TMW
Select Nomad
Posts: 10659
Registered: 9-1-2003
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Member Is Offline
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I hardly ever go through TJ. Maybe once every 2-3 years and only if I have no choice. My favorite is through Tecate then down the sand road past
Rancho Santa Veronica, El Compadre, the Indian Village and to hwy 3. Then I decide to go east or west. If I'm going further south I take the dirt road
from Valle de La Trinidad to hwy 1 or I go thru Mikes Sky Rancho or cross Diablo dry lake to San Felipe and the old road south. I go to Baja to stay
in the dirt and sand as much as possible.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64943
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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You are a good man TW!
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Phil S
Super Nomad
Posts: 1205
Registered: 10-28-2003
Member Is Offline
Mood: After 34 years. Still in love w/ my wife
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Our drive twice a year down & back to Oregon was just an adventure to get through L.A. We've done I-5, 210, 80, 405 etc.etc. There is no way to
"pass through" L.A. without it being a white knuckled" trip. I'm surprised there aren't more people from southern California wearing straight
jackets, having to 'deal' with that every day. The easy part begins, after we cross the border. And that's been T.J. Tecate, Otah Mesa, and Mexicali.
A trip through Cocoa Corner to Hwy 1 was great. But once was enough (guess no adventure spirited person here) due to ruining two ten ply Toyo tires on
the razor sharp rocks climbing some of the grades. Another trip north of San Felipe west to a junction, with a small community (maybe Colonia
Card##as?) and then dirt single lane road, unmarked south westerly till we got to Hwy 1 south of San Vicente. That trip had been just after a heavy
rain storm, and road was full of deep potholes. Unknown depths kept the adreneline running! Many times, shifting into 4X4 to get through. Great trip.
Beautiful scenery, and only one vehicle coming from the other direction & six motorcycles running together. Turns out to be the "back up" vehicle.
Was a dirt bike tour group out of San Diego. That 'side trip' took six hours & was I think about 45-50 miles. I recommend this trip to break the
Hwy 1 'sameo==sameo!!
I remember one trip with my brother in his pickup, where a large arroyo was a raging river on Hwy 1 after a heavy rainstorm. We watched a freight
truck pass through very slowly. We were loaded with plywood & lumber and no brains. We struck off following him, as probably forty or 50
vehicles with onlookers cheered us on. We had been parked for couple hours waiting for the water to recede, as the trucker had, and figured he knew
what he was doing. Plus, on the other side was a large tall wheeled farm tractor waiting for a fee to pull cars through. Or "out" whichever occured
first! That was probably the dumbest thing I had ever done, but God does watch over the 'dumbies'. We made it at a very slow crawl, and water
pushing half way up the door. It had to be the weight that kept us from sliding sideways off the pavement. That was an adrenelin rush for sure.
Been over the years many a vado filled with water, requiring quick decisions. Never intelligent ones. But when your in a 4X4 good judement sometimes
is substituted with macho sense!! I guess after awhile, one becomes smart enough to realize that making the trip via airlines does eliminate the need
for driving through L.A. But then you miss the 'adventures' of driving through the rest of such a beautiful country to Loreto.
[Edited on 9-23-2005 by Phil S]
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rpleger
Super Nomad
Posts: 1087
Registered: 3-12-2005
Location: H. Mulegé, BCS
Member Is Offline
Mood: Was good.
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I'm pretty boring.
North from Muleg? once a year, thru to El Rosario stay over night.
Breakfast at the Mission in San Quint?n.
Cross around 11am, Newport Beach by 3pm.
Just reverse the return in about a week. All I can take.
Richard on the Hill
*ABROAD*, adj. At war with savages and idiots. To be a Frenchman abroad is to
be miserable; to be an American abroad is to make others miserable.
-- Ambrose Bierce, _The Enlarged Devil\'s Dictionary_
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TMW
Select Nomad
Posts: 10659
Registered: 9-1-2003
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Member Is Offline
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Phil S, maybe sometime you might want to try taking hwy 58 thru Bakersfield, to Mojove, 14 to Palmdale and 138 to 15 then 30 to the 10 to 87 to El
Centro to cross at Mexicali. I guess the 138 from the 5 may be better for you instead of 58. Anyway it's a more relaxed route. 2 lane from Palmdale
to the 15 but not a problem. I drive it anytime I'm going south. I stay away from LA as much as possible.
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bajalou
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4459
Registered: 3-11-2004
Location: South of the broder
Member Is Offline
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I always used the 5-58-395-15-30-10-86-8-111 similar to TW's way. Just stayed on 58 to Kramer jct instead of going to Palmdale. No LA Basin in this
route.
No Bad Days
\"Never argue with an idiot. People watching may not be able to tell the difference\"
\"The trouble with doing nothing is - how do I know when I\'m done?\"
Nomad Baja Interactive map
And in the San Felipe area - check out Valle Chico area |
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64943
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Yes, that route east from Bakersfield works well... I lived in Fresno for 2 1/2 years while working for a drip irrigation manufactorer, but often
returned to San Diego County to visit family or to call on clients... THAT was how I missed the L.A. mess!
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