Day 238 to 251.
| February 29th to march 13, 2008 |
From El Pabellon to San Felipe.
I think we've been sitting here too long... Minnie had enough time to get a new
"boy friend"... They're almost always together.
"No-no!...No-no, No-no, No-no, No-no!!! We are NOT bringing TWO dogs back home!!
No-no, No-no...Although, he's kinda cute... No-no!! Not going to happen...
''Just one more sunset'' you might think. But when it's one of the last ones you'll see
on the Pacific, it makes it sort of special. Little emotional.
March 6th, 2008.
We were ready for an "heart breaking" separation between Minnie and her new
friend but, surprise! He's not around this morning! No see...Like...Gone...
You'd think he knew we were leaving today! After spending 7 days together, they will
surely miss each other.
As far as we're concerned, this little break came right at the perfect moment. The last
10 days of moving everyday and navigating on very technical and rough trails were very
hard on France, especially. But we are now ready to get going again.
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Baja took care of this sailboat! |
March 7, 2008.
We move to a motel next to the Old Mill. It's only 20 miles from El Pabellon.
Yes, yes, a motel! We are spoiling ourselves!
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''Old Mill'' is a restaurant-bar very popular in the off-road community.
Pretty cool place! |
Our friend Jim Greene, from Baja UTV, and his wife Caren will meet us here tonight.
Permanent residents of San Felipe, Baja, Mexico, they had some business to take care of in
the U.S. and made a considerable detour to go get tires that were waiting for us in Yuma,
Az. Really good friends!
March 7, in the evening.
We spend a great evening chatting with Jim and Caren. At one point, we realize that,
following a misunderstanding, they did'nt bring back the right tires! They went out of
their way to get them and, because of a detail Marc forgot to mention, they now get here
with tires that are'nt ours!!! Fortunately, Jim also brought back some Slime and some tire
plugs to help solve our tire issues. With those, we should be good to make it back to
Yuma.
March 8th, 2008.
This morning, we hit the road with Jim with us as riding partner. He greatly
facilitated our integration to the Mexican reality when we first got into Mexico, last
November and we became good friends. So, we planned to meet again here on our return trip.
During the next few days, Marc will appreciate very much his newfound freedom! No more
need for GPS or maps. No more headaches at each un-marked intersections. Jim knows Baja
like was born here! The most difficult part now is to try and keep up with him!!
Fortunately, he's very patient!
| Should you ever wish to enjoy discovering the wonders of Baja, either by
dirt bike, side-by-side UTV or regular ATV, please do yourself a favor, contact Jim at www.bajautv.com |
|
Here we are at the top of one of the 7 volcanoes of the San Quintin area. COOL!
More volcanoes in the background. "Minnie! Not too close to the edge,
please!"
Breathtaking!
OK. Now we have to get back down...
It's kinda steep but, in 4X4 and taking our time, we make it back down safely.
A short break on a salt and pepper beach. Shells and lava rocks.
Sitting in one of the many lava tubes.
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Here's another sailboat that suffered the wrath of Baja... |
There has been a lot of rain this winter in the desert and that made a very colorful
vegetation come back to life. (A lot of rain...Lets keep things in perspectives...This is
a desert...)
A rather pretty desert, I might add!
March 9th, 2008.
No matter how much we tried to extend the service life of our tires, we have to face
the obvious. The front ones on the black quad are finished. Especially the left one. Not
only is it worn, it also started to separate! It's so soft, you could almost get your
finger through it! Not to mention the two punctures still in it!! Finished!
So we install both our spare wheels and keep the old ones as "emergency"
replacement, just in case...
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Baja tire plug! |
It is here, in Camalu, that we get to see... Our first snake!!
Marc is no snake charmer but, at least he took it for a little dance!
Guess it did'nt really appreciate it, though...
It does'nt look like it's a rattle snake. It has no rattling tail. If someone knows
what kind of snake it is, please let us know. All we know is that it does'nt look very
friendly!
March 9th, 2008.
Now even this big ship was crushed! Guess Baja is even more cruel to boats than it is
to quads!
This particular one as become a reference. People refer to this place as "ship
wreck beach". It's even on the GPS!
Forget the sandy beaches. Here, it's noting but round rocks.
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An endless source of revenue? Folks here pick up those rocks, bag them
and sell them.
They'll be used as garden decorations. |
Is'nt that pretty? It's worth taking a break for.
Stay away from the edge! At 300 feet elevation, it's a pretty big step!
So it is here that we leave the Pacific coast for good. Someday, maybe, we'll be back
but for now, we head back towards San Felipe and the sea of Cortez.
On the way, we take a fantastic "road for off-roaders" across the Sierra San
Pedro Martir!
Marc & Jim admiring the scenery.
Ooof! We make it to Mike's sky ranch just before dark. This place is an icon known and
preferred by all who have toys! THE RACE, the Baja 1000, comes through here every year.
Mike's sky ranch is a "must see".
Jim says:"You can't come to Baja and not go to Mikes, you can't do that! Gotta go to
Mike's"
It is said about Mike's sky ranch that: "It's the closest an off-roader can get to
God without being dead..." Oh! Well...
| After a good day of 135 miles on the trail, the last 6 of them being
absolutely horrible, a good meal is welcome! Bed time will follow very closely... We all
kinda look like we're ready to hit the sack, don't we?? |
|
March 10th, 2008.
Good thing we did'nt get rain last night. When the river gets too high and becomes
unpassable, you have to wait, sometimes a couple of days, until it comes back to normal
again before you can leave. There are no roads that get here without crossing a
river. But there are worst places to get stuck than at Mike's!
| The repairs on the wire are a reminder of the accident that happened
during the Baja 1000, last November. Two people died in an helicopter crash here. |
|
Back on the same road we took to San Felipe, 4 months ago already, in November 2007. We
cross the dry lake bed of Laguna Diablo. Little dusty.
Then we spoil ourselves some more on a nice graded road!
All this time, Minnie is as patient as an Angel!
Those mountains are as impressive as ever! The tallest one is about 12,000 feet!
Aaahhh!! The sea of Cortez! We are back!
After 4 months exploring the nooks and crannies of Baja, we are back in San Felipe! We
have gone full circle! It is another page of our story that we just turned! We have gone
full circle around Baja!
Polaris
Industries - Canada
Polaris Industries - USA
The beach at San Felipe.
 A dew proof clothes line...
Just tie a small rope permanently under the folding table to get a place to hang
dish washing clothes or just any clothes out of the rain of dew.
It's simple and it works!
|
The clothes line. 
to see all the
tricks and infos
click here |
|
...T.B.C...
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