We stopped off for some cheap camping on the family oil investment in McKittrick CA. All we found was an old capped well, and about 1000 sheep.Still, not a bad place to camp, and the price was right.
We hit the Baja jackpot. The normally dry desert was beautiful and green.
Sand dollars were everywhere on the beach at San Quintin, where we stayed our first night in Baja.
Parcela 12 had the best Mexican food ever. Family style, anything you want for about $5 a plate. So if you are ever in the neighborhood, stop in for lunch...
We thought this was a lot of bugs - bit it was nothing like what we'd pick up in a couple of days.
Since we were in Baja for Semana Santa, we ran into this procession outside of El Rosario, on our way to the beach.
The fog was on the Pacific coast the whole time...
So we decided that the gulf side might be the better place to enjoy the sun.
Crossing the peninsula we saw some huge Cardon cactus. A lengthy discussion on whether large cactus should be classified as trees ensued.
The whole desert was like a garden of wildflowers and blooming cactus.
The monument to 'Hector' inspired us to make a 'no memorials' pact for our trip. Check out the little picture of Hector, still looking out from his cab.
The Catavina boulder fields were amazing.
El Pedragoso. A mountain of boulders where the tectonic plates meet.
Still no love for rattlesnakes - even in Baja.
2500 miles makes for a lot of windshield time.
Flowers, overlooking Bahia de Los Angeles.
Moon-rise over the Sea of Cortez.
And sunrise the next morning.
Thanks to Jesus Maria Smith for hooking us up with an awesome campsite for free. If you are ever in town, stop in at the taqueria for some great tacos, and campsites for freeloading gringos.
Some kids visiting from Tijuana were finding baby octopus under the rocks at low tide. They said 'They look like the aliens from the Simpsons!'
When the wind picked up, we left the bay and headed out to Mision San Borja. about 25 miles over rough 4x4 roads got us there just in time to set up camp and cook some carne asada and tortillas over the fire.
17 year old Jenaro told us jokes in broken English for hours - but he preferred taking our picture to letting us take his.
The mission is from the mid 1700s. The whole place is an oasis in the desert, with a hot spring, and beautiful mountains.
On the way out, we stopped off at a ranch in the middle of nowhere, where we met Roberto. He was happy to have some visitors.
Thrifty Ice Cream in San Quintin on the way back north. We also had bacon-wrapped baja hot dogs on the road, and found some Mexican Pizza with pinto beans as a topping.
In the end, we accumulated a few more bugs.
For future reference - don't plan on camping in Uruapan. The combination of nearby road noise, a funky smell, and a guy in the campground who may have been passed out, or maybe dead made us push on for a midnight border crossing.
All in all, we spent very little money, found the adventure, sun and tans we were looking for, and came back with good stories. Maybe we'll feel the need to go again - there is lots more to see, and we'll be needing another lunch from Parcela 12.
