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DaliDali
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Posts: 1132
Registered: 4-21-2010
Location: BCS
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Rancho Santa Ines near Catavina
Please.....
Looking for any and all information about the campground there.
28' travel trailer with tow vehicle for an overnighter.
I think there is a restaurant there?....still operational?
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bajatrailrider
Super Nomad
Posts: 2423
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Location: Mexico
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Mood: Happy
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Yes just dirt lot
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DaliDali
Super Nomad
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Registered: 4-21-2010
Location: BCS
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Works for me....thank you
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Howard
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Mood: I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done.
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It's really not a "campground" but a very large open area to camp. You could fit a battleship in if you wanted. No restaurant, no nuttin. To me, it
feels a little spooky when I camp alone there, it's isolated and very dark. It's definitely in my mind and never have heard of any problems. If
there are no other campers there it can be very, very quiet and you can hear the sounds of the desert quite well, coyotes, etc.
We don't stop playing because we grow old;
we grow old because we stop playing
George Bernard Shaw
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64476
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Ken Cooke was just there a few days ago and paid them for access to the Mission Santa María road. There has historically been a restaurant and bunk
rooms there. The owner liked to spell it Santa Ynez we have been told. Americans lease lots and live in the area. The late Marv Patchen was one and
wrote a book about the guest book he had visitors sign in his. A paved runway is there for pilots. This was a popular pit stop and Baja race
checkpoint. The president of Mexico slept here during his campaign trip and promised to build a highway before his term ended. He kept that promise
and also paved the Santa Ynez driveway and air strip in 1973.
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mcnut
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Location: Dammeron Valley, UT
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The road in is broken pavement so it can be a little slow and bumpy for the 3/4 mile drive in. Someone will come by to collect a few dollars for
camping. They used to have some food available (calling it a restaurant is a stretch) but in recent years never seems available.
Side note... I believe the Ranch charging for passage to the Mission road may be a effort to raise money to maintain the access road from Hy 1 to the
Ranch more then the roads beyond the ranch.
Bruce
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HeyMulegeScott
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We camped there in January on the way down. Surprisingly they had Wifi.
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David K
Honored Nomad
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In 2017 (March & June)
===================================================================
June:
[Edited on 12-20-2023 by David K]
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DaliDali
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Thanks....
Fits my needs just fine....
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bajabuddha
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Anyone know if Ralph still lives behind the ranch in the stone house he built? I believe it was Ralph.... might've been Marv..... comes around every
evening (when he wasn't in El Centro) on his ATV.
Loved the guy; took me and my better half to several pictograph sites after he found I had an interest, showed me his property. First night in the
campo circa 1995 I marveled at the night sky.... been desert camping all my life, but Sta. Ynez took the cake... he said "Dave, close your eyes and
take a deep breath", to which I did. Before I exhaled he said, "the last person to breathe that air spoke Chinese!"
I laughed my tail off.
The restaurant was ''spartan'' to say the least, but one must realize it was a RANCHO eatery. Food was rustic, but filling, and the Pacifico's very
cold. Probably my favorite pit stop on the trail. Views incredible, spend an extra day and walk the vado. Blue fan palms the only endemic palm in
Baja.
Used to was, the water spigot at the entrance was agua dulce, but no more. Too many cows have spoiled the aquifer. I used to fill my water jugs
there on the way south, but never again. The place has definitely deteriorated since the Good Ol' Daze, but still always worthy of a star-lit sky.
In the winter, pack extra blankets. Late spring, bug juice; the bobo's are tough.
edit: Oh yeah, stayed in the bunk house one August night. I swear it was Goldilock's bear cabin; 3 beds; one was waaay too soft, another waaay to
hard, and the third just right. Slept like a DOT man at work. 
[Edited on 3-1-2019 by bajabuddha]
I don't have a BUCKET LIST, but I do have a F***- IT LIST a mile long!
86 - 45*
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StuckSucks
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Here's a photo sphere I took at Santa Inés -- click and drag to look around.
