STEEKERS

The second most famous off-road vehicle race, behind Paris-Dakar Rally, is the Baja 1000. 1296 miles of dirt, rock, arroyo, and cactus are traveled in 53hrs by Baja buggies, motorcycles and trucks. This is a HUGE event in Baja and it is obvious that the locals take pride in participating and supporting the race. Restaurants welcome racers, the ‘supers’ are full of produce and motor oil and people are lined up in the streets to see the race cars being transported to the starting lines. Seeing all the race ‘convoys’ on the highway is a good diversion; flatbed with the buggy first, then three or four trucks for support with huge gas containers fly by in a tight formation Nobody is more excited than the local kids who have been accustomed to gringo teams handing out fliers and ‘STEEKERS’. Since we are clearly in an off-road vehicle, big tires, big lights, big diesel, the kids charge the van with arms outstretched yelling ‘STEEKERS! STEEKERS!’ or holding signs that say: “Stikers”. We can only imagine that the stickers are decorating their school notebooks, furniture and mirrors. On our way out of Loreto we had the opportunity to see a ‘parade’ through town of the 2nd place finishers; a local Mex-US team!

Scorpion Bay, or Bahía San Juánico, is famous for a beautifully long right wave that wraps around one of the four surfable points of land outside of the town of San Juánico. Looking forward to another 30mile dirt road drive in, John bailed out of Tonto and got on his bike for some exercise. Little did we know that the first 20miles would be deep sand and treacherously slow pedaling downhill as well has up. Imagine his surprise when the last 17k of the ride would be on some of the nicest pavement in Baja! Scorpion Bay has its share of beautiful gringo houses, cafes and well, gringos. I am sure that when the swell is really up it is a pretty crowded break, but we were there for a very small swell, so besides a pretty impressive local longboarding dog and owner, and some visiting families from San Diego we had our choice of waves and it was worth it. We decided to boondock on a beach around the other side of the bay and had a wonderful dinner of carillo and wild rice. The next day started with some playing in quicksand that Helleburg found. On the surf break there was marine fog, then wind, and no surf ☹. So after a little relaxing on the playa, we headed south.

As we drive down the highway we are noticing a difference from when we were here last year. Everything is green! Passing through the mountains after Loreto there were steep cliffs that lead down to valleys with cactus and green low-lying plants that gave the area a tropical feel as opposed to the desert landscape we had been traveling through. Yet we haven’t seen a running river, and there is still work being done in Baja to protect the small potable water supply. On our way to Todos Santos for the Thanksgiving week. Looking forward seeing the beaches of Serritos and mountain biking in Barilles and catching up with more friends who have come down for the season. ‘Till next time!

P.S. Accepting designs for a Tonto STEEKER!!! I would love to give some to the kids..

South Through Baja

“Now I feel like we are in Mexico” said John as we drove into the small town of Guerro Negro just north of the Baja Norte/Sur border. Dusty streets, fading signs for “Llantas, Tecate, Abarrotes”, and beat up cars with loud speakers blaring the weekends upcoming fiestas. The search for “agua pura” and more tequila comes after an incredible first two weeks back in Mexico.

Driving 8 hours straight into Baja California Norte our first stop was Punto San Carlos a place renowned for its wave sailing (windsurfing in BIG waves) and surfing. After a 30 mile dirt road in we were so ready for some surf. For three days we started the morning with a surfing session and when the wind picked up the Helleburgs (John and Marcie) got out with the pros to test out the waves. John Hartley hiked up to the top of the Grand Mesa with Lobo while Marcie and Julie took a few more “party waves” in the surf. One of the best surprises about Punto San Carlos is that some regulars to the Solosport campground have maintained and mapped some outstanding mountain bike trails through the rugged Baja terrain. The result is some first class mountain biking through volcanic rocks, packed desert sand, and “the badlands”. Riding your bike on a trail called “Top of the World” was just a great way to watch the sunset after a day in the water and wind.

After three days the wind was definitely getting to us. There had been some Santa Anna winds come through earlier this summer that blew windows out of campers, and we couldn’t even believe that the wind we were experiencing was “mild”. We headed out the road and re-supplied for a long drive to our next famed surf break: Alejandros. After a night of boon docking in some of the famous northern Baja rock and cactus formations we finally made it to the tranquil cove where we would spend the next four nights. Two nights waiting for surf, and three excellent days of a long right wave that gave us 100yrd rides. A few times we had the beach and the waves to ourselves, but as the swell grew, so did the crowd, all the way to three extra surfers! We made friends with Sandra and George who have built a nice house just up from the campground and a short walk to to the break. George wowed us on the first day with some 360s on his longboard, and his friendliness and funny antics on the water. Dutch Sandra gave us some tips for eating the Bismark clams we dug up from the beach, and the langosta we bought from Jorge, the local fisherman, “jefe” and bobcat driver. He is apparently flattening more land for all the tents that show up for the big northern swells this winter. John Helleburg also caught a fish and cooked up some wonderful meals with our abundance of fresh seafood! His idea of heaven was an early morning wake up, a cup of coffee, surf session, a little relaxing, a little fishing, more surfing and then firing up some great pasta and clams for dinner. We had no problem living his dream and helping him finish those plates!

