BajaNomad

Thanksgiving trip to Gonzaga Bay

bonanza bucko - 12-4-2008 at 08:48 PM

Here are photos of our Thanksgiving at Alfonsina's and of our trip down "Highway 5" from Puertecitos to Gonzaga Bay.

http://gallery.me.com/wingswest#100062&bgcolor=black&...

Hope you like pictures of rain. The photos of the Tres Marias about ten miles south of Puertecitos show a memorial to Ray Grove who went over the clif in about 1977 ? at "Jim Beam Hill."

It will be a shame when this road is gone.

[Edited on 12-5-2008 by BajaNomad]

David K - 12-4-2008 at 08:51 PM

Bucko's link: Bucko's Link

Great photos... Thank you!

Was there any talk or memorial for Doug Bowles at the Thanksgiving party (was there even a party this year)?

[Edited on 12-5-2008 by David K]

Paulina - 12-4-2008 at 08:54 PM

Great photos. It looks like you had a fantastic trip.
Thanks!

P<*)))>{

Udo - 12-4-2008 at 08:57 PM

Thanks for the superb photos, David!
Looks like a very relaxing time.

DianaT - 12-4-2008 at 08:58 PM

Looks like you had a good time even with the rain----enjoyed the photos

Diane

Doug Bowles

bonanza bucko - 12-4-2008 at 09:09 PM

David:
No..just a nice picture of him and his airplane on the wall in the cantina with his birth and lasts dates.

Very, very sad...we have known Doug for years. I am an old pilot as he was and we both knew the risks of "Get Homeitis." We were at a party in SAC when Doug crashed on San Gorgonio after taking off from PSP at 1115. We had friends who were coming to the party in a Cessna CJ5 jet who stayed on the ground because of the 60 knot winds at PSP when Doug took off. I have been in the same spot and can sympathize with the pressure from his passengers...and himself...to get home on a Sunday afternoon. Doug had flown that rout about 500 times and knew it cold. The luck of the day and the gods of flying didn't let him make it. We will miss him. He was a very, very nice man.
Quote:
Originally posted by David K
Bucko's link: Bucko's Link

Great photos... Thank you!

Was there any talk or memorial for Doug Bowles at the Thanksgiving party (was there even a party this year)?

[Edited on 12-5-2008 by David K]

capt. mike - 12-5-2008 at 05:54 AM

so - Bucko, just curious - he made it to Palm springs from Calexico but was turning around to go to hesperia when he got into the mtn WX?

Russ - 12-5-2008 at 06:43 AM

I really enjoyed your photos. Also like your house. Got a floor plan drawing?

a Beach house.jpg - 49kB

Floor plan

bonanza bucko - 12-5-2008 at 08:51 AM

I designed that house on a wine stained napkin during a long party. I gave it to Jimmy Sullivan who built it with the help of Chui and Vaquero, two local fishermen at Papa Fernandez. It was our second house there...we helped build the one next door too. But ours was made with real fresh water cement...not salt water cement..and with resawn Mexican lumber...not smuggled Gringo Lumber. The sizes are kinda informal. But it's a great house...the wind blows through the big doors and windows on the bedroom upstairs and the verandah all around keeps it cool. It was the first house there to be insulated.

We built it in the summer of 1993. We flew down from Sacramento every weekend to help and supervise. Great fun!

Now we have solar electricity.....36 amp at 120V..and we get our juice free from God and the batteries are all charged up by noon if the sun shines.

It ain't for sale!

bucko

desertcpl - 12-5-2008 at 08:52 AM

thanks for sharing your trip.. really brings back memories of our trip ,, nice home also,, i noticed that you have a Tacoma , it looks just like ours, white with a shell,, we just love it, we made that trip with the tacoma last year

Re Doug Bowles stopping at PSP

bonanza bucko - 12-5-2008 at 08:56 AM

Nobody knows why he went into PSP and then left there....maybe he was thinking about flying through Banning Pass in that wind and snow storm. His route, as always, would have been Gonzaga Bay to San Felipe for Mexican flight planning, then to CXL (Calexico) for US Customs and Immigration and then Hesperia where he was based.

