TRIP #1 (JAN 2017) Mexicali to Pta. San Francisquito over New Years Week 2017

EDIT: Despite paying Photobucket to keep the photos free of watermarks, and resizing to not stretch the Nomad page, as of June 2021, Photobucket is not honoring their agreement. We have been using Postimages.org as an alternative, free photo hosting site, but these trip reports were made before the switch to Postimages.org.

Report & Photos sized for message boards and no watermarks are here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2017-baja-expedition-1-e...


I had an 8 day trip with a mission to have a look at and get photos of every tourist destination (beach, campground, motel, gas station, historic site) from Km. 0 south of San Felipe to Punta San Francisquito.

The first day I caravaned with Baja Geoff as he has become very intrigued by the Melchior Diaz 1541 Grave Mystery, as told in this article: https://www.bajabound.com/bajaadventures/bajatravel/searchin...

Geoff has been going over Google Earth in the region myself and four other Nomads explored in April 2015 looking for possible sites. He had a hot target he wanted to see, and it was very near where we could get our Toyota trucks to, northwest of San Felipe.

After that search and camping one night with Geoff, I continued on south on my trip while he returned to run operations at Baja Bound.

DAY 1 (TUE. JAN. 27, 2016):

I meet Geoff near El Centro and we drive down Hwy. 5 to La Ventana (1 km. south) then turn west and go 28 miles to the target wash and the object Geoff GPS'd was on a steep bluff, just beyond our trucks. He saw a round or oval object 8-10 feet in diameter overlooking the land to the west, just as Walter Henderson described in his 1967 letter to Choral Pepper.

It was a lot higher up from the arroyo than Google Earth indicated. I managed to climb to the top, sometimes on all fours, sometimes sliding back 2 feet for every three forward, but made it. Geoff had attempted another route up, but it quickly proved impassable.


Our two trucks from the top of the bluff... looking west.

Looking east, there was the 10 ft. wide object...


Not a pile of rocks like for an important grave of a 16th Century Spanish explorer, but a mesquite tree!

Here is from the other side of it, looking west...



Further east and higher up, I saw an exciting object!


See it?


Could that be a cave? Frigatebird and I found a cave on the last Diaz Grave search, just north of here. Remember...



Bummed that the grave or 'rock pile' still alludes us, we drove up the wash and made camp where we Nomads had back in 2015... Geoff made the most awesome beef stew for the trip and breakfast burritos the next morning!




Geoff says the shrubs on top of the mountain are moving? Is the wind blowing up there, I wonder? I will see if the zoom on my camera helps...









The herd of Borrego's were feeding on that shrub and watching us far below.

Packed up the trucks and headed north in Arroyo Grande...





Even with the heavy rain just days before, the sand did not stay wet and there was very little mud.

I showed Geoff where the Pole Line Road reaches Arroyo Grande (17.5 miles from Hwy. 5) and it was a great short time with Geoff exploring Baja for a common fascination we have... the mysteries of the past!

Stay tuned for Day 2!...




[Edited on 6-5-2021 by David K]

Quote: Originally posted by Nashville Frank

Nice! Stirs the wanderlust in our souls...our memories rattle through the mind...the scents arouse our being...the indescribable quiet calms our hearts...we gotta go Baja or else!

Recon 2017

Well, December 28, 2016, actually... but close enough!

SAN FELIPE KM. 0 south...

I had the opportunity last week to try and go into every place that seemed to be one for campers or travelers (tourists).

Most of the "campos" south of San Felipe are actually places that lease lots for long-term occupancy and people build homes or park trailers on them. My goal was to see only the campgrounds, open beaches, and other points of interest so I could be up-to-speed for information to help fellow Baja travelers. I hope to help the people of Baja by this and inform the travelers of what options they have yet still leave enough mystery and not go on every road, so there is still a sense of adventure.

Guidebooks have never made Baja uninteresting, I have found. In fact, they compel me to see for myself and there is ALWAYS MORE to see and experience than any guidebook can share.

