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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64852
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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PUERTECITOS TO HWY. 1 on JULY 19, 2010
The new highway south of Puertecitos is totally different than the poor highway that runs the 55 miles from San Felipe to Puertecitos... It is built
to the new standard, wider, with shoulders that will make riding bikes safe... and designed for high speed. As of Monday, 7-19-10:
0.0 (0 min.) Puertecitos Entrance Road, sign ahead for Laguna Chapala.
5.2 (6 min.) Playa Cristina
6.2 La Costilla
17.6 (20 min.) El Huerfanito (off to east of highway, no sign)
18.5 Detour off pavement onto older road, regraded for construction traffic. Piles of sand on road mark this point, no sign. Ahead on pavement is sign
for Campo Tano at Mile 19.0. At 19.3 is a sign 'End of Pavement, 200 mtrs.'). At 19.5 is the absolute end at an unfinished bridge. No sign of road
work on the opposite side of arroyo. Road work does continue beyond, out of sight from here.
Return back to Mile 18.5, detour onto dirt... log continues from this point.
25.1 (34 min. from Puertecitos, not including run to end of pavement) End of new road construction alongside old road. Old road new grading ends...
very rough, rocky road on to Gonzaga. Motorhomes and trailers should avoid!
26.0 'Okie Landing' to east (note cement pads along end of gravel beach marking the fish camp of the 1960's.
33.1 (1 hr. 14 min.) Campo Delfines
36.3 (1 hr. 26 min.) Las Encantadas
37.9 (1 hr. 31 min.) Punta Bufeo
43.1 (1 hr. 59 min.) El Faro
43.4 (2 hr. 1 min.) Papa Fernandez' Bahia San Luis Gonzaga
Military Checkpont is just a mile + ahead.
46.1 (2 hr. 12 min.) Alfonsina's Pemex (closed from 2-4 pm), Rancho Grande Market just ahead on right.
Clear odometer for next section... The main road south from Gonzaga is much better than the road north, but the rough surface still limits maximum
speed to ~30 mph (twice that of the north section) in a Tacoma, loaded.
0.0 Rancho Grande 'Gonzaga Bay'
1.3 (8 min.) Road to Campo Beluga and Sacraficio
7.5 (22 min.) Road west to Arroyo Santa Maria and Las Palmitas oasis on the old mission trail 'El CaminoReal'
10.0 (28 min.) Road in from left is the south access route to Punta Final
16.7 La Turquesa Canyon road to west (green pools of water, turquoise mine, and very difficult off road and abandoned mine road shortcut to Hwy. 1
near El Pedregoso)
19.2 (52 min.) Las Arrastras site access road. Gold ore grinding mills, well, nearby waterhole of San Francisquito on the Camino Real.
23.0 (1 hr.) Coco's Corner (cold Pacifico for sale $2) Coco in Ensenada, helper Ramón on hand.
36.1 (1 hr. 30 min. driving time) HWY. 1, Laguna Chapala. Gasoline and tire repairs advertised, 1 km. south.
Some photos...
Poor hwy. north of Puertecitos
Road log above, begins here.
Old old road on left... looks like it was graded for detour.
El Huerfanito Island
Bridge at very end of pavement
Old road, regraded along new road.
It's rougher than it looks!
First view Gonzaga Bay
Road south of Coco's Corner.
More photos will be in the trip report... coming soon!
[Edited on 7-22-2010 by David K]
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edm1
Senior Nomad
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Location: Oak Hills, Ca
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Great report and photos, as usual. Thanks David.
"Huerfanito Island . . . pavement in the foreground"
Oh no!!!
"At 19.5 is the absolute end at an unfinished bridge. No sign of road work on the opposite side of arroyo."
I hope construction ends there, for a while.
"... very rough, rocky road on to Gonzaga. Motorhomes and trailers should avoid!"
Huh :-)
" . . . La Turquesa Canyon road to west . . . shortcut to Hwy. 1 near El Pedregoso) . . "
Didn't know the trail goes all the way to Hwy 1 - gotta try that next time.
Looks like October is the next good Baja weather for the next trip, is Aug/Sept (labor day weekend) really that bad?
Art
[Edited on 7-22-2010 by edm1]
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Udo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6346
Registered: 4-26-2008
Location: Black Hills, SD/Ensenada/San Felipe
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Mood: TEQUILA!
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DK
I never though I would live long enough to see Isla Huerfanito and a paved road in the same photo frame.
In another year I should be able to drive my RV all the way to Mexicali to Mex 1 and bypass the mountains (and truck/bus traffic) on the Pacific coast
of Baja.
Thanks for the guided tour and the mileage legend.
Udo
Youth is wasted on the young!
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bajalou
Ultra Nomad
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Location: South of the broder
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Labor Day weekend is one of the hottest and most humid times in the San Felipe area. About the worst weather in my thinking.
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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DavidT
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Damn that sucks.
Now even people with toyotas will be down there.
David
Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious.
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Lista
Junior Nomad
Posts: 52
Registered: 5-2-2010
Location: MT
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Mood: (:
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You're right about rougher than it looks! Photos never do that road justice. Thanks for the pic's, 102 days and I'll be taking in that view myself!
Your photos make me jealous...
curious about the pavement over the mountains, I was worried there might be falling rock issues.
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redhilltown
Super Nomad
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Location: Long Beach, CA
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OMG! Are those.................guard rails????????? In Baja? What is this freaking world coming to!!!!!
