PaulW - 12-8-2013 at 03:26 PM
Canyon Santa Isabel camping trip
Canyon Santa Isabel is located between Canyon Palomar on the north and Canyon Mano on the south.
I will skip the pics and description of Palomar since there have already been posted.
We traveled from San Felipe to La Ventana then headed west. Our chosen camp was the abandoned Hacienda at the end of the road. No road issues on the
way except we found new fences to drive around. The story on the Hacienda is about a Mexican General who used govt money to build the place, but was
caught and sent to prison??? Anyway the place has been picked by the locals for anything of value. Like window frames, doors, and bathroom fixtures.
The generator building has evidence of a pretty big one. Of course nothing left but a shell of the building. A second building is in the format of a
small motel each with a bedroom and bathroom. 3 or 4 units? The large swimming pool has some bad water in the bottom. I hiked down the canyon and
found the well and it was in pretty bad shape. It was made using concrete culverts sunk in the dry river bed. It is mostly filled with sand now.
The screen shot and GPS track shows where I hiked down from where we camped down the canyon and as far as the well. Also note is a path I drove to the
south on a pretty bad track. I went thru a fence and a ways further and decided there was not much of interest so I turned around. The track
continues.
The second day we explored Palomar canyon then headed for Alomar, but the weather suddenly turned bad with high winds and sputtering rain so we
headed back to San Felipe. A nice 2 day trip that was supposed to be a 3 day trip.
The attachment is a zip file for the Garmin GPS track that will open in BaseCamp ready to transfer to a Garmin GPS. Note that I added some waypoints
for orientation.
I&P trip
PaulW - 12-8-2013 at 03:28 PM
The attachment was to big. If anyone wants it use shoot me a message.
PW
TMW - 12-8-2013 at 04:00 PM
That was a pretty nice place the General had but really remote.
BAJACAT - 12-8-2013 at 04:30 PM
can belive, nobody has claim the propery..its a nice place..
David K - 12-8-2013 at 04:47 PM
Thank You Paul... I really appreciate your trip reports! Baja California has so much to see and experience!
Neal Johns - 12-10-2013 at 11:11 AM
Nice to see it again. Thanks, PaulW
The first time I was there (1980's), several old signs on the entrance road said No Trespassing in English but the road was in bad repair so we pushed
on. All the rooms but one were locked, the windows were covered over and the brickwork was excellent. A palm frond umbrella was over the pool and the
generator was in place but did not look operative. A shack a half mile away housed a peeking lady (cook?) that is now gone - a corral marks the spot.
Many rumors abound as to who owned it. I suspect someone elected and then out of power. I'm sure it was build with private money. 
Ten years ago as we approached, we were met by a pickup with a logo on the side and stopped. They said they were Mexico Fish and Game and stored
things there - and it was forbidden to enter. We were not close enough to smell the "things" and they had guns. We turned around. 