This will be an ongoing project to recon the roads and sites in Baja as long as I am able to do this, either physically or financially. This is the first trip, so it is one to discover how this works and what I need to change. In addition to writing mileages and drive times, I also have the use of a GPS communicator that leaves a track of where I drive (or walk) and notes on any place I choose to comment. My friends and wife can text me as well. This is the Garmin-DeLorme inReach Explorer.

So, while I won't bore you with all the details of each day, I will share a few photos of what I saw along the way. I hope it inspires you all to see more of Baja. This data will be able to be updated and those updates can come from any of you to make this a living map-guide to Baja California!

The project will have even more to offer, but I am going to let the sponsor of Baja Nomad forums, and my book's second printing, Baja Bound Insurance, give that info out when we know how this will look.

The following is only a SMALL sampling of the photos and data collected and that will be available in the future guide.


Km. 0 (El Huerfanito is actually at Km. 103)


Valle de los Gigantes, 1.4 miles from Hwy. 5 (Km. 14+) and my kind of sign!


Sundown Wednesday

DEC. 29, 2016:


Rancho Percebu (Km. 20 3/4), 2.2 miles from hwy.



Many places from here south were deserted, run down, and many palapas were in need of repair. Baja is taking back what man has tried to claim!







Nuevo Mazatlan is special to me because it was one of the original campgrounds south of San Felipe, long before the highway. Shown on old maps as Agua de Chale. The trees here were planted by founder Luis Castellanos Moreno around 1969. Owned by Javier, since about 1984, it remains a shaded campground on a wide sand beach. I first camped here in the mid-1960s and the most recent time was July 2015.


Just entering Puertecitos, on its paved driveway (Km. 74.5) is this sign.


One of the better-looking campgrounds, 0.2 mi from highway on Puertecitos road and then 0.3 mi to beach.


The hot springs of Puertecitos in the tidal zone. It is 200 pesos ($10) even to take photos here.






[Edited on 1-17-2017 by David K]

The water temperature changes with the amount of sea water mixing with the hot sulfur water. Low tide= too hot, high tide= too cold!


The launching ramp, just past the hot springs on the point, is the other attraction at Puertecitos. There are palapas but no rooms any longer. The gas station was open.








Isla El Huerfanito, the Little Orphan Island... set off away from the other Enchanted Islands.


Not much for camping offered.




Was actually not bad, I was shown the inside too. $30/night.




Km. 143




I had dinner here... cabrilla... was great and only US $7 or 98 pesos (=$5).


Thursday afternoon.

To be continued...

Quote: Originally posted by BigBearRider

Very nice! Funny enough, I was at the Day 2 places last week too. Including Nuevo Mazatlan. The burgundy VW wasn't at Percebu, but the RV was. The guy at Puertecitos quoted us $5 each to take a dip in the hot springs, for whatever it's worth. It seemed like too much. (And, as I'm sure you know, 200 pesos is less than $10, unless you are getting ripped...)

Quote: Originally posted by Nashville Frank

OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH! That sunset! Magnifico! Espléndido! Maravilloso! Estupendo! Increíble! Bellísimo! Well done David!

Alfonsina's Motel & Restaurant (Km. 147 and 1.8 miles in):











Km. 149+ (2.0 miles in)


$20 or 350 pesos (quoted prices for camping), cabins are $40.


Punta Final as the sun goes down.


My camp between El Sacrificio and Punta Final on Thursday night.

Friday 12-30-16:






Grave of William Lacy at his mill site, Molino de Lacy (Molino de San Francisquito before he died).





New construction, 3 miles south of end of pavement. The pavement ended by a new Km. 170 post, however, it is really Km. 167... since a Km. 165 post is 1.2 miles (2 km.) north and the rest are all correct going north.


Las Arrastras de Arriola site is safe from the new highway... see the bridge in the background.

When I wrote about Las Arrastras las year, I was concerned that new road construction would destroy the historic gold milling site. Read more: https://www.bajabound.com/bajaadventures/bajatravel/las_arra...


Looking down the well at Las Arrastras.


Coco in a group photo when I came in.


