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Pompano
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8194
Registered: 11-14-2004
Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
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Mood: Optimistic
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"BAJA CHARACTERS"
There are many......
GARDNER BAJA EXPEDITIONS 50'S & 60'S: JW BLACK - "BLACKJACK"
JW BLACK....FONDLY KNOWN AS 'BLACKJACK'.
Baja have blessed me with meeting several 'interesting characters.' One of these is JW Black of Paradise, California. I met him in the winter of
1971 at Coyote Beach south of Mulege when my compadre and I were on a remote-Baja camping trip. (This was a couple of years before the pavement came
in...the old Camino Baja was rough...think 2-3 hours from Mulege to Santispac.)
For some unknown reason 'Blackjack', as I came to know him, befriended me and we reunited at Coyote every year for about the next 10 years,
undertaking many camping jaunts into the Baja outback. He had many interests and talents...just a few were: desert survival expert, flyer, inventer,
water-witcher, master mechanic, and the best fireside story-teller I ever knew. In those early Baja days, his passion for exploring the hinterlands
led him to join up with the amatuer archeaologist, Earl Stanley Gardner, on many expeditions during the late Fifties and into the Sixties.
Blackjack acted as a logistic 'ramrod' on most of 'Uncle Earl's' mission and cave painting expeditions..and also invented a few trip vehicles like the
pac-rat and grasshopper and a few others. Some were specialized for helicopter travel. These trips were recorded
in books by Gardner, which are available today in book shops and places like Amazon.com.
Blackjack was certainly one of the most colorful members of that troupe...and I am glad to call him my friend. My early times in Baja would have
certainly not been the same without him acting as my guide. He was a catalyst in my Baja love affair.
I will post a few photos of JW Black taken in the 50's & 60's, accompanied with some more recent ones of mine in the 70's. I'll recount some
Blackjack adventures and posts of yesteryear...after I get some sleep. Fish all day..write all night..can't do both anymore. 
...BLACKJACK...
MAYBE THE FIRST BAJA ATV
Blackjack's Inventions
JW Black was a very smart hombre. At first sight he looked like a hillbilly wandering loose in Baja, but as you talked to him and listened, you began
to realize this was one intelligent character. He invented a host of things for the expeditions. One of those gadgets was Baja bug called a
'grasshopper'..he also made the 'pac-rat', which was a small collasping scooter they could carry in the helicopters.
Blackjack was great friends with Uncle Erle. It was Gardener's wish that when he died his ashes would return to Baja, but when he did die his widow
had different ideas and wanted the ashes to stay on her mantel. Blackjack knew Erle's wish and so JW and friends 'liberated' his urn and flew to Baja
where they scattered the ashes out the window high above the Sea of Cortez. Blackjack loved to fly..learning as a youngster and doing some
barnstorming around the nation.
PLANNING THE NEXT LEG AT RCHO COYOTE
Checking some relics next to his Pac-Rat
WITH FRIEND OUTSIDE MULEGE HARDWARE TIENDA
TAKING HIS SKIFF TO THE SHRIMP BOATS
Fellow Nomad Vince wrote this: " Blackjackhelped me out once, I had my '65 Boston Whaler Montauk anchored out in front of the house
on Coyote Bay, he was camped down by your place. A wind came up during the night, the next morning my boat was gone! I went down there for his help
and we went out and found the boat approaching the point of rocks off to the south at the entrance to Coyote Bay. We towed it back. All because I
didn't put enough scope out. That's the same boat I have now, thanks to Blackjack!"
TIMES TOGETHER AT COYOTE BAY AND AREA
from the files:
True Grit....
some of Blackjack's attributes were a genuine modesty of his own good deeds.
a great sense of humor, and an ability to regale us all at our evening campfires and cookouts.
People from all the remote and mountain villages of Baja remember him for his generosity of clothing, baseball equipment, homemade wooden toys, and
his persistance in fixing whatever was wrong with any engine, device, or contraption he found busted wherever he went in Baja. And the folks
remembered him for that spirit.
I went on an expedition with him in 1973 to the San Luis Comondus in the hinterland (took 9 hours in the 'grasshopper' to get there from the blacktop
highway between the Bay and Loreto. Few northeners had been there before. We were winding around a high mountain trail and then saw laid out, about a
thousand feet below, the two little villages along the waterway. Quite scenic.
Blackjack had not been back to these villages for about 10 years. When we drove into town and stopped by the church in the square the padre came
running out, shouting "Senor Black..senor Black!" The whole village turned out to welcome him...and us. They set up an impromtu lunch right there on
the little plaza and we experienced that old Baja charm and hospitality...the feeling that keeps us coming back.
