Petroglyphs, Santa Rosalia, Concepcion Bay, and more…

Wowee…where to begin?

We are having one hell of a ride here in Baja, folks.   It’s one of the best rides I’ve ever had, and the folks I’m riding with are telling me they’re getting feedback from their friends and relatives:  Where’s the blog?  Okay, guilty as charged!  The fact is I’ve just been having too much fun to blog!

So let’s catch up…let’s see…this first photo was our last night in Guerrero Negro, after we’d been to see the whales.  I think I talked about that in the previous blog.   The whale watching was as awesome as I’ve ever seen it and we were all in high spirits after a day in Scammon’s Lagoon cavorting with the ballenos.   We kind of had a tailgate party in the parking lot that night (lots of beer, but no tailgates because we rode down here on motorcycles).   Pete had done something particularly well that day (I can’t remember what it was), and his reward was a genuine Mexican Cheeto…

That’s Willie (you’ll remember him as the world’s most interesting man), and James (he’s from Texas) taking it all in that night.  It was a lot of fun…so much so that we got together for a group photo.  From left to right, it’s Dan, Willie, Barb, Matt, Pat, Chuck, Tuan, James, Rob, Joe 2 (I’m Joe 1), Peter, J, and Carlos.   The smiles are real, folks!

We were up the next morning for the cave paintings, and that was a hoot.  Our guides this year were the best ever, and they started by showing us a collection of arrowheads and tools from the ancients who painted the petroglyphs we were about to observe…

…and then it was on to the cave paintings.   The guys were awestruck, just as I always am when I see these things.  That’s Matt and Joe 2 taking photos in the photo below.

These are very, very cool.    They may date to as far back as 12,000 years ago.   Nobody really knows for sure.

That’s Dan on the far right.  He rode Baja with us last year and he told me he thought the cave paintings were the high point of the trip.

James conversing with our guide.

That’s Carlos in the orange jacket in the photo below.   It matches his RX3.  I am really glad Carlos is on this ride.  He’s a great guy and we are all enjoying his company.

After the cave paintings, we continued south for lunch in San Ignacio, and then it was on to Santa Rosalia, Mulege, and Loreto.  Loreto was our turnaround point for this ride.  I had to get a photo of my RX3 in Loreto with the Sea of Cortez in the background.   My RX3 is amazing.   This is its third Baja run.   I love my RX3.  It has to be the best value in the history of motorcycling.   But that’s not why I love it.  There are a lot of reasons, and one of them is that the bike just attracts interesting riders (like the crew on this year’s CSC Baja run).

Here are some riding scenes heading north from Loreto.   The roads and the weather have been magnificent.    It’s just been fantastic.

Bahia Concepcion (Conception Bay) from the saddle of my RX3.   Wow!

There’s no Photoshop trickery here, folks.  It really is this colorful.

Twisties.  Cactus.   Mountains.   Perfect weather.   Better sign up now for the 2018 CSC Baja run!

Dinner in Santa Rosalia.  This was Carlos’ plate.  Doesn’t it just look wonderful?

Santa Rosalia is an amazing little Baja town and it’s one of my favorites.  I like the Boleo panaderia (that’s a bakery), and so did everyone else.  Carlos bought cookies and pastries for us for desert.  They were awesome.

A very photogenic young lady in the Boleo panaderia.

A late night shot of some of the crew in Santa Rosalia.  From the left, it’s Rob, J, Pat, Dan, Peter, Tuan, and Joe 2.

A Santa Rosalia street chef.   The people are all very friendly.   We had already had our dinner, or I might have tried a taco or two here…

Here’s a tortilla lady…she was working with the chef in the photo above.   I’ll bet what they were preparing was delicious.

And folks, that’s a wrap for the blog tonight.  We rode 398 miles today to Santa Maria, and we’re staying in a really beautiful hotel called the Mission Inn.   It’s a new one for me, but I’ll be back.   We’ve been racking up the good times and the miles, and I’m tired so I’m going to call it a night.   We’re headed to Tecate tomorrow, and that will be our last night in Baja on this trip.

Later, my friends…