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TMW
Select Nomad
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Registered: 9-1-2003
Location: Bakersfield, CA
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Sounds to me like the INAH rep is a rip off queen.
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David K
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DAY 6, Friday: Guerrero Negro to Mexicali
We had an early start, 6 am (MDT) and as we drove 2 miles north and passed the Eagle Monument, that would be 5 am + the drive time from the Malarrimo
Hotel. The objective was to get some morning tv shots on Laguna Chapala of the Raptors "turning money into dust" (a Curt LeDuc quote).
I made a point to photograph each washed out bridge detour between Gonzaga Bay and Puertecitos, plus any other major road damage or interesting image.
Let's put a number by each detour photo...
Gas stop at Villa Jesus María and a photo looking over to (the late) Carmalita's tamale shack. I was surprised to see (to the left) that Tortas La
Casita was gone. The attendant said Lupita moved it across the highway somewhere.
Villa Jesus María pump prices 7 days ago.
Nearing Laguna Chapala, May 2019.
In July 1973:
Before the Baja Highway was completed, we couldn't wait to see the changes coming to Baja and to go fishing at Loreto! My dad had just traded in his
4WD Chevy Suburban, thinking the highway would be close to finished... It was not. From near San Agustin to Laguna Chapala we were on the old Baja
1000 road we drove by Jeep in 1966 as the new roadbed was not yet bulldozed and graded for pavement in that section. Paving going south ended near El
Progreso (40 miles southbound from El Rosario) and began is sections around Punta Prieta, and fully paved near Villa Jesus Maria. What they did to
finish the work between July and late November was truly amazing! They built the Eagle Monument and traffic circle in those few months, too. I was 15,
and made mileage notes and sketched maps to self-publish my first Baja guidebook giving the conditions and road details, location. People were hungry
to know about the new road and the route it used compared to the old road.
My sister typed the book pages and my brother-in-law (a bank manager) copied them. I made the cover freehand, punched the holes in the paper, and sold
them at two book stores in Escondido. A feature writer in the local paper wrote about it and Channel 8 in San Diego showed the book on a morning TV
show called "Sun Up" I sold every one I made and they still sold after the highway was completed (as I added update notes). I finally retired that
book. It did inspire me to keep writing about Baja and a year later, we drove to Cabo, taking notes, and my next guide was published in the Baja
Bulletin Magazine's Special Edition.
OK, out onto the dry lakebed of Laguna Chapala for the camera guys:
Regroup at the south end of Hwy. 5. Curt LeDuc and one other leave for Ensenada where his son is in a race. The rest of us head for San Felipe.
One mile of dirt then paved to the hills. Same as I reported last August in my trip report then.
Coco's Corner. We knew Coco was not there. His helper was busy removing cans from a line and tossing them on the road!
We were concerned and asked what was up. He said Coco asked him to. That they needed income from recycling them.
Fresh paving north of Las Arrastras. All traffic is back on the older road. Last year, one could stay on the new roadbed as construction had halted.
Highway workers, once again.
Back on the paved highway at KM. 167.5, 12 miles south of the Gonzaga Bay Pemex.
It is still a Pemex station!
OK... more to come, including the detour photos. Stay Tuned!
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David K
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From my phone...
Gonzaga Bay coming into view...
OK... next, I will present the photos of each detour driving north. The first was past La Poma and the last was just as you can see Puertecitos. Then,
there is the 9-mile detour running along the new highway work from Km. 74 to Km. 60 (Matomí Wash).
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David K
Honored Nomad
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Hwy. 5: Gonzaga to Puertecitos, 7 days ago:
Here are photos of every washed out bridge or obliterated roadbed detour taken at the beginning of each detour and some photos along the way.
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
North of Puertecitos begins the new, wider highway construction using bridges instead of vados. The detour road is quite good:
Back onto the older, 1990's narrow paved road at Km. 60.
Playa/ Campo/ Rancho Nuevo Mazatlan road at Km. 32
Bahía San Felipe
The south of town Pemex is now a Chevron station.
In the next post, I will show the photos going from Hwy. 5 to Mexicali East border we took (following Donna and Ken of Bulletproof Diesel).
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David K
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To Mexicali East Border going north.
We followed Bulletproof Diesel who knew the muy rápido way to the east border crossing. The border wait was reported very low on this Friday
afternoon.
The first deviation off Hwy. 5 occurred before the RR track crossing traffic circle. This is by the Kenworth and near Costco...
Get into the middle lane and go down... turning right ahead.
There are no turns until you reach the border wall using this route.
Passing the Kenworth building
Crossing Hwy. 2
See Garita II on the sign?
Under this road.
See Calexico sign?
Turn right as you see the border fence.
Pass an ARCO station.
Here Bulletproof truck turns for the Sentri Lane... we continue on to where we can make a U-turn and enter the regular lane.
Garita II is the border.
Trucks and Cars regular lane.
The GPS track of the Mexicali routes we took.