Puerto Calamajué was a real disappointment after the long drive.


The graded road ended at this house and shrubs blocked a view or access to the beach.


Fishing shacks could only be reached across the mud flat.


The L.A. Bay Junction on Hwy. 1 (Km. 282/Km. 0)

Despite the Google maps all calling the L.A. Bay 40 mile long paved highway 'Mexico #12', not one sign or mile post does. It has always been a branch of Mexico #1.

To be continued...

[Edited on 3-2-2018 by David K]

Quote: Originally posted by TMW

Great stuff DK. When Roy and I were in Baja in Dec. the exchange rate was 20 pesos per dollar so 200 pesos would be $10 you got taken.

Bahia de los Angeles areas Friday and Saturday 30th, 31st

[Edited on 1-6-2017 by David K]

Quote: Originally posted by Fatboy

Puerto Calamaju� .... Had no problem getting to the beach in 2016.... Of course rain could change that since you do drive across the mud flat like you said, but no problem. So while the graded road stays to the left/north and ends at the old processing building I would be hard pressed to say it is a disappointment because the main graded road doesn't allow easy access to the beach at the end of it. Heading down on motorcycles in Mid-January and will spend some time looking for the Henderson Rockpile since it looks like it is still 'misplaced'. Will you post GPS waypoints or tracks of where you looked on this trip?

South of L.A. Bay, SAT 12-31-16

Las Flores


For the history on this location: https://www.bajabound.com/bajaadventures/bajatravel/las_flor...


A graveyard for important citizens of Las Flores and Bahia de los Angeles. Many are Daggetts and Arces.


Dick Daggett Jr.


A memorial to gold prospector Herman Hill placed here by Paulina and Dern...
Herman is known from this book of his gold searching stories:




The Las Flores railroad line brought ore to be processed here from 5 miles south, at the foot of the mountain. There, a cable-tram bucket line brought the ore down from the top of the mountain where another railroad brought the ore from the mine, at nearly the top of the mountain. See more about this later in this trip report. The train engine is on display in the L.A. Bay town plaza. Behind that engine is an ore car from the other railroad at the top of the mountain. It used a different gauge track and that is why the ore car does not fit on the same track as the engine.

Heading south, the road is mostly very good by Baja standards. There are a couple places one needs to slow down, however.




26 miles from Bahia de los Angeles is this junction. It is 10 miles to the bay shore, 11 to a camping beach, and 12 to another camping beach past the mangroves. The 11-mile camping beach had a Tacoma with a solo camper, we waved. I chatted with him the next morning on my way out to make sure he was okay. His name was Abe and he was from Colorado. He said he travels around the world spending months at a time exploring. I camped a mile beyod and it was a beautiful, starry night for New Years Eve.

The next morning, that changed!

SUN JAN 1, 2017 Happy New Year

One last look at 2016:


2017:



Before the sun was up, the fierce wind kicked up and I scrambled to get camp torn down and the tent stowed away. It began to rain just as I finished!!!
Happy New Year!!!



The rainbow lasted until I was miles south... a good omen!


Las Animas mangroves




South shore of Las Animas Bay






There is the mystery wall that so intrigued Erle Stanley Gardner and especially Desert Magazine's Choral Pepper who would research the location and conclude it (along with the dam below, date palm, and other signs) was part of an aborted Jesuit mission to be called Santa Maria Magdalena. Read more about it here: https://www.bajabound.com/bajaadventures/bajatravel/mystery_...

The road to the base of the hill, below the wall was obliterated, otherwise, I would have shown more photos or the area. This is about 2 miles south of the bay.





North end of San Rafael bay beach, about 2 miles north of Pancho's place.


For you Tacoma fans.


View from Pancho's San Rafael. Note the gill net in the water. The fisherman that was sitting with Pancho down there got up and went to his compound a bit east of Pancho's house. It was as if he didn't want to be seen with that gill net?








The road south does have two major washouts with detours in place.




This is the El Arco-San Francisquito highway! Excellent!!