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64852
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Lista
You're right about rougher than it looks! Photos never do that road justice. Thanks for the pic's, 102 days and I'll be taking in that view myself!
Your photos make me jealous...
curious about the pavement over the mountains, I was worried there might be falling rock issues. |
There were some loose rocks on the pavement, but not much.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64852
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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| Quote: | Originally posted by redhilltown
OMG! Are those.................guard rails????????? In Baja? What is this freaking world coming to!!!!! |
Yes... Baja Angel was really impressed with the size of them!
They are doing highways totally different than before... No longer dancing with Death!
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64852
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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| Quote: | Originally posted by edm1
Great report and photos, as usual. Thanks David.
"Huerfanito Island . . . pavement in the foreground"
Oh no!!!
"At 19.5 is the absolute end at an unfinished bridge. No sign of road work on the opposite side of arroyo."
I hope construction ends there, for a while.
"... very rough, rocky road on to Gonzaga. Motorhomes and trailers should avoid!"
Huh :-)
" . . . La Turquesa Canyon road to west . . . shortcut to Hwy. 1 near El Pedregoso) . . "
Didn't know the trail goes all the way to Hwy 1 - gotta try that next time.
Looks like October is the next good Baja weather for the next trip, is Aug/Sept (labor day weekend) really that bad?
Art
[Edited on 7-22-2010 by edm1] |
MY COMMENT WAS NOT FOR YOUR MOTORHOME, Art! Yours can GO ANYWHERE!!!  
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Bob H
Elite Nomad
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Registered: 8-19-2003
Location: San Diego
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Wow, David, I almost cannot believe my eyes. So much good pavement and guard rails going in down there.
Was there still active construction going on at the end of the pavement, at the bridge, etc.?
Great photo log!
Bob H
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Natalie Ann
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2819
Registered: 8-22-2003
Location: Berkeley
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I looked at these pix, sat right down and cried.
Nothing about you DK, everything about that highway.
nena
Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.
.....Oscar Wilde
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
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Location: Bahia Asuncion
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Yes that paved road will come right down next to Islas Encantadas. Five year from now there will be nothing but 10" spotted bay bass around those
islands. That's what happened to Danzante. There was a time you could hook 20-30 leopard groupers just trolling around the shoreline. But that was
over 30 yrs ago and the hwy changed that.
The locals said another 2 years to reach Gonzaga but I think it'll be probably sooner. Very little going on right now, though, as the heat is
overwhelming.
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bufeo
Senior Nomad
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Location: Santa Fe New Mexico
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Thanks for posting those photos, DK. My wife and I have mixed feelings, but I think both of us agree that we sold our house at Punta Bufeo at the
right time.
A great man once said, "You can't pave a road to get away from people."
Allen R
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dizzyspots
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Location: Mescal AZ
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Mood: rather be on the beach at Gonzaga
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When we went down in July...the fallen rock was wide spread, some baseball size, some basketball size...curious the "falling rock sign was AFTER
the hills with falling rock 
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64852
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Bob H
Wow, David, I almost cannot believe my eyes. So much good pavement and guard rails going in down there.
Was there still active construction going on at the end of the pavement, at the bridge, etc.?
Great photo log!
Bob H |
The bridge at the end of pavement had no activity... Perhaps that is where they found the archeological site (ancient village reported here on Nomad)
and they are avoiding that until they remove or examine it. On south, where the old and new road are within sight of each other, work is
progressing... You can see a grader in the one photo I posted... It was moving.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64852
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Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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| Quote: | Originally posted by dizzyspots
When we went down in July...the fallen rock was wide spread, some baseball size, some basketball size...curious the "falling rock sign was AFTER
the hills with falling rock |
It has been cleared up since you drove it, it would seem... just a couple places with some loose, small rocks on the pavement.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64852
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Natalie Ann
I looked at these pix, sat right down and cried.
Nothing about you DK, everything about that highway.
nena |
Thanks for not 'shooting the messenger'!
As you know, I fondly remember the older road from the 1960's that really required low range 4WD or a dune buggy to travel safely... Last drove in '79
when it took about 5 hours to go from Puertecitos to Gonzaga... Then the new graded road of '86-'87 that was never regraded after the 2005 Baja 1000
and storm damage, and was really rough to drive since.
Bad roads bring good people!
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Natalie Ann
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Registered: 8-22-2003
Location: Berkeley
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I've traveled that old 'old road' too, David, and I thought the upgrade (the old road) was just fine.
Don't understand why folks need to keep messin' with what works perfectly well. 
nena
Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.
.....Oscar Wilde
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bufeo
Senior Nomad
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Location: Santa Fe New Mexico
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| Quote: | | Originally posted by David K...As you know, I fondly remember the older road from the 1960's that really required low range 4WD or a dune
buggy to travel safely... |
Just a comment. Not to one-up or anything, but we drove the old road in 1970 in our '69 Ford Ranger (the 'real' Ranger, not the shrinked version) 2WD.
Yep, 2WD.
We had failed on our first attempt, but after I backed down a ways to a spot where I could turn the truck around. I dropped the air some more in the
rear tires and went up and over that last (southbound) crest in reverse, thereby having a fairly low-range, "front-wheel-drive". Dicey, but it worked.
Diana was at the top to stop anyone who may have been coming north, but, fortunately, there was none.
Allen R
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