AAA Baja Map (Auto Club of So Cal Baja Map) is HISTORY + San Felipe area old maps

We have been told, so it is not a surprise... the cartographers were all let go... as was the travel guide writer, some years ago... but they were reprinting the last revised edition (2003) in 2004, 2007, and 2010.

From 1975-2000 the map cover looked about the same, with the full color terrain map of Baja...

1996:


In 2001, the Cabo San Lucas arch replaced the terrain map:


In 2003 it showed some kayaks on the beach at Bahia Concepcion...

In 2004, we see some beach palapas:


In 2007, the San Felipe lighthouse:


In 2010, kayaks on the beach, similar to the 2003 cover:



For a few years, ending in 1974, the map had the browntone map and inside was a highly detailed map of northern Baja to just south of El Rosario and Puertecitos. On the other side, was a less detailed, smaller scale version of their 1960's map...



These early 70's maps are gold... for the northern Baja detail. Howard Gulick, of the Lower California Guidebook had assisted them in producing a better map, I had heard.

Adios AAA Baja Map, you were a great driving aid with mileages on all the roads, gas station locations, and fun for trip planning. Score even used them for race course maps for many years.

[Edited on 1-14-2015 by David K]

[Edited on 9-13-2022 by David K]

Quote: Originally posted by PaulW

Interesting. In the 1975 SF image the coastal wash names shown are no longer used nor are they named on any of my maps. Only Percebu & Matomi are recognized? Agua Caliente has greatly changed since then. The major storms carve up the drainage's and make new ones. Such it is. PW

1941 Map San Felipe area...

Note the 'unexplored' area of Valle Chico!

1930 Map, San Felipe area...

[Edited on 1-14-2015 by David K]

Ahhhh ... the good old days when you had to catch the Puertocitos road from Highway 5 in town (also, to get to the airport). Isn't the turn-off sign still there (albeit very tired)?

The old road leaves the pavement just past the south Pemex station... you can see it head straight south going for miles. Score gets to use it for racing now... well Score and BSC raced the 1000 on it and Norra before for the original Baja 500.

1975 Baja 1000 (Score's first 1000):




1972 NORRA Baja 500:







[Edited on 1-14-2015 by David K]

Quote: Originally posted by David K

The old road leaves the pavement just past the south Pemex station... you can see it head straight south going for miles.

Quote: Originally posted by StuckSucks

Quote: Originally posted by David K   The old road leaves the pavement just past the south Pemex station... you can see it head straight south going for miles. Yep, know where that is. But wasn't there a point in time before that where the turn-off to the airport and Puertocitos was off Highway 5? No?

You mean from the highway entering town and before the road south was paved to the airport? I need clarification by what you mean Hwy. 5? The highway originally ended at the main business street the parallels the beach, and the Puertecitos road headed south from it 0.3 mile back towards Mexicali on the highway.

Here's a map I made in 1978 that shows going to Puertecitos via the road or via the beach... note in insert close up map of San Felipe that shows the newly paved airport road. This was before the 4 lane entrance road, before the traffic circle, or the arches. The Clam Man was in business, and waved to us from his barber chair as we passed by his clam shop:



[Edited on 1-14-2015 by David K]

Quote: Originally posted by David K

Quote: Originally posted by StuckSucks   Quote: Originally posted by David K   The old road leaves the pavement just past the south Pemex station... you can see it head straight south going for miles. Yep, know where that is. But wasn't there a point in time before that where the turn-off to the airport and Puertocitos was off Highway 5? No? You mean from the highway entering town and before the road south was paved to the airport? I need clarification by what you mean Hwy. 5?

