[Trip Report] SF to Baja and back. Unplanned layover in LA.

[erste]

[fxr]

First, sorry the group missed you due to the unfortunate mechanicals.
Next time perhaps.

[tjet]

Great pics.

How do you like those Tencent screens? I would get those if I didnt already have jalousies.

[erste]

Finally going to wrap this trip up.

Leaving San Felipe, spotted another custom convertible Grand Cherokee and a nice little Baja bug.

I wasn't sure how the border crossing would be in Mexicali, but I knew it would be easy and quick in Tecate so I cut east. I'd saved just enough pesos to buy a nice lunch at the border, but then there were 3 or 4 unexpected tolls. Thankfully they were able to take dollars, and I got more pesos in change.

Before you get to La Rumorosa the road climbs up a little mountain and the view at the top was a good one.

Back in Tecate:

Spent the last of my pesos on fish tacos and got in line to cross. It was around 3 and I could sense that the line gets a lot longer during commuter hours, but it was only a 5-10 minute wait.

Border agent was nice enough. He said something that I didn't quite catch. "Excuse me?" - "Is this your Kombi?" - "Yes" - "It's a diesel? 1.9?" - "Yeah, 1.9 TDI, want me to shut it off?" - "No, that's ok."

I was prepared to get an asshole CBP agent asking me why I'd want to travel to dirty old Mexico. I'm happy it went the opposite way.

Just after crossing I went in the convenience store to buy something cold to drink. Was leaving the parking lot as this T6 California Ocean TDI 4-Motion was pulling in. I wave and he rolls down his window, asks if I speak spanish. Not much, but figure out he's trying to get car insurance. Told him about bajabound, what it might cost, and how to pay for it online. I think he was Spanish, but the plates were from France. Before I left he told me they had driven all the way down from Alaska! What a trip.

From here I headed toward San Diego. Ended up finding a campsite at Lake Jennings. It would have been a lot better if I'd had firewood, but I didn't get there until after dark. Finally though I had cell service and could make a hotspot and do some work in the morning before driving north.

I wasn't really in a big hurry to get back and wanted to avoid traffic as much as possible, so I kind of went around LA and then cut east on 126.

Really beautiful sunset on the drive. This night I stayed at Lake Piru. I met a few others and hung out with them for a few hours until it got a bit weird.

Fell asleep easily and woke up to someone making some ungodly screaming sounds. I figured it was the people I'd met, maybe a little drunk now, just messing with me.

Woke up a few hours later after having a dream that they'd tipped over the van, so my backup plan of driving away wasn't going to work. Again to the screaming sounds.

Long story short, there were cattle just beyond the treeline that I didn't see or hear earlier. I've never heard a cow make such a terrible sound, but sometimes they do.

I got a pretty early start and headed up the coast. What a beautiful drive. I think there were some spots of HWY 1 that I hadn't driven before, and I pulled over a lot to take it all in.

My plan for the day was to try to camp at Pismo Beach. Made it up there and unfortunately everything was booked up.

Finding a campsite on the same day can be difficult, especially on Friday or Saturday, because you're not able to book them online. I called ahead to a campground an hour north and they had some sites left, but not a lot. Ended up staying there, San Simeon Campground, and watched a nice sunset and had a good fire. Met a nice guy with a Wrangler that had a pretty sweet built in roof top tent and we shared stories and tips. He said there were sea lions just up the coast.

Next morning I headed out and stopped to see the sea lions. There were a hundred or more and the big males would posture every once in a while and fight a little bit. Funniest thing was a big male chased another male off into the water, then stopped a few feet away at the nearest lady sea lion and just started mating.

I think this was my first time on HWY 1 near Big Sur after they rebuilt the bridge. There were a couple of spots where the road has fallen off the cliff...

Last night before heading home. Found a campground near Gilroy called Coyote Lake and met my friend there. It was full of wild pigs. This made it kind of stressful because she has a dog, and the dog couldn't ignore the damn pigs. At 4 or 5am all the pigs wandered over and ate the olives that had fallen off the tree we were parked under. Dog, of course, freaked out. Not a very good night's sleep, but otherwise it's a nice campground, and probably a lot nicer when there's more water in the reservoir.

Last day we just took it easy and hung out at the res before driving home.

Thanks for reading. (:

[erste]

Thanks all for the comments.

[SCM]

[Microbusdeluxe]

Turning on the left hand signal to indicate it's safe to pass is standard operating procedure in many countries. It's nuts because it's confusing (is he turning left or is he telling me it's ok?), but you just learn to deal with it.

You said you flashed your lights in excitement. We found that in Mexico flashing lights at oncoming traffic means there is a problem ahead so be ready to stop or swerve around an upcoming obstacle. Actually a very handy system that saved us a couple of times. You should do the same to alert oncoming drivers when you encounter a dangerous situation.

