BajaNomad - The Johnson ranch

The Johnson ranch

BajaBlanca - 4-18-2019 at 03:52 PM

I recently got ride from San Diego to La Bocana via Colonet, where we spend one night. As we went by a ranch, I was told it is the famous Johnson Ranch!

I know nothing this place but it was so fun to explore an area of Baja I don't really know at all.

THE DESERT in this part of Baja was so lush. I have never seen so many beautiful cacti and other plants all next to one another and so green. I can't explain it but here is one of the many photos I took:

Anything anyone can add is most welcome. David, you got some history on the ranch? I am going to look in my Baja books to see if I can find something.

johnson-house-afar.jpg - 234kB

johnson-ranch-eucalyptus-trees2.jpg - 216kB

[Edited on 4-22-2019 by BajaBlanca]

BajaBlanca - 4-18-2019 at 03:55 PM

We didn't have the time but I understand there is a caretaker and perhaps next time , we can get a tour.

and guess what? Next to the house we stayed at lives HERBIE HANc-ck! Man oh man, I had many of his "albums" when I was in college. He wasn't there but I sure want to meet him!

David K - 4-18-2019 at 04:13 PM

Yes Blanca, just use the search feature here. The Johnson Ranch was also known as San Antonio del Mar, between Colonet and the beach that is now called that name.

The current owner or relative is a Nomad. We discussed the ranch story here. The Meling Ranch story begins here at San Antonio del Mar.

Edit:
It was Nomad 'mooboys' and I bumped the 2010 thread up. Blanca, you posted in it.

[Edited on 4-22-2019 by David K]

TMW - 4-18-2019 at 04:20 PM

I believe some of the history is in the book "Where the Old West Never Died" by Paul Sanford. It's about the Meling ranch. As I understand it the guy that started the Meling ranch married the daughter of the man that started Johnson ranch. Something like that. The book is a good read but it's been several years since I read it.

Don Pisto - 4-18-2019 at 04:30 PM

Herbie Hanc-ck lives at Johnson ranch! whodathought! :coolup:

David K - 4-19-2019 at 11:46 AM

In 1927:

In 1974:

In 2009:

[Edited on 8-7-2024 by David K]

BajaBlanca - 4-21-2019 at 05:25 PM

Thanks for the maps showing where the ranch is and I have put up the correct photos.

I cant tell you how much I enjoyed visiting this part of Baja. I felt like a real adventurer!

johnson-ranch-eucalyptus-trees2.jpg - 216kB

David K - 4-21-2019 at 05:30 PM

Yes, now you have posted the correct Johnson Ranch photos!

BajaBlanca - 4-21-2019 at 05:41 PM

Here is a picture of the cliff view of the Pacific that Herbie Hanc-ck and his wife see when they are in Mexico!

cliff1.jpg - 245kB

and here is how incredibly beautiful this particular area of Baja is...I have never seen such cacti grouped together, nor so numerous nor so lush. I was in heaven! The photo does not do it justice...

lush-green.jpg - 211kB

David K - 4-22-2019 at 07:20 AM

Who is Herbie H a n c o c k:
Herbert Jeffrey Hanc-ck (born April 12, 1940) is an American pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, composer and actor.[1] Hanc-ck started his career with Donald Byrd. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet where he helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the post-bop sound. In the 1970s, Hanc-ck experimented with jazz fusion, funk, and electro styles.

Hanc-ck's best-known compositions include "Cantaloupe Island", "Watermelon Man" (later performed by dozens of musicians, including bandleader Mongo Santamaría), "Maiden Voyage", "Chameleon", and the singles "I Thought It Was You" and "Rockit". His 2007 tribute album River: The Joni Letters won the 2008 Grammy Award for Album of the Year, only the second jazz album to win the award, after Getz/Gilberto in 1965.

In 2017, he was in the science fiction movie: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valerian_and_the_City_of_a_Tho...

BajaBlanca - 4-23-2019 at 04:51 PM

Very cool to read the info.

David K - 4-24-2019 at 08:04 AM

Quote: Originally posted by TMW

I believe some of the history is in the book "Where the Old West Never Died" by Paul Sanford. It's about the Meling ranch. As I understand it the guy that started the Meling ranch married the daughter of the man that started Johnson ranch. Something like that. The book is a good read but it's been several years since I read it.

Mooboys - 8-7-2024 at 09:30 AM

Hello ya'll... Nice to run in to this thread again. It's been a while but I'm happy to report that I am currently posting on location at the Johnson Ranch :-)

David K - 8-7-2024 at 09:48 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Mooboys

Hello ya'll... Nice to run in to this thread again. It's been a while but I'm happy to report that I am currently posting on location at the Johnson Ranch :-)

Awesome... I hope you will tell us about what's happening of interst there.

Mooboys - 8-7-2024 at 09:51 AM

Just recently I noticed someone setting up camp down by the eucalyptus trees and so I decided to go over and just have a chat. I knew he arrived on a bicycle so I was intrigued about his travels.

Wonderful young man who was originally born in Austria but now living in Vancouver Canada. Turns out he was covering the same path as the North American Epic (https://tdaglobalcycling.com/north-american-epic)

Boy, what an adventure it must be to bicycle from Canada all the way down the Baja Peninsula and crossing over on a ferry and continue all the way to Panama canal.

Anyhow, that's the latest to report from Johnson Ranch. Since the ranch is still sitting in a "hole" like area, cell phone coverage is still non-existing here but we recently brought with us a StarLink setup that helps us stay down here longer and "Work from home (aka ranch)".

I will try and post pictures soon.

[Edited on 8-7-2024 by Mooboys]

AKgringo - 8-7-2024 at 12:17 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Mooboys

Boy, what an adventure it must be to bicycle from Canada all the way down the Baja Peninsula and crossing over on a ferry and continue all the way to Panama canal.

In 2016 I met a German traveler that had flown to Vancouver, then rode his bicycle down to La Paz where I met him at Campestre Maranatha. From there he took the ferry to the mainland headed for Cancun with plans to fly home from there.

What was amazing to me was that his 90-pound dog rode in a trailer behind him for the whole trip!

Mooboys - 8-7-2024 at 10:23 PM

Wow, that's the life right there... riding along with your best friend, simply amazing!

Mooboys - 8-7-2024 at 10:34 PM