When we began our journey west there were a few things that we thought would probably be out of reach, but we have never been afraid to dream. Glacier National Park was one of those destinations but as we learned there, just go with the flow and whatever is supposed to happen will happen.

One of our dreams was to have a “Malibu Beach house”, but really couldn’t imagine a situation where that would ever be possible. Traveling in your home makes a lot of impossibilities possible.

Be it only for a few nights, we had our Malibu Beach house which put us in a great location to tour the Los Angeles/Hollywood/Beverly Hills area.

We were surprised to find that a lot of the television studios are now located over the hill in Burbank, so we toured that area as well.

We found all of this very interesting, but have figured out with all of our time living in the wilderness, that  city life is not for us, so it was time to move along.

Moving along meant heading east which took us through Southern California right beside Joshua Tree National Park then into the desert and across the Arizona state line into Quartzsite.

Quartzsite is a desert town that is well-known to RVers as it is surrounded by Bureau of Land Management Land that can be camped on and played in for free. Every year in January, RVers come in droves for the warm weather and turn this tiny town into the worlds largest campground and flea market.

We are surprised to find that there are thousands already camping here and it is only the beginning of November.

While living on the road, keeping up with family has been important to us. That is one of the reasons that we were so excited to hear from Tracy’s Uncle Phil – in person – while we were in Quartzsite. Phil (Sparky) is a free-spirited traveler who, like us, has a taste for adventure.

We have followed some of Phil’s travels on Facebook and have seen pictures of a beautiful place he has visited in Mexico. As we talked, we all decided that a “road trip” was in order. Another dream come true – Baja.

Us in our Jeep and Phil and his trusty sidekick, Apache, in their “Toyota, dune buggy, motor home” take off for the Baja California border crossing at Calexico/Mexicali. After changing our dollars into Pesos, we take a short drive out of Mexicali and Phil leads us off of the highway onto a dry lake bed called Laguna Salada (a mostly dried up portion of what used to be part of the Sea of Cortez). After traveling about 40 miles of the lakebed, we hang a right into Guadalupe Canyon – a beautiful oasis in the middle of nowhere – that is home to our host Ernesto and the burros.

Guadalupe Canyon is a beautiful, desolate, almost magical place filled with cool running streams as well as hot springs and desert palms.

After enjoying a couple of nights of tent camping, which we worked for by rebuilding a “road”, and soaking up the natural hot tub located right in our “campsight”, Phil told us of another adventure that he has wanted to do and that was to follow the lakebed to the Sea of Cortez and to the town of San Felipe.

Having two vehicles – which provides a backup for each of us – we leave the protection of our beautiful oasis and wander around the desert for a  while until we find our way to the lakebed “road” that leads south – which to our excitement is a marked portion of the Baja “racetrack”.

After approximately 60 miles of lakebed, we have arrived at a stretch of asphalt that leads us through a military checkpoint then into the fishing town of San Felipe – located right on the Gulf of California/Sea of Cortez, just in time to watch the sunset and a beautiful full moonrise.

 

We pull out through the sand on a gorgeous stretch of beach and set up camp and enjoy a peaceful night in the moonlight basking in the glow of our success and while digesting our fresh fish tacos and authentic margaritas.

All good things must come to an end, so the next afternoon we decide that we need to get back to the RV which is parked in the desert in Quartzsite.

Phil decides to stay in Mexico to enjoy the upcoming shrimp-fest and we feel comfortable getting back on our own via the highway, so as we say our goodbyes, we all agree to stay in good contact for possible future adventures.

Our time spent with Tracy’s late mother’s brother is something we will always treasure as Tracy’s adventurous mom would be pleased that we all have the same taste for the outdoors and not just living, but experiencing life.

 

 

 

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