December 2001

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What has been an informal name for many years, has now been institutionalized! Signs announcing the Santa Rosalia grade as "Cuesta del Infierno" have appeared at both the bottom and top of the great hill.

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At the state line (28^th parallel / Eagle Monument), a sign announcing the Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve has been installed. Some information about the species being protected in this reserve is provided, as well as a map of the reserve.

November 2000

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Many of us have used the AAA map of Baja California for years as the most basic map source for traveling the major highways. Just to show this mapping project is ongoing, here is a photo of the AAA Mapping Unit stopped at Nuevo Rosarito (north of Villa Jesus Maria).

October 2000

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While the drive south in late October was uneventful, I did take one photo worth showing. I'm behind someone from California who's clearly moving south, and who seems to have forgotten the kitchen sink!

May 2000

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The only unusual event on my drive south in May 2000 occurred at the top of the steep grade down to Santa Rosalia. As I approached the top there was a Highway Patrol car facing me in my lane, with all lights flashing. I pulled up to the patrol car and was informed that a very wide machine was being brought up the hill. It would be just a moment.

This sounded quite interesting, so I got my camera and waited in the road. After about 30 minutes a pickup truck came up the hill and parked. A man got out with a video camera slung around his neck. Our mutual interest in photographing this event gave us a basis for discussing what was about to happen. It turns out the machine was a turbine generator going to the Las Virgenes geothermal area, and would be coming up the hill in two pieces. The unit had been delivered across the Gulf from Topolobampo (I assume on a special ferry trip).

When the trucks with the turbine finally made it up the hill, they were indeed wide! I've included several of the photos I took.

November 1999

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On my trip south I was passing through Ensenda thinking mostly of breakfast. Suddenly I came upon a large crowd and a large inflatable Tecate can. Well, breakfast came first, but then I returned to the scene of the commotion and found . . . check-in time for the Baja 1000 off-road race! I've added a few photos I took wandering around the lineup of vehicles. The first is interesting in that it shows the multi-faceted nature of modern Ensenada - a cruise ship is docked in the background, and race fans are milling about the lineup. The second shows Gary Dubin posing with his car, and the remaining two shots show some unidentified vehicles.

September 1997

Sometimes in Southern California you see immense American flags being flown, typically at automobile dealerships, especially those selling foreign-made vehicles. Apparently, a competition to see who can wave the largest flag. Well, in Mexico, it seems that the Army is out to win the flag-waving contest in that country.

As I was passing the Army base on the south side of Ensenada, I noticed an unusually large Mexican flag flying. As I got closer, I realized that this flag was, perhaps, the largest I'd ever seen! It was standing out smartly in a fresh breeze off the bay. Impressive!

The next day, as I neared the state border and the Eagle Monument just north of Guerrero Negro, I again noticed something flying in the distance. It appeared that two flags were flying at the Army base newly-sited at the monument - probably one flag flying from each of the Eagle's wings, I thought. When within a mile or so, it became apparent that this was one flag - I'd been seeing the green and red sections, while the white section blended into the sky background.

This flag was also standing out smartly, in a more than fresh breeze coming off the Pacific. A small dust storm had sprung up around the Army encampment. Just as I reached the circular road around the monument, the giant flag began to lower. Concern over the safety of the flagpole, I'm sure.

I quickly began to wonder just how they'd get this giant piece of cloth taken in. I stopped in the road outside the entrance to watch. It took two soldiers to lower the flag, and ten others to attempt taking it in!

I find it difficult to judge the size of these new Army-issue Mexican flags. Perhaps 80 feet by 30 feet? At that size, we're talking about 2400 square feet of "sail" to take in! And probably a rather heavy weight of cloth to boot.

Note: In June '98 a new, heavy-duty flagpole was in place. The flag again stood out in a fresh breeze, but there seemed to be no concern for the flagpole. Here is a photo (click on the image to bring up a larger version):