Adventures in the New Year

Cutlass Fish

Laguna Percebu

Northern Baja California is an extension of the Lower Colorado River Valley, a subdivision of the Sonoran Desert and is relatively shallow (averaging 65 ft ten miles offshore) with a tidal range of 15-23 ft. The bottom consists of mostly sediment from the Colorado River while shore habitats include mudflats, sand flats or bars, beach rock formations, salt marshes, and other rocky habitats. Located just 20.8 kilometers south of the town of San Felipe, this laguna is a wonderful day trip. During our 7-hour visit to Percebu, we walked across the laguna mudflats in the morning and waded through the laguna waters at chest high water at the end of the day! The laguna is a spawning ground to many species of fish, including the Cutlass fish, which normally lives south in depths of 500 feet but traveled into the laguna to spawn. The estuary beach was littered with dozens of these bizarre-looking fish. On our trip to the estuary last year, we discovered the skeletons of 50 or more pelicans high on the dunes but not one could be found on this trip.

Octopus in Tidepool

Baja Discovery

This lecture and low tide walk was Las Amiga’s’ 2^nd Annual fundraiser to benefit education beyond the sixth grade level for area youth. The lecture was held at El Dorado Ranch’s Pavilion and included presentations by: Dr. Roy Houston from the Loyola Marymount University who discussed the geography and geology of this area and the plants and animals of this unique marine environment; Kathy Keene, resident ornithologist who presented information on the local birds; George Jackson, local expert on snakes, tarantulas, and scorpions. It was fascinating to learn from Dr. Houston that the Sea of Cortez is home to a higher percentage of endemic species (only found here) than in other regions of the world.

Banded Brittle Star

The lecture was followed a week later by a thrilling low tide walk at Los Pulpos (The Octopus) at 48.5 kilometers south of San Felipe. This area hosts a prolific community of marine animals and plants. Dr. Roy’s enthusiasm was contagious as we all discovered everything from octopus and sea urchins to the 24-legged sea star and beautifully banded brittle star. What a wonderful day!

Town of San Felipe

It has been fun discovering all the merchants in town for our everyday needs. Our friend Meg has shown us where to locate everything from motor oil and pastries to block ice and the Mercado Hippon, the town’s biggest grocery store. Big thanks out to George Jackson for helping us find a replacement tire for Kathy’s Honda XR100 dirt bike. Should be back on the road by next Friday!

Tessie

Full Moon - Awooooo!

Miss Tessie is having a blast with all the  open space to explore and discover. She loves visiting Linda and Lizbeth’s dogs down the road and watches for Linda to pass by in the morning so she can say hello. Tessie loves their newest puppy Maddie, an  8-week old border collie. When Tessie’s not running around the property jumping cactus and ocotillo, she has her nose stuck in some hole. We suspect this led to her trouble. Her right eye socket swelled up like a small orange. After prodding it with tweezers proved unfruitful, we iced it and gave her some Benadryl. It could have been a spider, a fire ant or a scorpion. She was back to normal the very next day.

Sand Dollar Beach

Located at kilometer 26 is a wide, empty sandy beach where, you guessed it, one can find lots of sand dollars. Kathy caught a stingray. She also hooked onto something that broke her line! Tessie loves the beach and played in the water from the moment we arrived to the moment we left. The dirt/sandy road in (approx. 2 miles from the highway) had some soft spots, giving us the opportunity to use 4-wheel drive in and out! How exciting! We all had a great day doing the things we love to do – Kathy fishing, Tessie playing in the water (and rolling in the sand), and Lizzie writing and beachcombing.

El Balcon Luncheon

Our friends Lizbeth and Linda organized a special mole’ lunch at one of San Felipe’s nicest downtown restaurants, the El Balcon. The menu included three different mole’ chicken enchiladas – one pumpkin, one chocolate, and one peanut. The meal also included a white bean soup and the most delicious dessert – guava paste and cheese rolled in a pastry shell, bathed in chocolate sauce, and topped with pink bougainvillea flower petals. The presentation was beautiful and service generous. It was a special treat relaxing with old and new friends on a sunny winter afternoon.

Barrel Cactus

San Felipe Desert Rail Trip

Sand Rail Pit Stop

Ride on! We had an exhilarating trip out into the desert with our friends and neighbors Linda and Lizbeth on their 1968 ‘Barney’ sand rail. Also on the trip were our friends Sharron and Lynda on their rail with their friends from British Columbia, Jean and Pauline. Traveling to the valley at the foot of the Picacho Del Diablo, Sierra de San Pedro Martir’s highest peak at 10,147 feet, was an introduction to many unfamiliar desert plants, such as the barrel cactus. We visited the fossil beds and discovered many fossils of shells and marine worms. Sharing a picnic lunch with friends out in the desert was a lot of fun. Next trip, the waterfalls!

