baitcast - 6-26-2016 at 11:13 AM
posted on 11-22-2003 at 10:30 PM
Gonzaga Bay 1964.....My first date with three sisters
This was a trip report I made a year or so ago on the old Amigos board and thought maybe some of you nomads might get a kick out of it.
A friend of mine asked me if I wanted to know a good spot to go fishing,you bet I said where?....a place in mexico on something called the sea of
cortez,lived in huntington bch in those days,jest a hop skip and jump and I would be there great!!!
My friend drew up a map for me,just bought a 64 vw bus and he said I was ready to ,all I had to do was drive down to a bay called Gonzaga and meet a
old guy by the name of papa he would show me where to fish,so I packed up the bus,wife two kids and a friend......
He also said I might have a problem or 2 on the road but everything should be fine,I thanked him.
I have always thought that stupidity must be blessful,for in those days I was my late 20,s and still stupid but happy and was always game to try
anything if it had anything to do with fishing!!.....
My friend had also mentioned it might get a little hot it was july and I should plan on it ,no problem I borrowed one of those window coolers you
hang on the outside of the rig,there I took care of the heat problem,went out and bought a map which gave mileage and some other stuff,we were ready
to go.
The trip........
left huntington bch late on night ,should be in san felipe by morning, puertecitos a couple of hours later ,Gonzaga for lunch,everything went
smoothly,arrived in san felipe on time , and now the dirt I can,t wait finally the trip starts,not 10 min,s later we were stuck in a sand pit,I could
still see san felipe,this is not what I had in mind,I did bring a shovel,half hour later we were on our way again........
the going was a little slower than I had planned but no matter we were headed south,finally puertecitos dead ahead,getting a little tired,the kids
are a bit loud,my wife is talking to herself not loud something about this #$%^ road
I couldn,t make out the other things ,my friend is saying nothing by now,stopped for some gas in town,while there a gringo came by and asked where we
were going I said Gonzaga Bay its just down the road a ways from here!!!
Left the window cooler at the station,does,nt work going 10 15 miles anyway,he thanked me.......
Not2 mins out of town I lost track of the road saw nothing but rock,know its here somewhere.....
going is slow ,its very hot,my oldest daughter is getting sick.......
and my wife ...I can hear her now she is getting mad it me,how could I do this to to her and the kids.......
I was very reasurring and told her the bay was just over the next rise,having no idea what I was talking about,the map I just bought mentions
something about three hills that must be climbed and we are in them....
God help us.....
the first two we just made,we are at the bottom of the last and my wife wan,ts to go home,she wan,ts to get out and walk,no problem dear we will get
over this we,ll have it made,I put my foot in it and up we go,going slower I see a rock ledge dead ahead must slow down,now stopped can,t make it
over,put my foot on the brakes and start to slide back down the hill.....
at the bottom of the canyon my spots several wrecks,poor souls never made it,we are now backing down the hill,my hands are shaking,kids are crying,my
friend is white faced,tried once more but could not get over the ledge.....
one thing left to do back down to the bottom,told everyone to get out and walk,just what my wife wanted to do in the first place.......
Well this time I made it ,felt like rocky on top of that mountion.......
flat lands dead ahead,I am numb between the ears but know we are getting close.....
No sooner than we get to the bottom of the hills and I,m stuck again in the sand,will this never end???
Digging and more digging,starting to get pretty good at this though...can,t be to far,daughters temp. is still up,monster headache,finally arrive at
papa,s late in the day but find just a couple of old house,s and a shack or two and no trees,
I check my map my friend gave me,I,m suppose to go down the canyon just before papa,s,he said the fishing was best there and a nice beach so I turned
around and made for the canyon,found a set of tracks to follow,you guessed it stuck again only this time no amount of digging is going to get us out,
my friend said he would watch the family for me so now I,m walking back to papa,s,sometime later I arrive in camp and this little old man come,s up
to me smiling and said something,he already knew what the problem was ,
first thing you know chichi his son and a man with a big rig shows up ,things appeared to be a little slow in camp anyway this would everyone
something to do ......
Didn,t take long for them to get us out.......Guess we will stay at papa,s place,the ground looks firm and I,m not moving,the wife got the kids in
the water for a cool down and I and my friend enjoyed the best and the coldest beer we have ever drank to this day.
