Now Boondocking in the Barry M. Goldwater AF Gunnery Range

 Wednesday, November 15

We drove over to the border town of Algodones, Mexico to see what there was to see.

Crossing over was no big deal.  Once across and away from the border zone, we were basically continually accosted by men and women trying to get us in their offers for dental or eye glass work, buy leather or metal crafts, decorative pottery, etc!

photo by Martha

photo by Martha

photo by Martha

Both Martha and I felt unsettled, not unsafe, but unsettled by this environment and elected to flee back across the border, back to our car.  Total time from parking the car, entering Mexico and returning to car?  30 minutes.

We'd basically decided, as we drove back to camp, to displace to the Gila Bend, AZ area one day early.  After all, things were getting crowded at our spot as you can see below:

I know, we're only halfway kidding as to the crowding.

So we packed up and left California once again, making it to the campsite 20 miles south of Gila Bend, AZ by 1:00 PM or so.  The weather was overcast but warm.

Thursday, November 16

An overcast day with a high of only 75°F (23.8°C) but warm enough mostly.  There were even brief periods where one could see and feel the sun through the clouds.

It was a planned "relax" day so Martha did her cross-stitching and I went for a few miles of dirt riding with Yagi, my TW200.

Our campsite

Top Hat Mountain

Hopefully, the weather forecast for tomorrow is correct and we'll have just partly cloudy skies and warmer temperatures.

Back in the USA, Boondocking Again Near Winterhaven, CA

We left at 8AM this morning, leaving the campsite north of San Felipe, Baja California behind and a couple of hours later were at the border.

We chose to cross at the same border crossing station in San Luis Rio Colorado.  We got in line, using the general access/RV line to slowly make our way to the inspection station.

Some sights, along the way, pics taken by Lori Z.

The middle area between two lanes of traffic was populated by vendors selling drinks, snacks and crap such as the stuff below.

Interspersed with the vendors, others acted as panhandlers, often times presenting themselves as invalid or handicapped in some way.

The shops along the street we inched our way on, sold all kinds of souvenirs, or auto insurance for US-bound mexicans.  

It was a mystery to us why anyone would want to buy or own a damn "Chucky" doll but here you go.  Note the cute bathroom sign:

The one ugly incident we experienced was an asshole with Arizona tags darting in front of Chris and Lori's Ovelander and jumping the line!  Goddamn him or her.

Line Jumping Asshole!

We would end up spending 80 minutes in line.  Stewie, Chris & Lori's Overlander was briefly searched by US Customs but no issues.  I was asked a few questions and let through, back into the USA!  

It's good to be back, I must say.  I also can confidently say that Mexico is no longer on the possible place to retire to list!  I know, eastern Baja California isn't all of Mexico, but I think I got enough of a "taste".

We then drove to Yuma and retrieved our possessions from storage.  Scarlett and trailer are back behind Uma.

We went our separate ways at this point, planning to rejoin in about ten days or so further north near Meadview, AZ.  I need some solo camping time you see, and the Z's were very understanding, such true friends and great camping companions.

I dumped tanks and got clean water (I dumped all the Mexican water on the way to the border) at the Speedway that provides the facilities for free.  Of course, as they probably hoped, I also got a gas for the VRRV and refilled my spare gas can.

While the Z's did some chores in Yuma, I headed back to the vicinity of Winterhaven, CA and the dispersed camping areas off of Ogilby Road.  The Z's went to stay at the VFW BLM Site as they've got other stuff to do in Yuma.

I lucked out and the spot we'd stayed at before was free so I snagged it and set up camp in a warm afternoon/evening with temperatures in the low 70s!

I found Scarlett's battery low on power, 12.1 volts, and she wouldn't crank over.  So I recharged the battery using my Predator 2000 generator for about an hour or so.  Once at 90% charge according to the battery charger, Scarlett cranked right up and I unloaded her from the trailer.

Baja California with the Z's - Days 32 & 33: Last Weekend in Mexico

 Saturday, March 25

Bought a traction system for light trucks, cars and RVs to hopefully enable me to self-recover from sand/mud conditions in the future.

It's made by Truckclaws and the videos/reviews I saw on youtube made it looked quite promising.  I should get it by mid-April while in the vicinity of Meadview, AZ.

The extender bar, it to provide added

footprint for the claw.

Not much worth reporting about today, just mounting frustration with growing crowded conditions down here.  I think also I need to do some solo camping for a bit so that's what I'll do once we cross the border back into the USA on Monday.

Sunday, March 26

I went for a long ride to exorcise some demons that had popped up due to other matters.  

