Our second night of our two night stay in Hotel Casa Bonita was less stressful than the first - my painful cough was still present, but I was sucking down cough syrup as fast as I could, so sleep came slightly easier. My medico had told me the best I could do was manage symptoms and wait a week or two for the virus to pass, so that’s what I did. The next morning was easy, and we packed up quickly to make a 9AM meetup at a local empanada stand. Sam and Tyler, our friends from Idaho, had been invited to trade some photo work for a discounted van tour of southern Baja Sur, furnished by a Seattle-based tour company. They had flown into Cabo and were on a weeklong journey, with the duties of capturing images of the vans in idyllic camp spots and at local attractions along the way. Tyler’s brother Keith and his partner Katey had arranged the trip, as Katey works for the company. The original plan called for two vans, one for Katey and Keith, and one for Sam and Tyler, allowing for more vans in the photos and giving Sam vehicular autonomy to set up long distance shots and trail her drone as they collected footage, all while enjoying an experience very similar to the authentic product of renting a vintage VW Westfalia and driving it around the dirt roads of Baja. Unfortunately, Sam and Tyler’s van had lost a power steering seal two days into the trip, resulting in their van developing a slow leak that turned into a fast leak and culminated in an explosion of red ATF fluid all over a workshop in La Paz. While this was seen as a total bummer at the time, and meant that Sam and Tyler would be riding four-up with Katie and Keith for the remainder of the trip, I argue that there is no experience more authentic to van travel than a mechanical malfunction in a far away land, and the adjustment of expectations required to keep a trip moving.

We slammed some empanadas and handed out some radios for better van-to-van communication, then we hit the road. Katey had lined up some local attractions, first stopping at a cactus sanctuary for a self guided walking around the eco-tourist attraction, and then a quick tour of a bakery in the mining town of El Triunfo, and then on to camp at Rancho San Dionisio, a newer overland camp tucked up in a nature preserve that iOverlander said was not to be missed. The highway to EL Triunfo and beyond was windy, well paved and enjoyable. The dirt road to get to the side quest of the Cactus Sanctuary was excellent, a mix of sand and dirt with a few dry washes to keep things interesting. Walter performed very well, with his throttle cable fix still apparently holding, and the lone remaining VW plowed on ahead of us, sagging a little from the weight but benefiting from the added traction.

We supplied up in Los Barriles, and then ditched the red van to set out on our own and get to the ranch just a little more quickly. The sun was already getting lower than we wanted, and we had heard that the drive to the ranch could be…adventurous, so we wanted to give ourselves as much sun as we could. Team VW was comfortable with driving later in the day, but we weren’t, and that’s why vehicle autonomy is so important, it lets you take the risks you want to take, when you want to take them. For us, our risk calculation put us in the canyon just before golden hour, perfect timing for some amazing scenic shots of the river and valley leading to Rancho San Dionisio. We wanted to keep pressing on, as we were driving a twisty dirt road we had never driven before, pretty close to dusk, but I forced Chelsea out of the van a few times because the light was so good. Like always, she made the best of a good situation.

This is Christian’s “I love empanadas” face.

This is another angle of Christian’s “I love empanadas” face. (Thanks for the shot, Sam!)

Following one very loaded VW van to the Cactus Sanctuary.

A “No mascotas” greeted us on the info sign, so Gracie had to leave.

Gracie didn’t complain - it meant she got to play disc in the parking lot!

Walter playing peek-a-boo from the lot into the Cactus Sanctuary.

Notice the downed cactus that all the other VERY tall cacti are growing from.

One of the many beautiful paths through the Cactus Sanctuary.

A VERY rare candid image of the whole family in one photo! Thanks Sam!

Sam flying her drone to get some shots of the lone VW driving the sandy path out.

She took a courtesy shot of Walter for us…thanks Sam!

The gorgeous afternoon light hit the river canyon just right for some spectacular views and colors.

Chels tried to get a few glamor shots with Walter and the canyon…the angle just didn’t quite work, but still spectacular!

The road had been recently repaired from to fix many washouts as a direct result of the recent hurricane.

We were chasing the last of the light through the mountains.

The views just kept getting better as the low light filtered over the mountains.

