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Anonymous
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Baja-Almanac.Com
Does anyone have a phone contact for the guy at Baja-Almanac.Com? I sent him a money order for 4 maps (3 weeks ago) and haven't gotten anything. No
replies to my emails either. I'm getting anxious as our group trip to Baja starts this Saturday. Thanks for any help you can give. Bob
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David K
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Landon Crumton
is the man's name, and you could see if he's listed in Las Vegas. I did hear he was in Baja researching the next edition, but don't know if he's still
gone. You could ask his dealers for contact assistance: Discover Baja Travel Club and Map Centre, in San Diego or The Map Store in San Marcos.
Kim sells the folding maps and Almanac in El Rosario (on the right on the way out of town, see map signs at her store), then get a refund from
Landon...
I have not met him, and don't have any better contact details, sorry!
[Edited on 9-27-2004 by David K]
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jrbaja
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I hope he does a better job
"researching" the new one than he did on the last one !!
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bajapablo
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He was in baja in June researching his
next map. Nice guy, has some great stories and experiences about baja, and his maps seem to be some of the best around. I think you buy from the
publisher not from him directly. From the the looks of his notes and vehicle, He seems to research pretty thoroughly.
JR did you find some discrepencies?
\"changes it lattitudes, changes in attitudes\"
J.Buffet
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jrbaja
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Pablo
Si Se?or. It was a topic of conversation a while back but I don't remember the title.
I have seen a bunch of places where the almanac either shows roads where there aren't any and have never been, or not showing roads of importance
that have been there for a quite some time.
I can think of 3 specific unrelated areas where these mistakes have been made and there are others who know of more.
The good news is, it probably won't matter to the majority of people using these maps unless you are interested in Confluence Points and other such
nonsense. hahahahahaha What do you think Herb ?
I use it myself and combined with my 1986 Topography International Map Book, I usually find my way.
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Herb
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Baja Almanac...Good & Bad
Yes, I can definitely attest to the discrepencies between this map and reality, but you've got to be REALLY out there in the boonies to find'em. With
that said, it is still the best (current) map of Baja available. The best online selection of BackCountry maps for Baja California, Alta California
and the US southwest that I've found is at:
http://www.totalescape.com/tripez/camp/maps.html
I just picked up the folding "big picture" version of the Baja Almanac map there. Right now, though, the guy who publishes it does seem to be having
serious supply problems, and it is very difficult to find them anywhere.
| Quote: | Originally posted by jrbaja
I have seen a bunch of places where the almanac either shows roads where there aren't any and have never been, or not showing roads of importance
that have been there for a quite some time.
I can think of 3 specific unrelated areas where these mistakes have been made and there are others who know of more.
The good news is, it probably won't matter to the majority of people using these maps unless you are interested in Confluence Points and other such
nonsense. hahahahahaha What do you think Herb ?
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bajalou
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I agree wholeheartedly with you Jr. But the many times the roads aren't quite where they should be really won't bother most travelers down here. I
believe it is the best maps available. I'm about ready to buy another copy as my last one is about worn our from using it. Most people won't know of
any errors.
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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jrbaja
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I agree
and, if you duct tape it just right, you'll get a whole bunch more miles out of it 
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Neal Johns
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Boy, you got that right JR, my old "big" one has more duct tape that paper! I wish he would publish it in that format again.
My motto:
Never let a Dragon pass by without pulling its tail!
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Ken Bondy
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I just ordered one...
...from Amazon. Hasn't arrived yet, but Amazon sez it's on the way! They charged about $5 more than ordering directly from the guy in Vegas, but I
needed it in a hurry.
++Ken++
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bajalou
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They are available here in San Felipe at the bookstore - San Felipe Title Co. next to Baja Java - 2nd floor on Chetemal between Mar De Cortex and
the Malecon - at the publisher's suggested price.
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
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The cartographers for Baja Almanac
are Mexicans, JR... Landon takes existing Mexican Government Topo maps and then adds details to them, and puts them into book form for ease of use.
When this edition of the Almanac (with color topography) came out last year, I posted the several errors I spotted that were also in the earliar
editions. I also emailed Landon the list, but I have never gotten a reply back.
As far as I have seen, Landon does not change road locations, but he does add milages on major roads and additions to place names. For instance, next
to Rancho Santa Ynez (Ines) you will see 'Casa Patchen' refering to Marvin Patchen's little cabin that is the base for his new book 'Baja Outpost'.
Coco's Corner is in the Almanac, but probabaly not on the official Mexican topo... etc.