Gate at Beto's driveway, open and drive through, close behind.
Puerto San Francisquito on Cala San Francisquito








Camping is $10/pp with use of bathroom and shower. A cabana rents for $40 and a house rents for $100.

If you turn right at the gate (or use the first driveway 1.3 miles west of the gate) you go 1 mile to Punta San Francisquito Resort with both a salt flat and paved landing strip.



The resort is in sad shape. The restaurant was in business and I was invited to eat by a lady walking outside. The cabanas rent for $20.













That was good enough for now... Next to find another quiet camping beach. Stay tuned!

Las Animas

Quote: Originally posted by Fatboy

Puerto Calamajué .... Had no problem getting to the beach in 2016.... Of course rain could change that since you do drive across the mud flat like you said, but no problem. So while the graded road stays to the left/north and ends at the old processing building I would be hard pressed to say it is a disappointment because the main graded road doesn't allow easy access to the beach at the end of it. Heading down on motorcycles in Mid-January and will spend some time looking for the Henderson Rockpile since it looks like it is still 'misplaced'. Will you post GPS waypoints or tracks of where you looked on this trip?

fascinating place to explore.......although the beach area appears to have been carpet bombed, so much survived, the newer schoolhouse still with tables and chairs, workbooks scattered around, the chapel on the hill perfectly intact, the "town" houses still full of interesting junk, one was a cantina, the huge stone pila that appears to never had water in it, the beautiful fish processing center with its smokers that never got off the ground. I love it out there....what a shame DK's yota wasn't up for the task!

Jan. 1 Sunday, continued...

What a great day... seeing so much, driving great dirt roads, enjoying the XM Satellite radio and four wheeling solo without fear (oh what a feeling).

On Google Earth, I could see a road to the north coast of the peninsula that makes San Francisquito. It is opposite of the old road south to El Barril, on maps, about 5 miles west of Beto's gate. It is 4.6 miles north to a fork, I go left and in a mile the road passes next to the beach, but just out of sight of it and then heads back inland... coming to an end (washouts and brush) 1.6 miles from the nearest beach approach. On Google Earth, you can see that this road (once wide and graded) went to a big mine on the mountain.










Ironwood for my campfire!




This guy didn't make it!

As it was getting sundown, a Tacoma with a camper shell drove by on the beach, stopping a quarter mile past where I was and a couple guys got out with fishing poles. They returned after dark from wherever they had come onto the beach.




The next morning, Jan. 2, 2017.




Isla San Lorenzo


Petrified sand dollars, right along the road, exposed when it was cut into the hillside.


This was 0.7 miles from the beach and over 100 feet higher.

I took the right fork and it soon passed these oyster shell piles...



There was another fork in 0.4 mile and I went left, ending at a beach in another 0.4 mile. A couple were camping near there. On Google Earth, the right fork also ends at the beach in a mile or less east.

Just before returning to the L.A. Bay road junction is the signed road south for Rancho Escondido (on the El Barril road)... the sign is pretty worn out. Like so many tourist oriented places, and this one was seeking motorcycle off roaders offering cabins and meals, it seems to have failed the test of time.









Back north to L.A. Bay...






I want to see the Railroad/ tram bucket terminal platform where the Las Flores Railroad and the San Juan ore buckets met. I was last there in 2003! The road was badly overgrown and looked only traveled by motorcycles, much of it was part of some local off road race. I scratched my truck pretty bad getting in here, but it was worth it!




Where the railroad crosses the auto road, the rocks and eveidence are missing, covered by sand... but walk just north, past the plants...






View to L.A. Bay













Heading back to my truck...




See my truck?


I get a room at Casa Diaz ($20), it is very rustic but has lights, bathroom, hot water, and a soft bed.
Photo from Tuesday morning sunup.

SO, my negative restaurant review for this trip comes this night.
I got the room at Casa Diaz, and decided to treat myself to a nice seafood dinner.