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David K
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I was looking for the photo of the sign at the highway that read: 'GOOD FUD' (food).
About the ranch spelling, it is one of those Baja places that that has several ways to spell it, and no one is 100% correct, lol!
Proper Spanish is: Santa Inés
Owner's preference: Santa Ynez
Also on the property: Santa Inez
then the million gringo versions:
Santa Innes
Santa Ynes.
Santa Innez
etc. etc.
Yes, it is Ralph S. who lives there and is a HAM radio operator. I have not met him. Marv and Aletha Patchen's cabin is east of the runway and our own
Graham has been a frequent guest. His entries into the logbook are the most published in Marv's book...
The book is for sale at www.oldmissions.com (scroll down).
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bajabuddha
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DK, if you haven't met Ralph yet I highly recommend it. He's a pilot, did lots of search and rescue and aid flights for Cataviña, a wonderful and
gentle soul. Dunno his schedule (if at all any more) but truly an 'alternate' camp host. A true plethora of information on the area, including the
mission, etc. He's rescued several intrepid 4-wheelers who've attempted the drive in with improper equipment and insufficient gear. Great guide,
great guy. Also has his own guest register in his house which I signed a couple of times.
I don't have a BUCKET LIST, but I do have a F***- IT LIST a mile long!
86 - 45*
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David K
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I would enjoy that, for sure... it just hasn't happened during the four trips I made to the mission (1999, 2003, 2007, 2010). Maybe he isn't there
when I pass near his place (always around April-May)? I have not even seen his place, up close.
I have heard how he has helped many over the years and Wild Bill's lady, 'Elena la Loca', used to give us weather and news updates via HAM from Ralph.
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DaliDali
Super Nomad
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Location: BCS
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Quote: Originally posted by bajabuddha  |
The restaurant was ''spartan'' to say the least, but one must realize it was a RANCHO eatery. Food was rustic, but filling, and the Pacifico's very
cold. Probably my favorite pit stop on the trail. Views incredible, spend an extra day and walk the vado. Blue fan palms the only endemic palm in
Baja.
[Edited on 3-1-2019 by bajabuddha] |
When were you last there?....
Any more recent updates on the "rancho" eatery?
[Edited on 3-1-2019 by DaliDali]
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advrider
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Thanks for the book links, just ordered two. I'll pick David's at the cactus next week.
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David K
Honored Nomad
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Thank you! Great that you want to support the Desert Hawks in El Rosario, too!
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bajabuddha
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| Quote: Originally posted by DaliDali | | Quote: Originally posted by bajabuddha |
The restaurant was ''spartan'' to say the least, but one must realize it was a RANCHO eatery. Food was rustic, but filling, and the Pacifico's very
cold. Probably my favorite pit stop on the trail. Views incredible, spend an extra day and walk the vado. Blue fan palms the only endemic palm in
Baja.
[Edited on 3-1-2019 by bajabuddha] |
When were you last there?....
Any more recent updates on the "rancho" eatery?
[Edited on 3-1-2019 by DaliDali] |
Pack yer own fud, it's been half an eon since. If they still serve machaca enchiladas, or whatever.... yours will still be in the can.
The ambiance can't be beat, but la sabor can.
I don't have a BUCKET LIST, but I do have a F***- IT LIST a mile long!
86 - 45*
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64476
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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When I drove in, to do a checkup, for the roadguide, the restaurant seemed closed, the shutter was down.
There were a couple of campers walking towards the ranch house they said for breakfast, as I drove away from the place and told them it didn't look
promising. They did have dinner there the evening before... March 2017.
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Ken Cooke
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Mayra operates the restaurant at Rancho Santa Ines. (sp) Bean or Machaca burritos cost 20 pesos each. For my trip to Mission Santa Maria, I bought 6
bean burritos (salty) and Leidys bought 1 Machaca burrito.
Rumor has it that Ralph S. was back in the U.S. - his wife has been dealing with health issues is what I heard from Rich T.
[Edited on 3-2-2019 by Ken Cooke]
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