January 21, 2015 - El Pabellon Beach to Ejido San de las Palomas turnoff - Catavina Boulder Field

The day started off cloudy and cool, with a strong wind off the Pacific. We followed the coast for a short distance before HWY1 curved inland and we said goodbye to our views of the Pacific. Near KM43, the highway started to wind its way uphill to a plateau before it descended rapidly into the little town of El Rosario.


We stopped at Mama Espinosa’s Restaurant for lunch and shared the lobster burritos, chips and soft drinks. It actually comes with 3 burritos and we split the plate! Cost including tip was $320 pesos ($13.50 USD). They were pretty tasty. We ate here 10 years ago and this was better than we remembered!

At KM65, just south of El Rosario, there is a fairly new .5 mile bridge that crosses the Rio del Rosario. While the river is currently dry, during the rainy season in late fall, the river apparently becomes a roaring torrent. We were thankful for the bridge!
After crossing the bridge, the highway passes though the mountains and plateaus of the westerly slopes of the Peninsular Range Mountains. The vegetation also changes to the Sonoran Desert vegetation. There were century plants, and many types of cactus including prickly pear, galloping cactus, candelabra, giant cardon, and the cirio cactus. We made a couple stops near KM85 to get some pictures.

The cirio cactus below is tapered to the top, resembling a candle. Along the trunk are numerous branches, smaller than the diameter of a pencil and totally out of proportion to the plant as a whole. They have tiny leaves which are green, especially following rain. They can group up to 60 feet high!


Near KM163, we entered into the Catavina Boulder Field. It is probably the most scenic and interesting part of the Transpeninsular Highway. So here comes your geology lesson for the day. The thousands of rounded boulders are composed of granite rock. A mass of molten material was cooled slowly beneath the earth’s surface. Masses of granite rock tend to fracture vertically at the surface. The fractures are weathered by water and freezing temperatures (yes, it freezes here in the winter), and the rock mass breaks up into blocks. With further weathering, the blocks are rounded into the boulders. Pretty impressive.
Near KM165, we turned off the road onto a dirt road at the Ejido San Jose de las Palomas where we found a spot to boondock camp for the night. It isn’t far off the highway, but hardly anyone drives at night, so it should be pretty quiet.

We took a walk further down the dirt road – about a half mile and looked at the beautiful scenery.
There were some pretty fierce looking cactus along the way! I wouldn’t want to meet this fellow close up in any circumstance!

This is us tucked in among the boulders and cactus.

We were treated to a fabulous sunset over the desert. We only traveled 97 miles today, but it seems like it took forever! Most of the time we were only able to drive about 35mph!
Tobey still isn’t feeling very good, but he did grill steaks for dinner tonight – yummy! We will snuggle in and keep warm and try to get lots of rest and hopefully feel better tomorrow.

GPS: 29.80539N, 114.80034W

January 20, 2015 - La Jolla Beach Camp to El Pabellon Beach Camp

We left La Jolla Beach Camp about 9 this morning and continued up the road another 5 miles to La Bufadora, “The Roarer”. The vendors were just starting to arrive and set up their shops so it was like a ghost town and much too early to seek out a fish taco stand!

We parked and walked up to the viewing area to see La Bufadora. La Bufadora is a blowhole without rival, according to The Magnificent Peninsula guidebook! Water first goes into a substantial sea-level cave, then, following a pause, it is sprayed back outside by internally compressed air to the accompaniment of a deep roar. We took a quick picture and headed back down the road!


Back on MEX1, we passed several different types of vegetation. Near La Bufadora the fields were covered with century plants; some of them were blooming.

Near KM 88, we turned off the highway onto a dirt road for .7 mile to see the Mission San Vicente Ferrer. We were disappointed when we arrived because it was all locked up. We could peek through the gates and see part of the walls. The Mission was founded by Dominican padres in 1780, on a low rise a few yards from the Rio San Isidro, and used until 1933. In 1997, work began on uncovering the walls.
Back to the highway and heading south we saw lots of different agricultural areas. There are large vineyards and several wineries, along with olive trees and prickly pear cactus farms.

It was obvious to us that some of the farmers are more successful than others. This one had their own private waterslide on the side of the hill!

At San Quintin we wanted to go out to the Old Mill, so we were following our directions on the Streets and Trips computer program we have.
It was wrong. Very wrong. We were heading down dirt streets that led to nowhere! After a couple miles, we decided to skip it and stopped to have lunch. Our planned overnight was to be at Gypsy’s Beach Camp south of San Quintin. Once again, Streets and Trips led us astray, but we finally got there – only to find that it is no longer an RV park, but a private residence. Oh, well. It wasn’t as close to the beach as we had hoped, anyway!

Back to the highway – again passing through miles and miles of covered fields These fields looked like they were growing raspberries under the covers. The wind blows so hard in this area, the soil quickly erodes, so this is to help with that. About 5 miles down the road we decided to try our luck with the El Pabellon RV Park. Again, a dirt road for about 1-1/2 miles, but this time we were rewarded with a great camping spot – and only $120 pesos (less than $9USD)! This is the road the last quarter of a mile into the park.

