Driving the east shore Baja road, from Coco's Corner to Gonzaga Bay...

I had fully intended to spend the night at Coco's Corner, as I'd read quite a bit about Coco, and learned that he's a character, and a local legend, but Coco wasn't at his little corner of paradise, as he was having personal issues dealt with in Ensendada. The only ambassador of good will was a skinny, attention-starved cat, who followed me around, as I took photos of the ramshackle, dilapidated place known as Coco's Corner.

Photo: As I leave Coco's Corner, I look in my rear view mirror and see a couple of Coco's hand-lettered signs that advertise the services that his corner has to offer.

I was quite disappointed that I didn't get to meet Coco, as I truly wanted to chat with him, and publish more about him, but obviously it wasn't going to happen on this day. So instead of camping at Coco's, I decided to drive a few miles to the east, as the time was approaching late afternoon, and I prefer to have my camp set up, and enjoying the good life, well before the sun dips below the horizon.

Photo: This section of washed-out road is marked by a line of rocks that a local placed on the road. There are no government signs posted to warn of hazards, such as this. Note the road that parallels the main road, to the right of the photo.

Photo: Close-up photo of a washed-out section of the road pictured in the photo above. You wouldn't want to poke your tire into this crack... The photo doesn't do the severity of this crack justice.

Leaving Coco's Corner, the road swings to the north, as it enters a valley, that's covered with ciro cactus, and other vegetation. There are also quite a few large rock outcroppings, and some of them have been decorated with graffiti. I thought that I had left graffiti behind when I put Tijuana in my rear view mirror, but here it was, out in the middle of nowhere, rocks with graffiti scrawled on them. In this area, there are sandy, parallel roads next to the main road, and sometimes the parallel roads are smoother than the main road, but sometimes they're not; I chose to travel the main road, as I'm not in a hurry, plus I love to stop and do what I do best along secondary roads in Baja California: Take photos.

Photo: The desert is quite green, as this photo shows as I park near a sandy spot on the road. Note the parallel road to the left of the photo. Look past the truck, and you can see the washboard effect on the road, which makes for rough driving, even after tires have been aired down to 20 pounds.

Five miles or so north of Coco's Corner, as I was about to cross a small dry creek noted on the map as Las Arrastras de Arriola, I came upon a road gang that was working on the road. The gang consisted of a front-loader tractor, a dump truck, and several guys with shovels, who appeared to be ready to call it a day. They were blocking the road, as they were digging a hole in the middle of the road, for what purpose, I couldn't readily discern, but it made me curious, so I got out of my truck, both to satisfy my curiosity, and to get a bit of information about this remote corner of the world. The guy who appeared to be the foreman told me that they were repairing damage from a flash flood that occurred the month before, and that if I wanted to pass I'd have to drive around them, in the dry creek bed. He said if I got stuck that they'd pull me out, but I wasn't worried, as I planned to shift in low range four wheel drive, which will get me through practically anything. As long as I was talking to the guy, I asked him about the condition of the road into San Felipe, and he said it would bet better, but it hadn't been graded for over a year, and it would take some time, as they were the only crew working on the road, and they were working their way north. When I asked him if gas was available in Gonzaga Bay, he assured me there was a Pemex gas station there, open for business, but if for some reason they were out of gas, Rancho Grande usually has gas for sale. I thanked him for the information, climbed into my truck, shifted it into low range four wheel drive, and handily drove around the road crew. That was the first of two times that I needed to use four wheel drive, driving from Chapala to San Felipe.

Photo: The rough road in the foreground, with the beautiful Sierra San Francisquito mountains in the distance.

Photo: This beautiful garden captures all of the different varieties of vegetation that grow in this part of the state. Who said the desert wasn't green?

I made camp late in the afternoon, at the mouth of a small canyon, a half mile or so off the main road, at GPS N 29.38.947, W 114.24.747, elevation 676 feet. If I had wanted to, I could have camped in the middle of the main road, as I didn't observe or hear any traffic during the time I made camp, until I broke camp the following morning. I dug a cat hole, and gathered a supply of cactus wood, and by the time the sun started to drop behind the mountains to the west, I had a warm, cheery campfire going, despite the 90-something degree evening. It was a pleasant night to sit around the camp fire, look at the brilliant stars, and enjoy a few beers. Later, I feasted on a fine dinner of refried beans and corn tortillas, and by 9 in the evening, I was sound asleep.

Photo: This rock along the side of the road, is covered with graffiti, and is a good example of the graffiti found on many of the rocks.

I might add that the short drive to my camp site required four wheel drive, as I had to negotiate a sandy wash, and a few small stair steps, and this amounted the second, and final time that four wheel drive was required, on my drive along the road, along the east side of the Baja California peninsula.

Photo: This un-marked washout is quite typical of washouts along the entire length of the road, and a good reason to drive this road with extreme caution at all times.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008 dawned clear and warm, and promised to be another beautiful day, in lovely Baja California. I broke camp shortly after dawn, drove back to the main road, shifted out of four wheel drive, and headed east, toward Gonzaga Bay. This country is remote, very remote, as during the 14 hours since I'd left the pavement at Chapapa, I'd seen a total of 2 other vehicles, not counting the road crew.

Photo: Joe Raven enjoys sitting on a ciro cactus branch, and announcing his presence to all who will listen, as sundown approaches, and I'm looking for a place to camp.

Morning hadn't changed the nature of the dirt road, as it was as bad as ever. I went against my principals and attempted to drive on one of the impromptu, parallel side roads, but I rapidly came to the conclusion that it really didn't matter, as all roads were bumpy, filled with potholes, washed out, and featured lots of tire-shredding rocks to avoid.

Photo: Camp, Tuesday, September 30, 2008. Note the cactus wood that I've gathered and stacked near a cat hole that I've dug for a fire pit. My notebook computer is on the tailgate of the truck, and I'm uploading the day's photos, from my camera, to the computer, out in the middle of nowhere.

After leaving camp, I noted that the road was heading almost due north, and that I was definitely in a valley, as there were mountains on each side of me. I pulled over to the side of the road, which was a gesture precipitated only by habit, and pulled out my Baja Atlas, and sure enough, I was in the Valley of Las Arrastras, which is a dry wash that leads to the Sea of Cortez, near Punta Final, just south of Bahía San Luis Gonzaga. After driving for an hour or so, the country began to open up, and just after the sun had bathed the country in its warm, mellow light, I got my first view of the shining Sea of Cortez, to my right, which was geographically east. A half hour later, I was inside the store at Rancho Grande, purchasing beer, and contemplating the rest of the days trip to San Felipe.

Photo: Sunrise, Wednesday, October 1, 2008, over the coastal mountains that rise in back of my camp.

Photo: It's about 0730 in the morning, and I'm approaching Rancho Grande, at Gonzaga Bay. Notice the rough road, which doesn't get any better until the pavement is reached.

It's about 23 miles from Coco's Corner to Gonzaga Bay, which took me about three hours of driving time.

Next phase of the East Side Baja Road, as I drive the 27 miles from Gonzaga Bay to San Juan del Mar.

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