After spending a delightful night at Tijuana, late Sunday morning, April 17, 2005 found me driving south on Mexico's Highway 1, on my way to beautiful Ensenada.  I prefer to take the "free road" as it's free, the pace is unhurried and you can pull off the road almost anywhere to take photos, a pastime that I'm quite passionate about.  

Left:  The small town of La Mision.  Right:  The toll highway goes over the creek Canada los Alisos.  The city of Tijuana gets much of its water from the La Mision vicinity.  The sky is dreary, as coastal still prevails.

At the small village of La Mision, the free version of Highway leaves the coast, and heads inland.  On this spring day in mid April, the weather was balmy, the hills were covered with green grass and carpeted with wildflowers, as the wildflowers were in bloom.  It was so pleasant to drive along at a leisurely pace, as I couldn't check into my motel in Ensenada until mid-afternoon, so I had a couple of extra hours to kill.  Taking a side-trip seemed like a good idea, as it would have me a chance to see some more scenery, and to explore an area of the state that would most likely be free of my fellow Norteamericanos.  So I pulled off the highway and got out my topographic almanac of Baja California and spotted the turnoff a few miles down the road that would take me east into the Guadalupe Valley.  

Left:  I love wildflowers, especially lupine, and the plant grows everywhere beside the road.  Right:  A typical section of the dirt road.

The turn-off is marked by a sign that reads "Guadalupe," and it is about halfway between La Mision and San Miguel, where the "free road" joins the toll highway near El Sauzal.  If you have a GPS, you'll be happy to note that this sign is located at N31.59.244 and W116.44.710.  Trivia freaks will be pleased to note that the elevation is 1219 feet, give or take an inch.  On the map, the road is marked as a primary rural route dirt road, which is a pretty good description.  However, near the highway, the road is semi-paved, but as it heads east from the highway, it will soon degenerate to dirt, but it is a good dirt road, at least in dry weather.

If you'll check the map, you will see that this road connects Federal Highways 1 and 3, so it serves a connector and a shortcut of sorts from one highway to another.  It passes through ranching country, so it allows the ranchers access to the outside world.

As I was just getting into the car, an old man on a bicycle pedaled up behind me and stopped.  I greeted him and a conversation started.  He said he was heading to Rancho Ortega about 5 miles to the east, but was first going to stop and visit with some friends who were conducting a cattle drive over the next hill.  I wished him well and wasn't ready to start, as I was taking down field notes.  

I couldn't believe how fast that guy could pedal his bicycle!  I stopped to take a photo and watched him descend the bumpy, dirt road, at probably 25 mph!  Now this guy doesn't pedal a mountain bike, instead he has an old, beat-up, single-gear model, the sort of bicycle that I received as a kid, 40 years ago.  Anyway, the guy just "flew" down the dirt road, and in a small cloud of dust, stopped where his friends were rounding up their cattle.  It was so interesting to watch this guy, that I didn't take any photos.

Left:  The old man on his bicycle sails past me, down the hill, on the way to Ranch Ortega.  Right:  Into the first valley east of Highway 1, the old man is a blue dot on the dirt road, as he pedals to meet his friends.

I decided to drive as far as Ranch Ortega, just to see what is there.  As I mentioned earlier, this is ranching country, and the country is fenced and home to many cattle and goat ranches.  One especially interesting operation I passed by appeared to be primary a goat ranch, but in addition to the herd of goats, the ranchers had a huge white bull with black spots.  Their dwelling was also interesting, as they appeared to live in a dilapidated travel trailer, vintage 1980.  I admire these folks, as undoubtedly they are very enterprising individuals.

Rancho Ortega is actually a collection of ranches almost resembling a small village.  I parked on top of a hill overlooking the village, which is situated at the extreme western fringe of the Guadalupe Valley, which is famous for its many wineries.  However, wine was not my mission, as I simply wanted to relax and savor the view.

Left:  A very interesting goat ranch, with the support of a huge, lone bull, seen behind the goat herd.  The ranchers live in the trailer in the background.  Right:  Rancho Ortega is a collection of ranches, situated along the dirt road.

On the way back to Highway 1, I stopped to take a few photos, but generally didn't do as much sightseeing as I did on the journey east.  The road is a major dirt road, but the "4 or 40" speed rule applies, as it's full of holes, uneven spots and wash-boarded in a few places.  Near the place where it rejoins Highway 1, there is a hill to climb that could prove quite interesting to a passenger car in inclement weather.  I have been on secondary roads north of the border similar to this road that would make many s.u.v. drivers engage their four-wheel drive, but that's not an option to most Mexicans, as few of them have vehicles with "dobles" as 4wd is known in Spanish.  I admire the "can-do" spirit of these rural ranchers.

I was glad that I had a chance to see some of the countryside that few folks whizzing toward Ensenada on the toll road would ever get a chance to see.  If you have the time and you want to see a picture of rural Mexican life, this drive is a good one to take.