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David K
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Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Thanks Ken for the update!
Yes, getting old sucks... So you have been warned!
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Elena La Loca
Nomad
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Location: Oceanside, CA
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Quote: Originally posted by Ken Cooke  | | Rumor has it that Ralph S. was back in the U.S. - his wife has been dealing with health issues is what I heard from Rich T. |
Only posting to quash the rumor. Ken, please tell Rich T he's mistaken.
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thebajarunner
Ultra Nomad
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Location: Arizona....."Free at last from crumbling Cali
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Is the runway open now?
| Quote: Originally posted by David K | | Ken Cooke was just there a few days ago and paid them for access to the Mission Santa María road. There has historically been a restaurant and bunk
rooms there. The owner liked to spell it Santa Ynez we have been told. Americans lease lots and live in the area. The late Marv Patchen was one and
wrote a book about the guest book he had visitors sign in his. A paved runway is there for pilots. This was a popular pit stop and Baja race
checkpoint. The president of Mexico slept here during his campaign trip and promised to build a highway before his term ended. He kept that promise
and also paved the Santa Ynez driveway and air strip in 1973. |
Government closed the airstrip a few years back, supposedly to stop the cartel from using it for cargo trips heading north. I had landed there
several times in the past, so when I heard that I drove my pickup onto the runway and sure enough they had it blocked off on both ends. I never went
back up to take another look, although I drive by there at least a couple times every year.
The legend had it (way back) that the runway and driveway were paved because the government failed to acquire rights or permisos to run the road
across the property. I believe that the owners were the Diaz family, am I remembering that correctly? They also owned property at Punta Final.
Some years back Bill Lawrence from Rancho Santa Marta orphanage sent me a property listing that the entire ranch was for sale. It was a very large
piece of property, hard to imagine how you could make a buck off your investment.
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windgrrl
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Regrettably, our travel plans did not allow for a stay at Rancho Santa Ynes (a spelling adopted by Google Earth that I am sure won’t set the
spelling discussion to rest) this year. On a cold, windy day in early February, we stopped for a break at the well-stocked convenience store and
browsed the aisles alongside a large group of soldiers shopping for snacks with their fire arms slung casually over their shoulders. No fuel sales
available then, but the washrooms are open. Of interest, used TP goes into a blue recycling bin!
When we camped at the rancho in Feb. 2018, Ralph came to greet us and chat for a bit. Next morning, we walked eastward down towards the ranch house
towards the adjoining arroyo. The lady at the ranch house called out to us about breakfast availability. She was accompanied by an older man and a
younger woman. There is not always someone at the ranch house, but they seem to stop by each day to collect fees for use of the parking area. We spent
an hour exploring the arroyo and Ralph pulled up on a quad with his dog to chat again, asking about how the night went. He seemed concerned about
safety. Another couple camping that night walked up to his home at his invitation and enjoyed their visit. We had been cautioned about camping alone
there, but in all the years we have stopped there, it has been a beautiful experience. Breakfast of huevos rancheros was delightful.
When the way comes to an end, then change. Having changed, you pass through.
~ I-Ching
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64842
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Thanks for these replies... it is great to hear from everyone who has stayed at Santa Ynez.
Nice to see Ellen is here still, too.
theBajarunner: The owner (1950s-2000s) was Josefina Zunigo or her estate and she also owned the Punta Final land. Fred Hampe was her foreman and is
the one who built the road to Mission Santa María and beyond in hopes of going across to Punta Final. The canyon stopped his progress as well as the
construction of Hwy. 1 in 1973 reducing the need for a short cut. Fred is also credited for the La Turquesa grade construction (the next best shortcut
route).
A Nomad pilot and Score buggy racer, 'Steekers' was in the process of authoring a book on the Santa Ynez history and he interviewed Fred at Fred's
home in Ramona. Maybe Steekers is reading Nomad still and will have some input?
There were land squatters at Punta Final who started the resort there in the late 1960s called Villa Mar y Sol, so Josefina and Fred needed a faster
route to the gulf to guard the property in the days before paved and graded roads. They kicked that Mar y Sol group off and renamed the campo 'Punta
Final' after the nearby point.