Gonzaga Bay
Mexican Highway 5 has been extended south along the west coast of the Sea of Cortez to only 1 hour north of the jewel that is Bahia San Luis Gonzaga. The remaining 11 miles is a rugged dirt road (the San Felipe Trail) that takes you through valleys and washes and a remote military checkpoint. The four-hour trip planted us on the back door of Alfonsina’s, a charming 2-story hotel and restaurant in the heart of Gonzaga Bay. With 10 people and 11 dogs in four cars, we put our teeth back in and headed inside for a specially prepared buffet of fish and shrimp tacos. We also checked out the Rancho Grande store for memorabilia and future provisioning possibilities. We are anxious to return for a camping trip. Keep you posted!

Beach at Gonzaga Bay

Catch of the Day - Triggerfish

Sharron, Liz & Meg

Yoga at Roni and Dave’s

We started doing yoga at the most beautiful straw bale solar home we’ve seen in the Baja. Roni, our dear friend and gracious yoga instructor, and her husband Dave (our Knight in Shining Armor) host our sessions in the courtyard of their amazing straw bale home.

Roni & Dave's Straw Bale Solar Home

Cantu Cove

Beautiful Cantu Cove

Spent the afternoon visiting our friends from the Bay Area, Christine and Rainie, at their solar casita on the bluff overlooking Cantu Cove. The girls got some fishin’ in and we got to meet the sweet beach dogs that live there. What a gem of a private spot located in San Felipe but a world away.

Christine & Kathy Fishing 

There are lots of festivities and adventures planned for February. Spring promises a spectacular display of desert wildflowers due to the abundance of rain we’ve had here since December. Seems we discover a new flower every walk we take. The three of us are having a blast and miss you all. Really wish you were here. . .

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.

Eagle Harbor, Cypress Island

Approaching Eagle Harbor

We arrived at Eagle Harbor at 10:45am, traveling with the ebb tide. Many people have told us about the currents here, how they weave in and out of the islands creating a myriad of challenges to the mariner. We were cruising along at 9.4 knots at only 1,500 RPMs! That’s a pretty substantial change for Sunny 1.  It felt like the Indy 500! As soon as we rounded Guemes Island and headed up Bellingham Channel we were barely making 4.7! Along with the changing currents come rip tides – little swirling currents that want to spin the boat off course. It was a really a lot of fun. The sun was out and we were on our way to our first San Juan Island visit – Cypress Island.

Sunny 1 on Mooring Buoy

The Island is run by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and is uninhabited.  It is a hiker’s dream with miles of trails and two fresh water lakes. There are a few places around the island for mooring. The bottoms of these natural anchorages are eel grass beds, a wonderful habitat for animals. These beds were getting destroyed by the anchors of boats so the DNR installed over 20 mooring buoys around the island for free use to the public. Each buoy is limited to 3 days. There are 14 buoys in Eagle Harbor, some marked blue for deep water and red for shallow. This is very useful when determining which to pick up according to the draft of one’s vessel. We decided on a buoy on the outside of the harbor.

Look What I Got!

We settled down for our stay by putting out our Rocker Stoppers (Mexican Hats). These are plastic discs shaped like Mexican hats that are strung four to a rope with the weight on the end. We tied them off to our mid cleat on each side of the boat. Whenever the boat starts to roll from one side to the next, the ‘hats’ offer resistance to the water and stop the roll. Yes – it really works! This made our stay, and sleep, very pleasant.

Score!

The first night away from a harbor since Tessie joined our family was challenging. We needed to get her to land to ‘do her thing’ so we headed off to shore in the kayak. Once on land, I (Liz) hauled the boat up and sat to change my shoes to take Ms. Tess for a walk. To the horror of nations everywhere, Tessie was rolling in something very dead, black goop up her arm and a smile on her face! We had been warned about this canine ambrosia by both Dara and Melissa – you just never think it’s going to happen to you! After a bath of salt water and sailor’s language, we headed back to Sunny 1 for another bath of salt water (and soap!) and a night of stinky dog.

Close Encounter

Island Girls!

We were treated to several dolphin sightings while moored those two days and our very first viewing of bald eagles! We caught 31 Dungeness crabs (6 keepers with the largest at 7 ¾”), 3 Spiny Dogfish Sharks (catch and release), and 3 Bullheads. Many harbor seals popped their heads up to investigate us and the terns fished all around the boat. A special treat were several Mew Gulls, a very small and delightful bird that frequents the area in the fall/winter. Every day we can feel the weather changing as we move into fall and it is a beautiful sight indeed.

Peaceful Paddle

Practicing For My Salmon!