I also came to appreciate the Mexican habit of turning 2 lanes into 3. This doesn't work so well in Baja with the lack of shoulders, but is SOP on the mainland. The way it works is when someone gets on your tail, you slide over to the shoulder and he passes straddling the yellow line. On coming traffic sees what's happening and they drift over to their shoulder. Voila it's a three lane highway! Even with driving a vanagon there are so many POS rigs and overloaded trucks down there that you, too will be passing lots of vehicles and using this system. So if you see a car coming at you down the middle of the road, don't get upset, just give up half your lane and let 'em by.

The section of road you said looked like Joshua Tree is a great campsite. Just pull well off the road, there are lots of trails winding around the boulders, and set up camp. And don't miss the restaurant just south of Guerro Negro, on the right of the highway heading south.
_________________
'69 Squareback RIP
'65 21 window deluxe sold before the price spike, damn it.
'70 rhd bay now a taxi in South Sudan
'81 Westy sold
'89 hightop Westy Joker syncro 16" now with Bostig!

[Jake de Villiers]

Terrific report, Erste! Now I want to go there...

My son went through the lower floors of the Petersen Museum when he was in LA for work and said it was fantastic.
_________________
'84 Vanagon GL 1.9 WBX
'86 Westy Weekender Poptop/2.5 Subaru/5 Speed Posi/Audi Front Brakes/16 x 7.5 Mercedes Wheels - answers to 'Dixie'
@jakedevilliersmusic1
http://sites.google.com/site/subyjake/mydixiedarlin%27
www.crescentbeachguitar.com
www.thebassspa.com

[Igeo]

Looks like a great trip. I'm in the bay area too and am looking at a May trip down there. How far south did you get? I was thinking of Conception bay, but your spot at Gonzaga (?) looked great!
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1987 Westfalia 2.1 WBX Manual

[Abscate]

You need to be in a dirtier place to see the third order, too. More dust and bigger nucleation.

[dabaron]

wow, what an adventure. thanks for sharing... love the sand texture shot. wow.
_________________
1991 Vanagon GL Camper
i had no idea i wanted to be a mechanic

[erste]

[Abscate]

You could probably see the third order rainbow in that pic where the second order is visible. It’s hard to get the exposure right where you can see all three clearly. The coloursreverse onesch order, too,by the magic OF optics.
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🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🍊 🍊 🍊

[Abscate]

You could probably see the third order rainbow in that pic where the second order is visible. It’s hard to get the exposure right where you can see all three clearly. The coloursreverse onesch order, too,by the magic OF optics.
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🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🍊 🍊 🍊

[Steve M.]

Great Adventure! Thanks for posting it.
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This free advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.

There are seven days in a week. Someday is not one of them.

[erste]

[joetiger]

Fantastic. Looks like a great trip! I am still as in love with Baja as I was when we took our trip a few years back. Gotta get back down there.

You don't drive at night because the cows come up to the warm tarmac when the desert cools down. Also drunk drivers, although we almost had a head-on with one of those in broad daylight north of Guerrero Negro.

More!!
_________________
Joe T.

'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'91 Wolfsburg Carat "Barchetta"
'02 Baja-ish Beetle "Bubbles"

"get metaphysical with it. if it's simply a means to get to and from places, it will let you down. if it becomes your zen, it can't fail you." -dabaron

"Still, it's good to be afield."--VWagabond

Justice for Megan: https://linktr.ee/justiceformegantrussell

[erste]

Woke up to the sound of the ocean, opened the slider, and three baja dogs came to greet me. All the stray dogs I met on the trip were actually very friendly.

The plan for the day was to make it down to Guerrero Negro and hopefully catch up with Corwyn and some of the group. About 400km away, or 250 miles. There's something nice about traveling in kilometers. Since there are more of them, they seem to just slide on by a little bit more easily than miles. If that makes any sense.

Got caught up behind this convoy of toyhaulers and RVs. So I pulled over to grab a coffee. Caught up with them again pretty quick outside of town and worked my way through the pack until there was a turnout and they could all pull over. I learned from them that the left turn signal is used as a sign that it's clear to pass. Probably elsewhere too, but I haven't come across it before. When I've used that in the past it seems to just confuse people and they think you're about to make a left turn and slow way down.

As I was leaving this guy and his daughter pulled up in this jeep pickup convertible conversion which I would totally drive.

Burning trash. Seemed like most small towns had the city dump just on the outskirts. What was kind of depressing though was to see plastic trash or bottles and cans out in the middle of nowhere on the side of the road.

This one section reminded me of Joshua Tree:

For the most part, the driving was easy, but it was quite windy, and when a semi is coming toward you, you really have to be ready because the gust can damn near push you off the road. There's no shoulder and the lanes are narrow. Not the place to break down...

Everything is going pretty smooth except at one point the speedometer starts fluctuating. This means the cruise won't work anymore. There's a VSS that counts CV bolts and I'm pretty sure it's wiring related. Or else the CV bolts are falling out The issue came and went and came back a few days later.

Yes, I'm the guy flashing my lights and honking like an idiot at other travelers because I'm so stoked to be in Baja having a great time.