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wilderone
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"We had been cautioned about camping alone there,"
I have probably stayed overnight there about 15 times, never been cautioned about any dangers, never experienced any concerns.
Except once. I had put my tent up next to the Patchen cabin after Mr. Patchen had passed away and the cabin ownership was in dispute. It was dusk, I
had made dinner and was sitting outside enjoying the balmy evening, when I heard the unmistakable sound of a rifle being c-cked, off the left and
behind me (where there are large boulder mounds). I froze and listened but heard nothing more (it's so quiet up there). Not my imagination. Maybe
somebody was getting ready for a personal encounter until they saw it was just an old lady minding her own business.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64842
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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| Quote: Originally posted by wilderone | "We had been cautioned about camping alone there,"
I have probably stayed overnight there about 15 times, never been cautioned about any dangers, never experienced any concerns.
Except once. I had put my tent up next to the Patchen cabin after Mr. Patchen had passed away and the cabin ownership was in dispute. It was dusk, I
had made dinner and was sitting outside enjoying the balmy evening, when I heard the unmistakable sound of a rifle being c-cked, off the left and
behind me (where there are large boulder mounds). I froze and listened but heard nothing more (it's so quiet up there). Not my imagination. Maybe
somebody was getting ready for a personal encounter until they saw it was just an old lady minding her own business. |
Did you ever get to meet Marv and Aletha?
They were uber cool people and loved sharing Baja. They attended my Viva Baja parties and exchanged emails often about interesting places in Baja,
such as the geoglyphs Marv saw from his plane near El Mármol.
I made a web page when they invited Elizabeth and me to spend the weekend at their Canebrake desert home. Graham Mackintosh was a frequent guest there
and at the Santa Ynez cabin, too.
Here is the page: http://vivabaja.com/patchen/
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Whale-ista
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Posts: 2009
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Location: San Diego
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Mood: Sunny with chance of whales
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Good to hear they are still open for visitors. In spring 2014, heading NB, I stopped to visit with the man and woman who were living there. They must
have been in their 80s?
We had lunch, they gave me a tour of the rooms, and we admired the blooming cactus and other plants as we ate.
We enjoyed watching the hummingbirds that were attracted to the flowers, so on my next visit (June) I stopped to deliver a feeder- but the couple had
moved out. I heard later the property had sold.
From our earlier conversation, I thought they had been there for decades.
There were a few horses tethered nearby- none had access to water. I didn't see anyone else around, so I watered them (the temperatures were already
in the 80s) and continued south to meet with friends on the coast.
FYI- This is from Graham MacKintosh's post on the "Talk Baja" FB page, Feb. 20. It includes several photos of his work to repair the cabin:
"Finished the Patchen cabin roof repair as it started drizzling. Thought it might take 2-3 days but thanks to famed Santa Ines resident Ralph who
brought the ladders, skill saw and generators, and to the knowhow and power tools of David and Alison, we had the job done in less than one day. I did
little except slap on the roof tar and tidy up. By way of celebration visited Ralph and Pat in their home… and as the almond tequila was all gone,
downed a couple of shots of the smoothest most delicious 40-year old Cluny scotch. Offered a toast to David and Alison. Was muy frio and freezing this
morning in Catavina. Was able to express my thanks in frost."
And on Feb. 26:
"Sad to leave LA Bay. So beautiful. Tomorrow heading back to do more work on Patchen cabin near Catavina. Knocking together the "outhouse" with a
view, and carrying over 300 lbs of cement for north wall. Will be there with Ralph till maybe Saturday night, will be way warmer than freezing temps
while we fixed the roof. Stop if you're passing by, offer advice... and try out the new facilities!"
\"Probably the airplanes will bring week-enders from Los Angeles before long, and the beautiful poor bedraggled old town will bloom with a
Floridian ugliness.\" (John Steinbeck, 1940, discussing the future of La Paz, BCS, Mexico)
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Alm
Ultra Nomad
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Registered: 5-10-2011
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Yes, "camp" caretakers are old couple. The biggest appeal of the camp is that it's away from the village and highway, so you don't hear any noise
through paper-thin walls of RV. Restaurant is about the same standard as the Juan's shack on the North-East corner of LA turnoff (not the fancier
structure to the South).
