BajaNomad - 12-3-2002 at 12:11 AM
On the road to Gonzaga, both Chris on his motorcycle and me in my truck got flats! Like father, like son?
Rancho Grande has an impressive tire repair faucility and patched me up for only $5. Pedro was the man in charge and 'Cecil' made the repair. While
there, I noticed the white hillside to the west, that might be the onyx springs? First, I wanted to find Molino de Lacy, to the south, near Punta
Final.
Timothy Walker has several great photos on his web site of Molino de Lacy under 'Mystery Solved' ( http://timsbaja.com ). Molino means mill and William Lacy was the man who operated it in the late 1800's. His well preserved grave is on one side
of the hill, and the mill was on the other. One of my irrigation customers is his great grand daughter. When she knew of my Baja interests she told me
of a relative who had a mine in Baja, but didn't know where. Her last name is Lacy, and it finally dawned on me who and where it was. I told her about
Tim's photos and said I would also find it on a future trip.
From Rancho Grande (N29?47.50' W114?24.85', NAD27) or Alfonsina's road at the closed Pemex, go south on the main road 0.4 mile to 29?47.12'/
114?24.77', an unsigned graded road east... this is the detour route around Rancho Grande's cross runway, to the old main road. Take the old road
south about four miles to the Punta Final access road, cross it and continue south 1.6 more miles to a second cross road at 29?41.87'/ 114?21.47'.
Turn Left (east) and go 2.0 miles to a small hill. A large tank is passed off to the left before the hill with the mill site and debris laying about.
The mill was on the west side of the hill and William Lacy's grave is on the east side, with its view of Punta Final and the Sea of Cortez. GPS for
Molino de Lacy at Lacy's grave is 29?42.49'/ 114?19.62'.
The road circles the hill, and one road goes northeast from the hill to Punta Final (formerly known as Puerto de San Francisquito in mining days) on
the southern end of Ensenada de San Francisquito (the correct name for the bigger half of Gonzaga Bay). Another road goes southeast from the molino
side of the hill and is a rough (possibly impassable to all but motorcycles) route south to Coco's Corner, passing the Pioneer gold mine in 8.2 miles.
I took my Toyota 2.5 miles south on it, then turned around fearing another flat tire, as the road is all rocks, and looks totally unused. There was
thunder in the mountains with wonderful echoes bouncing in the canyons.
This seldom visited area could yield many discoveries... please photograph your findings and leave them for future generations to enjoy. Remember all
dirt roads lead to somewhere in Baja. My sharing GPS waypoints is only to help you discover the wonders to be found out there.
TO BE CONTINUED...
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http://DavidKsBaja.com