Tag: Airborne

Concluding an Extended Stay in Baja

You’ll remember our intrepid troopers and guest bloggers Mike and Bobbie. Well, they managed to exit beautiful Baja after an extended stay of nearly 10 weeks.   Here’s the wrap-up to that adventure.  Mike, we appreciate your blogs.  Ride safe and stay in touch.

Preface: When we last left our heroes (the description probably suits my girlfriend Bobbie more than myself) we were in staying in with a new friend at her house in San Felipe, Baja, Mexico to see what comes next with the COVID19 updates in the USA before deciding when to return.

San Felipe seemed the perfect place to ride out the COVID storm. We were in a safe location, plenty of supplies at local stores and the residents seemed to take the warning seriously and were wearing masks, using hand sanitizer, etc. It didn’t take long, however, for most public beaches and really everything to be shut down. Traveling too far outside the city became impossible due to Mexican Army checkpoints turning people around, so it wasn’t worth the risk to be actually “locked out abroad.”

There was one private beach that remained open that we were able to use and moto camp in, and that was Pete’s camp. We had camped here 6 weeks prior when the world was quite different and the camp was about 70% full with campers, with side-by-sides roaring up and down the beach playing Van Halen at an uncomfortable decibel level (and I love Van Halen loud), and everyone was carefree enjoying their vacations. Now, however, the scene was completely different. The beach was abandoned, it was eerily silent with nothing but us and approximately a hundred empty palapas on the beach for miles in both directions. We frequented this beach a few times a week as it was a short 4-mile ride and was our only opportunity to really get out as we cut back on our off-roading in the event we should get injured.

We fully understood how fortunate we were to be lying in hammocks, soaking up the sun on a beautiful beach that kissed the Sea of Cortez while we watched the surreal news that was coming in from America. We held weekly touch points on when and where we should go, if anywhere. Wednesday was an optimal day for these touch points since our plans would have us leave on a Friday thus allowing us 3 days to return to Arizona.

After a month we decided it was time to return as it seemed the supplies (toilet paper, etc.) were being replenished in America while the COVID fatalities seemed to be lowering and our concern that the bubble we were living in would burst quickly if (or when) the virus would make its way to Baja. More importantly, it gave us a solid excuse to get a great weekend of riding in.

We left on a Thursday afternoon to return to the United States. The ride was beautiful. There was NO line at the border to the point I almost didn’t even place the moto in neutral when going through, whereas normally there is a 1 to 3 hour line. Once inside the United States we were a bit hungry and noticed only drive thrus were open, so we got creative and set up our camping gear outside a Chili’s and had several margaritas (probably not legal, but there’s a pandemic; act accordingly!) and a burger in the parking lot.

We had eyed Kofa National Forest as a decent place to camp, and I had always wanted to visit this area so this was a perfect time since it was extremely isolated. This ensured there’d be no temptations to break social distancing. We were not disappointed in choosing this location. It was a beautiful desert landscape with the setting sun lighting up the mountains surrounding our campsite. The weather was perfect and we could take a moment to gather ourselves with it being our 1st night back in our home country in some time.

The following day after getting McDonald’s for breakfast (don’t judge; I couldn’t find a Starbucks open for my BMW to get its fix) Bobbie came up with a different route then just the boring I-10 to I-17 we normally take. Great call! It made what would have been a drab highway drive into a longer, but much more scenic ride through little towns and National Forests, where we could really enjoy the break from everything and just be in that moment fully present and enjoying each moment as we lowered off the mountain passes returning to Sedona, and for a few hours forget about the rest of the world as we returned safely home after our nearly 10-week Baja adventure.

So these two adventure riders are on the road, and at last sighting, they were camping in Colorado’s beautiful Mesa Verde National Park.  Our two troopers are living the good life.   I’m looking forward to their next blog.

All the way, folks.

More random walking…

It’s another one of those stream-of-consciousness blogs, folks…things I’ve been meaning to mention but forgot, new stuff that’s cool, and more.

For starters, you all will remember my good buddy and former US Army paratrooper Mike.  I first met Mike on one of the CSC Baja rides and we’ve been friends since.

Airborne all the way…that’s Mike.

Mike posted a photo on Facebook over the weekend of himself and, well, take a look…

Hmmmm….

