There is no phone service in Puertecitos, so those who choose to stay in touch, do so by radio. You can buy power, but it goes off at sunset, and it's very expensive, as the family which owns the town controls all wired power. Those who want to be independent, buy generator sets and set up battery arrays, use RV water pumps and water heaters, and propane refrigerators. Most gringos have their water delivered to tanks, and everyone is prepared for high winds, which can kick up at any time.

We would go fishing in the boats, fish from the shore, explore on the motorcycles or quads, swim at the boat ramp, take the whole group down to Speedy's fish camp for a few tecates and a candy bar, soak in the hot pools, or just sit up on one of the patios and drink beer. We always had at least two boats, as the best fishing was south of Puertecitos. In order to get there, one has to pass by "the slot", which is a venturi-shaped pass between two mountain ranges which form the Laguna Salada. When the winds kick up to 10mph on the lakebed, they get up to 60-70 through the slot and blow out over the Sea of Cortez. If you're in one boat, and the motor quits somewhere in that 1-mile-wide or so wind tunnel, it will blow you all the way down to Guaymas. It would not be a nice ride. There were enough friends with boats around that we always had plenty of company.

Every evening, we'd order fresh tortillas from our friends down the hill, and draw straws to see who would ride a quad down there early in the morning and pick them up. We all had suburbans, so it's easy to haul food, beer, propane tanks, spare tires and wheels, motorcycle parts, replacement appliances, generator parts and tools, building materials, clothing donations, sea doos, extra people, whatever. We replaced shredded tires, rebuilt outdrives, fixed busted windows and doors, and patched all manner of generator problems in that garage. Most of the visitors and friends there were firefighters and farmers. They're pretty good at handling emergencies and tight spots, and we had our share of them. But they were pleasantly surprised at how resourceful a few "city boys" can be in a bad situation.

We had some fun vacations down there, staying with friends who own two homes. Haven't been in quite a while. Puertecitos hasn't changed much, but getting there is much more hazardous than it once was. Recently, there are many officials and citizens who have learned to prey on tourists, placing gringos in very dangerous circumstances at times. Friends have been forced off the highway at night, in very remote places, forced to strip naked and left for the coyotes, losing their vehicle and everything of value inside. I'm just not willing to take the chance of putting my family through that. I fear that paving that road like a "super highway" won't make things any better.
Goldseeker
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Re: How Much Did This Cost?

Post by Goldseeker »

yes EZ he wrote that but it was directed at Sal
the 3 laughs are b/c you stepped in it big, not that unusual, btw....
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Iggy
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Re: How Much Did This Cost?

Post by Iggy »

Dan:We had some fun vacations down there, staying with friends who own two homes. Haven't been in quite a while. Puertecitos hasn't changed much, but getting there is much more hazardous than it once was. Recently, there are many officials and citizens who have learned to prey on tourists, placing gringos in very dangerous circumstances at times. Friends have been forced off the highway at night, in very remote places, forced to strip naked and left for the coyotes, losing their vehicle and everything of value inside. I'm just not willing to take the chance of putting my family through that. I fear that paving that road like a "super highway" won't make things any better.
We agree, it's a shame since we also enjoyed the area, all of Baja. Haven't been there in 3 yrs.
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Re: How Much Did This Cost?

Post by Desert Cruiser »

Dan: Your right about that, that's why we don't go down anymore. Shame it's a neat place. We have a friend who lives up in the foothills of Ca. above Yosemite, next to where we used to live that owns a home (you can buy a home down there now) just below the Doctors. It's probably the nicest place down there. He has a bank of 24 big bus batteries, with solar panels so he has electricity all the time. He does have water brought in. But he knows everyone down there and is fluent in writing, and speaking spanish and gets along well with them. He thinks I'm crazy and goes down all the time. He spends the winter down there. He's right on the shore and has a boat there also. He's the one we used to go to Gonzaga Bay with. And anyone with a 2 wheel drive can drive that road. It's rough in places but not that bad.

You know me and photos: So here's what the new bridges over the wash are going to look like, just outside Puertecitos
Image

New road into town:
Image

The road down to Gonsaga Bay -- a lot of lonely stretches so go prepared:
Image

When you coming out of Gonsaga Bay (leaving the restaurant) on the road that parallels the bay if you look over to the West this is what you'll see. The locals don't tell anybody about it. I found out about it from a traveler down there, he didn't want anyone to know where it was and wouldn't tell me. So I found it on Google Earth. You can see that white layer of Onyx on the satellite photos. Beautiful pieces of white and brown Onyx.
Image

There's a lot things to go there for, we spent a lot of time looking for this -----
http://www.desertusa.com/mb3/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=368

Some people go there to fish or eat fish or just explore, or just sit down and watch the sun come up
Image

Don....
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Re: How Much Did This Cost?

Post by Dan »

Looks like it's right behind the airstrip. But from Google Maps, it looks to be about 2 miles or so. Funny, never knew they were there. I guess we learn something every day.