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64842
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Oscar & Matilda were the couple over the years who managed the rancho for Fred and Josefina. There is a photo of them sitting with us there in
2007: www.vivabaja.com/msm
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thebajarunner
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3718
Registered: 9-8-2003
Location: Arizona....."Free at last from crumbling Cali
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| Quote: Originally posted by David K | Thanks for these replies... it is great to hear from everyone who has stayed at Santa Ynez.
Nice to see Ellen is here still, too.
theBajarunner: The owner (1950s-2000s) was Josefina Zunigo or her estate and she also owned the Punta Final land. Fred Hampe was her foreman and is
the one who built the road to Mission Santa María and beyond in hopes of going across to Punta Final. The canyon stopped his progress as well as the
construction of Hwy. 1 in 1973 reducing the need for a short cut. Fred is also credited for the La Turquesa grade construction (the next best shortcut
route).
A Nomad pilot and Score buggy racer, 'Steekers' was in the process of authoring a book on the Santa Ynez history and he interviewed Fred at Fred's
home in Ramona. Maybe Steekers is reading Nomad still and will have some input?
There were land squatters at Punta Final who started the resort there in the late 1960s called Villa Mar y Sol, so Josefina and Fred needed a faster
route to the gulf to guard the property in the days before paved and graded roads. They kicked that Mar y Sol group off and renamed the campo 'Punta
Final' after the nearby point. |
Thanks David...
Sra. Josefina..... just could not dredge that up from my rusty memory bank
And yes, they also owned Punta Final.
Never heard if the big holdings in Catavina sold or not.
No answer to my question, "Is the strip now open?"
Also, no argument on the name.
The sign was placed there by the owners and says "Inez"
End of argument
You can change the name if you like, but that is what the owners called it
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norte
Super Nomad
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You have too pay to access the mission road. I thought that was free access?
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64842
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Location: San Diego County
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The data I got comes partially from Marvin Patchen and his book, Baja Adventures by Land, Air, Sea. The ranch also put up a sign at the highway "Sta.
Ynez" and Marv said that was the preferred spelling. I also saw shirts sold there as "Inez"! I don't think the Spanish speakers care as much as some
of us who make maps and road guides?!
The ranch (I heard) was sold to Don of Vista CA Briggs Tree Farm fame? Don was a customer, I had done irrigation work for back in the 80s and 90s. He
spoke about his Punta Final home but never anything about Santa Ynez. So, that came later but living on Josefina's land would give him an inside
contact
Norte, the pay to pass the ranch was news we just learned from Ken Cooke. Perhaps if you drive to the arroyo on a back road from Cataviña, you could
avoid? See Google Earth.
Edit, found the email from Marvin, from March 4, 2003:
David....more: when I first went to Santa Ynez in 1968 it was Ynez and although there was a Catavina on some map there was nothing there.
The ranch was the only thing there except a small ranch house by the dip in the road just before you got to Santa Ynez. Some old maps have Inez and
some Ynez.
Oscar does not own the ranch. Fred Hampe owns it. It was willed to him by Josefina.
I don't recall if I said in my other E mail that Fred Hampe built the road to the mission.
Marvin
[Edited on 3-4-2019 by David K]
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Pablito1
Junior Nomad
Posts: 64
Registered: 4-24-2011
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One year in the early 1980s I was traveling to meet some people in Cabo Pulmo. There was a storm in the gulf and raining hard as I passed Catavinia so
I pulled in to Santa Ines to check for a place to sleep. They put me up in a room directly across in front of the restaurant. The room reminded me of
the ranch's bunk house because there were 2-3 more beds. If I remember correctly the cost of the room was $8.00. In the morning when I got up and
went outside there were several people sleeping on the porch. That was the only time that I slept at the ranch but I over the years I have slept in
the open area in front of the ranch.
I have been trying to remember if Oscar and Matilda were there at the time of the storm but just don't. That was a couple of moons ago.