He was in a Cherokee 6 300....a good airplane and he was very familiar with that route. He flew it pretty much every week and usually gave rides to people who wanted to get to Alfy's.

Really too bad!!

David K - 12-5-2008 at 09:04 AM

He used to pick up passengers at Long Beach...? Perhaps he was heading there and why he tried to shoot through the pass... ?

When we flew out of San Felipe in '99 heading north, Doug set the GPS for Brown Field, yet I could see we were staying over Hwy. 5 (ie. heading north instead of northwest)... When I told Doug we weren't going towards San Diego, he made a quick call to Calexico customs, which at that time required 30 min. advance notice... We were about 15 minutes out, but they weren't busy and said okay.

I think Doug was pretty miffed that his GPS was not working... But, that was a long time ago! He took me right to Oceanside airport from Calexico, flying alongside Palomar Mountain... and he has flown a hundred times since!

Vaya con los angeles Doooglas!

This photo of Shell Island was taken by Baja Mur riding in Doug's plane...



[Edited on 12-5-2008 by David K]

tripledigitken - 12-5-2008 at 10:01 AM

Bruce,

I really enjoyed following your trip with those excellent photos.

I am impressed with you house as well. All walls shaded from the sun. A simple concept, but one not used as often as you would expect in Baja.

Sorry for the loss of your friend!

Ken

edit for getting your name wrong, sorry.

[Edited on 12-9-2008 by tripledigitken]

Chupacabara

bonanza bucko - 12-5-2008 at 10:18 AM

An asside:
Our local garbage truck...a 1967 Chevy pickup with an informal paint job and more informal maintenance....is named "CHUPACABARA" in big yellow letters on the side of the truck bed. Beautiful truck!

a Chupacabara is a blood sucking goat killer that lives in our mountains and attacks goats and also tourists in large camper shells and motor homes who try to make it through the Tres Marias alive...most don't.:lol:

Good....I have been trying to make friends with a Chupacabara for years but the only relative I have found is my neighbor who acts like one when he drinks.

Happyjack - 12-5-2008 at 04:10 PM

Doug was only recently based out of Hesperia. His daughter lived there and it was cheaper to leave his plane there. I doubt he had flown the Palm Springs to Hesperia route often. Maybe he realized that he needed more gas to make it home due to head winds, as he had a habit of offloading fuel for future trips in Gonzaga. Or maybe he was thinking of trying another route. Only he knows. Thanks for your report bucko, is your name David also, or is that the name of the poster who shortened your link?

Doug Bowles and etc

bonanza bucko - 12-5-2008 at 05:03 PM

Thanks for the input re Doug. I had dinner with him and a friend of his at a Halloween party down there the week before the accident and he told me that he had a house with a hangar at Hesperia.

My name is Bruce...everyone apparently thinks it's Dave because Dave (admin of this site) forwarded my original message with pictures and a lot of guys thought he was me....no big deal. My REAL name is Bonanza Bucko! :-)

David K - 12-5-2008 at 05:14 PM

The admin. of this site is DOUG (Baja Nomad) MEANS... not Dave!;D

admin and names

bonanza bucko - 12-5-2008 at 08:30 PM

David:
Sorry for the confusion but most of was not mine....several guys thanked "Dave" for the good photos because they thought you took them and I think that was because of your message which transmitted my "link" Examples are Udowinkler on 12-4 and Trippledigitken on 12-5. Your message also made me think you were admin because my "link" was redundant with the address I had in the original message.

What is your role here David?

Bucko

Seems to be a bit of confusion ??

beercan - 12-5-2008 at 09:12 PM

As I sit here looking at the IFR Enroute Low Altitude chart that I used this past week to fly to Tehachapi and back, Hesperia was under my right wing after I went thru the Banning Pass. Of course I was at 14,000 feet and the winds were only 20 kts.
It is almost a Direct flight thru the Pass to reach Hesperia from either Calexico or PSP. I fly this route several times each year and have for over 26 years and for the first 5 years I flew a Cherokee 6-300 .
It can be dangerous, and the day that Doug flew his last mission, the winds were blowing 60 + mph in Yuma.


