BajaNomad

How many beach fires will you sit around in Baja the rest of the year?

JZ - 7-7-2021 at 12:56 AM

Is there much better in life?




cortezpirasea - 7-7-2021 at 09:13 AM

Practically a religious experience!

HeyMulegeScott - 7-7-2021 at 11:09 AM

We tend to use our gas fire pit more than making a wood fire but there is something primal about a real fire.

BajaTed - 7-7-2021 at 11:20 AM

Summer time; the milky way is in full bloom.

A dried up century plant into your campfire is instant entertainment Baja style

bajafreaks - 7-7-2021 at 11:22 AM

Every full moon our little community has a bonfire, food, and drinks.

David K - 7-7-2021 at 01:53 PM

Incredible photo, Scott!

4x4abc - 7-7-2021 at 04:55 PM

how many?
not enough!

Mulege Canuck - 7-7-2021 at 05:14 PM

Quote: Originally posted by bajafreaks  
Every full moon our little community has a bonfire, food, and drinks.


There was a Baja vet who would have these amazing full moon parties at Rattlesnake Beach south of Puerto Escondido. Great guy.

Anyone remember that guys name?

AKgringo - 7-7-2021 at 07:10 PM

I like fires! I heat with a wood stove, so for over half the year, fires are a daily thing. I like the flames enough that cleaning the glass door on my stove is a labor of love!

I build big fires as well! I can't possibly turn all my dead, downed, or problem trees into fire wood, so I build piles with a bull dozer and excavator that you can't get close too until they have burned a few hours!

But when I go to Baja, I don't plan on building one on the beach. I know I would enjoy sharing stories around a fire with some of you folks, but when it is just me and my dog, I travel light and keep things simple.

I do bring a laptop and a power supply, so maybe I should plug in a thumb drive with a nice campfire for the ambiance! :coolup:

JZ - 7-7-2021 at 09:51 PM

Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo  
I like fires! I heat with a wood stove, so for over half the year, fires are a daily thing. I like the flames enough that cleaning the glass door on my stove is a labor of love!

I build big fires as well! I can't possibly turn all my dead, downed, or problem trees into fire wood, so I build piles with a bull dozer and excavator that you can't get close too until they have burned a few hours!

But when I go to Baja, I don't plan on building one on the beach. I know I would enjoy sharing stories around a fire with some of you folks, but when it is just me and my dog, I travel light and keep things simple.

I do bring a laptop and a power supply, so maybe I should plug in a thumb drive with a nice campfire for the ambiance! :coolup:


It's just me and the oldest dog tonight.






[Edited on 7-9-2021 by JZ]

SFandH - 7-8-2021 at 08:26 AM

I'm usually in the sack shortly after sundown. My small campfires are at 5 AM or so with a cup of coffee.

chuckie - 7-8-2021 at 08:32 AM

Fires are better in MONTANA

BajaNomad - 7-8-2021 at 08:13 PM

❤️

David K - 7-9-2021 at 10:27 AM

No, EVERYTHING is better in Baja!

TMW - 7-9-2021 at 06:33 PM

Setting around a camp fire with friends and family is about the best it gets.

Taking firewood into Baja

AKgringo - 7-11-2021 at 06:50 PM

I am sure that it is a violation, but does it result in confiscation of the wood, being sent back to the US, a fine, or a combination of the above?

Is it legal for a non-resident to cut dead and down trees and bushes along the beach and arroyos?

I have an electric chainsaw now that has been pretty handy and no need for a mixed gas can in the load.

TMW - 7-12-2021 at 10:22 AM

I've never had any problem taking regular firewood to Baja but one time a couple of years ago I had an Italian Cypress I cut down in my back yard it was in about 4 foot lengths and the Mexican border agent read me the riot act about how that was not allowed in Mexico. This was at the TJ crossing and I thought she wanted me to turn around and go back to the US but no she said I could go on but don't do it again.

