December 13 to 15,2007 to Guerrero Negro

DEC. 13, Thursday, sunny

We left around 8:20 after dumping. Stopped on the outskirt of town to fuel up then drove on south on Highway One. The road was very good all the way and wide until San Quintin where it became a bit more narrow. I should mention that the famous "TOPES" here are not like the mainland but consist of a dozen small rumbles followed by a gentle hump! Very interesting but also very frustrating. They are well marked and one is better to heed the warnings. Not sure which is worse!?
As we drove, we went over a lot of rolling hills. Nothing too steep but enough to slow me down. The road follows the contour of the mountains so lots of curves. Averaging about 38 MPH ( 60 KMH) We encountered our first Military check-point near Santo Thomas, approx 1 1/2 hour from Ensada. we came back to the Ocean again as we approached San Quintin. Very pretty with sand dunes and brushes. We stopped in San Quintin for lunch at a Pemex. Nice thing about them is that they all have BIG parking areas so lots of room to manoeuvre.

As we drove to San Quintin, we saw a lot of cactus farms. They were neat and planted in rows. As Val said, it was precise like a military cemetery. After lunch, we drove on and climbed again and then headed south on a plateau. We drove for about an hour then it opened up to a very nice valley. We went down at "very slow", Jake on, through switch backs and then across the valley to another mountain pass. At the top, it began going down again with switch backs all the way down into El Rosario.

It is very cool here. Never once did we go over 60 *F (15*C) during our whole drive. Rosario is a small village, muddy form the recent rains we had and rumble strips through the whole village. We found our camp site for the night on the East side of town, behind a small motel call "Mount Sinai". We paid 150 pesos for the night for sewer, water with no pressure and 15 amps electricity. The camping area was a half dried up mud flat with cement pads. As we were the only one here, we had our choice of where to park.
Another camper arrived with BC license plates. We met the driver, Tim, who was headed for Los Barilles, south of La Paz. His wife was flying down to meet him there. He said he left BC on Monday.....WOW! As we were chatting, another vehicle came in. A van with a young couple form Alberta. Yet later, another truck came in with Washington plates. So we had company!
Tim and us went to a local restaurant for supper. A neat place called "Mama Espinosa Place". They really good sea food. I had Burritos los logasta ( lobster) and Val had the same. The whole thing with beer cost us $40. us. I also filled up here 65.284 Litres @ .57 cents a litre.

Came home and read for a while then headed for bead. Early start schedule for tomorrow as we head for Guerrerro Negro. It's been a good day!

N 30* 04' 02" W 115* 42' 57"
Alt: 146 feet
Distance today 249 Km ( 150 miles) in 5 hours at an average of 58KPH (35MPH)


DEC. 14, Friday, sunny

We woke up to heavy dew this morning. Everything is soaked outside. We packed and hooked up the fifth wheel, ready to leave by 07:30 a.m. and.....no power to the motor for the lifting the legs. Checked everything and can't find any loose wires, checked the fuses inside and all is well there. Went into town to find a mechanic and brought someone back. He looked at it and shook his head negatively. Tried another place to no avail. Even stopped another BCer going by but he wasn't mechanically inclined, so he said. Back to the rig, I prodded in the small enclosure where all the wires are and BINGO!! Found a fuse. Of course, I had checked all my papers on the trailer but there was no mention of any fuse other than the ones in the main box. Got that changed and VOILA, the legs went up and we were on the road again by 8:45 a.m. We had no shower this morning as there was no water pressure to speak of so decided to wait until we got to Guerrero. WHAT A START OF A DAY!!!

We had been told that this section was going to be the most scenic and it was true. WOW! WOW! WOW! is all I can say. It was beautiful. The road was narrow but good, the mountains were bigger and higher and the road followed a valley for a while until we climbed to over 2500 feet and came on this plateau which was covered with all kinds of cactus, some unique only to the Baja. There were cholla, cirio or boojum tree is a unique cactus that looks like an upside down carrot and unique to the baja, we also saw guaves, bolla, sanguaro. We were driving through the Sonoran Desert Vegetation sector. The road in these parts and all other parts for that matter follow the contour of the land so there is a lot of curves and hairpin turns. They were however well marked and as long as I paid attention to the signs, there was no problemo.
We went through 2 military check point but were never stopped. What I hate about these is the fact that they force the traffic to get off the road and go around on this gravel road full of potholes, and not small ones either. One has to deal with the drop off from the road and getting back on so it is slooooow drive. They are all young boys and everyone has a rifle at the ready. I wonder if they have ammunition!???