I saw that photo, and I realized:  This is an image that cries out for a caption. So, we’re having a caption contest.  There’s no prize, other than seeing your entry posted here on the ExNotes blog.   There’s all kinds of possibilities with things related to being Airborne, being a turkey, sitting under a turkey, that “almost airborne” T-shirt Mike is wearing, and on and on it goes.  Let’s hear your thoughts in the Comments section, or shoot us an email.

If you missed this one, you gotta go back. And if you didn’t miss it, read it again. I have. Several times.

More good stuff…I keep returning to Gresh’s blog on the BMW R18.   I first read it when I was enjoying an Einstein’s bagel in the Denver airport a couple of nights ago, and I realized that folks were looking at me because I was laughing out loud.  The writing is classic Gresh.  Funny as hell.  My good buddy Arjiu can write.

Another one…you might remember my blog on the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site a few weeks ago.

Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site.  It’s in southeastern Colorado and it’s worth a visit.

While I was out there, I asked the US Park Ranger which of the several books they offered for sale he would recommend, and he suggested A Misplaced Massacre by Ari Kelman.

A Misplaced Massacre is a great read.

The Ranger’s book recommendation was solid, and A Misplaced Massacre was a fascinating read.   Part of the book was about the massacre, but most of it was about the controversy in contemporary Colorado associated with recognizing that Sand Creek was a massacre (and not an heroic battle, as claimed by the cowardly cavalry officer who led it).   Another aspect to the story I had not heard before was the uncertainly associated with the actual massacre site (since resolved, but the effort involved in finding it was one hell of a story that resulted in the title of this fine book).  And yet another aspect was US Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell’s involvement in designating the site as a national historic site.  I met Senator Campbell over 20 years ago at the Laughlin River Run.  Yep, Senator Campbell is a motorcyclist.

Gordon Smith as the XO of VA-152 during a deployment in Southeast Asia.

More good stuff…30 years ago, I managed the Sargent-Fletcher plant in El Monte, California, where we designed and manufactured aerial refueling equipment and combat aircraft fuel tanks.  It was a fabulous place to be and I had a wonderful team, but the best part was that I worked for Rear Admiral Gordon Smith, one of the best bosses I ever had.   I learned more about leadership working for Gordon than I did in any other job, and I’ve worked for several truly outstanding leaders.  Sue and I reconnected with the Admiral a few weeks ago, and we’re having dinner with him this week.   I’m really excited about that.  It’s a story we may share here on the ExNotes blog.

A 2014 L.A. Cetto Malbec.  This, all by itself, is worth a trip to Mexico.

Another random thought…Joe and I did a Baja run a few weeks ago for Royal Enfield, and I mentioned that story is running in the current issue of Motorcycle Classics magazine.  On our way home, as I always do on any Baja run, we stopped at the L.A. Cetto vineyard along the glorious Ruta del Vino between Ensenada and Tecate.    It turns out that I am somewhat of a wine snob.  Well, not really a wine snob…that implies a degree of sophistication I don’t possess.   What I am is a guy who appreciates a good Malbec, a wine I learned about on a business trip to Colombia 15 years ago (I had never heard of Malbec before then).   When you re-enter the US from Baja, you can only bring one bottle of wine, and when Joe and I visited the L.A. Cetto vineyard, I asked if they had a Malbec.  It turns out they had a couple, and the guy there recommended the 2014.  It cost a little more than the other one so I figured it must be good (like I said, being a real wine snob requires a level of sophistication I don’t have).  Based on my wine selection logic (more expensive must be better), I bought it.  Susie and I barbequed salmon last week and we opened the Malbec (another demonstration of my lack of sophistication…drinking a red with fish).  Good Lord, it was wonderful.  I checked, and you can’t buy L.A. Cetto Malbec in the US.   You know what that means:  Another trip to Baja!

And finally, I was out on the rifle range yesterday, and we’re working up a good story tentatively titled A Tale of Three 300s.

Winchester made a small number of Model 70 rifles chambered in .300 Weatherby in the 1980s, and I managed to get one.  Nope, it’s not for sale.

A Tale of Three 300s will be up in another day or two after my shoulder recovers from the recoil.  In the meantime, if you need more gun stuff, just mosey on over to Tales of the Gun!