Quote:
by David
He used to pick up passengers at Long Beach...? Perhaps he was heading there and why he tried to shoot through the pass... ?

Paulina - 12-5-2008 at 09:44 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by bonanza bucko
I designed that house on a wine stained napkin during a long party.
We built it in the summer of 1993.
It ain't for sale!


Your house is beautiful. Our house in Punta Banda was also designed on a napkin, during a celebration shared with friends and a bottle of wine with a few cigars thrown in. It was around the same year, '93.
Ironic thing is that we paid way too much money to have another piece of property "designed" when all we should have done was take a napkin to dinner along with good company, popped a cork and called it good.

Once again, your photos were great. Thanks for sharing them.
P.

Banning Pass

bonanza bucko - 12-6-2008 at 05:13 AM

Beer Can!! Super to hear from you! Drove past your place twice last week and didn't see your A36.

Yep...Banning pass can be a little interesting. The Boss and I flew through it twice...once each way.... about once a month for 15 years as we went from Sacramento or San Francisco to Mexicali on our way to Gonzaga Bay. When the wind was howling it was my practice to go way out to the east after I got around Edwards AFB and sneak into the Palm Springs Valley with that east wind on my tail...avoiding the pass. One nasty trip between San Gorgonio and San Jacinto at about 10,000 to 12,000 will spook your passengers and make your life a little more colorful.

Not everybody knows that the Pettis VOR and NDB in the pass is named after Jerry Pettis, a congressman from Riverside, who crashed there trying to get home in a snow storm in about 1974. Some might remember that Frank Sinatra's mother died in a Lear Jet on San Gorgonio in a high wind situation in about 1983 or 84. Bold pilots get to be old pilots by morphing from hawks to chickens in places like that.

Bronco - 12-6-2008 at 09:01 AM

Yo BB is it Chervil or Cherwil????????

David K - 12-6-2008 at 09:41 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by bonanza bucko
David:
Sorry for the confusion but most of was not mine....several guys thanked "Dave" for the good photos because they thought you took them and I think that was because of your message which transmitted my "link" Examples are Udowinkler on 12-4 and Trippledigitken on 12-5. Your message also made me think you were admin because my "link" was redundant with the address I had in the original message.

What is your role here David?

Bucko


Just to share as much of the 'Baja feeling' as possible! :yes:

Technically: I am the 'longest or oldest' Nomad after Doug, have the most posts, and helped to let all the Amigos de Baja I could contact know where we were welcome when that forum went off the air, without any warning. :o

The link you gave had some code in it that wouldn't let it be a direct or hyper link... so, I made one, your photos were good enough for the effort!... Doug later came along and fixed your link in your post.

confusion

bonanza bucko - 12-6-2008 at 10:09 AM

David:
Thanks! Didn't know I need the help. Appreciate your effort.

BB

Chervill!!??

bonanza bucko - 12-6-2008 at 10:12 AM

Bronco:
Geeze, Bronco, you must be supernatural. Where did you get that stuff. BTW neither is correct. Guess what is.

BB:P

David K - 12-6-2008 at 10:15 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by bonanza bucko
David:
Thanks! Didn't know I need the help. Appreciate your effort.

BB


No problem! If the link isn't all blue, in color, then there is some code in it, or it is too long for Nomad...

I used this icon (located right above where you type your post):
to make it be a direct, clickable link...

Have a great day!

bajaguy - 12-6-2008 at 10:21 AM

Quote:
....................

Not everybody knows that the Pettis VOR and NDB in the pass is named after Jerry Pettis, a congressman from Riverside, who crashed there trying to get home in a snow storm in about 1974. Some might remember that Frank Sinatra's mother died in a Lear Jet on San Gorgonio in a high wind situation in about 1983 or 84............





