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Mexicali, San Felipe,
Ensenada, and Tecate
These photos
and the accompanying story describe a 715-mile weekend blitz from Upland,
California through Mexicali, San Felipe, Ensenada, Tecate, and then back to
Upland. Be
forewarned...I liked the photos from this trip, and there are quite a few
on this page...so, be patient, and give them time to load. All
of the photos on this page were created with the Sony Mavica CD400, mostly
shooting in the Program mode. |
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I took my TL1000S
Suzuki on this trip. It's a V-twin liter sportsbike that didn't
sell too well when Suzuki introduced it in 1997. I like mine a lot,
and the fact that there aren't too many of them adds to its
exclusivity and makes it even more fun to ride.
This was our first of many
refueling stops, at Lorenzo's country store near the Salton Sea.
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Our route took us from Upland
on the 10 to 86 south, through Mexicali, down Mexico 5 to San
Felipe, over on Mexico 3 to Ensenada, up Mexico 1 to El Sauzal, back on
Mexico 3 to Tecate, and then back into the United States.
This is what our helmets
looked like after boring a tunnel through the Imperial
Valley gnat clouds. |
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We saw this interesting blue
church about 30 miles south of Mexicali. |
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This is the San Felipe Desert,
about 80 miles south of Mexicali.
It was hot out there, but the
roads were great.
We ran the 120 miles from Mexicali to San Felipe
at speeds ranging from 80 to 125 miles per hour, and people were passing us!
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A huge sign for the Rockodile
club, just as we entered the outskirts of San Felipe. This was
actually a tough shot. I found that the CD400 Mavica can't handle
really bright scenes well....everything on the camera's onboard monitor
just washes out. I shot this on in the Program mode, with -2EV
dialed in. |
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We stayed at the Hotel Costa
Azul in San Felipe, right on the Sea of Cortez. |
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The beach in San Felipe.
There are quite a few fishing boats available for charter.
The hill in the background is Punta San
Felipe. |
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Another beach shot.
Quite a few people camped on the beach. The water was warm and
salty.
After a 320-mile day on a
sport bike in temperatures exceeding 100 degrees, the water felt great.
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Lunch was just awesome. We
had, of course, fish tacos, a San Felipe original.
Here's Marty enjoying a Pacifico in the
"Rice and Beans" restaurant (that's really its name!). |
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The lighthouse in San Felipe. |
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A religious shrine on the hill
near the lighthouse. |
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Here's the shrine's interior. |
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A small catamaran in the Sea of
Cortez. |
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More fishing boats on the
beach. |
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The Rockodile at night. |
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After spending the night in
San Felipe, we were up with the sun to continue our trip. Here's
Marty with his K1200RS on Mexico 3. |
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My Suzuki ran incredibly well on
this trip. It had just been serviced by the maestros at Malcolm
Smith Motorsports, and the bike was just great. I've always been
extremely leery of dealer service departments, but Malcolm Smith's
mechanics are superior. I heartily recommend them.
That's a Nelson
Rigg tank bag and tailpack on my Suzuki.
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This is what the interior of
the Baja peninsula looks like along Mexico 3. It's an awesome ride. |
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Along Mexico 3, after we'd been
on the road for an hour or so, we pulled off the main road and entered
Valle Trinidad. It's a farming community, with colorful storefronts. |
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We stopped at La Pasadita for
breakfast. This restaurant is definitely off the beaten path (at
least the path beaten by U.S. tourists). |
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Marty enjoying huevos rancheros
for breakfast in La Pasadita's.
Not a breakfast burrito. Not a Taco
Bell. Not a gordita (whatever that was supposed to be...). Not a Del
Taco.
The real deal: Huevos
Rancheros. Marty's official decision: "This is
great!"
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There's just something about
motorcycles, I guess.
After breakfast, the two
ladies working in La Pasadita's had to come outside to check out the
"Motos." |
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A statue in the church courtyard
in Valle Trinidad. |
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Another interesting church in
another small town along Mexico 3. |
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A short stretch break along
Highway 3. I noticed the rock painting just visible beyond the
TL1000's fairing. |
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Wow. My guess this is a
painting of a whale skeleton. "Ballenos" have an important
place in Baja culture.
If you get a chance, check out our Baja
2000 and Baja 2003 whale watching trips. |
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Another typical scene along
Highway 3. |
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A brief stop in Ensenada, in
front of a church. |
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After leaving Ensenada along
Highway 1, we picked up Mexico 3 again in El Sauzal, and headed
inland. This road runs from Ensenada/El Sauzal to Tecate.
Along the way, I spotted a sign for the
L.A. Cetto vineyard. We traveled a few miles on a dirt road to find
this place. The Pinot Noir and the Cabernet were excellent, and I
grabbed a couple of bottles to take home. |
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The Nelson Rigg tailpack is
expandable, and it had no problems taking my two bottles of wine. |
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After crossing the border to in
Tecate to re-enter the United States, we traveled along 94 to reach
US 8. We stopped for lunch in Dulzura. |
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Highway 94 is a biker's road,
and we saw quite a few cruisers and sportbikes. Here are a couple of
Harley riders at the Dulzura Cafe. |
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Check out this guy's vest. |
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One last shot of a Russian boar
mounted in the Dulzura Cafe (along with a bunch of other animals). |
| This was a great ride. We
did about 715 miles in two days. From Upland to the Mexico border at
Mexicali is about 195 miles, and then from Mexicali to San Felipe is
approximately another 125 miles. The jaunt from San Felipe to
Ensenada is about 160 miles, and the run from Ensenada to Tecate is about
80 miles. The roads were great, the food was awesome, and the people
in Baja California, were, as always, gracious hosts. |
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