I've taken that road several times on the motorcycle from Puertecitos, with a buddy. Good thing they open the gas station on demand, otherwise we might have been on fumes on the way back. That road doesn't seem that rough at speed, but it's a tire shredder. The washboard is brutal at slow speeds, but when you kick it up a gear or two, the rocks become like tire spikes.

My buddy and his wife had a dream of buying one of those Earth Roamer motorhomes, and towing their jeep around and sleeping on beaches in Baja. They canned those plans. It's just too dangerous right now.

If they ever get a handle on the problems, and you ever get a chance to go up to Mike's Sky Rancho, take it. It's a hoot. As kids, we rode all around those roads, and went almost to Valle de Trinidad on our own before we realized we were venturing too far without adults or proper gear. We used to wait until an airplane buzzed the motel, then raced them to the airstrip to watch them land. We always made it back just fine, but I would never do that now without preparation.
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Re: How Much Did This Cost?

Post by Desert Cruiser »

We know what your saying Dan. Mikes Sky Ranch, haven't even thought about that place for a long time. Linda and I took off from San Felipe one time and cut across to Ensenda to see what it looked like and ended up in Los Barrillos near the tip of Baja. Those were the fun days -- wait a minute we still do that! Was a great trip and some really neat experiences along the way. We did get stopped in Reo Neggro (not spelled right) on the way down and they told us we didn't have a visa -- left us hanging for a while so we thought we were in real trouble --- the expensive kind? But they filled out all the paperwork; we went to the first bank we came to in Loreto and paid. Easy! Sure wish you could still go down there. We always wanted to fish from Los Barrillos in the Sea of Cortez. We've fished every other place in the ocean and always thought we'd go back -- oh well. I was going to run to Mike's Sky Ranch on our crouch rocket from Ca. but never did make that trip. A lot of bike people go there. Brings back good memories though. Thanks

Almost forgot, that photo was taken right next to the airstrip and it is a mile and a half to the geyser. Now the geyser is not reliable; sometimes it doesn't go off for months then it'll go off for a couple of times within a week. The white is the onyx and is from the water from the geyser running down the wash. Where it is white the wash is buried many feet deep by the onyx. Some of the samples are really stunning! The wash below the white area is full of specimens. I have a few I brought back.

One other thing, farther down going toward Baja De Los Angeles but only a few miles below the gas station at Gonsaga Bay off to the West back into the mountains are several streams with colors in the bedrock that are really great to see. The streams almost always have water in them. Also a couple of caves and a mine in that area. Ever hear about them?

Don....
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Re: How Much Did This Cost?

Post by Sandman »

I like where this thread is going!

I've been known to hang around Los Barilles from time to time. My wife and I spent our honeymoon there on the beach. Since the passage of NAFTA, United States citizens can own homes and the land it sits on and there seems to be plenty of people who have done so. When I'm there, I use a quad to fish for Roosterfish and Jack Cravelle, cruising along the miles and miles of beaches in the late afternoon / evening, keeping my eyes peeled for the unmistakable swirl and boil of fish feeding.

Mexico is a different culture and the troubles it is experiencing these days revolves around the drug trade and corruption that permeates the air with the smell of death. But, there is plenty of crime north of the border as well. Once you get on down away from the border in Baja, life slows way down quickly. To avoid trouble, I dont travel at night. I dont drink in the bars and I try maintain a low profile. My friends and I do a friendly catch and release marlin tournament to support an orphanage in La Paz. We stuff our coolers with kids clothes and soccer gear and all of our "entry fees" go to the padre who runs it.

Most of my Baja experiences have been from the deck of a fishing boat up and down both sides. I'm going on an 8 day trip in October and then in January a 16 day. I guess that will keep me outta trouble and the freezer full.
Dan
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Re: How Much Did This Cost?

Post by Dan »

Don, I never heard about the caves or the perennial streams. Our trips to Gonzaga were brief and to the point, as we didn't want to get caught on that road after dark. We did a little exploring in the canyons west of Puertecitos. But most of our time was spent on the boats, at the fishin' hole, or hanging around on the beaches somewhere south of town. We did spend many an afternoon at Speedy's fish camp, though. We flew kites with the kids, rode the quads on the beach, or just sat and drank beer and hung out with Speedy.
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Re: How Much Did This Cost?

Post by Desert Cruiser »

The fishing sounds great, and also the sitting around on the beach or riding a dirt bike around there sounds like fun too. The caves, streams I was talking about are only about a 1 hour trip from Gonsaga Bay. Boy I do miss not going down there, our friend keeps asking about us coming down. Did you see the link above between the photos, that's what we spent a lot of time on. And it is neat just exploring; and we learned a lot about the different areas down there. Sandman I've got photos of Los Barrillos too! One of our better seafood diners came out of a restaurant in Loreto on the second floor of a building in middle of town. Can't remember the name. Great!

Don....
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