4WD Trips Party - 2006 (49 images)

This weekend I ventured out to northern Baja for the annual 4WD Trips party hosted by Bob and Peggy. The party was at a beachside campground in La Mision (about half way between Tijuana and Ensenada). I met up with Chris (BajaTaco) in Yuma. After a minor mechanical repair and a quick stop for gas, we were on our way. We drove to San Diego, then south through the San Ysidro border crossing. After some confusion on the location of the campground, Chris was able to contact Al on the 2 meter to get the exact location. We stumbled into camp at about 8:30pm. Before I even had the chance to meet everyone, a guy by the name of Mr. Suave makes sure I have a full cup of beer in one hand and a cup of tequila in the other. Oh man, my kinda people! We sat around the campfire shooting the shit for a couple more hours then called it a night.

Woke up pretty early on Saturday and headed over to a restaurant (not sure of the name) for breakfast with the group. After that we went back to the campground where I was introduced to the great game of Bocce Ball. While we were playing Bocce, a guy wheeled an ultralight (hang glider with a motor) out of a garage right behind us. Sweet! I had to get a ride in it. I find out how much it costs and check my funds... I'm a little short. I know Chris is heading down to Ensenada to pick up fish and shrimp for the evenings festivities, so I ask if I can tag along to get some loot. When we get back from Ensenada I head down to the beach to wait my turn. The ride was awesome! It lasted probably about 10 minutes. After the ride, I head back up to camp to find Jack fry'n up the shrimp and halibut. Damn tasty. After stuffing our faces, we sat around the camp fire telling stories of past trips while Mr. Suave showed us the fine art of the tequila fireball. I ended up retiring to my tent at around 1:00am.

Woke up Sunday morning and headed back over to the restaurant for breakfast. After breakfast, some of the San Diegans got ready to head home. Chris and I didn't have to be back to work until Tuesday, so we wanted to find some cool back roads to explore and a good spot to set up camp for Sunday night. The baja Al-manac (Al) mentions a road leading into the Sierra Juarez that he has never taken before. Sweet! You don't have to twist my wrist. So myself and Chris along with a small group of the San Diegans head into the Sierra Juarez. The trail Al lead us on was beautiful. Once we got up to about 4500-5000ft we were surrounded by pine trees and patches of snow. Awesome! After a couple hours, we came to a road that either heads north towards La Rumorosa or South towards Laguna Hanson. The San Diegans all had to be back home that evening, so they headed north back to the border. Chris and I went down to Laguna Hanson to set up camp for the night.

I woke up Monday morning to find Chris ripping apart his camper. During the night a mouse had decided he wanted to cozy up with Chris. Chris wasn't too thrilled about that. We took everything out of the camper and searched every compartment. The mouse was no where to be found. We heard him shuffling around while we were removing the storage tubs, but didn't hear a peep from him after that. We admit defeat and put the camper back together. I pack up my stuff and we head out on the road to La Rumorosa. From there we headed east to Mexicali where we crossed the border. After a quick stop in Calexico for a bite to eat, we were headed home. Man, what an awesome trip. It was nice to finally meet the 4WD Trips folks and put some faces with names. I'm already looking forward to the next trip.

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