We are parked just behind the dunes, which shield us from the strong winds off the Pacific. There are actually 3 other RVs here, as well!

Tobey, unfortunately, is still feeling terrible. He napped while I walked along the beach which is covered with sand dollars! I had fun gathering them to bring home for craft projects. I also watch some local folks digging for clams in the surf.

The birds were busy watching them, hoping to get some treats!

Sunset was fantastic, but Tobey only got to see it in the pictures. We only traveled 148 miles today – including the wrong roads, but it was very tiring since our average speed is about 45 mph! We will have another quiet night, listening to the waves crashing on the shore. I am sending Tobey to bed after supper and hope that sleep will help him feel better.

January 19, 2015 - Potrero, CA to La Jolla Beach Camp, south of Ensenada, Mexico

Today we started on “The Quest for the Perfect Fish Taco, Part 2.” Here is the background story.
Before Tobey retired, we took a 4 day cruise on the Mexican Riviera. The only port was at Ensenada, Mexico where we took a taxi out to La Bufadora. We had fish tacos at a little stand and they were fantastic! Really fantastic! Probably perfect.

We have eaten many fish tacos since then, and none of them have been perfect. So, when Tobey retired in 2005, we took a trip back to Baja California in search of that perfect fish taco. We took the back seats out of our Dodge Caravan and either camped in the back of the van or our tent, depending on the weather. We spent a week heading south in Baja, a week in the Cabo area, and a week on the return trip. We ate fish tacos every day for 21 days, sometimes twice a day, and yet, he did not find that “perfect” fish taco!

He has been trying fish tacos every where we go, but still, not once has he had one that matched that first one in Ensenada. So today, we crossed the border at Tecate, Mexico, in hopes of finding it!
We got away from camp about 9 this morning and crossed into Mexico at Tecate. The border patrol came into the RV, looked at our title and registration paperwork for the RV and scooter, checked the refrigerator and one of the pantry cupboards. Everything was in order. We had to then go inside and fill out our paperwork for our tourist cards. We hadn’t gotten any pesos yet, so we paid $24USD per person for the cards.

Back in the RV to find a bank with an ATM. Tobey spotted a bank, so I jumped out at the traffic light and went to get cash while he was going to look for parking. I finished, and spotted him driving down the street. I ran 3 blocks and finally caught him when he finally found a place to park! Oh well, I needed the exercise! We left Tecate and headed southwest on Hwy 2 which skirted the outside of Tijuana and connects with Hwy 1 at Playas de Rosarito on the Pacific Ocean.

Just north of Rosarito we got on Hwy 1D and headed south. There were lots of beautiful beaches with beautiful homes, built for the Norte Americanos who vacation in this area.
Overlooking the city was a statue of Jesus, keeping watch over everything.

We arrived in Ensenada and stopped at the Tel-Cel office to get our Banda-Ancha which is a portable WIFI hotspot. We waited in line for an hour before it was our turn with a customer service representative! Rosalina took good care of us and we were soon on our way. 3Gigs of data for one month, plus a SIM card chip to make it work – $549 pesos (about $38 USD).

We stopped at a fish taco stand she recommended and got 2 fish and 2 shrimp tacos to go for $74 pesos ($5. USD). Good, but certainly not perfect. A couple more stops for some groceries and filling our tank with gas. After the cheap gas prices in the US, it is a shock to pay almost $3.55 per gallon!
We headed out of Ensenada and turned onto the road to La Bufadora and are camping at La Jolla Beach Camp. We are the only RV here! It was $175 pesos ($12 USD) for the night. There are no hook-ups, but we don’t need them. There are supposed to be hot showers, but we will probably just use ours.

We took a brief walk on the beach, and are settling in for the night.

The tide is coming in and there is a sailboat anchored off shore. All in all, I would say it is pretty peaceful! Again, I am hoping Tobey feels better after getting some rest. Tomorrow the journey continues.

January 18, 2015 - Quartzsite, AZ to Potrero Regional Park, CA

We broke camp around 10 this morning then stopped in town to take care of filling the propane, filling the engine, dropping off the trash and recycling, and checking emails, so we finally got on the road about 11! It was a bright, sunny day and traffic wasn’t too bad. We passed lots of fields along the route – some green alfalfa fields and some cotton fields which had recently been picked. It was miles and miles of open space!
When we reached the sand dunes along I-8, we saw lots of 4-wheelers having fun.

A little car zipped around us and threw a rock into the windshield and put a large chip in it. We had hoped to find a windshield chip repair service when we reached El Centro, California, but had no luck. We hope it doesn’t spiderweb and cause any problems in Mexico.

Further down the road, near Campo, CA, we went through the In-Ko-Pah Park. The landscape was covered with boulder fields. It was really interesting to see.