After a wonderful nites sleep we got up and started looking for shade,no trees what do you do for shade I asked he smiled and pointed toward his
front porch........
Lucky for us papa had started to build a big cabana all it needed was a roof,so my first day of vacation we finished the roof.....still lots to this
vacation but you get the idea,lots to learn but having fun,going home no problem all the up hills were now down hills and I knew what firm ground
looks like,when we hit the highway at san felipe we all smiled and my wife leaned over and gave me a big kiss and said when we come down next vacation
maybe we should go a month or so sooner,might not be so hot
BAITCAST
_________________
Anyone can catch fish with a boat but only El Pescador Grandes can get them from the beach.
willardguy - 6-26-2016 at 11:36 AM
great story! pretty hard to believe a then 20 something year old Alfonsina to beat the summer heat would tackle that road ALONE in the middle of the
night, in that old POS truck to get supplies from mexicali....and didn't think anything of it! 
[Edited on 6-26-2016 by willardguy]
rhintransit - 6-26-2016 at 12:04 PM
now that's a trip report!
AKgringo - 6-26-2016 at 12:49 PM
This forum is probably one of very few places that your story will make readers jealous of what many would consider a trip from hell!
At least when I have found myself stuck, or doing road repairs, my support was from an aging dog. She wasn't a lot of help, but she was always on my
side!
BornFisher - 6-26-2016 at 01:17 PM
Great read but what happened to the sisters 
rts551 - 6-26-2016 at 01:33 PM
Excellent. brings back memories...Except I was the oldest of 7 kids in a 61 VW bus. Go out to the airport and head south....oh, oh,, I often
wondered how they got those trailers to Puertecitos until someone said they were pulled down with a tractor.
Great story repost!
David K - 6-27-2016 at 08:52 AM
I remember my mom wanting to get out and walk, not trusting my dad and his Jeep to climb (or descend) safely on of the grades... The crosses next to
the road and the wrecked cars in the canyon far below may have had something to do with her feelings (~1965)!
A couple years later and several Jeep trips to Baja under her belt, and not only did she not get out to walk the grades, but she drove them (1967)!!!
I am glad the road was not yet graded/rebuilt before I had the chance to drive the 'Gonzaga Grades' ("Sisters") myself... and with a 2WD dune buggy in
'74 and '75, then the last time on the old road in'79 in my Subaru 4WD.
Northbound in '74 & '75:
Southbound in '79 (same steep grade as above photo):
Map from 1970 Cliff Cross Baja Guide (as it was in the late 1960s):
The road slowly got worse after Dec. 1973 when most traffic came in from the new highway to the south. By 1979 it was nearly impassable. The '79 Baja
1000 came through this way. The new graded road was built in 1986-87 and for the first time, 2WD autos could drive to Gonzaga from Puertecitos,
safely. That road was not maintained after 2004 and slowly became difficult for 2WDs to use. The new paved highway south from Puertecitos was begun
about 2007 and has progressed south about 6-7 miles each year, since.
BajaBlanca - 6-27-2016 at 08:58 PM
wow....that really is a heck of a trip report.
Someone once said something I will never forget - she and the hubby were on a very dangerous road and she got out saying "No reason for both of us to
die."
Oh my gosh! What a line. I think it was lauriboats who said it, but I am not sure.
Thanks for sharing.
ehall - 6-30-2016 at 03:41 PM
Great story. Thanks for posting.
TMW - 6-30-2016 at 04:15 PM
That's funny, thanks
wessongroup - 6-30-2016 at 05:41 PM
Thanks ... those were the days ... and no one worried too much about things either ... it always worked out ok ... in time 
My dad used to have my brother and me on the "running boards" to toss rocks under the wheels to help from going all the way back down ... and yes my
mother was screaming we are going to die ...
Thanks for the memories 
Skipjack Joe - 7-1-2016 at 12:04 AM
Nice memory. As you know it's a super highway (by baja's standards) now over there. That type of adventure is largely gone in that area. The
interesting thing is that there are no ramps off the pavement and many of the old dirt roads can't be easily reached from the pavement, especially
with 4WD. Perhaps that will work itself out eventually.
It's still beautiful country that's unlike any of the rest of baja. It's like Death Valley over water. Dry as a bone.
