Cabo Log 11:30:10:5:30 - Into The Home Stretch!

Good Morning Everybody,

I'm trying to get this post up before we hit the road this morning. It's 5:00 a.m. and we want to catch as much daylight as possible today. We barely have Internet connectivity so I'm giving it my best shot. So here we go...

First Day In The Baja---

What can I say, it has been wonderful day traveling today. We crossed the Mexican border and pulled into the inspection line so I could get my tourist card which I needed to fly home - not the easiest of procedures when crossing the boarder.

Kent has a Green Card that lets him move easily in and out of the country, We completed the crossing - no big deal about 8:45 p.m. and headed south. We had 10 hours to go to get to our half way point - our goal for the day.

Beauty All Around!---

Right away the beautiful seascape showed itself as a place one would long to visit - the views right outside of Tijuana were unbelievable.

OK, I have to admit, I was worried about about the news I had heard about the Mexican drug cartels, etc, operating I Mexico and how we should be extremely careful. We were careful. But there was no reason to be alarmed as a tourist. Sometimes the evening news over blows the reality of the situation for the sake of the ratings - I think that was the case here.

Anyway, we headed south through some of the most beautiful vistas you have ever seen! The trip took us inland then back out next to the sea. The variety of geographic splendor was amazing.

The big scare about Highway 1 through the Baja is the very narrow 2 lane highway that traverses the entire 1,000 mile corridor from Tijuana to Cabo, Mexico. We found the highway in great shape for most of the way south.

Road Condition Fiasco---

Early on in our travels we did run into the worst of road conditions I have have seen anywhere - total "construction overload" on the roads. We were literally driving on mud and rock for about 10 miles as the road crews worked on the highway. It was quite the "rock and roll" driving experience. Hey, lot of the USA roads are in the same condition.

WOW! What A View!!!---

We continued down the road and, speaking for myself, totally enjoyed and reveled in the Baja driving experience! The change of scenery, the change of geography, the amazing variety of landscape blew me away! The Baja drive is called one of the world's great driving experiences. LaDawn and I have driven over 20,000 mile on our CBTL2010 tour, and have seen a lot of great sites - the Baja drive rivals them all!!!

Little towns to big towns - each offered it's own unique blend of fascination. We continued our drive south - we were about to enter the "gas less" region of the Baja. We were prepared this time - the tank was full and we stashed a full 5 gallons of gas in the Jeep cab. We were ready to rock and roll.

The vistas were amazing through the desert. I was driving but Kent was capturing some great views of the amazing cactus fields in the area. I wish we had more time to stop and soak it all in.

Home At Last!! Or At Least, Half Way Home At Last"---

We knew we were not not to make it to our final stop in the daylight hours, but we pressed on anyway. Driving in the Baja Mountains at night is not for the faint of heart. I started seeing the desert ghosts as the evening turned to inky black darkness and turned the driving over to Kent for the last last 50 miles of the journey. He was fresh and alert and took us the last of our way to our final stop of the day.

We traveled 12 hours and about 450 miles today, a pretty good run through the Baja. We were so lucky too at the end of the day's travels - as we came off Hwy 1, the road took us right up to the front door of the Desert Inn, like the best hotel in the area. Kent's Green Card got us a great discount and we settled in for the evening. We stowed the bags in the room and headed to the restaurant for a great meal, one or two adult beverages, and great conversation with Manual, our server and finally, good friend.

Kent and I both welcomed the great meal meal and good company and languished in the lap of Baja luxury for a few the next hour or so - a perfect end to a great day.

Making The Final Run---

Today we head out for the last time making our run to Cabo San Lucas where both, LaDawn and Sarah, our wives are waiting for us. They flew down yesterday, and Kent and I are both looking forward to catching up with them.

We still have about an 11 hour trip, so we are beginning super early so we can make the entire run in daylight. Like I said, night driving is not for the "faint of heart", and after last night's driving experience, we want to get a good start on today's journey.

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Anyway gang, that is it for today's post. It's late. Connectivity is at a minimum and I hope this posts correctly from my iPad. Here goes - enjoy the read and I'll see everyone tomorrow for a wrap up.

Have. good one and I'll see ya' then, David

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Somewhere in the Baja