March 2005 - Baja Trip

[uwe]

We're thinking of continuing the annual Baja Trip this year as well.
So, here's the official Baja 2005 thread, for all of you that are interested.
Happy New Year!

[Kestrell]

How many trips have you made to Baja so far?

[uwe]

Originally Posted by Kestrell

How many trips have you made to Baja so far?

We went twice with forum members caadoptees and creampuff.
Before this I am estimating tohave undertaken 20 or more trips to Baja.
I never went farther south than Bahia De Los Angeles, and I do prefer the East Coast over the West Coast of Baja.

[jordandvm]

Just curious to know how long this rally is going to take for you in SoCal (including down & back) ?? How many units normally participate in this trip?? Do you caravan to destination??

Jim

[uwe]

Originally Posted by jordandvm

Just curious to know how long this rally is going to take for you in SoCal (including down & back) ?? How many units normally participate in this trip?? Do you caravan to destination??

Jim

Hello Jim,

We take Wednesday through Sunday, as we're all working couples and have limited spare time.
Usually we meet at a convenient place and then caravan to San Felipe.
It's been 3 units both times we went.
I leave Wednesday, meet up with the others. Desert Hot Springs works out good for everybody, usually, and provides a pleasant spot to overnight with the possibilty of a good long hot soak in natural hot mineral baths.
Next day is travel time, arrive in San Felipe in the afternoon. Thu, Fri, Sat night, and then back to reality on Sunday. The participants from further away will need Monday as well to travel home safely.
More info here:
http://www.airforums.com/forum...0&page=3&pp=25
and here:
http://www.airforums.com/forum...ead.php?t=7804

[jordandvm]

Uwe,
Sounds interesting......we in the NW are just recovering from 4-5 months of cloud cover & rain! I've located San Felipe on the map as just S of Ciudad Camargo. What's the draw to the area?? Never been to Mexico! Just checking out some possibilities for travel in retirement!!

[uwe]

Originally Posted by jordandvm

Uwe,
Sounds interesting......we in the NW are just recovering from 4-5 months of cloud cover & rain! I've located San Felipe on the map as just S of Ciudad Camargo. What's the draw to the area?? Never been to Mexico! Just checking out some possibilities for travel in retirement!!

San Felipe is the first fishing town you come to when traveling south on Highway 5 Mex out of Mexicali.
The attraction for me was always the Sea of Cortez and surrounding desert.
One can easily find primitive campsites within a few feet of the water's edge right on the beach.
Mexico has it's ups and downs, like most other places, but if you respect the Land and it's people, then problems of any sort are very far and very few in between. I am unsure of Mainland Mexico, as I have not travelled there very much. I can only speak for traveling in Baja California.
The trip is almost entirely on US soil, only the last 120 miles are in Mexico.
Their fuel is clean and reliable, although expensive. The road to San Felipe is in decent condition, good enough to travel at 50-60mph in most areas.
check out this link:
www.sanfelipe.com.mx

[jordandvm]

I had the wrong San Felipe. on the map ....not the one on the coast.....now to see how long it would take to travel from the NW to that location.....I'm guessing 4 days down....4+ days there....and 4 days back.....reasonable??? Then, if I can convince my better half that it would be worth the time......BTW....when in March????

[jordandvm]

Originally Posted by uwe

San Felipe is the first fishing town you come to when traveling south on Highway 5 Mex out of Mexicali.
The attraction for me was always the Sea of Cortez and surrounding desert.
One can easily find primitive campsites within a few feet of the water's edge right on the beach.
www.sanfelipe.com.mx

So bringing our generator is a good idea?? No full hookups??


Jim

[uwe]

Originally Posted by jordandvm

I had the wrong San Felipe. on the map ....not the one on the coast.....now to see how long it would take to travel from the NW to that location.....I'm guessing 4 days down....4+ days there....and 4 days back.....reasonable??? Then, if I can convince my better half that it would be worth the time......BTW....when in March????

I would prefer it to be late in March, early April. We must avoid Easter time, as that's their main holiday and the town gets too crowded. Spring break is a bad time to go as well.
We usually find a good compromise where everybody can take time off for a few days.
It's worth it only if you like beach, sand and desert. It won't be worth it if you expect US type hookups and/or conveniences.
San Felipe does have a good supplychain, so there's no shortage of supplies and food. They have many rustic type restaurants and a good variety of bakeries and grocers.

[uwe]

Originally Posted by jordandvm

So bringing our generator is a good idea?? No full hookups??


Jim

Jim,
there are a few places with full hookups, but everybody pretty much prefers Punta Estrella, which is just a small notch above primitive, in that they have running water at every site, at least some of the time. We were also told that they will be finishing their dump station, when we were there in November. This might be a complete fantasy, though.
You can bring a generator, but so far no one has run out of power whiel we were there. I bring a Honda EU2000 just in case. I even ran it for a while last time we were there - just to be safe, i told myself. But really, I just wanted to run the thing, since hey - I brought it, right?
You most likely don't need a/c, and a good battery will easily run your water pump and a few lights at night for a few days.
They have rest rooms and showers, so one can save capacity on grey and black tanks, but they're crude. Take a look at the two threads, it shows a lot of what it's like down there. You will find it eactly like it is pictured, only much bigger.

[casarodante]

Originally Posted by jordandvm

I had the wrong San Felipe. on the map ....not the one on the coast.....now to see how long it would take to travel from the NW to that location.....I'm guessing 4 days down....4+ days there....and 4 days back.....reasonable??? Then, if I can convince my better half that it would be worth the time......BTW....when in March????

I ran this through Streets and Trips. It shows your one way as 12269.5(!) miles. It says only 2 days, 5 1/2 hours (starting at 9am and driving until 5pm).

Here is an alternate plan though. My mother lives in Redding and they used to own our Airstream and were active in WBCCI. I am sure she can provide some courtesy parking for night one.

We are in Visalia (396 mi from Redding). Night 2?

We could caravan down to the meeting point. Desert Hot Springs or El Centro. I usually go the high desert (58-395-15, etc). Night 3?

Then we have a bigger caravan down to San Felipe.

It is fun. And can be very relaxing.

[Creampuff]

Then we have a bigger caravan down to San Felipe.

It is fun. And can be very relaxing.[/QUOTE]

Commmme on dowwwwn!
We'll be trying out the new Dexter axle Uwe and I installed last month. After hearing from both caravaners who ran behind me about how much 'air' my rig was catching- I immediately ordered a new axle after the last trip. This trip the 'rubber will be on the road'!

[uwe]

[/Quote] After hearing from both caravaners who ran behind me about how much 'air' my rig was catching- I immediately ordered a new axle after the last trip. This trip the 'rubber will be on the road'! [/Quote]


I might not have a near heart attack following you this time.

[casarodante]

How does the first weekend in April sound? That would be the weekend AFTER Easter. We just comitted to the NorCal for April 8-10. I would love to be able to do both!