Mistakes or old data used by Mexican cartographers and are also on the Almanac maps include:
Switching the names: Bahia San Luis Gonzaga and Ensenada de San Francisquito; Arroyo El Volcan and Arroyo Zamora
Mislocating roads: Hwy. 1 between San Agustin and San Roque (near Catavina); the road north of Hwy. 1 to San Juan de Dios; The Valle Chico road, north
of Matomi; the Punta San Francisquito road south of Las Flores;
Showing auto roads that don't exist: between San Francisco de la Sierra and Santa Marta (it is just a mule trail)...
There are others, but that is a sampling.
Like the others say, this map book has far more detail and shows more roads and trails than any other... the mistakes are tolerable for the most
part...
I think the next generation of maps Mexico is producing will have '3-D like' topography shading.
[Edited on 9-28-2004 by David K]
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thebajarunner
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Almanac
Bought mine in the Museo at LABay.
$25 U.S., no tax, great deal!
Baja Arriba!!
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jrbaja
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Seems to me like
with all that mericun teknology yall are so proud about, they would have known better than to trust the Mexican cartographers, no?
On the other hand, they as gringos could just say, "it's not my fault"
Fact is though, apparently they weren't quite so fat and lazy in 1986 as they are now because the Topo book I have from then is more accurate than
the copied or "researched" versions.
Maybe it's just me but knowing there are other people like me out there, I would do some serious research before publishing something.
That's why they are making money and I am not I reckon!
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David K
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That big Topo book (I have two) has the very same mistakes as the Almanac... Because it is from the same source (Mexican Government Maps)! It is more
detailed, yes... But not very easy to use 'in field'. I love it, and I have my original 1986 edition almost falling apart with field notes in it...
and a 'like new' super condition 1991 edition I found at the used book store for $4, which I keep untouched...
My favorite maps after the Almanac and Atlas are Gulick's Lower California Guidebook maps... Superbly drawn and the most accurate hand made maps of
Baja. They are over 40 years old, however... Wait, so am I!!!
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jrbaja
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Perhaps the same mistakes were made
in the Bahia de los Angeles area and the "wilds" of Baja Norte but not when it comes to the truly remote mountain and coastal areas of the rest of
Baja. Thank goodness !
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David K
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So there really is an auto road into Rancho and Mision Los Dolores??? Well, the older '91 map doesn't show it ... but the newer one does, and it just
ain't so.
Like I said... even with mistakes on every page, it still is the best road maps of Baja!
Now, what confluence have you not been to, yet???
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Herb
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If I were you, David...
I wouldn't be so quick to defend a guy who isn't even polite enough to respond to your feedback on the errors in his book. In fact, I think it speaks
volumes about the man and why his book continues to have those inaccuracies. He can't blame it all on the Mexicans. His maps do differ from theirs. In
fact I have seen sections of his book that are more accurate than the Mexican government maps and vice versa.
When any business person gets that c-cky and thinks he "knows it all" and doesn't have to listen to feedback, that business person usually ends up
broke, or out of business at the very least... It's a very short fall from "best" to "used to be."
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David K
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I understand Herb... I wasn't trying to defend Landon... As you say, his business practices are quite poor (accepting money on a web site, and having
nobody there to fill orders, not accepting offers to correct the errors, etc.). I would love to have the freedom to map all of backcountry Baja
myself... like a Lower California Guidebook for the new century! I would use satellite images or simular and overlay the road locations onto them
(remember Tom Miller's Baja Book?) then overlay a very light GPS grid or provide a clear plastic grid page that could be placed over each map for
those using GPS to quickly find their location.
Actually, this exchange above was more of a friendly debate between JR who thinks or just talks like everything American is bad/ everything Mexican is
good... and me who thinks there is good and bad on BOTH sides of the border.
I like the Mexican topos, Landon's maps, Gulick's maps, and even (the newest) AAA maps... all for certain and various reasons.
[Edited on 9-28-2004 by David K]
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BajaNomad
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Anonymous
Does anyone have a phone contact for the guy at Baja-Almanac.Com? |
Domain name: baja-almanac.com
Registrant Contact:
Baja Almanac Publishers Inc.
Landon Crumpton
+1.7024590555
5130 East Charleston St. #5
Las Vegas, CA 89102
When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.
– Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
We know we must go back if we live, and we don`t know why.
– John Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez
https://www.regionalinternet.com
Affordable Domain Name Registration/Management & cPanel Web Hosting - since 1999 |
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