It started off okay, then Tobey made a turn … a wrong turn … and we were buried in the sand. We started digging out the wheels with the shovel I got Tobey for Christmas, then realized it was going to take more help than the shovel. I hiked back and fortunately for us, John and Vally had not gone out fishing yet! They have a GREAT 4WD truck and tow strap. With a couple tugs and another bout of digging, we were clear and back on the road. We were so lucky to meet such great people! Following the dirt road really is a better way – as long as you stay on the main section!
We made it into town (Bahia de los Angeles) by 9:45 and stopped to have breakfast. Less than a block away is the Museum, so we walked up to check it out. While the sign says it is open from 10 am – 1 pm, apparently it isn’t open on Saturdays.They did have a few outdoor displays of the gold mining operations in Baja, the skeleton of a fin whale, and signs identifying the different varieties of cactus planted in front of the building.
Leaving town, we stopped to look back at the Bahia. You can only see a few of the many islands – it was really quite amazing.
We had a couple detours as we traveled back to Hwy. 1 where the road was washed out from flooding. It isn’t hard to understand why the roads wash out – the asphalt is poured on sand base, and it is not a very thick surface. When there are heavy rains (and hurricanes), water rushes down the canyons and takes everything with it – roads included!
We made it into town (Bahia de los Angeles) by 9:45 and stopped to have breakfast. Less than a block away is the Museum, so we walked up to check it out. While the sign says it is open from 10 am – 1 pm, apparently it isn’t open on Saturdays.They did have a few outdoor displays of the gold mining operations in Baja, the skeleton of a fin whale, and signs identifying the different varieties of cactus planted in front of the building.
Leaving town, we stopped to look back at the Bahia. You can only see a few of the many islands – it was really quite amazing.
We had a couple detours as we traveled back to Hwy. 1 where the road was washed out from flooding. It isn’t hard to understand why the roads wash out – the asphalt is poured on sand base, and it is not a very thick surface. When there are heavy rains (and hurricanes), water rushes down the canyons and takes everything with it – roads included!
We enjoyed seeing several different types of vegetation as we headed back to Hwy 1 also.
The recent rains seem to have given the desert flowers a chance to shine!
One of the plants we saw on our way in looked like golden delicious apples on the ground as we passed by. We made a point to stop and see what they really are. Up close, they look nothing like apples, but balls on vines.
Upon even closer inspection revealed that they are like little squash – only about the size of a basetball.
We also went through a section of road where we saw hundreds of six to eight inch diameter, ball- shaped masses on the branches of the cirio, datillo, and other plants. They call it ball moss, but it isn’t really moss; it is a densely-branched herb. The plant makes its own food through photosynthesis and secures moisture from the air. It does not penetrate into the tissue of its host plant, but clings by aerial roots, so it does not sap the nutrients of the host plant!
Back on Hwy 1, we headed north. We were both a bit nervous since this is the road where the truck crossed the lane and clipped our mirror. We followed this truck for close to 40 miles – and he didn’t like the narrow roads either! He hugged the middle and pulled back into his lane only when there was oncoming traffic!
Near Km 192 at San Ignacito there is a roadside sign (used to be a brass plaque) marking the point where the two ends of the Transpeninsular Highway came together, and where work on the road was finished in September 1973. We both laughed and wondered if they would ever work on the road again!
Between Guerrero Negro and El Rosario (about 225 miles) there are no PEMEX gas stations. Near the village of Catavina, there is a “gas station” sometimes. This woman had gas for sale, but we had filled up in Bahia de los Angeles, so we were good.
We decided to stop in the Catavina Boulder Field and boondock in the same place we stopped on our trip down. After a harried day on the road, we decided to take a walk in the boulder fields and check out some of the different cactus.
Not sure what these cactus are – but those spines seem to jump off the plant and stick to you very easily – and they are really sharp!
We walked about 4 miles before calling it a day. We are snugged in for the night and should be back to the Pacific coast tomorrow.
GPS: 29.80536N, 114.80041W
RV CAMPING – BAJA CALIFORNIA
The recent rains seem to have given the desert flowers a chance to shine!
One of the plants we saw on our way in looked like golden delicious apples on the ground as we passed by. We made a point to stop and see what they really are. Up close, they look nothing like apples, but balls on vines.
Upon even closer inspection revealed that they are like little squash – only about the size of a basetball.
We also went through a section of road where we saw hundreds of six to eight inch diameter, ball- shaped masses on the branches of the cirio, datillo, and other plants. They call it ball moss, but it isn’t really moss; it is a densely-branched herb. The plant makes its own food through photosynthesis and secures moisture from the air. It does not penetrate into the tissue of its host plant, but clings by aerial roots, so it does not sap the nutrients of the host plant!Back on Hwy 1, we headed north. We were both a bit nervous since this is the road where the truck crossed the lane and clipped our mirror. We followed this truck for close to 40 miles – and he didn’t like the narrow roads either! He hugged the middle and pulled back into his lane only when there was oncoming traffic!
Near Km 192 at San Ignacito there is a roadside sign (used to be a brass plaque) marking the point where the two ends of the Transpeninsular Highway came together, and where work on the road was finished in September 1973. We both laughed and wondered if they would ever work on the road again!
Between Guerrero Negro and El Rosario (about 225 miles) there are no PEMEX gas stations. Near the village of Catavina, there is a “gas station” sometimes. This woman had gas for sale, but we had filled up in Bahia de los Angeles, so we were good.
We decided to stop in the Catavina Boulder Field and boondock in the same place we stopped on our trip down. After a harried day on the road, we decided to take a walk in the boulder fields and check out some of the different cactus.
Not sure what these cactus are – but those spines seem to jump off the plant and stick to you very easily – and they are really sharp!
We walked about 4 miles before calling it a day. We are snugged in for the night and should be back to the Pacific coast tomorrow.
GPS: 29.80536N, 114.80041W
RV CAMPING – BAJA CALIFORNIA
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