Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2001 20:34:37 -0800
Reply-To: Ben McCafferty <ben@KBMC.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Ben McCafferty <ben@KBMC.NET>
Subject: Off-subject travelogue: Joshua Tree, San Diego, Ensenada
Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
Hi all,
Took the new '90 syncro westy for a week's jaunt and just got back. All in
all it went quite well, and thanks to everyone who made suggestions on
places to stay, etc.! Missed the syncro safari, but hope to make the trip
with you guys and gals to Baja sometime soon....
Joshua Tree
Stayed at the Black Rock Canyon campground, NW corner of JTNP. Woke up
early (no toilet in the westy....)--stunning sunrise. We had arrived at
night, so the first sight of the trees was very much enhanced.
+ We were there Mon and Tue nights, so totally deserted. Wed and Thu they
were expecting 180 campers. Generators limited to six hours a day (7-9,
12-2, 5-7)
- No showers or hookups, but no biggie. Potable water around the
campground.
We took one day and drove around to several places in the JTNP. The
highlight was the 18-mile 4WD Geology Tour. It was very interesting, and
fun to get the VC warmed up a little bit. It was mostly just minor ruts and
deep sand, but there were a few tricky spots. Totally deserted, saw four
cars in two hours.
The High View Nature Hike (3 miles) is also highly recommended.
San Diego
We ended up staying in the county parks dept. campgrounds, and they were
very nice overall.
http://www.co.san-diego.ca.us/cnty/cntydepts/landuse/parks/services/newcampi
ng.html
We stayed at Dos Picos, Sweetwater, and Potrero. All three had water/110V
hookups, and bathrooms with showers. Price ranged from $12-18, plus a $3
reservation fee per campground. Dos Picos is very convenient to the wild
animal park, Sweetwater to the zoo, and Potrero to Tecate. Generators are
banned at all times (yes!).
We had a great time at the wild animal park, but the zoo was a bit
anti-climatic after that. If you're doing both, I'd do the zoo first.
Buying a membership (which grants admission to both for a year) is cheaper
than the two admissions separately.
Mexico
We crossed into Mexico at Tecate, and drove Mex 2D (toll) to Tijuana, since
we wanted to go down the coast to Ensenada. Toll was 55 Pesos, but the road
was very nice and deserted. We took Mex 1 (free) down the coast. Very nice
road, two lane and passes through villages, etc. along the way. The litter
along all the roads is pretty bad. The drop-off on the shoulder is pretty
severe, kind of sketchy for a vanagon!
Ensenada was fun, but you can see where the ugly American stereotype gets
furthered very quickly. It is a stark contrast to drive down instead of
coming on a cruise ship, and then seeing the drastic difference when you
drive into Ensenada. But it was very colorful, and we had some great fish
tacos at a small stand next to the fish market. We also ordered a custom
hand-woven wool rug from a shop for the westy's kitchen/living room floor.
The guys were really into checking out the van and recommending colors,
etc., as you might expect!
We drove back up Mex 3 (free) to Tecate, which is another nice two-lane
through the desert hills and scrub. If you've never read it, check out
"Motorcycle Journeys Through Baja"--sights, restaurants, etc. to the mile.
On arrival in Tecate, we discovered that the "rarely busy Tecate border
station" was loaded with cars waiting to cross into the US. We followed the
line backwards for a long time, then finally found the end. We had been in
line for about 20 minutes when a truckload of stupid young American college
boys jumped the line right in front of us. (The line was about 200 cars
long). They then proceeded to let their friends in line in front of them as
well. While we were busy plotting our revenge on them, we waited in line
for another hour or so, then they let in yet another car. Well, near the
2/3rds point in the line, the Mexican police were walking around, because
suddenly one of them says "Blanco!! Rojo!!" and points them to the side
(white truck, red mustang). Apparently, someone behind us in line had
informed the police of their deed. The mustang managed to lie his way out
of it, and the truck looked like he would as well, so I leaned out the
window and added a corroborating voice to the previous tattle-tale. All
three vehicles were immediately escorted to the back of the line, which by
now had grown to about 300 cars. Call me childish, but I am still giddy at
seeing justice served for once...... :) :) :)
Stayed at Potrero, and headed north this morning. I-5 was, well, I-5,
complete with 1,000,000 orange trees and 10,000 cattle. I was glad to be
headed north, since the poor blokes leaving the bay area for LA had at least
80 miles of stopped or stop-and-go traffic. I would have slit my wrists (or
at least pulled over, popped the top, and had a beer).
A great trip, and a good break-in for the new addition (well, ok, with
207,000 she's already broken in, but anyway...)
Incidentally, I wound up with two guest passes for either the zoo or the
wild animal park, if someone is heading that way soon. I can be bribed with
Guinness and/or exotic hot sauce.
bmc :)
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