Email on San Juan de Dios visita destruction...

I recently received an email from Baja Nomad member 'Kevin in Oklahoma' who is one of the contributors to my Baja Missions web page photo collection. http://vivabaja.com/bajamissions

I believe Kevin whould like me to share it with you, specially those of us who think the historic sites should be recognized and preserved for the future history buffs.

San Juan de Dios is where Junipero Serra had to stop his walk to San Diego from a painful leg infection that was cured by one of the muleteers using a poultice treatment for the mules. Later, San Juan de Dios became the site for a mission visiting station (visita) for California's first Franciscan mission, San Fernando Velicata... which was the first mission founded by Serra (not San Diego, as California history books teach).

Here are the ruins of the visita:


A few months ago, Neal Johns and John M went to San Juan de Dios for the first time and couldn't find the ruins, just plowed fields... Hoping they were in the wrong place, I planned on going back to confirm the bad news.

This letter from Kevin seems to indeed spell it out... Why we want all Nomads and Baja history fans to know where the sites are and to visit them... to show that they DO have value and a reason to save them!

Here's Kevin's letter of 1-20-08:

Hi David,

It's been a long time since we touched base. I just got back from a few weeks in Baja and will be heading back in a few more.

First, My wife and I spent a couple days up and around the San Juan de Dios area in late December and unfortunately need to report the the San Juan de Dios ruins have been dozed over and a small rancho set up by the palm trees. As we were in the area we found the dozer operator, who is keeping the road open to the rock mines, and asked his wife if they also dozed the site - answer was yes, for the ranch. (We must always remember it is not our country and they must have needed the land cleared and I do not think they had any idea about what the site was) - Nothing remains.

Second, we hiked up to the site that Jack had been to years before and all of those ruins remain, a very large rancho with many adobe structures, a well, corrals, and a small rock-fenced cemetary. I tried to date the ranch by the remaining artifacts but could not find any old pottery pieces but did lots of old glass (purpled), hard to tell if it dates to the former visita days but if not it was set up not much later. (Lots of water and level tillable fields).

Also, for all those folks with new 2007 ULSD vehicles, we had two new 2007 Dodge's and drove them to Cabo (close) and back without any fuel issues at all. The price of diesel fuel is great.

Take care

Kevin in Oklahoma

[Edited on 1-23-2008 by David K]

Map

My sketch map of the area

Another

Jack Swords photos of San Juan de Dios talen 11-12-03

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[Edited on 1-23-2008 by David K]

#2 of 4

#3 of 4

#4 of 4

Photos I took in July, 2000

Sad event David,to bad it's gone.We can do so little,to help prevent this.just remember San Maria mission project,Inah wasn't interest it, in let private hands fix their problems.And still didn't do anything to fix it...

Quote:

Originally posted by BAJACAT Sad event David,to bad it's gone.We can do so little,to help prevent this.just remember San Maria mission project,Inah wasn't interest it, in let private hands fix their problems.And still didn't do anything to fix it...

The funny part about the Santa Maria drainage project was that INAH was in favor of our idea... I even bought the materials the day before we were to leave. An email that evening from the very same INAH person said NO, we couldn't do the work and asked us to bring one of their people in who was driving down Hwy. 1 that day to see the site, and return him back to Cataviña that SAME day!

It is 3 hours one way, and we were going to be camping there, naturally... So, they wanted me to make room for this person, then bring him back out, then I would need to drive back in... 9 hours driving from about noon plus his time looking that day!

Then last year they made a big deal that resoration was under way... took lots of photos... and last MAY when I went back.... NOTHING was done!

Here's a photo of the doorway erosion we proposed to halt by installing a drain inside the mission and run the pipe out through the doorway, build up the soil so rain water would no longer run out through the doorway, but through the drain instead.

Here's another shot of the eroding doorway at the 239 year old wall...

Looking in from outside...

San Juan de Dios: Visita's GPS waypoint

Your GPS comes set to the map datum of WGS84 at the factory, but the topo maps of Baja are drawn to the datum NAD27 (which is changed in the 'set up' programing of a GPS).

Map datum WGS84: 30°10.960'/ 115°10.074'.

Map datum NAD27 Mexico: 30-10.952'/ 115-10.033'.

elevation: 1,838'

The ruins were on the right/ south side of the road to Rancho El Metate, just past the road to the left into the palm grove, at the top of the small climb... It was less than 50 ' from the road (maybe 20') and the rooms ran about 90 feet long to the south from the road in a long rectangle, with one larger side room in the middle... see the photos above.

Hi David K. From 4/12/2008 through 4/19/2008, I went to El Rosario to visit with Mama Espinoza. I also went to Rancho El Metate. On the way I stopped off at Rancho Las Palmas to look into the rumor that the mission was plowed over. Well I am here to tell you that it is unfortunately true. I then spoke to some of the people who are part of the Ejido in the area as well as the head man of the Ejido to find out anything I could. Of course all denied knowing anything.


Running spring behind the three palm trees.







Grave just a few steps west of the old mission site.


Cactus at foot of grave.


Two graves of two sisters married to Espinoza men in the 1900s. The sisters died during childbirth. Their children are buried next to them. This is just south of the Las Palmas Ranch.



The two children of the two sisters.


Adobe Ruins just east of the grave site.




Lime oven south west of the grave site.


Here is the Mujer Dormida (Sleeping Lady) Mountain on way to Rancho El Metate San Juan De Dios.


Here is an Indian rock drawing of what appears to be a hummingbird from the spot I took the picture of the Sleeping Lady Mountain.



[Edited on 4-28-2008 by ELINVESTI8]

Good job on locating the place. Is there standing water?
What a drag that sites are not all marked and otherwise protected.
Dk, I think it must have been my temp filed. Once deleted no mas problemo.

Quote:

Originally posted by Sharksbaja Good job on locating the place. Is there standing water? What a drag that sites are not all marked and otherwise protected. Dk, I think it must have been my temp filed. Once deleted no mas problemo.