I went to Casa del Sol (Victoria's) where the Great Dane, Scoobydo is still greeting guests. A big family is already in the little restaurant but, they were not yet ordering... I asked for fish, "no fish" was the reply. That is very strange in Bahia de los Angeles to have no fish. The two other dinners items were shrimp and scallops (100 pesos each). I ask if they are real scallops (manta ray is sometimes substituted, but that would be okay, in this case), the reply was yes, real scallops.

Okay, the soup eventually comes and it is great, have no idea what it was but a creamy, squash and cheese soup, I think. Last time it was corn chowder and great. Victoria has great soup, and it is a cold night, so I was looking forward to that.

When the dinner arrives, I was way-way disappointed... instead of scallops or something close, like manta ray, it was squid (calamari) and I even was going to taste one to see if it would pass, as I am not that picky. It smelled and like fishing bait.

Not wanting to embarrass Victoria in front of the large family, I walked up to the bar and quietly told her that it was not scallops, but obviously calamari. She firmly denied it and was loud, I shook my head and she said it was the way the cook sliced it... there were a couple of back and fourths and even said in Spanish to the Mexican family how scallops are sometimes cut that way. Yes, the tube-shaped, rubbery meat, was as much a scallop as I was.

That she wanted to debate me on it instead of offering a substitution (real shrimp would have been fine) ended my appetite.

I had ordered two beers and enjoyed the chips and soup... but only drank a little of the second beer when my bait, I mean dinner, arrived.

I got up, asked her for the check and she said I owed nothing. I think that was an admission. I insisted on paying and told her the soup, beer and chips were all very good. I paid her 200 pesos which was probably the full bill, but I was happy to leave.

I drove up to China's taco stand 'La Carreta' and had the most wonderful FISH tacos! Yes, they do have fish in L.A. Bay!



Tuesday, the long drive home with a surprise at my lunch stop (no, they had real fish and it was excellent)! Stay tuned!!!

David,
Here is a couple shots of the beach at Calamue

TUE JAN 3 2017 Bahia de L.A. to Tecate

It was a beautiful morning, I made breakfast out in front of my room, on my tailgate and left just before 8 am.




The desert west of L.A. Bay has most of the popular Baja plants, like cholla, pitahaya, elephant tree, and cirio (what we know best as a boojum tree).


Hwy. 5 junction with the Hwy. 1, at Laguna Chapala


In less than a mile, the new road route veers off to the right and parallels the new, about a half mile away and in just over two miles they rejoin again for the climb into the hills.




Construct to complete the final 20 some mile gap of Mexico Highway 5 (Mexicali to Laguna Chapala) is underway. I would say in another two years it could be finished?






Just north of the start of pavement, but this should read Km. 167 to match all the other km. posts north of this one! In other words, the next marker is 2 kms. north and is Km. 165... the rest are in order, going north.


20.5 kms. north of the end of pavement is the Pemex (at Km. 147) and Rancho Grande store, beach access and Alfonsina's motel access.




Rancho Grande beach




Km. 35.5, Colonia Delicias and Chelo's Restaurant... just one couple there eating at 12:15. I had a nice visit and was asked about a mission. My thank you for the conversation was a copy of my book and if Linda (his wife) could take a photo...


... of me and IVAN STEWART (!)

Baja is always so rewarding and fun for me... I hope that my writing and trip reports are a way to give back some of the joy.

Baja California has always been a great place to travel, explore, vacation, and be close to Nature for over 50 years of my life.

Thank you... and VIVA BAJA!

Here's a map showing where I camped or had a room:




Red arrows are camping locations and the blue arrow is where I stayed at a motel for nights #4 and #7.
Top to Bottom red arrows (Night # of trip):
#1 Arroyo Grande
#2 Near Laguna Percebu
#3 Near Punta Final (Gonzaga Bay)
#5 Bahia las Animas
#6 Near Punta San Francisquito on Bahia San Rafael

[Edited on 1-6-2017 by David K]

Thanks ... enjoyed getting out with you on your "ride"

Quote: Originally posted by LukeJobbins

That's an awesome trip. It's weird that you got a room for 20 dollars at casa Diaz. They quoted me 40 for one night solo and a guy a day before 50. The cheapest place I found was villa vita. And I also went in search of the mine ruins but couldn't find them. I drove the road as far as I could then obviously walked in the wrong direction. Next time, now that I read baja bounds gps coordinates. Sounds like following your route will have to be my next trip.