Our evening campfires and cookouts were our social hour in those days...no TV, no radio..just us to entertain ourselves. Lots of singing, guitars, and
storytelling.
Nobody excelled at storytelling like Blackjack. He always wore an old floppy hat with a scorpion pinned to the horsehair braid. He used Beechnut
chewing tobacco and would have a good chaw before getting ready to spin a good one.
Remember back when there was the trouble at the reactor at Three Mile Island? Well, one night in the mid-70's or so, a fellow from Las Vegas was at
our fire..there was maybe 30 all told...and this fellow said, "Hey, Blackjack, you know about a whole lot of things...why don't you explain to all us
here about how nuclear reactors work?"
Blackjack looked around for a place to spit and then said, "Well, before I answer that, can I ask you a couple of questions?"
"Sure.", Las Vegas said.
"Do you know what sheep pellets look like, feller?" Blackjack asks.
"No..no, can't say I do." says Vegas
"Know what deer scat looks like?"
"Nope."
"Have you ever seen a cow pie?"
"Don't think so." sighs Vegas.
Blackjack spits again and leans back in his campchair saying,
"Well, here you are asking me about nuclear reactors and you don't know sh*t."
BLACKJACK WITCHED THE WATER, THEN DID THE WELDING ON THIS COMMUNITY PILAR TOWER BUILT ON MY COYOTE BAY PROPERTY.
Jack of all trades....
that motto was made for men like Blackjack. This photo is of him and a few other friends helping build our water tower in Coyote Bay in the 70's.
Blackjack did all the welding. Blackjack first 'waterwitched' the area and found the best spot to dig. We hit good water at 10 feet...all mountain
runoff water headed for the ocean 300 feet away. The tower creates about 38 lbs. pressure. It supplied 11 houses, a ranch across the road, and a cafe
with water... thanks to some friends like Blackjack and Manuel.
One day Blackjack, myself, and Manuel Diaz went into the mountains behind Coyote Bay and JW waterwitched a well for Manuel, who wanted to start some
crops on fertile land he owned back there. I was a first-time skeptic of witching, but changed my mind after watching him, then Manuel, and finally
myself, find water. I could'nt keep those damn wands from crossing though I tried to keep them straight ahead. The well was dug by hand with a
windlass and they found good water at 80 feet.
Blackjack was quite a guy.
WE WENT TO GET BOLEOS OFTEN AT THE BAKERY IN SANTA ROSALIA
GYPSUM MINE ON SAN MARCOS ISLAND..BLACKJACK REPAIRED A WELDER.
I have some good stories to tell...are your ears burning, Blackjack?
At toast to all you OTHER "Baja Characters" we are going to meet in the future...muchas gracias.
[Edited on 12-16-2013 by Pompano]
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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capt. mike
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8085
Registered: 11-26-2002
Location: Bat Cave
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cracks me up the Capt. Munoz always was wearing a tie in those old photos. like a pro pilot which he was, always suited up for official biz.
So Pompano - you just drove to baja a few weeks ago - now you snuck back up north? like to drive or what??
formerly Ordained in Rev. Ewing\'s Church by Mail - busted on tax fraud.......
Now joined L. Ron Hoover\'s church of Appliantology
\"Remember there is a big difference between kneeling down and bending over....\"
www.facebook.com/michael.l.goering |
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Pompano
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8194
Registered: 11-14-2004
Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
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Mood: Optimistic
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Good morning, mike...
Yes, it does seem like I just finished that trip to Coyote Bay. Like someone once said..It's not the destination, it's the journey.
I blame my wanderlust on my parents..bad timing. Born in December a Sagi..doomed to wander forever.
Did you ever meet Blackjack way back when? He flew a smallish hi-wing airplane, but can't remember what it was...a Citabria, maybe?
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8084
Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
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Glad to see you posting Roger.
We'll be neighbors pretty soon. I headed up to Naknek in a week for a month of paddling. Reading Sevareids "Canoeing with the Cree" this spring had a
lot to do with it. Thanks.
I'm afraid I'm too left brained to believe in bowsing. But you never know.
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Pompano
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8194
Registered: 11-14-2004
Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
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Mood: Optimistic
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Good morning, Igor.
Glad to hear you read that book...I thoroughly enjoy it from time to time. We should 'make voyages' like that sometime in our lives.