She was really pretty and got prettier the madder she looked. If I wasn't married I think a love affair may have blossomed. Oh well

willardguy - 7-12-2021 at 10:34 AM

Quote: Originally posted by TMW  
I've never had any problem taking regular firewood to Baja but one time a couple of years ago I had an Italian Cypress I cut down in my back yard it was in about 4 foot lengths and the Mexican border agent read me the riot act about how that was not allowed in Mexico. This was at the TJ crossing and I thought she wanted me to turn around and go back to the US but no she said I could go on but don't do it again.

She was really pretty and got prettier the madder she looked. If I wasn't married I think a love affair may have blossomed. Oh well


maybe she was from Santa Clarita and spotted the Italian Cypress, we had an awful infestation of caterpillars in our cypress trees and all had to be removed. I would say they don't want em in baja but if you've been to Sacrificio in G-bay the beach is covered with em!

motoged - 7-12-2021 at 02:22 PM

Two years ago I wasn't allowed entry to Washington state as I had some firewood in the truck....had to return to Canada to dump the wood.

Damn, it was two night's worth of dry birch and tamarack....:no:

AKgringo - 7-12-2021 at 04:09 PM

Quote: Originally posted by motoged  
Two years ago I wasn't allowed entry to Washington state as I had some firewood in the truck....had to return to Canada to dump the wood.

Damn, it was two night's worth of dry birch and tamarack....:no:


If it is not too far out of your way on your next trip south, swing through Grass Valley CA and I can fill your truck with firewood!

David K - 7-12-2021 at 04:17 PM

Nice!

motoged - 7-12-2021 at 05:27 PM

Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo  
Quote: Originally posted by motoged  
Two years ago I wasn't allowed entry to Washington state as I had some firewood in the truck....had to return to Canada to dump the wood.

Damn, it was two night's worth of dry birch and tamarack....:no:


If it is not too far out of your way on your next trip south, swing through Grass Valley CA and I can fill your truck with firewood!


Thanks for the offer, Gary. With my luck, the guy at Tecate would turn me around :biggrin:

In Baja I look for mesquite.

This winter I built up a good wood stash for summer camping.....now summer is here, the province is on fire....so maybe this October I could have a fire....

Mesquite

MrBillM - 7-12-2021 at 11:45 PM

In California, all varieties of Mesquite are protected as threatened species with a fine of not less than $1500 and not more than $2500 per violation.

So far this year, up at our campground in Poppet Flats, I've called the CA Fish and Wildlife tip line on two different campers for "harvesting" limbs. No idea what the results were.

Given that wood fires are prohibited within the park, what they're doing is doubly wrong.

Maderita - 7-13-2021 at 02:37 AM

Quote: Originally posted by MrBillM  
In California, all varieties of Mesquite are protected as threatened species...

Perhaps you are confusing mesquite with manzanita? Easy to do as both start with the letter "M" and are great for cooking fires. In California, Manzanita is an endangered plant species, protected by the California Endangered Species Act. In the Sierra de Juarez, manzanita (dead limbs only) is my preferred fuel for wood stove cooking in the cabin, while mesquite makes good coals and flavor for barbecuing outdoors.

Manzanita endangered?

AKgringo - 7-13-2021 at 06:24 AM

I had to look that one up! It turns out that there is one species, the Presidio Manzanita that is protected. The stuff that grows around the sierra foothills where I am, grows in patches so dense you can't walk through it.

I have a some very large plants that I leave alone, but man others that are being shaded out, or waiting to be the fuel for a catastrophic fire, so I take them out myself!

It is great fuel for a campfire, but the smoke does not have a good odor for cooking. I have a fairly large Madrone tree that died last year, and it is on the cut list for when things cool off a bit. I suspect it will be very similar to a giant Manzanita.

For heat, and flavor, the best wood to cook with on the west coast is Eucalyptus. It doesn't grow where I am, but I had a friend that used to have an annual 4th of July barbeque with a side of beef roasting over a Eucalyptus fire.