Baja Bound - An Odyssey of Wonder - March 2012

[Tyler]

We were a bit quiet on the way back to Ignacio Springs… kind of overwhelmed with the experience and thinking, “Did that really just happen?” Sally got right to blogging about it at our home away from home…


More relaxation and libations on the patio…


Scott getting ready to, um, I’m not sure what… but our cameras were ready for it…


Goobers…


Dorothy looking oh so innocent…


Hillbilly dryer…


Views as the sun began to set and turn the palm trees to gold… almost looked like they were on fire…








And with that, we gathered for yet another fabulous meal, chatted with other guests there – including a couple from France and a couple who had just gotten married at the tender age of 70 or so… gives one hope!

Still more to come…

[demenshea]

WOW and WOW...the experience with the whales must have just been totally amazing. I know I would be awestruck. How lucky, Tyler and all that beauty too. WOW!

[sprockethead]

Holy Cow!!! What an amazing experience! Just blasting around Baja on motorcycles is an adventure in itself and now the whales! Thank you for sharing Tyler, I just added another item to my bucket list!

[hercbr]

Tyler,

OUTSTANDING!!!!!!

What a great time (once you got out of the rain....), stupendous photos!!!!

What wonderful memories!!!! So happy you shared them with us

How was the trip home?

[wait2b]

wow! great pics!!
thanks

[Tyler]

Originally Posted by hercbr

How was the trip home?

I'm gettin' there!!

[Tyler]

The next morning dawned sunny and cool. Today’s adventure was a day ride to the Bay of Concepcion for lunch. We gathered in town before heading out to view the church, San Ignacio Kadakaamán, which was founded in 1728 by the Jesuits, handed over to the Dominicans in 1773 who completed construction in 1786. In the 1800s, the community shrank and the mission fell into disuse and suffered neglect. By the mid-1970s, however, San Ignacio had revived and the mission was carefully restored.

More info here: http://www.colonial-mexico.com/West%20Mexico/kad.html

One wonders how many people have traversed these stairs to visit…










Angels on the ceiling watching over us…


Spout for water drainage (which I learned from Dorothy who is always a wealth of knowledge on these trips… she’s always got something new to show/tell me!)…


Bench in the back garden to sit and ponder the meaning of life…


The town square where we came across different groups of dual sport riders who were headed out for some dirty fun…


Group shot on the side stairs of the church (photo by Scott)… right leg out everyone!!

[Tyler]

And then we were off like a herd of turtles… Scott in the lead, we traversed some lovely mountain roads with beautiful views of the valleys we would be riding across (road is off to the right there)…






Jim and Scott have a “moment”… I love you, man…


Tons of pelicans flying about…


We stopped in the town of lovely town Mulegé to see the mission there, Mision Santa Rosalia de Mulegé… Founded in 1706, the mission was completed in 1766. The mission has been restored with the help of the government and functions as a Catholic church. It originally served an Indian population of some 2000 persons. Nearby, rocky steps lead up a hill that affords a bird's-eye view over the oasis. Mulegé has become a refuge for American retirees and I can understand how this oasis would draw them there…










Oh my, Jesus could use some upgrading or a haircut or a facial… or something!




Jim and Scott soaking in the sights and sunshine…

[Tyler]

Continuing on, we came around a curve in the road and saw the amazingly colored Sea of Cortez glistening in front of us…


While Scott did this…


Sally and I drove further out to get some shots of the bay… it was pretty cool and very windy but the blue of that water was unbelievable!


Nice vacation spot, huh?


The beach we visited… Clyffrd working on his tan…


View from the restaurant…


Cheery floral decorations adorned the tables as Dorothy got ready to make a point… I just hoped that thing wasn’t loaded…


After lunch, and with a little gentle/supportive prodding from Scott, I decided wtf… I’m here at the Sea of Cortez and dammit, I’m gonna take a dip in that ocean… it was a bit unnerving as it was the first time I had exposed myself (so to speak) since the accident… but I knew I was amongst friends so I felt safe to do so… it was kind of odd as most of my legs have no sensation to heat/cold due to the grafts so I couldn’t feel the temperature of the water until it got up to my girl parts… then I found out it was COLD!!! LOL


We dried off as best we could and figured the ride back to San Ignacio would do the rest… Chris on his RT at the beach…


The roads are very well marked with lots of yellow and black along the way warning of these ahead (image borrowed off the internet as I was never able to get a picture of it!) …

[Tyler]

Some views on the way back…


Stopping in town to regroup although it was more like trying to herd cats…


Some hillside fixer uppers…


Curt was having a good time…


Saw some pretty flowers and stopped to take a photo… thank goodness this isn’t scratch & sniff because behind the bikes was a section of land that was a makeshift port-a-potty… without the port-a… I snapped the photo and got out of there right quick… peeYEW!!!


On the way out, I had seen lots of purple patches along the way and made sure I took the time to stop and smell them on the way back… a few like-minded photo bugs and I traipsed off the road just a wee bit and were overwhelmed with a wash of color… you couldn’t really see it from the road but just a few steps in, there is was in all its splendor…




Chris in floral contemplation…


Untimely ladybug demise in the desert… but is any demise timely??


The road ahead…


Another fine day came to a close… we spent the evening chattering on about our escapades, sipping fine wine or good tequila, and chowing down on another scrumptious meal provided by our hosts. Our prior weather adventures getting into Mexico was fading to a distant memory as we all basked in the amazing things we had experienced.. It was gonna be hard to leave this place so I decided not to think about that and just focus on enjoying the “now” moment… it was a brilliant evening.

Wait… what?? There’s more??? Oh yes there is…