We are spending the night at the Potrero Regional Park, just north of town. It’s a nice park with good water and electricity – a luxury we probably won’t have for a while. Before dinner we walked around the park and met another couple, Richie and Jessie, from South Dakota who will be crossing the border heading to San Jose del Cabo, tomorrow. I am sure we will cross paths a few times on our way down!
Tonight we got everything in order in hopes of getting a fairly early start on the “Quest for the Perfect Fish Taco” in the morning. Unfortunately, Tobey is coming down with a cold and isn’t feeling very good. Hopefully, a good night’s sleep will help.

January 17, 2015 - Quartzsite, Arizona

Today was the big day at the Quartzsite RV show. We took the scooter into town and went to the big tent to see all the stuff for sale. It is pretty entertaining – you can get everything from LED lights to flagpoles and clothing and jewelry to new pots and pans. They have vendors selling brooms made from recycled tires and others selling bamboo sheets.
When we first arrived, the inside of the big tent was so full you could hardly move! By the time I took the picture around 2 pm, it had really thinned out! Outside there are rows and rows of vendors selling everything from nuts and bolts to hot tubs!

Tobey and I are not big spenders, I guess. He was looking for a new shower head for the outside shower, but couldn’t find what he wanted. I wanted a new potato peeler and found one at the outside flea market for half the price of the ones inside the big tent. We also purchase some black tank cleaner and a glass nail file.

We did look at a few 5th wheel trailers at the show, also. We both liked the layout on this one – it had a HUGE living room area complete with a fireplace and big screen TV. It was a 30 foot model and even had an island and pantry. Makes our 24 foot RV seem pretty tiny.

By 4 pm we were headed back to camp. Tomorrow we are planning to head off to Potrero County Park in southern California. We will camp there tomorrow night then cross into Mexico at Tecate on Monday morning. Tobey is looking forward to beginning his “Quest for the Perfect Fish Taco – Part 2.” More on that background story later …

January 16, 2015 - Quartzsite, Arizona

We are officially on the road again. We loaded the RV and said goodbye to our Moms and Penny, our dog, this morning. We had a quick stop at the RV repair shop to have the new solar panel adjusted and five minutes later, back on the road. I am really liking the Christmas present from our son and daughter-in-law. It is a holder for our tablet which is mounted into the RV. With a blue-tooth mouse, it makes my life much easier!

We arrived in Quartzsite shortly after 12:00 and met my sister, Bette, at the Subway for lunch. She volunteers with some dog rescue groups and was returning after driving a 140 pound Doberman Pincher to Blythe, California.

After lunch, she headed back to Lake Pleasant and we headed just north of Quartzsite to find a camping spot in the BLM land. It is absolutely amazing how many RVers winter in this area. The little town of about 3,643 has over 1 million visitors over the winter months, with the most coming in January and February! We stopped here because they have a large RV show that starts tomorrow.
One of our RV neighbors here is a Green Bay fan, and their flag makes it easier for us to find our RV!!! I will cheer for their team to win the SuperBowl since Denver is out of it! It is amazing to see this area. You just pull over and park anywhere you want to. We actually found a relatively level spot.

After setting up the RV, we unloaded the scooter and headed back into town. We stopped at two different RV dealers and took a look at different rigs. We both really liked one of the 5th wheels we saw, but then we would have to buy a truck. It was fun to look.

Back at camp, Tobey napped, I read. We took a walk before grilling chicken for dinner and were the treated to a beautiful sunset.

Tonight we will just relax and get to bed early. Tomorrow we will head back into town to go through the “big tent” with vendors selling everything you might ever want (or not) for your motorhome. There are lots of flea markets, as well as gem and mineral booths which we will probably check out, too. Always an adventure!

January 8, 2015 - Scottsdale, Arizona

It is hard to believe that it has been three weeks since we left Colorado! We’ve been chillin’ in Scottsdale with our moms and enjoying the warmer temperatures.

While Tyler and Katie were here, we went to the Phoenix Zoolights. A friend of theirs went, also, and took her three little kiddos along. It was really fun to see the lights through the eyes of a three-year old!

We celebrated Christmas on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and enjoyed a quiet New Year’s Eve watching movies. My birthday falls just after the first of the year, so we went to lunch with family and friends at Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen.

I also had a chance to catch up with friends I went to junior and senior high with in Marshalltown, Iowa! Three of them live in the Scottsdale area so it was fun to spend time with them.

Tobey ordered a new solar panel for the RV and is having it installed tomorrow. My sister and I have been going through boxes of old photos for Mom, sorting and scanning them. It is amazing what we are finding. Pictures from our parents wedding in 1946, some from 1939 with people in them no one is really sure who they are, and this gem from about 1956 with my brother, sister, and me (on the chair). It is a lot like a treasure hunt with lots of hidden jewels! We will spend a few hours tomorrow sorting more and hope to digitize most of the photos we want to save before we leave.

Penny has been enjoying going to the park almost every day for a long walk – and sometimes a swim in the lake to cool down! She loves being here and being spoiled by our Moms. Lucky girl.