We stopped at Cantivina for a break and had breakfast here. It was good. We had nothing exciting, just nuevos c/jamon (ham and eggs) scrambled. Coffee consisted of instant maxwell house. We drove on and came into an area covered with boulders, small, big and huge. It was really strange. Then we came upon this huge dried up lake and followed that around and then the road a slow descent and got straighter as we went which allowed us to put the hammer down and get up to a speedy 100 kmh. I was becoming concern with the fuel situation. We were down to les than 1/4 tank with only 54 km to spare before empty when we finally arrived in Villa Jesus Maria where there was finally a Pemex with diesel. Filled up @57 cents a litre. Took on 87.005 litres. That's the problem with having a small tank. We had covered 315 km by now.

We crossed the 28th Parallel about 30 km down the road and although we went around this traffic control circle, we didn't have to stop except to pay 20 pesos to have our tires spary for insecticite!????. Yes that is true. This place consist of a HUGE Mexican Flag, a military base, some communication tower and a BIG metal ensign of an eagle however seeing it from a distance, it looks like a U magnet rod. About one km down the road, there was a military check point and again we were not stopped. Guerrero Negro was another 40 km and we finally arrived at our campsite, the MALARRIMO Hotel and RV Park around 2:20 p.m. or 3:20 p.m. local time....we changed time when we crossed the 28th.

The place is half full. Most are here overnight only. The BCer's we had met in La Buforora are also here. One of them, with the motorhome, was driven off the road by a commercial truck who they figured was asleep behind the wheel as he was half way across into this lane. Anyway, he had to go off the road and did a lot of damages to the underside. One has to understand that going off the road on this highway is a big thing as there is a sharp drop off of at least 1 to 3 feet and some places, even more. He was able to come back on the road on his own and limp into here. The truck driver never stopped of course, no surprise there. Our neighbours are from Alaska and he's very chatty. Mid age couple living as full-timers.

N 27* 58' 05"
W 114* 01' 49"
Alt: 19 feet
Distance today 368 KM in 5 hrs and 45 minutes

DEC. 15, Saturday, sunny and warmer

Tried to get propane in town but they don't have the hook-up for our tanks. Oh OH! We went for a tour sightseeing the town and the old lighthouse which was actually north of the 28th and on a dirt road. There was an abandoned old salt mine and a couple of small crosses where 3 people died. Came back through town after going to another road that took us to an active salt industry. The dry the sea salt than turn it into useable salt and export it to Canada and the U.S.

Through town, we stopped at a side road diner and had fish tacos. Delicious. Tomorrow we head south to Conception Bay

I am sitting in the motel bar writing this and sending it via WIFI. Modern techno. We met a few Canadians here too. One couple we seem to be connecting with and have made arrangements to meet again in Mulege (mooh-lah-hey). They are from Yukon of all places and are both french but speak excellent english.

Life is but a journey filled with adventures

December 10 to 12, 2007

DEC. 10, Monday, sunny

We were up at 7 a.m. and ready to go by 9 but first I had to call Fleetwood to see where we were at. I should have known better than to expect anything but disappointment. This is getting to be a very frustrating exercise. Either that guy at Fleetwood is stupid, incompetent or he is playing games with us. It's like talking to a dummy. I think it's time to seek help from Trailer Life or Good Sam.

Anyway, we got on I-5 and headed south by 9:15. A half hour later we crossed into Mexico at Tijuana. We were not stopped at the border so headed on south onto the 4 lanes highway through town. The road to Hwy 1D was very well marked and it was a pleasant and easy drive to get through Tijuana. Unfortunately, with all the excitement and stress we forgot to take pictures of the border but did manage some of the drive south. Past Rosarito, we got on 1D and drove through 3 toll booths between here and Ensanada. Total cost was 163 pesos ( approx $15 us)

The scenery down was very pretty. We stopped once along the highway ( in a populated area) and had no problems all the way to Ensanada. Driving through town was not difficult at all and we saw no topes. We found our campsite thanks to Church's book and were parked by 11:30 a.m.. Cost was $25/night. The park is dirt with cement pads for patio. Each site is separated by a cement curb and there are lots of trees. We are near the port and downtown. We have 15 amps for electricity and water and sewer hook-ups. We are not using the water for obvious reasons. There is also cable TV but we can only get one English channel. There was a cable in the tree about 75 feet from our site which I had to pull part way to us then hook up my two TV cable extensions to it so it would reach our site. WELCOME TO MEXICO!!!!

There is two other rigs here. One is a single guy headed for San Quintin in a Terry trailer ( he left the next day) and the other is a young couple of about mid 20's with a baby of about 2 yrs old. They are from Salt-Spring Island in B.C., Canada, and are driving a camper van ( they left that afternoon). They are on their way to Cabo San Lucas where their parents will meet them for Christmas. He's taken maternity leave and she doesn't work.