I was carrying 5 gallons of diesel and right before Guerrero Negro I filled up at a place kind of in the middle of nowhere, but just a few gallons. Pretty much immediately it won't fire on one crank anymore. It starts, but it takes some cranking. I head on down the road to the next station and add the good 5 gallons and some cetane boost. Talked to a local guy and asked if the diesel at this station was clean and he gestured 'not really' and suggested filling up instead in Guerrero Negro.

Aside from the usual parts and tools, I brought a spare fuel filter, the cetane boost, some diesel water remover, and the 5 gallons of good diesel. Next time I'd probably bring 10 gallons if I were heading further south. Not because I'm worried about running out of fuel, but just knowing that I have good fuel.

Made it to Guerrero Negro and actually managed to find the hotel where Corwyn and another vanagon owner (who's name I forgot) were staying. The rest of the group was all over the place in Baja and I think some of them were going to meet up again in Mulegé the next day. Those guys were going to take it easy at the hotel, but I was pretty eager to find another spot on the beach so I headed out.

In planning for this trip, I really didn't do a whole lot. I had pretty much one goal - to see the whales. At the aquarium in LA I got to talking with one of the biologists and she mentioned the lagoons where they hang out and raise their babies. This reminded me of one campground I read about called Ojo de Liebre, just outside of Guerrero Negro.
You drive through a salt zone (farm?) to get there and it was very beautiful.

Met a nice couple with a white Westy in the parking lot, and I'd see them again on the way home, just outside of Mexicali.

Supposedly you can drive further out from the campground and there's a few spots that overlook a cliff and you can see the whales spouting. I played it safe because the road was pretty muddy in spots and it looked like it might rain more in the night.

This is a special place. Late at night it was so quiet that you could hear the whales spouting right off shore. That was really powerful.

[erste]

[erste]

Back on the road, I headed south from LA toward San Diego and stopped for dinner when traffic got to be too much and then stopped at Trader Joe's to make a grocery run just north of San Diego.

I was planning on meeting the group at Potrero campground on Monday or Tuesday, but now it was Friday. I stopped at some campground south west of SD but don't remember which one. All booked up. Ranger said the next closest site was Potrero, so I headed there.

Got to Potrero campground just before 10PM and there was still a ranger working. Picked out a tent site for the evening and fell asleep pretty quick after that.

Next morning I headed toward Tecate for the border crossing.

A few words about the border crossing at Tecate:
Park on the US side of the border and walk toward the MX passport control office, through a few gates, follow the people, and also the yellow line on the ground until you get to the white building on the right. Go up the steps and into the office.

I pre-paid online for the tourist pass, but my paperwork didn't print out correctly, so I had to pay again. Probably better to just pay at the office. I think it was 700 pesos or $35 USD. The friendly agent asked me where I was staying that night and after filling out the form and paying in pesos or USD, I got the travel permit loose with my passport and that was it.

When you walk back across the border, you need to go a block down and pass through the US barricade. None of this was very clear and I just crossed back the way I'd come, illegally through the MX gate, and nobody said a word (until I crossed again with the van).

You need Mexican insurance (bajabound.com) for the vehicle, which is only about $10/day.

One of the best moments of the entire trip was pushing through the gate and stepping into Mexico. It was a surreal feeling, walking into a vibrant, dense old world town - such a stark contrast from the US side which is basically just a few money changers, a gas station, and a parking lot. I've been to quite a few countries, but walking into Mexico for the first time is something I won't forget.

I was the only vehicle in line at the border crossing and got pulled to the side. Opened the back hatch for them and answered what would become the usual questions (where are you going? where are you coming from?).

I would like to have spent more time in Tecate, but had a bit of driving to do so I headed toward Ensenada.

In Ensenada there's a massive Mexican flag that was pretty impressive.

The photo below is from later in the day but it kind of shows the chaos of the first three or four hours of the drive down. Two lane road, dirt roads / parking areas on the side, constant bustle of people and traffic. Craziest thing was some car speeding very fast past traffic on the right. Otherwise just a nice controlled chaos that I could get used to.

First real taste of Baja was when the highway was under construction and all the traffic was diverted onto a rough gravel road for a few miles. Made me realize how impractical it would be to have any kind of lowered vehicle down there.

Between the towns the landscape was really beautiful and the drive was much less stressful. It really wasn't until San Quentin that the towns kind of disappear and you've got the open road.

The sun set pretty early and I'd chosen El Rosario as a target for the days drive. I'd heard it's not recommended to drive at night (cattle?) and was careful about it, but it didn't seem any more unsafe than driving at night anywhere else.
There's a stretch of MX1 that hugs the coast north of El Rosario and I thought that'd be a good spot to sleep.

My phone didn't have service and whatever plan I have wouldn't allow me to set up roaming in Mexico, but the iOverland app worked and I pretty much relied on it to find places to stay. This first night I stayed at "cliffs by the beach" (N 30.27585 W 115.80136). There was a big sprinter RV parked at the top of the cliff, and a short road goes down to the beach. I decided to play it safe and stayed on the top of the cliff, but drove down to the beach the next day and it also would have been a nice place to camp. For free!