Just finished this book and was interested in doing a story about the Rancho Loma Linda/Clube Aero Mulege hotel. Anyone have other pictures? http://www.loufederico.com/lomalinda.html
HeyMulegeScott - 1-26-2021 at 10:05 AM
Photos I took yesterday -
baja Steve - 1-26-2021 at 10:37 AM
I think I still have a photo of John Wayne jumping off the diving board in the 60s. Will try to find it and post is if I find it. It was taken by me
when we would fly in to the HotelHeyMulegeScott - 1-26-2021 at 10:40 AM
I think I still have a photo of John Wayne jumping off the diving board in the 60s. Will try to find it and post is if I find it. It was taken by me
when we would fly in to the Hotel
Thanks, Steve. That sounds like a great one.AKgringo - 1-26-2021 at 10:47 AM
In my wanderings around Baja, I have found many places that caused me to wonder why they failed, or were abandoned. I have also found quite a few
that caused me to wonder why they were ever built.David K - 1-26-2021 at 10:50 AM
So sad it was not continued... My folks and I stayed there in 1973. There was a pet deer (or one that hung around) you could feed... it wandered
freely around the hotel grounds.
I have pics somewhere...
I am still looking for the one of my mom feeding the deer in front of our room.
Here is one of me on the hotel's low wall with the Mulegé river and sea in the distance. July 1973 (I was 15 and wearing a Dick Cepek, Baja Proven
shirt!).
[Edited on 1-26-2021 by David K]chuckie - 1-26-2021 at 11:48 AM
It looks about like the way I last saw it! Are the bullet holes still in the windows? I got there the morning after that gun fight! The owner? at
that time was named Alex Arcos, an attorney whom I think was the attorney general of Baja Sur for a while. Alex also had "agricultural"interests on
the mainland. A team came over from the mainland to kill him..Lots of shooting and as I remember,one of the bartenders was shot in the foot. The only
casualty. Alex left and I don't think ever came back. He was a great opera singer, walked with the aid of a walker, as a result of a prior attempt. He
was married at different times to TWO miss Mexicos. (not at the same time). Rumor has it that one of them stabbed him. He spoiled my daughter
dreadfully. I saw him once more after that, We had dinner with him and his brother..In San Francisco, and laughed a lot about the shooting
incident.."They shot like Irishmen" he said.We considered trying to buy it later but it was so tangled up with unpaid taxes, it wasn't worth the
effort.I think the Ejido owned it for awhile Grand times then!!! HeyMulegeScott - 1-26-2021 at 01:21 PM
Great to read the old stories and see photos.
Chuckie - there are no windows left. mtgoat666 - 1-26-2021 at 01:22 PM
Who owns the property now?
Nice location, could be nice little hotel again if title was clear.
Mexico could be an investment opportunity if they fixed a few things, like property title system, eh?David K - 1-26-2021 at 02:15 PM
On page 75 of Erle Stanley Gardner's 1967 adventure book, 'Off the Beaten Track in Baja' is this photo and caption... showing Don Johnson in 1966,
before his Hotel Serenidad.
[Edited on 1-26-2021 by David K]
More from Erle Stanley Gardner
David K - 1-26-2021 at 02:23 PM
The Dixon Collins' "Deluxe Hotel" mentioned is the future Hotel Punta Chivato.chuckie - 1-26-2021 at 04:32 PM
At some point the name was changed to "Vista Hermosa".It was used as an Army building for a while...really went downhill then....Sad! I lived in Loma
Azul for a good while, so drove by it every day almost..BigBearRider - 1-26-2021 at 09:26 PM
It was a very entertaining book. I have been to the old airstrip recently, and there is trash all around. I need to check out the hotel.LancairDriver - 1-26-2021 at 11:37 PM
In my wanderings around Baja, I have found many places that caused me to wonder why they failed, or were abandoned. I have also found quite a few
that caused me to wonder why they were ever built.
You would enjoy reading Lou Federico’s book which would answer many of your questions. Many consider that era in Baja the best times when it was
largely unspoiled.HeyMulegeScott - 1-27-2021 at 06:37 AM
Looks like you can buy the book for Kindle but they want $75 for the paperback on Amazon - https://amzn.to/3t17Z2AHeyMulegeScott - 1-27-2021 at 09:46 AM
Found a couple my photos on Facebook -
David K - 1-27-2021 at 10:26 AM
Yes, those are also from Off the Beaten Track in Baja.defrag4 - 1-30-2021 at 12:48 PM
coool, just saw the hotel a few weeks ago in Mulege, knew there must have been a backstory to such an epic spot, would make a great backdrop for a
music video nowadays
the bougainvillea weaving through the ruins is gorgeousHeyMulegeScott - 1-30-2021 at 03:32 PM
coool, just saw the hotel a few weeks ago in Mulege, knew there must have been a backstory to such an epic spot, would make a great backdrop for a
music video nowadays
the bougainvillea weaving through the ruins is gorgeous
Let's get the band back together!
KurtG - 1-30-2021 at 07:32 PM
The hotel was still open when I arrived in Mulege in Fall 1974. It was operating as Hotel Mulege and then at some point shortly thereafter the name
became Vista Hermosa. I spent some highly entertaining evenings in the bar there.David K - 1-31-2021 at 08:12 AM
Going through our old pics... Mulegé from the hotel lot.
This one is from 1972 (November) when my dad and two other dentists drove to the tip in his 4x4 Suburban. Pavement ending in San Felipe and began
again at Santa Rosalía. :
HeyMulegeScott - 1-31-2021 at 08:34 AM
David K - Thanks. Looks like a cool rig. There were a lot more palm trees.David K - 1-31-2021 at 10:39 AM
David K - Thanks. Looks like a cool rig. There were a lot more palm trees.
I think the last '50-year' flash flood was in 1959? So, lots of palms in 1972.
My dad loved the size of the Suburban for carrying gear! Sadly, that Chevy engine was defective and they refused to warrantee the problem. He owned it
for just two years after his second Wagoneer (1970 AMC Jeep) was not doing well, either. He swapped the 4WD Suburban for a 2WD (Ford LTD wagon with
the 460 Lincoln engine). The thinking was the highway would be completed soon and we had a dune buggy we could tow.