With limited storage for water and food supplies at some point all good things come to an end so we had to move on. Now we are on a short stop in Loreto in Baja Sur for a laundry, internet, car wash, and stock up mission. The next stop will be the famous Scorpion Bay. We are so grateful to John Helleberg for keeping up with the surf forecasts, lending me his longboards, and his enthusiasm for getting us to the surf! Marcie has been a great surf buddy and we can’t wait to play more Frisbee “hot box” to get us in shape! It seems a shame to pass up the beautiful beaches and water of Bahia Conception and the Sea of Cortez, but we are already dreaming of future trips with kayaks and fishing poles.

Insider's Route

So in the next ten hours we will be driving across another border. This time I will be joining John and Tonto as we cross back in Mexico and travel down the Baja peninsula again. Lobo is not so sure he is excited about leaving all the green grass of the north behind. I let him wiggle around in a patch of it near Palm Springs the other day - catnip for mexi-dog.

Tomorrow we will also be looking at the Pacific ocean from the most south-western point of the US. From the most north-western part of the lower 48 most people would have expected beach combers like us to have taken a nice tour down the coast. Who can resist the 101 and the spectacular Washington, Oregon and California coast? We can. That's right. The allure of some outstanding mountains, more national parks, epic bike rides, and welcoming friends who live in really cool places not on the coast kept us pretty much riding as far east in those states as we could. We even had a good time on the Cali-Nevada boarder in Las Vegas and the Mojave desert!

One of the real highlights after the Yosemite whirlwind weekend was passing through Mammoth Lakes to visit 'cousin' Brian and Marissa and then going full speed into Death Valley. It was as if this park was made for Tonto. The 'Baja Tan' color blended in perfectly with 125 plus miles of remote dirt roads, the Eureka sand dunes and the un-earthly rock formations! Death Valley is the second largest National Park behind Denali in Alaska and with only three days to travel through we could only get a glimpse of the northern most part of the park. We attempted an offroad challenge up a canyon only to be turned around because it got too narrow for Tonto. We hiked up Uhebe peak and spent some time imitating rocks on "the racetrack". With less than two inches of rain a year, and an evaporation rate that makes working up a sweat very difficult, there is not much to see in terms of plant and wild life. It was very, very quiet. We did find a cool route through another canyon and really got to give Tonto a shakedown. He performed beautifully!

We had our first "camp guest" when John's dad Fred came to visit. We picked him up in Las Vegas and warned him that he was in for a real Tonto Treat! There is a route through the Mojave Desert that is a famous trail from Indian trade routes, to early settlers, minors, and now off road vehicles. It didn't dissapoint. While not as challenging as some of the more rocky terrain, the sandiness and remoteness of the area offers its own challenges. We had a great time with Fred taking turns riding on the motorcycle, watching spectacular sunsets and listening to car talk! Fred was a great guest and Lobo really enjoyed the opportunity to snuggle up in the guest tent with him!! Lucky dog..Lobo too...

We spent some time around Las Vegus to finally get a leak in the exhaust in front fixed, and find the PERFECT extra gas and water cans and NOT to stop in at any "Little White Wedding Chapels". However my sister did entice me with the idea of bridesmaids dressed in sequins... Anyway, we found some outstanding boondocking and mountain biking in Red Rock Canyon only a few miles outside the city.

And then there is another national park that is not to be missed. Joshua Tree! Here is another climbing mecca (of course we didn't have the gear or the time...this time) with spectacular geological formations and the wildest looking trees! We had read about an offroad trip through Berdoo Canyon and it did not disappoint! Very tight canyon with some great rock drops that made the route exciting.

And now we are here. In San Deigo with our friend John and Marcie and their dog Reece. It is great to see them again after our visit in Mt Hood and it is a real comforting feeling to be driving down in a caravan over the boarder and down south. We are really looking forward to the end of running errands and the fruits of all our preparing as we sit on the sand, watch a sunset, and catch some surf.

Will write soon!!!.....