Life at the Ranch

Beach at El Dorado Ranch

When the white dog became tan we figured it was time to take Tessie down to the beach. It is very quiet down here right now. Snowbirds begin arriving from the north after the holidays so we had the entire beach to ourselves. It was high tide so none of the flats were exposed. There is a 20 ft tidal range here and at low tide you have to walk ¼ mile on the flats to reach the water. It is a great time to go clamming but not a great time for kayaking! Fortunately, we have portable kayak wheels for those occasions!

Happy Doggie

Some of the best things about our annual trip to San Felipe is reconnecting with friends and the land that is the Baja. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner party at Sharon and Lynda’s where we met Denise and Susan from Eureka for the first time. We also hooked up with old friends Roni and Dave for dinner and Mexican Train Dominoes at Andre’s, one of our favorite local restaurants. As always, it is wonderful to see Patricia and the Boys and our neighbors/friends Linda and Lisbeth and the dogs.

Sharon and Lynda's Cool Rail

Romeo and Gunner

Lil' Diego

We made a new little friend this week. His new name is Diego, a small Chihuahua rescue from town. Patricia has been fostering him and Linda and Lisbeth will be taking him to the States tomorrow. He had been sleeping outside tied to a tree in this cold competing with a bigger off-leash dog for food. We can see who has been winning. The family who had the dog just had a new human baby and cannot keep the dog so it is best for everyone that Diego is on his way to a new home. What a little doll! Kudos to Patricia and the Boys for opening up their hearts and their home!

We have been here ten days. Sometimes it feels like forever; sometimes it feels like ten days. Getting into Baja-head takes some time. It is so different here, so quiet. The stark landscape of this desert hypnotizes you, drawing you into this Otherworld. You can even hear the soft buzzing inside your own head. When you look out at the desert it seems as though everything you see is outlined by a crisp edge, yet the desert is also a soft blur. That is the blur your mind desires to rest in.

We’ve had incredible light at night with the full moon phase. It feels lunar. It’s a different experience than the coming star-filled pitch-black. We have a nice campfire when the moods strikes and wake early before the sun rises over the Sea of Cortez. It’s so good to be Baja home.

Sierra San Pedro Martir Mountain Range

Off to San Felipe

Road to San Felipe

We left for Mexico at 8:00pm on December 2^nd and pulled into San Felipe at 1:00pm on December 3^rd. Unlike previous trips down with trucks flipping on the freeway, 10-car pile ups, sand storms, rain storms, and motorcycle-dragging-down-the-road experiences, this trip was without incident. As usual, we were stopped at the military checkpoint outside of town where cars are checked for guns and drugs. Tessie did very well with the teenagers with machine guns (who always love checking out whichever motorcycle is on the back of the 4Runner) and we traveled on to our Baja home. As with our annual tradition, first stop is Patricia’s house to see her and the Boys (Chihuahuas’ Romeo and Gunner). Nostril kisses for everyone!

It took a couple of days to get everything cleaned up inside the trailer as one of the vents was completely ripped off by a storm in our absence. We set up our new solar system, which is working out very well. Makes you want to turn on all the lights at once! We love being off-grid and using the power of the sun for all our electrical needs.

To our surprise, the desert floor is covered with flowering plants, a result of several rainstorms earlier in the season. There are more birds here than we’ve seen before and several plants that even people here over a decade have never seen. One in particular is a bit pesky – it sticks to white dogs (and everything else) like Velcro and disintegrates upon your touch into a green mess that stains like grass.

Mama K and Tessie

Tessie is beside herself. She loves the Baja and danced in the sand in pure delight upon our arrival. Not only does she love to play in the wash (sandy area of our lot) but has made many new dog friends, including her daily interactions with our friends and neighbors Linda and Lisbeth’s border collies and Patricia’s Romeo and Gunner.

One of Tessie’s favorite things to do is to race Kathy as she rides the motorcycle down our dirt road. We have taken the bikes on a couple small trips on some of the back roads. Liz’s new bike (Honda XR200) is a better fit for her and Kathy is enjoying her Honda XR100. The bikes are perfect for getting around. When the weather gets a little warmer we’ll take trips down to the beach.

Heading South!

Road Trip!

We headed out to California on the afternoon of November 29th. It was time for the knees to get out of town! The car could not have taken one more item! Add a 50-pound LONG dog and it was very cozy. Being the good sport she is, Tessie traveled well and we arrived in California by 2:30 the next afternoon. We had a nice visit with Liz’s sisters Robin and Cheryl in Antioch, and then headed off to dinner with old friends Cindy, Carla, and Beth. It was wonderful to see everyone and only wish we had enough time in town to visit with everyone we wanted to.

We arrived at Karen and Dawna’s house in Concord that night ready for a good night’s sleep. Thanks to our dear friends for taking such good, loving care of us. We really enjoyed visiting with the family, including the girls Dakota and Marina (thanks for introducing us to Wi rock and roll!), the puppies Casey, Carly, and Chrissy, and kitty Kit Kat. Tessie had a blast hanging out with the family while we took care of business in the Bay Area. Not only did we leave feeling loved, Tessie received a new reindeer, raccoon, and sweet potatoes from her aunties.

It was really nice visiting Aunt Helen and our friends at the Shorebird Nature Center. Finding more room for the rest of our stuff was challenging and Aunt Karen had to give the okay for Tessie to travel behind the drivers’ seat. Off to the Baja!

Thanksgiving in Port Townsend

Tessie meets Piper

Hope everyone had a fun turkey day! We sure got spoiled by Jak’s cooking and Corine and Jak’s wonderfully warm and welcoming home. We took the Coupeville Ferry to Port Townsend on a rather bumpy ride across the Strait of Juan De Fuca. It was time to meet their new four-legged arrival, Piper! He and Tessie had an endless play fest and provided much entertainment. An added holiday bonus was the addition of Jolanda and Tod visiting from Berkeley. What a great way to spend the holiday – great food, dear friends, and silly puppies!

Anacortes in the Fall

Before leaving Anacortes for the Baja we were able to take some local excursions. Forty percent of Anacortes is parkland and one of our favorite parks within the city is Washington Park. Only a ten-minute ride from the marina, the Park has a loop trail overlooking the San Juan Islands and nice picnic and shore fishing areas. Tessie loved watching the wild bunnies in the bushes (on leash, of course!).

We also took a nice drive along the Skagit River past the town of Concrete. All the roadside businesses were closing down for the winter. It was time to either hunker down or head south. What a great idea…

The temperature started dropping mid-November, one morning being 26 degrees! There were several storms with winds gusting to 60 mph. Quoting our dear friend Bob Metts from California, “It’s like sleeping in a pot of boiling water!” Time to get the snubbers and extra lines out, prepare the covers, and batten down the hatches.

The marina had a pizza night for all the marina liveaboards. It was great to meet all of our ‘permanent’ neighbors and get a contact list. The marina management understands the important role liveaboards play in a marina and it felt good to be appreciated.