We went into town as to find the immigration office which was easy and so was the process however we had to go to a bank approx. 5 blocks away where we had to get papers stamped and pay 100 pesos. Then we had to return to the office and after filling our tourist card, we paid a further 430 pesos to another bank within the building. Total cost: approx $53. us for both of us. After that we walked up the street to a big Gigante (pronounced higante with emphasis on the "h").

Came home, had dinner and relaxed. I am still FUMING over this Fleetwood stuff.


N 31* 51' 02" W 116* 36' 47"
Alt: 52'
Distance today 160km


DEC. 11, Tuesday, RAIN!!!!!

Yes we woke up to more rain but it did clear up in the afternoon. The park is drowned in pot holes. We used the camp's shower facilities which surprisingly, has hot water. After breakfast, as we were leaving, we looked for the camera and couldn't find it. That's when it dawn on me that I left it at the Gigante grocery store. We drove up and after finding someone that spoke english, we were told that yes they had our camera which I had left in the grocery basket. What a LUCKY s.o.b. I am!!! God was definitely smiling on me this day. I tried to leave reward money for the girl who found it but they refused. We profusely thank them all and left. Mexico is living to my impression that is safer and more honest than our countries combined!!!

After this excitement, we went into town for some sightseeing and get info from the Info Centre. We walked what is call the touristica area with lots of shops and stopped at a bank to get more pesos. We went along the port and looked over the fish market where we bought fresh fish for dinner. We stopped at a little stand and had fish tacos, of course.
After this, we went for a drive to La Bufadora Point. Along the way we fuelled for $0.67 cents a litre found a Wal-Mart and Costco on Hwy 1. La Bufadora is a blow hole at the foot of a cliff where the ocean comes into and a narrow crevasse causes the wave to break and blow back into a showery mist. I understand that it is best to see it at high tide and when there is waves. We did see some blow back however. There was the obligatory row of huts selling everything from blankets, to hats and jewellery. Val almost bought a bracelet for "almost free" but she resisted. They were really persistent and I am proud of her for not succumbing to temptation.
Along the way here, there was a few mud slide across the road which made the drive all the more challenging. The road was curvy and hilly with a zig-zag down drive into La Bufadora. We even met three couples form BC and Alberta (they were all related). We chatted with them for a while then headed on back home.

Good dinner of fresh fish prepared with Love by Val. Delicioso!!!

CHECK OUT THE NEW PICTURES



DEC. 12, Wednesday, sunny

Today is computer day and getting ready to leave tomorrow. I have planned out our intiniary and hope to be in Cabo San Lucas by December 19. We bought a phone card yesterday and I will call San Jose to make reservation for a month. That's near Cabo. I am planning on driving directly to the Cape and along the way, mark out site we would like check out and stay longer on the return trip. I also need to wash all the window onthe truck so that I can see the road properly.
Val did her exercise like the good girl she is and I am being lazy like the bad boy I am. Went for a walk around town. It is sunny and warm but not too much. Enough to wear shorts, barely!

Life is but a journey filled with adventures

December 7 to 9, 2007

DEC. 7, Friday, raining

Rained overnight and most of this a.m. It s now 10:30 and it just finally stopped! Val did her exercise following a tape/cd she bought. I downloaded skype, installed it and bought user-time for $14 cdn. For those who haven't used this system, it cost .02 cents per minute to call from the US to Canada. I like it because it is stable and reliable providing one has a good connection, of course.

We went into San Isydro, near Tijuana and got some info on the crossing and also bought $200 worth of pesos. From here, we drove to Coronado peninsula where the 3rd Fleet is located however all the Aircraft Carriers were out, probably in the Gulf near Iraq and Iran!? There is also a big old hotel where presidents and big name Stars have stayed. We did more sightseeing then came home. Stopped to get milk and butter and also bought a locking cap for the truck



DEC. 8, Saturday, more rain

Yes, more rain overnight and again, it stopped later in the morning. It is really cool too....59*F ( 14*C) We went sightseeing again. Drove to a local Info centre, got a map of San Diego and some pamphlet. Drove to Pomona Point where there is a big Naval supply base, a lighthouse and one of the busiest Coast Guard Station. It was really interesting and even did some walking on the beach looking at rock formation and tide pool.

We also found a beach for dog where there were at least a couple dozen dogs out. We let Tucker roam free and he had a wonderful time sniffing and meeting new friends. He ran like crazy, chasing or being chased and I think he was very happy at the end of this outing. We went into a local restaurant near the beach and had Mexican coffee and burritos. From here, we visited the water front in downtown and finally came home after stopping to buy beer and wine for Mexico.
A very nice day indeed even if it was cool. At least it didn't rain on us


DEC. 9, Sunday, clouds and clearing

We had sunshine when we got up but it is cloudy right now. At least the rain has abated. This is our last day here. Tomorrow, we enter Mexico at Tijuana and head south to Ensada where we will spent 2-3 days.