We only nearly died once on the way to Rancho San Dionisio, as the road would go from wide sand track to a single lane trail peppered with blind curves and boulders blocking the view of oncoming traffic. There weren’t many other trucks on the road, but it was quitting time and some of the workers were pretty eager to get to town, including one guy that was not expecting us, and had to slam on his brakes, throwing his little blue pickup into a four wheeled slide that put him dangerously close to Walter and even closer to the edge of the cliff that was the shoulder. Thankfully, no one was hurt and he sheepishly waved and smiled apologetically as we maneuvered around each other and continued on our way.

Arriving at the ranch, we were greeted by Isabel, one half of the owner-operator duo that runs the ranch. Her partner Clarence was out at the moment, so she got us settled at the best spot in the campground, close enough to the pavilion and bathrooms for convenience, but still privately nestled under a giant, ancient tree. Team VW arrived shortly after us, and Clarence gave us a property tour, showing off his very productive garden and all of the recent property improvements, including a beautiful open air communal kitchen, impeccable composting toilets, and the well manicured trail to the crystal clear river. The entire property is spectacular, and we had already decided to spend two nights there the moment we started driving through the canyon, regardless of what team VW had for an itinerary. Rancho San Dionisio is the kind of place that can make you change your plans - it’s our understanding that Clarence and Isabel were on a longterm PanAmerican roadtrip when the chance to invest in the land and rehabilitate the colonial area property was offered to them. The valley can enchant you right off your travels, pull you from the road and tie you to the land, it’s just that good. Our first night was very comfortable, complete with a communal dinner and a campfire, and only one death defying scare from Gracie as she eagerly investigated a giant scorpion in the open air kitchen. She had been trailing the critter, only a few inches from its arched tail, as it ran across the shiny cement floor, as if wondering Will you be my friend? No Gracie, no it will not be your friend.

The next morning we were greeted with hot coffee - Clarence gets up every morning and makes coffee for his guests, and we understand he’s had up to thirty people camping with him during the busy season. He says the max capacity of the campground is roughly 15 overland rigs, from giant 6x6 rigs all the way down to cyclists, with the biggest parked in between the rows of his lime trees. After an easy morning we were motivated to hike about an hour up the valley to a picturesque swimming hole, described to us as the best swimming hole in the entire valley, so we donned our adventure outfits and headed off. The trail was really nice, even flagged in some places for an upcoming adventure race. The trails lead all over the valley and up into the mountains, even connecting to a neighboring coastal town across the mountain range, Todo Santos. Clarence was describing the local ecosystems, and told us that if we walked far enough we would eventually hit pine forests, thousands of feet up in elevation. Baja contains multitudes, and it’s easy to forget that this sandy peninsula also has a rocky spine of peaks running down its back.

Clarence wasn’t wrong and the swimming hole didn’t disappoint. The water was nearly iridescent in its clarity. With little to no current human impact above us in the water shed, there wasn’t much in the pool but hydrogen and oxygen. No slime, no critters, no fish, no nothing. The swimming was amazing and the sun bathing maybe even better. Gracie played stick with everyone, Chelsea and Sam took a bunch of photos, I just stood there with my jaw dropped, mouth agape like I was trying to breathe in as much of our surroundings as possible. It was a dose of much needed travel magic, the kind of place that rewards you for your distance and your determination to get to where you didn’t know you were going.

The walk back to the ranch was even better than the walk out, as now we knew where we were going. The cactus were stunning, the river crossings that got us a little lost on the way out were clear and fun and challenging on the way back. We ran into some horses and Chelsea looked for an old cowbell that she had spotted on the way out. Gracie was kept on leash, for fear of wild pigs and poisonous snakes, but she didn’t mind. Back at the ranch we relaxed, marveled at more of Clarence and Isabel’s ingenuity (I begged for and got a tour of his solar arrays and battery banks), and eventually returned to the nearest river frontage for another dip in the last light before dinner. The night drifted into a million conversations about travel, trucks, homesteading, and more. Gracie, satisfied with chasing scorpions, investigated a tarantula instead, and was promptly banished to a comfortable chair, elevated high above the realm of the creepy-crawlies.

The next morning we packed up, a little slower than team VW as they had more to do and further to drive than us. We took some family photos, making the best use of photographer friend Sam, and then waved goodbye to our short-term traveling buddies. Eventually, we had no more reason to stay at San Dionisio, so we traded contact information with Clarence and headed back down the dirt road, leaving the oasis we didn’t know we needed in the rear view mirror.

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Oct 31 - Nov 2 : Finding our trip's second wind in Rancho San Dionisio

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