On your way Up North...keep an eye out for the oversized flyrods they use up there! The fish are HUGE!!
Buena Suerte amigo.
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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rpleger
Super Nomad
Posts: 1087
Registered: 3-12-2005
Location: H. Mulegé, BCS
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Mood: Was good.
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Roger....missing out on some good dorado fishing...
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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ELINVESTIG8R
Select Nomad
Posts: 15882
Registered: 11-20-2007
Location: Southern California
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Ah to be young and thinner again... 
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Pompano
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8194
Registered: 11-14-2004
Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
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Richard...so I hear from mi fishing amigos and reports here from Bob y Susan. Lots of dorado around, eh? You tell those guys to pen a few up till I
get back.
Elinvest8..me too.  I practice the manana diet.
p.s. No wait...I have been dieting and now I look like this.
[Edited on 7-19-2008 by Pompano]
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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ELINVESTIG8R
Select Nomad
Posts: 15882
Registered: 11-20-2007
Location: Southern California
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Si Pompano mañana hacemos la dieta!
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ELINVESTIG8R
Select Nomad
Posts: 15882
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Location: Southern California
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POMPANO YOU FORCED ME INTO USING THIS!
 
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Wingnut
Nomad
Posts: 171
Registered: 5-5-2007
Location: Phoenix, AZ
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Pompano, loved the stories and pictures about Blackjack. Would love to hear and see more. Unfortunate for me, I discovered Baja late in life. Still it
holds a great deal of charm and interest for me. And I love to see old pictures and hear about what went before....Thanks for sharing.
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Cypress
Elite Nomad
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Location: on the bayou
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Pompano, Thanks for all the pictures and stories! You're a "Baja Character".
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Pompano
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8194
Registered: 11-14-2004
Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
Member Is Offline
Mood: Optimistic
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KILLER CAINE
If you were at some Baja festival and that white-haired and well-attired gent with a video camera filmed you, it was
probably Killer Caine.
Another truly remarkable 'Baja character', Killer got his nickname in the usual way...in hot pursuit of the fairer sex...but hey, we all got our
names that way. Back home in our youth, mine was Wild Oats...even had that on my license plate, WLDOATS. When I got married, my
wife, being a country girl, knew just what to put on hers...CARBINE...a proven chemical that controls wild oats. 
Killer started his video enterprise, Relentless Productions, while river-rafting the Colarado River with Johnny Tequila in the early
80's. Then followed JT to Baja around mid-80's and found Mulege and Santispac Beach, which became his home when not out filming life in all it's
variety.
Killer was known far and wide all along the peninsula and at gatherings in the SW USA...like Burning Man, SeptemberFest at Ridgecrest, and others. I
am sure some of you knew him well.
If it was worth filming, Killer was there. La Paz carnivals, parades, school marches, religious events, funerals, weddings (including his own mock
marriage)...and things only Killer could imagine in his artistic imagination and capture with his uncanny aptitude.
A particularily vivid memory I have of seeing Killer Caine make a movie is one of a lovely young gal with flowing long black hair..ah, I can see her
now...she is kneeling naked in the moonlight at the water's edge...the ocean is alive with phosphorescence. Her bare back and long black hair to the
camera. She leans forward and with both hands reaches back and flips her hair into the water..then slowly drags her hair back and forth in front of
her, soaking it full of the glistening moonlight water. Then she lifts her head and slowly, then faster begins to twirl her long hair around and
around, sending a spiral of fireworks into the soft light of the full moon. It was an awesome sight and it took me a good week or two to recover.
Felipa got tired of me asking her to grow longer hair and dunk her head over the seawall.
Killer would wander Up North in the hot season and was sighted in places like Homer, Alaska and Bangor, Maine...with his adopted Escondido beach dog,
Lefty. Lefty is still with us at Coyote Bay today.
Killer..you had a talent like no other.
And you were truly a Baja Character. RIP old friend.
[Edited on 12-16-2013 by Pompano]
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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vivaloha
Nomad
Posts: 140
Registered: 11-12-2007
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Mood: mellow
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Pompano-
thanks for the submissions!
mas, mas, mas!!
keep up the good work!
great stuff!
Baja California can be a heaven or hell experience - often the determining factor is your AWARENESS in the moment.
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capt. mike
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8085
Registered: 11-26-2002
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Killer was quite the character for sure. Remember when he strapped himself to a propane bottle under a balloon and rode it solo? What a nut!
