Campground Neighbors

Yesterday afternoon in search of Baja intelligence from more experienced travelers, Cathryn approached the only other RV in our campground and met Jim and Jan Morris from Penticton, British Columbia, Canada (actually she’s originally Australian). While they’re seasoned RV travelers in Australia, Europe, Canada and the U.S. who spend 2-3 months every year in their RV, this is also their first trip to Baja. They own a business making bike rack (Swagman brand, a swagman is the Australian version of a hobo), so we got their contact information for the possibility that we’ll ultimately figure out how to bring our bicycles along on the Chalet. Nice folks, and we may run into them again in Loreto or other points further south. We’ll remember to get a picture of them next time. Another campground “neighbor”: Yesterday afternoon immediately upon our arrival at Rancho Santa Inez, a man on a 3-wheel ATV trailing a dog on a leash approached us. Turns out he and his wife live in New Mexico 6 months of the year, and just up the canyon road from our campground the other 6 months of the year, as they’ve been doing for 8 years. They live in off-grid homes he constructed himself in both places. He is a bit of a talker and has a colorful history (military, power companies, private pilot, search and rescue) and invited us to walk up the road to his home for a cup of coffee, which we did this afternoon. We met his wife, Pat, whom he married 57 years ago when they were 18 and 19. They seem happy and healthy, and we gather much of their social life here is meeting people who stay in the campground, as they had us sign their guestbook, which showed they have visitors at the house 2-3 times each week. He had a lovely fountain he built in his yard of onyx (see posting below), a well that is only 20 feet deep as there is an underground river beneath his property, and photo-voltaic power supply.