Regards, Pablo
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64842
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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| Quote: Originally posted by Pablito1 | One year in the early 1980s I was traveling to meet some people in Cabo Pulmo. There was a storm in the gulf and raining hard as I passed Catavinia so
I pulled in to Santa Ines to check for a place to sleep. They put me up in a room directly across in front of the restaurant. The room reminded me of
the ranch's bunk house because there were 2-3 more beds. If I remember correctly the cost of the room was $8.00. In the morning when I got up and
went outside there were several people sleeping on the porch. That was the only time that I slept at the ranch but I over the years I have slept in
the open area in front of the ranch.
I have been trying to remember if Oscar and Matilda were there at the time of the storm but just don't. That was a couple of moons ago.
Regards, Pablo |
Elected around 1970, the man running for president of Mexico slept in that bunk room and promised the people of Baja that HE would give them a paved
road before his term ended... and he did!
Either he really liked Josefina and the bunk room a lot or he was somehow convinced that he did pave the driveway into the ranch from where the
engineers placed the highway as well as giving a paved runway on the hill above the long field where planes used to land (now the driveway and
campground). The parador and El Presidente Hotel next door at Cataviña was originally named "Cataviña-Santa Inés" as there was nothing there before
the highway and Santa Inés (Ynez) was the main attraction before then. It is in one of my 1974 photos, the year the parador/ hotel opened, a few
months following the highway opening.
Blanche and Elizabeth chat with ranch managers Matilda ad Oscar. Good tacos and cold drinks can be ordered here before the mission voyage begins.
[2007 photo/caption]
1974: El Presidente Cataviña-Santa Inés...
zoomed in, blurry...
[Edited on 3-5-2019 by David K]
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EdZeranski
Nomad
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Location: Ocean Beach/Borrego Springs
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Mood: Si! Como no???
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Ralph
| Quote: Originally posted by bajabuddha | Anyone know if Ralph still lives behind the ranch in the stone house he built? I believe it was Ralph...
Its Ralph, other home is Ramah NM. You can catch him at 07:30 on the "Wheels and Keels" net , 3.945MHz, change to 7.245 at 07:45
EdZ KG6UTS |
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
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Location: Bahia Asuncion
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Personally, I love this place. It's the next best thing to camping in the boonies. It's quiet and the stars are out each night. I wouldn't stay
overnight in their rooms though. We always have tacos dorados at that old wooden table outside and talk to Mathilda while we munch our food.
Last week Mathilda told me her husband Oscar passed away this past December, I think. So she runs the place with her daughter mostly.
That area can get very cold at nights during the Dec-Feb time frame (low 40's - high 30's).
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bajabuddha
Banned
Posts: 4024
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Mood: Always cranky unless medicated
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I believe Matilda's daughter is Gloria (so what's left of memory serves me) and I have had many a cerveza and a meal on that pik-i-nik table outside
the restaurant. Met all 3 in '95 and many a year after.
Sorry to see a passing of a generation there; such is life, everywhere we travel. Times change, people come and go. I agree one of my favorite camps
in Baja, for the stars, the ambience, the rocks, blue fan palms, cowchit, caravans, machaca enchiladas, Ralph's visits and history talks, oh....
And the bunk house. Again, the middle room had 3 beds right out of Goldilocks' visit to the bear's house. The third one was JUST RIGHT. Never
change a minute of any time I've ever spent there for any amount of swag.
Santa Ynez is a treasure. 
I don't have a BUCKET LIST, but I do have a F***- IT LIST a mile long!
86 - 45*
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David K
Honored Nomad
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Nice stories... Sorry to hear that Oscar has passed... Getting old sucks and not just because it does but because you lose friends and neat people you
got to know or know about.
Oscar put on a performance for my daughter Sarah before we drove to the mission, in April 2003:
The horse's name was Rayo (Lightning):
Oscar of Rancho Santa Ynez
The rest of that trip: http://www.vivabaja.com/403/
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steekers
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Registered: 12-4-2007
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UPDATE RANCHO SANTA YNEZ, YNES, INES??
Since Oscar has passed away, leaving Mathilda and her kids to manage the operation, I wonder how the place is now operated.
Has anyone been there in the last year? Camped out? Rented any rooms? Had any food? Anyone stay in Patchen's cabin? Seen Ralph around?
My group will be going in a few weeks and wondering what to expect.
Thanks!
[Edited on 10-12-2020 by steekers]
[Edited on 10-12-2020 by steekers]
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