Quote: Originally posted by StuckSucks

Ahhhh ... the good old days when you had to catch the Puertocitos road from Highway 5 in town (also, to get to the airport). Isn't the turn-off sign still there (albeit very tired)? ===== Guess I will have to go look for the sign. Now days no racing on OPR until S of the village of las Minatas. And the road is paved to the S side of the village. There is an old SCORE track with a couple of signs in the track beside the SW airport fence. Code used that track or a parallel one to connect to Percebu road then headed west to Huatamote. The pipeline road from Km0 west to OPR is marginal, but we still use it. The old road that went east south of the airport is fenced off by the owner of the valley of giants. The S PMEX is still unoccupied starting the second year. PW

Quote: Originally posted by soulpatch

I remember long ago when we were at Camp Gecko and you, David, was there, too. The guy from AAA came rolling through and was looking around so we chatted him up. We told him a few things he asked about but, I do believe, I sent him your way... My memory is not perfect, though!

LOL... mine is questionable too, sometimes. I don't remember meeting the Auto Club guide author at Camp Gecko back in 2002 or 3, but I did meet him (David Brackney) in May, 2007, at the Pyramid Resort Book Signing. Here was David's 'company car' and a couple photos of him I took with Antonio (Baja Cactus).







[Edited on 9-2-2022 by David K]

Quote: Originally posted by ehall

It's funny that on the 1927 map the Old Mill at San Quentin is named the Old Mill. When was it the New Mill?

There was a flour mill (remains of the mill engine still there) constructed by British wheat farmers there. Remains of the pier are just over a mile south (Muelle Viejo). They even built several miles of railroad line (to bring the flour to the U.S.). The causeway that creates the narrow opening to go north of the mill was for the railroad. The bridge that was there collapsed, and the train engine is in the bay (or was).

The project's success all depended on rain for irrigation. The rain in San Quintin (as in much of Southern California) isn't consistent year to year. It was a very wet year in 1889, and wheat grew easily.

When was it a new mill?
The project began about 1885 by Americans, but was purchased by the British about 1890.
So in 1927, it was an Old Mill!


[img][/img]


Hugo Lopez painting of the Mill as seen today:

Quote: Originally posted by PaulW

David K, I have several versions of the Almanc and I cannot decode the publish dates. Both small and large format and the folding map. Can you help? Thanks, Paul

All from Landon Crumpton...

*The first BIG Baja Topo Atlas (top left) was published in 1986.
*The second BIG Baja Topo Atlas Atlas (bottom left) was published in 1991.
*The (pair) Norte and Sur Baja California Almanac was published about 1998 (there is no date inside, but ads inside it place it after 1996 and before 2001).
*The all color, single book, Baja California Almanac, and the folding map were published in 2003.
*The larger size, but smaller detail, Almanac was published in 2009.

Quote: Originally posted by PaulW

All is good Now. All my maps now have dates. Thanks.

The Auto Club Maps available to view at VivaBaja.com/maps

The Sept. 1973 Baja Map now online

With the skill and mapping system of a fellow Nomad, we now can share the 1973 edition of the Auto Club of Southern California's Baja map. Published in September of '73, it shows the southbound paving ending at the Mission San Fernando junction (near El Progreso) and the northbound paving ending at El Crucero (the south end of the original gulf-side road, below Calamajué).

The distance between the paved road is shown as a dashed line and labeled as 'Under Construction' as well as not being placed correctly on the map. The new highway is much closer to the old road in this area... not more than 2 miles away from it and sometimes over the top of it.

When I traveled the new Hwy. 1 in July 1973, the southbound paving ended exactly where the map shows it. The northbound paving was closer to Punta Prieta with sections still unpaved as far south as Villa Jesus María. New roadbed work northbound had reached Laguna Chapala. Southbound, the new roadbed was a bit past San Agustin. The old main 'Baja 1000' road was driven between those points in July 1973. It was just amazing how fast they built, in 1973!

Click on the maps, after they open, to zoom in for super-close detail:

The Central & Southern 1973 Map

The higher detail Northern 1973 Map

These two, and all my other saved maps are at www.vivabaja.com/maps

Small images of the map, both sides: