Day Six - A Long Beautiful Dirt Drive & Rancho Hospitality
Now that we had reached our southern-most point on the Slow Baja Winter Expedition, it was time to turn north to a hidden ranch in the middle of the desert. But before we left San Ignacio, we ate breakfast in town and walked around the plaza and visited stunning 17th century San Ignacio stone mission; Misión San Ignacio Kadakaamán (one of Baja's finest). You can find more information about this mission and all Baja missions in David Kier's book; Baja California, Land of Missions.
On the drive out of town to the Transpeninsular Highway, we always stop at Oscar's Michelada Stand. The best micheladas I've had in Baja. Oscar is just a good person who takes honor in making a great product. Stop by and say hi (and buy a michelada). Highly, highly recommended. UPDATE (February/2025) I have some really sad news to report. Our good friend Oscar passed away recently. Little did I know that this trip would be my last amazing michelada with him. RIP Amigo.
We drove back northwest on Highway One towards Vizcaino where we would take a dirt road back north towards the Sea of Cortez. Our vehicles would not touch pavement again today (exactly what we wanted). The first part of the drive was through long stretches of beautiful desert scenery until we reach the small, semi-abandoned gold-mining town of El Arco. I would love to explore the area more, but there are active mining claims here and it's onc spot in Baja I don't always feel welcome. We settled for a quick stop at the old church.
Moving on from El Arco, we passed Pozo Aleman 20 minutes later. This is a fully abandoned gold mining town complete with buildings of adobe and/or stone, corrals, equipment, and more. The Slow Baja Winter Expedition keep going as there's only one road to our destination (Rancho Escondido) and we knew we could catch up if we stopped to take a quick look around the ghost town (click here - Pozo Aleman - for a separate post with photos). It's definitely worth the stop.
Once back on the lonely, desert road the terrain turns a little more rocky with tall cactus and an occasional abandoned ranch. This is a desolate area of the peninsula but the views and serenity are incredible. This is also the track for the Baja Divide Bike Trail so you may come upon a lone rider from time to time.
We soon caught up with the group and a couple hours later, after some of the most amazing off road travel, we pulled into Ranch Escondido.
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| A Unique & Thoughtful way to Recycle |
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| Misión San Ignacio Kadakaamán |
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| Oscar - The best Micheladas in Baja! |
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| Part of the Slow Baja Crew enjoying a Michelada |
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| We're a long ways from the North Pole |
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| Matt, Ruben (El Rey) & Wino |
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| Lot's of Straight Dirt Roads |
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| Mexican Geological Marker |
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| Church at El Arco |
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| Slow Baja + 1? |
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| Rancho Escondido, Baja California | | | |
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| El Rey, King of the Perros |
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| Wild Fig Tree |
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| Borrego Cimarron (Bighorn Sheep) |
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| Slow Baja Ranch-Style Dinner |
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| Our Host Oscar, Mike & Olaf |
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| The amazing family of Rancho Escondido |
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| Beautiful Songs from Oscar and his Daughter |
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| Matt, Mike and Olaf |
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| Oscar & Ruben |
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| Yours truly and our host Oscar |
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| Mike and Henry |
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