Trivia tidbit......Dean Paul Martin, son of actor/singer Dean Martin, earned his wings with the California Air National Guard in 1981.

Martin died in 1987 when his National Guard F-4 Phantom fighter jet crashed in California's San Bernardino Mountains during a snowstorm......San Gorgonio Mountain.

Bronco - 12-6-2008 at 11:04 AM

Supernatural, no but I am married to a Curandera. BTW we have a Chupacabara and we do rentarlo. In talking with my esposa she, in a drug induced state, mumbled -Cherwel or Chervel? She has this visions, but she is a good women, I call her "Boogieswampwomen". If you are interested I can post a picture of our Chupacabra?

Chupacabara

bonanza bucko - 12-6-2008 at 03:29 PM

Geeze Bronco...please do that. I can't wait to see one that ain't drunk.

You also need to tell su esposa that she should refrain from reading pilots' licenses that were prepared by specially hired FAA clerks. That is the source of "Cherwill"...the source for the other one can only be sorcery.

BB:-)

Sauce a ree?

Bronco - 12-6-2008 at 06:21 PM

Lo Siento, the overuse of Pulque can cause neurological repercussions. Aside from cerebral abnormalities exhibited by recent studies and consultations with the AAN, I can only promise you that your privacy was not invaded. Accordingly, in recent studies by RM Upton,MD, PHd, excessive use of '"Pulque abuse and derivatives of such substance abuse" , have been seen in the Baja peninsula. The conclusion exhibited hallucinations with delusions of "flight syndromes"!! Possibly my wife has seen this and I apologize and offer you two weeks of our "Chupacaba'! Trust me he is gentle and will amaze your vecinos in Gonzaga.

Chupacabara

bonanza bucko - 12-6-2008 at 08:37 PM

Bronco:
You are in desperate need of better tequila. Su Esposa must be hiding under the bed with the Chupacabara's little ones to stay safe.

....or you have fingers fatter than the keyboard....or both

BB :-):?:

David K - 12-7-2008 at 07:59 AM

It is possible the file name of the photo contains something like an ' that won't allow it to post. Change the file name for the photo to something short and simple... OR, start a free photobucket.com account and hot link your photos from there to here (multiple photos on one post possible).

If all else fails, email me the photo and I will post it here for you! info*AT*vivabaja.com and put BAJA NOMAD in the subject line.:light:

Tks David

Bronco - 12-7-2008 at 09:02 AM

With a new name change-one
ChupaNewf

Schbug.JPG - 44kB

David K - 12-7-2008 at 09:49 AM

De nada Bronco... nice photo... BIG dog!

If you wish to remove the above unsuccessful attempts to post the photo from this thread, just click the following... (the edit button is right above each of your posts):

EDIT > DELETE THIS MESSAGE > EDIT POST

Trust David K.

bonanza bucko - 12-7-2008 at 09:51 AM

Bronco et al:
I found it pays to trust David K. to fix your goof ups. Most of us are bozos about how to use this site...and the internet generally. He has saved my butt at least once.

BTW: I love the Chupacabara Neuf...looks like some of my friends.

BB

Santiago - 12-7-2008 at 10:26 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bronco
With a new name change-one
ChupaNewf


Bronco: are your neighbors giving you as much grief as I'm getting on your colors? Really like the window treatment.

Mucho complements, 0 complaints

Bronco - 12-8-2008 at 08:11 AM

In lieu of bad Spanish I figured a nice Mexican color scheme was a compromise.

joni office 3.JPG - 26kB

Happyjack - 12-8-2008 at 10:36 AM

Here is another compliment. The place is beautiful.

Bob H - 12-8-2008 at 12:49 PM

Bucko.... I really enjoyed your trip pics!
Bob H

pictures

bonanza bucko - 12-8-2008 at 05:50 PM

Bob H:
Thanks. I got a new camera and it makes bozos like me look as though they know what they are doing.

BB :-)