That ends the trip report. Six days, 3,000 miles, lots of fun and new sites to see for all of us. I was so happy to finally see San Bruno and San
Pablo, too.
The Trail of Mission tour that this recon and filming was for is the last week of June. Cameron has 60 guests, so maybe up to 25 Raptors and other
4x4s? The cost now $7,000 per vehicle (2 adults and children), and this includes rooms and meals, with AB Catering the meals in remote locations
(Alek's food is awesome) https://www.facebook.com/aboffthegridcatering/. The requests to join the tour are so many Cameron has to turn people away.
The TV show of the tour will be on ABC on Sept. 7. This is the 6th Trail of Missions tour. I was on the first for 3 days, flying to the group and
returning in the helicopter flown by Jim McCoy out of El Cajon.
You can see all but the first show on YouTube. The first show was on CBS Sports and is online, but requires a password. I can share that with anyone
who asks, send me a u2u or email.
I hope you enjoyed the ride!
David
[Edited on 8-8-2019 by David K]
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advrider
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Another awesome report David! Thanks.. I've seen some nice Raptors in Baja the last few years, they are a heck of a truck for Baja, if only money
wasn't an issue!
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fishbuck
Banned
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Thanks Dave. Very cool report.
Please give our thanks to Team Raptor for taking us (you) along on the trip.
Cameron Steele, Curt Leduc, Jim McCoy the helicopter pilot, and others who helped...
What Baja dreams are made of...
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." J. A. Shedd.
A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it. – Albert Einstein
"Life's a Beach... and then you Fly!" Fishbuck
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David K
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The pleasure is mine!
Jim and his helicopter will be on the June tour. He was not with us on this recon and research trip. (The $600/ hour helicopter fee is a bit steep,
even for Cameron Steele)
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fishbuck
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How much of that $600 do I get to keep if I get my Helicopter Commercial rating?
That's a new trick for an old crewdog.
I ask Jim!
El Cajon is a Baja base for lots of planes I think. And othet cool stuff.
Another Newport/AirForce buddy owns Circle Air Group at El Cajon.
I think he has a Learjet or 2 now.
Yes, rich.
Baja needs planes and pilots!
[Edited on 5-26-2019 by fishbuck]
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." J. A. Shedd.
A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it. – Albert Einstein
"Life's a Beach... and then you Fly!" Fishbuck
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fishbuck
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Actually...
My Cherokee 6 is much quicker and cheaper.
You didn't need a 600/hr helicopter... did you?
Tell Cameron ( or whoever) to meet you at the closest open runway.
Where ever they are at.
The could tell us on the flight down and I can still find them.
Mulege is about 2.5 hours I think.
Unless that was a Bell Jet Ranger(or better) no helicopter is very fast.
I think a Jet Ranger costs alot more...
[Edited on 5-26-2019 by fishbuck]
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." J. A. Shedd.
A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it. – Albert Einstein
"Life's a Beach... and then you Fly!" Fishbuck
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fishbuck
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http://sdhelicoptertours.com/our-photos/
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." J. A. Shedd.
A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it. – Albert Einstein
"Life's a Beach... and then you Fly!" Fishbuck
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64480
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It's not for speed. It's for hovering and following with tv crews. Jim also is hired by SCORE and some race teams. He is very skilled at getting the
good angles.
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Marc
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Drove Chapala / San Felipe 3 weeks ago. Disturbing that the road was taken out like that. Poor engineering? Just asking.
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David K
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It seems like the ends of the bridges were not attached to solid ground or bedrock. The flash flood simply washed away the ends of the bridges.
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Akula
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Looks like an amazing trip David!
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David K
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Yes, it was fun but go-go-go... I was worn out at the end, but I am a grandpa. The great part is that we were 100% successful in getting to all the
destinations Cameron had hoped to with my help. The neat part is that two of them were mission-era sites I had never been to before (my bucket list
gets checked off) and two painted cave sites as well. San Borjitas was amazing, a must see, and no mule ride is needed. I am writing an article about
it (and the other places) for Baja Bound. I am happy that I can share these trips with you, in detail. The TV show (Trail of Missions 2019) may show
only a little -- if any (Sept. 1 ABC). After seeing how little of the filming was used on America Unearthed, I am not optimistic anymore. However, all
of Cameron's shows are in Baja.
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Mother of Dragons
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I really look forward to seeing this show and you David, I’ll do a search for it.
Great thread and good job! This is awesome.
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David K
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You can see me in about a 4-minute section near the end of the Season 4 opener for America Unearthed "Vikings in the Desert".
When we know more about the Trail of Missions 2019 show, I will post it.
[Edited on 9-13-2019 by David K]
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Mother of Dragons
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Wow! Thank you. This is a great thread. Thank you for sharing everything. The pics are great.
Trail of Missions sounds great!
Vikings of the Desert is a really cool name.
[Edited on 6-7-2019 by Mother of Dragons]
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Mother of Dragons
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David, the video was removed because of copyright violation.
Bummer 
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