Killer was the only one i knew who landed in a plane at the Villas De Mulege strip out on the little mesa there. i always wanted to test that short
strip but of course it is in no shape for that. Killer was in a tandom piper cub or Citabria as best as he could describe and the wheel hit a rock or
rut and they ground looped pretty much totaling the plane - Killer suffering a broken shoulder.
i don't know who the pilot was - maybe JT? Pomp may know.
once Killer asked me to bring him back some Gorilla "shoe" glue which i did. he was elated! of all the things a guy might long for living out of an
old cabana at Santispac and he wants glue........what a guy.
formerly Ordained in Rev. Ewing\'s Church by Mail - busted on tax fraud.......
Now joined L. Ron Hoover\'s church of Appliantology
\"Remember there is a big difference between kneeling down and bending over....\"
www.facebook.com/michael.l.goering |
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LancairDriver
Super Nomad
Posts: 1593
Registered: 2-22-2008
Location: On the Road
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Baja Characters would certainly have to include Lou Federico, the early developer of what was Hotel Rancho Loma Linda on the hill on the north side of
the river across from the Serinidad, and the hotel at Punta Chivato. The Hotel Rancho Loma Linda as it was called then, had 18 airplanes crash in less
than 5 years. I landed there in the late 70's when the strip was undoubtedly improved from the early days.
All of these stories are an interesting read in Lou's book "One Hell of a Ride", which I read a borrowed copy of a while back.I understand Lou has
passed away.
Celebrities such as John Wayne, Jane Mansfield, Ann Margaret, and of course Earl Stanley Gardner were early Baja visitors to Mulege. Another
interesting character was the founder of Shakeys Pizza who held a fascination with Mulege and the people of Baja. He loved to party and took a group
from Baja to Hawaii at one time. I have heard second hand stories about him for years.
Lou also mentions giant snook fishing on the Rio Mulege by Chi Chi and Quirinaro Mesa and their sister Chayo with Ray Cannon. Anyone familiar with
these people?
One of the hotels, I'm guessing the one at Punta Chivato was originally named "Borrego de Oro" in honor of a desert sheep Lou shot near the south end
of Bahia Conception.
Maybe some of the "old timers"- ie;Skeet, Pompano? can elaborate a bit more on Lou and this interesting period when Baja was a considerably wilder and
more adventurous place.
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Pompano
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8194
Registered: 11-14-2004
Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
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Mike and LancairDriver...
Mike..JT did indeed crack up his plane, but it was much farther north near BOLA a long time back...somewhere around 1986 or so. I seem to recall
Johnny Tequila telling me Killer filmed it and interviewed him. Now, JT may have had a prop-bender at the northside strip, too, for all I know.
Hell, people were wrecking their birds all over the place. Regular demoliton derby at times.
Killer's epic flight out into Conception Bay under his balloon was a hilarious event. Jeez..the things that guy thought up. He rode that propane
bottle like a quarter-horse right up into the sky. Evel Knieval would have been impressed. We made bets on whether he would wear 'wings' on his
lapel after that one.
Don't diss that Gorilla Glue...I pined for mine for mucho tiempo, too. It kept my Sonora longhorns on my buggy and the Jeep for many moons.
LancairDriver.. I wish I could have met Lou Federico in person as he had tons of experience in Mulege and Pta. Chivato. I did get the chance to visit
with him over the phone and emailed a few times from 1999 to 2004. He sent me an autographed copy of "One Hell of a Ride" which sits comfortably
amongst my other Baja books.
We shared some similar memories/acquaintances and I always looked forward to a talk. He once was a competitor of Don Johnson for Nancy. Saul Davis
amongst many other Mulege citizens worked up at the hotel for a time. Building at Punta Chivato in those days was a grand undertaking, with every
obstacle to overcome...whether structural or political.
Lots of celebs came and went..and still do..but don't recall the Shakey's pizza founder, but then I am a bay-dweller and hardly ever make it into
town. Parties? - No sir, Never!
I personally never saw a giant snook, let alone the fabled black ones in Ray Cannon's book, but did see some good-sized silver Robalos to 8-10 lbs or
so. The last one I ever caught near Mulege was maybe 20 years ago at Cocos Beach in the Bay..next to where the mangroves grow. For some great snook
times, head to Mag Bay and fish the backwaters.
Chayo was later married to Harrison Evans and entered the judicial system in Sta. Rosalia...as a judge, I believe. Lots of Mezas around still, of
course.
anecdote on Ray Cannon....I took all the nice pages of photographs out a Ray Cannon book once and helped laminate them onto a neighbor's kitchen
countertop. It created a nice affect for a fishing household on the Sea of Cortez.
