jinxmd
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Catavina to Gonzaga Bay
We have a 30' RV, self-contained but not off-road material. We would like to go from Catavina to Gonzaga and would like to know just how bad the road
it. We have been to Gonzago by boat, but not on the road. Can we do it?
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David K
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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You continue south on Mex. 1 from Catavina to Laguna Chapala where the graded dirt road turns east for Gonzaga Bay (36 miles). It will be SLOW going
in a motorhome and yours may be a bit big, but it has been done. Photos of Bedman and Emma driving their's to Gonzaga in 2001 at http://vivabaja.com/bedman . Better might be L.A. Bay which has a good paved road to it and more choices of places to stay?
[Edited on 1-19-2005 by David K]
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yankeeirishman
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de_air too
"and let some of that air outta da tires"!
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tim40
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I have personally seen it done in a 32' model. The greatest variable (and I am no help as it has be 6 months since I was last there) is the condition
of the road. No so much the wash board (low air pressure and SLOW will get you through that) but the wash-outs. If you go an you find you can't
make it, the worst would be an adventure that you have to turn back from.
I love both Bahia LA and GB, but in my opinion there is zero comparision other than they are both in Baja and on the Sea of Cortez.
When searching for the end of your rainbow you only have until dusk....
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Anonymous
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The road was rough in October, probably worse now. I wouldn't even take a cabover camper on that road, it would vibrate to pieces.
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Anonymous
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In previous years, early January was the time picked for re-grading the road. It was like a highway for a couple weeks following the improvement. Best
to get a recent report, rather than one from October.
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jinxmd
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Road to Gonzaga
Sounds like we need to take to tow car and check it out first. Thanks for all the info, jinx
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Debra
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As David mentioned, Bedman and Emma have taken their 34ft. (I believe it was 34ft. ) in there. They pulled a sort of bed spring contraption behind
their "Scout", "Wrangler".....whatever it is, to smooth out the road for the Moho. Very inventive. Baja improv. at it's amusing best!
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Bedman
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Location: Orange County, CA.
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La Chapala to Gonzaga bay
Hello JinxDr,
You can make the trip as long as the road isn't washed out. Hopefully someone will drive it befor you go and give you a road report. Here's a short
story about the last time we drove the road. Hope you like it and if you have any questions feel free to ask.
Bedman
Wednesday the 26th of June around 12 noon, we left Orange County . Ensenada came into view around 4:00 pm. Emma reminded me ?She? didn?t like
traveling in the outside, slow lane of the 3 lane highway, I agreed. The ?Slow? lane in a Motor home is Dangerous. Too many cars swerving in and out
of side streets and parking places. So, there I am, cruising along at the speed limit behind a Semi, when all of a sudden I hear that dreadful
sound..Whooop Whoop Whoiieee... Black and White behind me.... I pull over and park on the side of the road and Mr. Officer comes up to the door and
looks at me like he wants to talk. I slide the window open and say Hi!! He looks up at me and asks ?Se Habla Espanol?? I shake my head and say ?Nope!?
he asks with a quizzical look, ?Nada?? I shake my head, smile and say ?Nada?. He walks back and talks to his companion who is wearing a Highway patrol
uniform and not a member of the Ensenada police. Tag! it?s his turn to talk to the P-nche Gringo. Mr. H.P. strides confidently up to the window and
says in english, ?Hello?. I say, ?Hello?. He then tells me it?s ?Muy malo to drive in the middle lane? and that ?I need to follow him to the Policia
estacion?. I ask him ?Why? He tries to tell me as 3 Tractors and a Dump truck rumble down the middle lane past us. I really didn?t hear or understand
him this time. Before he can get any words out again, I tell him in my best broken spanglish, ?La multa, querr? dirigirme al juez calificador cuando
nos llegar all?? ( I?ll want to talk to the Juez Califcador when we arrive there). He looks at me sideways and then walks back to the Ensenada officer
and returns after a moment and hands me my license back and tells me in perfect english, Please, drive safely?. He he he....No Ticky, No Washie.
Clouds hung over the coast the whole way to San Quintin and I was kind of hoping they?d cool off Gonzaga before we arrived there on Friday. We arrived
in San Quintin a couple of hours later, no worse for wear.