Quote: Originally posted by LukeJobbins

And I also went in search of the mine ruins but couldn't find them. I drove the road as far as I could then obviously walked in the wrong direction. Next time, now that I read baja bounds gps coordinates. Sounds like following your route will have to be my next trip.

The stuff on the valley floor was processing the ore... the mine is way up at the top of the mountain, at San Juan.

A railroad line (narrow gauge) brought the ore from the mine entrance to the top of the cable tram line.

The tram buckets took the ore down the side of the mountain, in the canyon, to the terminal platform. There, the ore was dropped into the train cars.

The train (engine on display in L.A. Bay town plaza) took the ore to Las Flores (about 5 miles) where the town was and the gold and silver ore was processed and poured into ingot molds.

The ingots were then transported by wagon to the bay for shipment.

If the Mexican Revolution of 1911 didn't stop operations, the railroad was to be extended to the bay and plenty more ore could be extracted!

See my article on San Juan/ Las Flores: https://www.bajabound.com/bajaadventures/bajatravel/las_flor...

Here are my tracks from last week:


On the Punta San Francisquito Road from the point across from the Las Flores Jail south to the terminal platform access road (where the PSFO road curves to the left), it is 2.3 miles. The road on to the platform area was used for a motorcycle race, it is overgrown, and will scratch your rig!



A close up of the terminal platform: The mileage from the PSFO graded road is 2.4 (not 2.3 as shown, sorry) to where the race course road turned off to the left. Soon the road for the terminal curves to the right and here (0.1 mi. from race road) it crosses the railroad line heading downhill to Las Flores. It is not visible where it crosses the road [blue arrow], but get out and walk north past the vegetation and it is immediately visible. See the red line track where I walked it for several dozen feet. Another 500 or so feet on the road is the second railroad crossing [blue arrow], and like the first, it isn't visible until you leave the road and walk to the north. Here is the way to the platform where the giant cable wheel once was mounted for the tram line [red arrow].

The road could not be driven more than 0.3 mi. beyond the second RR crossing. I did not see it, so I parked at the end of the road and began walking north and east searching (see red line to north of road) and came back to my truck and spotted it as I drove slowly back down.

Las Flores Railroad

The engine is from Las Flores to the Terminal Platform railroad. The mine car is from the San Juan mountaintop railroad (notice it is not the same gauge, track width).




Marland Burke, actor (on a new Lexus series of commercials, and previously in the motion picture, Magic Mike).

Nacho's Camp El Huerfanito

I was asked about what was at Huerfanito for the $10 camping fee... this is it:

KM. 103:







The next signed campo (Campo Tano, Km. 105.5) had even LESS!

Quote: Originally posted by hombre66

Thanks for the details. This is good for my needs .

Quote: Originally posted by Bob H

Finally got around to going through your trip report David. Lots of very nice photos, indeed! Is the Cowpatty Bar and Grill still around?

Quote: Originally posted by SomebodyElse

Thank you for all the photos and the excellent information. We are in San Felipe right now and heading south, so it will be our guide for the next few stops! Peter

Great stuff, David! Beautiful imagery. What a great post

Have you ever been sitting there (maybe fishing with your daughter in Baja...) and gotten that feeling that someone is watching you?





Here's another shot of that awesome camp site!

Here's lookin back atcha David K!



[Edited on 2-19-2017 by BajaNomad]

Quote: Originally posted by barcodemarco

Thanks for the great report, David K. I'm a little late to the game but did I read correctly that you stopped in at Bahia Las Animas? If so, how was the road in? That looks like a great campsite near Gonzaga.

That's what is great about Baja: choices!!! You even have two kinds of oceans to pick from only a couple hours apart!

BOAL? as in L.A. Bay? (never say BOLA, ugh)

Quote: Originally posted by TMW

David when do you expect the guide book to be out?