Oof-da...I just realized I am now an "old timer." I need one of those 'Dorian Gray' portraits!
Well, take heart, LancairDriver..me and others here like Baja nostalgia, too.
minifact: I have 10,000 + Baja photos on discs...grab some popcorn and a beer or three.
Hey, did I just hear several pc's shutting down?
Here's a few photos about Lou Federico ..and some of Chivato.
.
Lou standing with Don Johnson at the Serinadad.
.
[Edited on 12-9-2013 by Pompano]
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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Ken Bondy
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3326
Registered: 12-13-2002
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Jeez, what a great thread. My very FIRST Baja landing was made at that little Mulege strip up on the mesa on the north side of the river. They
called it Hotel Mulege then. Senterfitt showed it as 1775 feet. I was in a Cardinal 177RG N2076Q. I was too dumb to know exactly what 1775 feet
meant. Actually, I had been practicing at San Fernando airport (now an industrial park) and as I recall that was about 2000 ft., so I was young and
sharp and ready for Hotel Mulege. I was headed for Palmilla and this was my gas stop (so I thought). Anyway the landing was surprisingly uneventful
(I actually had a little runway in front of me when we screeched to a stop). There were no signs of life at the hotel, and after awhile it became
obvious that we really should be over at Serenidad where there was gas and lots of other civilized things. So we took off for the two minute flight
over to Serenidad, where my severely cramped sphincter muscle relaxed as I looked at about 3500 ft of nicely graded hard clay. Anyway the rest is
history but I never again landed at the little strip on the mesa although we did imbibe up there at the hotel several times via taxi. Thanks Roger,
good to hear from you again. ++Ken++
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LancairDriver
Super Nomad
Posts: 1593
Registered: 2-22-2008
Location: On the Road
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Pompano and Ken
Pompano- I was pretty sure you would have some input on Lou Federico. It is hard to appreciate what it took to accomplish what he did before there was
a road or telephones from the perspective of today. I remember standing in line in La Paz in 1970 waiting to use a telephone to call back to
California after riding a motorcycle down before the road was completed. What a difference (ugh)30 years makes!
I wish I had discovered Baja sooner and had the time to spend there. Oh well, I'll just have to try to make up for lost time.
Take another look in your copy of "One Hell of a Ride". I believe I saw something in there about the Shakeys Pizza guy. Don Johnson might know
something about him. Next time you see him you might ask. Thanks for all of the great pictures and stories. Keep them coming!
Ken- I had a similar experience to yours landing at the Hotel Mulege in a 172 about 1979 also. Same deal- found nothing going on and headed for the
Sirenidad with the more user friendly strip. I never thought I would try it again, but a year or so later I was scud running back from Loreto around
New Years day in a hell of a storm. I tryed to land at Sirenidad but 2 airplanes were stuck in the mud blocking the strip. I was glad to skid in to
Hotel Mulege in the downpour and wait out the storm sitting there. These days I just kick back and enjoy a few Cervesas and wait for a better day.
I went into San Fernando a few times also. I flew out of Camarillo airport and used to hit all of the airports around LA before moving to Oregon.
Quite a difference in traffic up here after flying down there.
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palmeto99
Banned
Posts: 292
Registered: 7-15-2008
Location: loreto,BCS and East Coast USA (Spartanburg, SC)
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Mood: Trying to bring the worlds people together one post at a time.
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Great pictures of Killer Caine Pompano.
I will always remember sitting in Ray Limas old cantina at Santispac many years ago where I first met Killer. In he walks with a beautiful drunken
women on his arm(he had many)that he was showing around Mulege. He spent the rest of the night giving me the ins and outs of Baja life.
It was the start of a great friendship that lasted many years until his passing. He would visit me often in Loreto with his latest movie he had just
filmed and we would get drunk and watch his movies all night...
I am a better man for having known him..
In regards to ole Lou,
The one item that Lou never wrote about in his book were the many people who had fronted him all the money for both the hotel on the hill in Mulege
and the hotel at Chivato.
It never makes for good reading when the hero of the story takes funds from his friends and others and never makes good on his debts.
In his book ,ole Lou is done wrong by everyone else and he is the innocent one.
I am sure Don at the Serinidad could shed some truth on the subject if asked.
There was only one successful tailor from San Jose that made it in Baja and it was not ole Lou... 
[Edited on 7-21-2008 by palmeto99]
[Edited on 7-21-2008 by palmeto99]
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