Thursday am. After a full nights rest, It?s breakfast time and I?ve got a ?Jone?s? for a Gypsy?s Beach breakfast burrito, Laura makes the Best.. A
short 2 minute drive later and I have a cup-a-Joe in one hand and a Chorizo, pappas y Huevos burrito in the other. Emma opts to walk Daisy the Crazy
dog down and join me. Ok, so I had 2 burritos, Leave me alone, it?s Vacation time. After a lazy day around camp we headed out to Gene Allshouse?s
place (San Quintin?s Sportfishing?s ?Man to know? If you want to catch fish, Gene?s your man). Gene and his wife Laura (Yup, same lady that makes the
breakfast burritos), Emma and I head to Jardin?s for dinner. It?s Laura?s birthday next week and were celebrating a tad early. What a wonderful
couple and Jardin?s restaurant is perfect, as usual. I had the Rib eye steak and Emma had the fish with Mango Salsa. The fresh Mango Margarita?s were
excellent. After c-cktails and before dinner arrived we strolled through the gardens and picked Oranges, Lemons, Limes and Tangerines. Half the
orchard wasn?t ripe yet, Grapes, Pears, Apples and one fruit I didn?t know. Got to see my first Albino Peac-ck, she had 3 new chicks. This was the
Best meal of the trip and I haven?t had better, Even in the states. We left Gene and Laura early that night. Tomorrow the Gonzaga road.
Friday, 8 am and were on the road bright and early. A brisk morning to be sure, about 60 degrees with an Easterly 15 MPH wind. Paulina, Cody, Connor,
Dexter, Baja Nana, Heather and Antonio, Mike, M. A. and Miguelito, Travel Pearl and a few others are meeting us at the La Chapala road at 1:00 pm.
It?s cool weather until we cross over to the Cortez side, where the temps begin to climb. We?re the first to arrive and pull on to the gravel road. I
un-hook the 4x4 Suzuki Sidekick and hook up the 8? x 9? heavy gauge chain link fence with the 8? long 2? x 4? and wire cables to the back of the
?Little Suzuki that Could?. Oh, I forgot to tell you, I?m going to drag the wash board road. Last time we drove this road it almost shook the 30? Moho
apart and took us close to 8 hours to travel 40 miles. Temperatures are close to 90 now and a few clouds off in the distance.
1:00 pm Friday. Paulina and the group arrive and soon after and we?re off. Everything seems to be going to plan, then the 2x4 falls off the drag. I
fix it, then it falls off again after about 3 miles, I fix it again. then Heather and Antonio get a flat. I never even knew they stopped , I was
leading the Parade and the cloud of dust behind me was Epic. Then Paulina gets a flat. I pop out the BIG can of Fix-a-Flat and Connor fills the tire
up. We drive on some more to let the tire seal, it doesn?t. So we stop and re-inflate it. 1/2 mile later we stop again and young Dexter tries to
?Plug? it. 1/2 mile later it?s still leaking Goo and air. I plug it this time, Darn kids don?t know ?How to Plug? a tire. 1/4 mile later it?s still
leaking, Old Guys don?t know ?How to Plug? a tire either, LOL. We concede defeat and change the tire.
Coco?s, close to 3 pm. The mercury is still rising , almost 95 degrees and to our dismay, Coco isn?t there! He?s out galavanting around Baja and
wont be back till sometime Sunday. After a half hour break the Parade continues down the road. We arrived in Gonzaga around 5:30, taking the tire
delays and multiple stops to fix the drag into consideration, we made it in about 3 1/2 hours. That?s Half the time it took us last time. Of course,
Dexter (He decided to ride with me) and I look like a dirt miners, a light coat of road dust from head to toe. I guess the Drag was a success. We
pulled into a Palapa on the beach and sat for a while just catching our breath. Food came into thought and we headed to Alfonsina?s for a bite. Most
of the BBBB gang was already there consuming Mass quantities of adult beverages and food. I had the Carnita?s burritos, Emma had the shrimp, Both were
excellent. After a few cool ones and just before sunset we decided it was time to make camp. Paulina and the gang set up camp in the palapa next to
us. The wind started to blow and the air had cooled to a balmy 90 or so around 8:00. Everyone was tired and slowly the camp lights fade to blackness.
