In the wake of all whats happened I'm getting close to being back on the road telling stories. Stories about the important things, whats rich, the in the moment experiences, the driving factors, the joy of what 4wd overlanding is all about, for me its the journey. Destinations are the fabric but its the adventure of the journey that makes it all a real experience. The encounters from the last 8 months tells a story all its own. From driving out of Mexico to entering the USA to making a journey east through the vast deserts avoiding the cold weather and doing my duty to vote in the 2020 elections. Ending up in a Florida trailer park awaiting vaccinations, renewing government documents and holding out on the extreme unrelenting weather events of our nation.
Where do I begin, did I say I lost my phone and all of my pics (not backed up) of said travels from
Mexico to today. Well, all but a few, sad but true and that really sucks (
"Bugger"). Lessons learned, procrastinating is not a virtue I wish to embrace in the future. It makes this journey all the more real for you the reader and me trying to making sense of the lapse in time. So I'll start where I left you last the journey leaving
Baja California Sur in the capital city of
La Paz.*
Pulling out of
La Paz was an epic adventure I was under a time frame to cross the US border as my visa was running out. Cruising up the coast along the
Sea of Cortez I was headed back to one of my favorite spots
Playa de Colores a stunning remote pristine camp.
There was plenty of exciting
4wd tracks around as I pushed north, hitting some known spots and finding new ones. I was quickly crossing the
BCS state line into northern
Baja where I connected to a remote wild scenic
4wd track. Negotiating through the
Valle de los Cirios and into
Bahia de los Angeles the landscape was filled with amazing endemic boojum trees.
Heading north on
MEX1 then east over to the newly engineered and paved
MEX5 which lead me up to the seaside town of
San Felipe where I filled up on some delicious
carnitas (twice). I back tracked south for about 25km to a remote secluded camp spot among the
Gigantes cactus for the weekend. I was sharing this camp with a local osprey perched at his fishing spot armed with razor sharp talons and vigilant keen eyes out for a meal from the desert floor or the schooling bait fish just off the deserted stretch of beach.
Heading north on
MEX5 back through
San Felipe I cut west along
MEX3 over the
Valle Santa Clara part of the
BAJA 1000 race course to
Tecate but first a quick stop for some bad-ass fish tacos at
El Finex in
Ensenada. Tecate was a couple hours travel through wine country,
Ruta del Vino and made it with no issues to this beer soaked border town. I spent the night at one the best flea-bitten crappy looking hotels, cheap, clean, reeking of disinfectant, secure parking and sparse was just the ticket. The next morning after brekkie I drove 5 miles out of town to the end of the line, to cross the border in town, I had no idea it would be a 3+ hour wait to cross.
Back in the states I tripped through San Diego, Mission Bay and Fiesta Island haven't been there in ages, boy has it changed, but still free to park and party on the sandy hard packed beach. Heading north to Canyon Lake area I was in search of my go to mechanic I was having some issue with my ignition positioning sensor on the rig and needed a fix along with a oil change, full lube and tire rotation. A few days hanging with my sister and brother in-law I was back on the road to Ontario CA. Picked up some of my belongings from my other sister and brother in-law then to my brother and sister in-laws in Tujunga to pick up my bike and to say hello to everyone while socially distanced.
Feeling the need to get back on the road before fall and winter temps set in I pointed my compass to
Death Valley NP. Heading north I found some great spots to camp as I entered the
Eureka Dunes area epic landscapes and fantastic sunsets.
My goal was to go east through
Nevada on
Hwy 50 "The loneliest Hwy in America". Dotted with natural hot springs too soak in, roaming wild ponies, this vast dusty landscape is a thing of beauty.
East on
Hwy 50 I was ready to drop into
Utah and slide over through
Zion NP crazy stunning views I always love what Utah has in store. Kept south along the Utah border and sliced my way up to
Capital Reef NP love that place. I was headed to a new spot off the
San Rafael River, Cedar Mtn. It didn't disappoint at all, called the mini Grand Canyon. I was able to camp on top of the canyons lip over looking a vast gouged out canyon below eons of water carving out a path, outrageous. You know I'm heading back there. Over to
Needles and
The Valley of the Gods holy heck
Utah is amazing no doubt.
Colorado was next up from
The Valley of the Gods and
Mexican Hat the temps where getting colder at night when I pulled up to
Mesa Verde to camp for a couple of nights. Staying to the southern part of
Colorado I was heading east to
Trinidad a little town nestled in the hills next to the
New Mexico border that's coined as a
420 tourist destination, way cool dude... I stocked up at my favorite dispensary Strawberry Fields and got a room at the themed
420 Hotel where every room is a different trip. I chose the 60's room complete with lava lamps, huka, rotary dial phone, wooden console TV, rolling table, psychedelic lights and color scheme. Smoker friendly (no cigarettes) the outdoor patios movie screen was showing Pineapple Express. I was baked sitting in a barker lounger enjoying the wacky madness under the stars. Dude, I knew where I parked my car man!
Kansas was my next stop I wanted to visit
Emporia the birthplace of gravel riding and the famed
"Dirty Kanza" a 200 mile bicycle race across the Flint Hills in mud, gravel, rain, sand, cold wind and you guessed it hills. True slice of Americana. Time was running out and I had to make it to
Miami, Florida before Nov. 3rd to vote I was about a week or so out. Driving down the Gulf coast of Florida I was soon back in the humidity and my old stomping grounds. Crossing the Everglades on
Tamiami 41 I pulled into
Miami-Dade and located my polling station where I was able to cast my vote early, done deal Jim..
While the rest of the country was in semi-lock down and getting cold I decided to stay in
FL for the winter do some repairs, needed mods, renew my pass port and drivers license. Putting it out there I got a line on a trailer to rent up in
Gulfport Fl. and jumped on it. Complete with a covered carport and Xmas decorations it fitted my needs and was a good change from the
Miami area. East cost of
Florida to the west coast on the Gulf about 35mi west of
Tampa. Now after 5 months, a few vehicle mods, repairs, renewed documents, lost phone (
"Bugger") and fully vaccinated I'm ready to get back on the road.
Attending my first event of the year next week, back at Sun 'n Fun in Lakeland Fl.** one of the biggest aerospace expos in the country five days of camping on a tarmac with planes and aircraft of all types, aerial demonstrations, The Blue Angels, Wall of Fire, STOL touch and go comp plus a whole lot more!
Hope to see you on the Trail!!..
🚙.......
** see previous post Sun 'n Fun Fly-in Expo, April 18th 2018
*see previous post BCS Running out, on time! July, 19th 2020