Val did her laundry this morning and made a bunch of calls to her family then we headed out. We went to WAL-MART first then to Balboa Park. That was a really beautiful and neat park with lots of museums and fancy buildings built roman style. We walked around the park then headed to "Old Town" where San Diego was originally built. I had been here before and not much has changed. It's an old colonial Spanish style town. We had a beer here then headed home.

We are home and it's time for supper then we get ready for an early start. I have downloaded a bunch of pictures so check them out

Life is but a journey filled with adventures

December 4 to 6 In San Diego, CA.

DEC. 4, Tuesday, sunny

Got up early, showered, packed and left by 9:15 a.m. Drove I-10 west to I-60, got off at Mtn View in Chino and arrived at McBride RV Repair shop on Oaks St around noon. Checked in and were told they will get to it first thing in the morning which was fine by us. They gave us a site with water and electricity (30 amps) and then we went for lunch in Chino at Riverside cafe, a neat little yuppy place.
It is sunny and warm, around 79*F ( 23*C). Checked out a couple of other places then came home and read.

N 34* 00' 11" W 117* 40'37"
Alt: 707'
Distance today 154 KM


DEC. 5, Wednesday, sunny

We got up early again and left our rig by 8:30 a.m. so they can start on it. These folks are the nicest people we've ever met. They all bend backward to accommodate us and the staff in the office are polite, friendly and most helpful. What a pleasant atmosphere! Fleetwood should take lessons from these guys!!!
We went to the local airport for brunch as it had been highly recommended by Dennis at McBride. It was very good. From there, we drove to Prado Park, a Regional Park which turned out to be very nice with a couple of small lakes and we gave Tucker a good run. He enjoyed it. We also visited an old farm built in the 1800's and built of adobe bricks. Also visited a huge mall but didn't buy anything.
In the latter part of the afternoon, we went back to the airport and had a beer in the lounge/bar. People were friendly and the waitress was cute!!!! You should see the size of a mug of beer....HUGE!!!!!!
Came home and learned that they have another hour of work to do in the morning then we can be on our way. We had dinner and spent the rest of the evening reading. In bed by 10 p.m.


DEC. 6, Thursday, sunny with some clouds

Up early again and left while they finished the job. We went to a local restaurant, had coffee and read for an hour then drove back to McBride and after paying our bill, saying goodbye to everyone and paying them compliments on their hospitality, we left and got on Hwy 71, south to Hwy 91, East to I-15 and turned south. About an hour out we remembered that we left our spare set of keys at McBride. We called them and the will send them via FED-EX overnight.
At Hwy 52, we headed west to I-5 then south to our site, Santa-Fe RV Park. It is situated right beside the freeway so very noisy. Sites are tight and it is expensive; $30 per night including taxes and that is with PASSPORT AMERICA.
After setting up, I had to go to town to get some propane. Paid $35 for one tank....highway robbery!!! I knew it was expensive here but this is ridiculous. We are here until Monday morning. It is cooler now and the clouds are getting thicker. The forecast is for rain for tomorrow.

N 32* 49' 38" W 117* 13' 54"
Alt: 122'
Distance today 180 KM

December 1 to 3, 2007, preparing to leave

DEC. 1, Saturday, sunny with cloudy periods

Very windy and gusting to 40 mph. Trees are actually bending over almost in half at times. It lasted most of the day and finally abated totally early evening. The rain abated early this morning and now we have warnings about flash floods everywhere. Joy of living in the desert, I guess.
Blanche and Garry from Harrison Hot Spring in BC came over to chat about HTR. We had a nice visit. They had been to the Baja so we picked their brains on what to expect and where to camp. We met these folks back in Desert Hot Spring.
After they left, we went for a drive into town then came home and relaxed.


DEC. 2, Sunday, sunny

Not much happened today. Val did laundry and I washed the windows on the outside of the rig. Also changed the filter on the main water line in preparation for Mexico. We finally have WIFI connection after being out for 4 days.
Went for a walk around the park and to the club house. They had a Arts & Craft fair (small one) on the patio so we looked at that then came home and read


DEC. 3, Monday, sunny

It is getting warmer which is good. This past week has been fairly cool dipping to a low of 69*F ( 14*C)
Called Sears again this morning and they finally returned my call around noon. We have the authorization to proceed with the repairs so that's good news.
Called Fleetwood since he didn't return my call and got some excuse about month end audit but he promises to call me back as soon as he finds out.
Mailed our Christmas cards and wrote to RV Times about an ad in their magazine. Also drove to a RV place and bought an in-line water filter for under the sink.
Loaded all the toys and got ready for tomorrow. This is our last day here. Blanche and Garry came over to return some papers I had loaned them and we had happy hour.
We had a nice dinner, watch the TV for a while and went to bed.
Catch you all next time, we are ready to go!