Saturday, somewhere around 9 am. I finally drug my butt out of bed and peaked out at the bay. Looks pretty nice, No white caps on the water and not a
soul in sight. Paulina, Deborah, Connor and Dexter have packed up and headed off to Alfonsina?s. There are a few trailers and campers at the 3
palapa?s to the south of us and the one to the North is now empty, but not for long. Just about the time I walk out of the MoHo, 2 more Motor homes
come rumbling down the road on the South side of the air strip and into camp. The first one rolls up to the edge of the soft sand and stops. The other
one, identical in size, shape and model (They were both rentals and about 22 foot) stops just short of the of the vacant palapa. The first moho plows
ahead into the soft sand and is promptly buried up to both axles. The second follows suit and plows on an angle to the beach and is immediately caught
in the soft sand also. I pull out a lawn chair, set down and enjoy the show that ensues. Two very nice couples along with 1/2 dozen kids of all ages
pour out and begin to assess the situation. After 1/2 hour of side splitting entertainment I finally can?t stand it any longer and stroll over to
offer my sage wisdom. Trying everything in my book of tricks, plywood and 2x4?s under tires, Carpets laid on top of the wood, airing down the tires
and they?re still stuck. After coming to the conclusion that they weren?t getting out with my help. I loaded one of the Moho guys in the Suzuki. We
drove up to the Rancho and talked to Pedro. He said he would send one of the guys down with the BIG tractor. The tractor arrived 1/2 an hour later.
He drug them both out like nothin was attached. Rogelio and Victor (the ?Stuckees? ) and I were amazed at the power of the skip loader. They
re-parked and the camp went quiet for a little while.
Around 11 am Dave A. and Yvonne came rolling into camp. We sat back and discussed the goings on in the world and drank a few Bedman Maggies. After
some discussion about fishing (SteveOO (4Baja) still hadn?t shown up) I decided to wet a line. The tide had gone out and was about ready to turn. A
wire leader, #6 bait hook, 2 ounces of lead, a 10 foot light rod and spinning reel. The first cast a Whopper of a Trigger, 5 pounds or so, came to the
beach. Re-baited and cast out again and BAM!! I didn?t even get back to my chair, another smaller one. Re-baited and cast out again Bam!! another
one......I made Dave A reel this one in. Dave landed a few more. The fish were cooperating the wind was off shore and cooperating, the Maggies were
Good and So was the company. What more could you ask for ? More friends!! SteveOO , Whiskey Girl and Bo showed up and had a quick visit on their way
to Calamajue. The rest of the day was a Bluurrr.
8 pm Saturday night. Getting my butt beat in a Cribbage game, Emma suggests we head out in the morning. The wind came up and I?m not going to get to
launch the inflatable. We?ll head for San Quintin or L. A. Bay in the AM. Seems like such a shame to leave so soon, but most of the BBBB gang have
indicated they were all taking off today or tomorrow.
10 am Sunday. All packed and ready to go. We say our good byes to Rogelio and Victor and their families, (really Great people) and head for La
Chapala. Bumping along around 15 MPH with the drag in tow only 2 cars come in from the West. About an hour into the drive Who comes up behind us ?
Baja Nana, Cody, Connor, Dexter, Travel pearl, Mike, Miguelito and Mary Ann Humphreyville and Heather and Antonio. They wave and pass and slowly
disappear down the road. We plod on like the Tortoise and the Hare. Coco?s finally comes into view and everybody is parked out front. We pull over and
visit with Coco the Desert Sage and the group for 15 minutes or so. Coco is well and has a new prosthesis, his old self made, Cardon one is hanging
from one of the rafters in his abode with his shoe still on the end of it. We always give Coco all of our perishables and he is appreciative of the
fresh fruit and other goodies. Cody decides to ride with Emma and Daisy in the air conditioned MoHo and we all pull out enmass. We?ll meet up at Hwy.
#1.
1:00 pm Sunday, We finally arrive at Hwy. #1 and meet the gang at the little restaurant across the Hwy. I?m hungry and order the special of the day,
Carnitas burritos. Just as I?m finished with lunch a Taxi cab pulls in to the parking lot and a young family of four gringo?s climb out. Dad is paying
the cab driver a huge sum of pesos. I figure they rode in the cab a long way. Heck, there ain?t nothing close to the turn off. L. A. Bay is close to
80 miles off, Guerro Negro is even further. I strike up a conversation and hear a bone chilling story of the accident they had the day befor, but
that?s another story for another time.
Bedman
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jinxmd
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Ok, Ok, we'll go to Bahia de los Angeles
We'll save Gonzaga for a boat trip! After all the great info, we don't think we'll attempt the 36 mile run. Since we have to make the 23 mile
washboard to Chivato down the road, we'll save our tires, axel, etc. for that. Thanks to everyone for the info. jinx
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