I revisited the unfinished house with the dome for some more pics, but the only ones I ended up using were of possibly flowering Ocotillo and a view of distant hills through the holes in the chimney.

Then, I meandered over to the shoreline, and cruised out on the tidal flats for a bit since the tide was out.  Again, no pics obtained that were usable.

Then, I decided to keep riding south along the shoreline, moving slowly and keeping on the still-moist sand left by the receding tide.  It's firmer you see, and much easier to ride on than the dry deep sand a bit further up the beach.

I came to an area with nice looking erosion on the cliffsides bordering the beach:

It sort of reminded me of Utah's rock formations

The erosion paths had carved out interesting "trails"

that should be explored.

I liked this erosion formation best, looks like

a line of people ...

At the furthest point that I went, which was almost parallel to a campground called Playa Hawaii; I spotted a slightly sketchy looking trail heading up the cliffs to the top.

I found this at the top:

Views from the rock outcropping just past the table above:

I retraced my way back to the beach and started heading back towards camp:

Later, we were buzzed by this guy on an ultralight.  I managed to get the below pics on his third flyover.  Apparently, he was taking off from the beach nearby and would turn around to head south almost directly over our heads.

Things are getting crowded down here so we decided to leave Baja California tomorrow and return to the Land of the Big PX, as we used to call it back when I was stationed with the Army in Europe.  It'll be good to be back in one's home country.

The trip was enjoyable, interesting, sometimes a bit unnerving in terms of road conditions but in general a good month or so in Mexico's Baja California.  I'll probably have more thoughts on traveling in Baja California...

Baja California with the Z's - Day 31: Abandoned Housing Projects, Bees and Structures on Stilts

A nicely warm day with gentle winds through most of the day.  It would get into the low 70s and felt great.

Sunrise was cloudless but colorful:

The only "negative" encountered this morning was what I saw when I raised my curtain to let in the light:

I had known that the car campers were nearby, but hadn't looked out the window yesterday afternoon to see the angles involved.  Fortunately, they left soon after I took this picture.

After breakfast, I went out for an exploration ride with Yagi, my TW200.  I wanted to take a closer look at some housing structures visible in the distance which I believed to be abandoned.

First up was a house with a small dome on the roof.  You could see it as you drove in from the highway to our campsite.

Yep, it was abandoned, with a half-finished look throughout.  I am unsure why it was never finished/repaired after the hurricane that went through this area last year.  

The house had an outside stairwell that allowed easy access to the roof.  I believe the idea was to give folks a nice view of the nearby beach.  The dome's purpose was just to provide small windows to let in the light to the central point of the house I believe.  Still, an eye-catching feature you might say.

Further to the north, you could see what looked like a fancy house.  Once I got near though, it was definitely another half-finished house that appeared abandoned. 

I wandered inside for a bit, noting how people had been tearing at some of the installed insulation, floors were only half completed, and fixtures were missing along with quite the mess in each room.

I'd walked past it twice before I looked up towards the ceiling and noticed this:

Yep, bees!  The whole thing must have been 2-3 feet across I think.  I'd seen some bugs flying about before I saw the hive but had thought they were just the same type of wasps I'd seen down at BLA.

Having spotted the above multitude of bees, I left forthwith.

Bee video courtesy of Chris Z.

There was this structure near the highway as I left the above house:

What looks like a storm damaged single wide

manufactured home.

Continuing north a bit more, I saw what looked like a home built out of shipping containers:

I stopped and talked to one of the workmen onsite and turns it will be a Taqueria someday soon.  There was still much work to be done on the interiors as I walked around after getting permission to do so.

I then turned towards the beach areas and checked out, from a distance, what I initially took to be tiny homes on stilts:

Most of them had old campers parked underneath them.  I don't think think the structures on top are meant as homes but as covered observation decks for folks to look at the nearby beach.

Still, they mostly all seemed to be in disrepair, the campers sure looked dilapidated and scavenged for parts in some cases!

It was getting close to lunchtime by now so I headed on back towards the campsite, I found trails leading back to camp without having to return to the highway first.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing in the gazebo, listening to an audio book, re-leveling the VRRV to a better position and just enjoying the weather.

I hosted dinner for the Z's in the VRRV, it was Arrachera and Fries.  It turned out to be pretty good too.  Different brand from the one we'd tried down by BLA but still tasty.

As you can see, it was only 600 grams vice the 800 grams version from SuKarne that we got at BLA.  It was only 170 pesos however, and fed the three of us to satisfaction.  I think we're going to have to go into San Felipe and get some more of these Arracheras.