In today's Slow Baja conversation, we turned the tables, and my good friend, Wilson Craig, interviewed me about the origins of Slow Baja. I discuss my childhood, becoming a photographer in high school, and attending San Diego State University. 

In the Summer of 1984, I made my first trip to Tijuana --to shop for a laundry basket and to drink, of course. Soon, we were venturing down to Puerto Nuevo for lobster and, eventually, to Ensenada for a weekend on the beach. The true origins of Slow Baja were born in my Junior year when we left Spring Break in San Felipe to explore points south. 

Enjoy this look behind the curtain of Slow Baja—huge Thanks to Wilson for pushing me to sit down for this conversation. 

For more information about Slow Baja:

https://www.slowbaja.com/

Get your Baja insurance here: 

https://www.bajabound.com/quote/?r=fl9vypdv2t

More information on Slow Baja Adventures:

https://www.slowbaja.com/adventures

Longtime riding buddies Chris Gardiner and Dom O'Mahoney share a harrowing tale from a Baja ADV ride gone wrong. "When it's time to shut it down --when you are on your last redundant backup plan --it's not time to keep carrying on and bombing down these roads. Our ride was over, but we were just overwhelmed with fun, and we lost sight of that." -Chris Gardiner on an ADV Ride For The Ages.

Strap in as these two highly experienced riders talk about how they were having too much fun to shut it down when everything went wrong. Dom was lucky that the fire he experienced on the first night --that burned almost everything he had with him --spared his Garmin In-Reach and waterproof tent cover. Those two items probably saved his life. He used the tent cover for warmth and shelter as he weathered the cold and rain on the night he spent exposed to the elements.

Coincidentally, he had just gotten his Garmin In-Reach charged the day he broke down. He chose his out-of-country communications contact wisely, as that fellow (Matt) a former Navy Seal --remained very calm, all things considered. Ultimately, we were lucky that we only had a modest story of endurance while exposed to the elements in Dom's case --and a harrowing tale of devotion to one's mission in the face of extreme adversity in Chris' case.

Happy New Year, and thank you to all who tuned in in 2023 and are still listening today. Please watch this conversation on YouTube. And as always, subscribe, post, tag, and remember to enjoy the ride.

Today’s show is with Slow Baja Alum David Kier. This is David’s third visit to the show and today he joins us to talk about the 50th Anniversary of the Transpeninsular Highway.

Kier began exploring Baja with his parents in the mid-60s. In 1966 David’s father took the challenge to drive to La Paz in their Jeep Wagoneer. Sitting between his folks on the front seat –his copy of Gerhard and Gulick’s Baja Bible in his lap, young David was given the responsibility for navigating for the entire trip. He diligently watched the slowly turning odometer, and took note of every passing kilometer marker. They made it to La Paz and as was the custom at the time, put the truck on the ferry to Mazatlan and drove the paved highway back home to San Diego.

David was hooked! That epic trip spurred a lifelong affinity for history, maps, off-road exploration, and a deep desire to help his fellow Baja traveler. To that end, in 1973 as a high-schooler, David released his own guide book to Baja and the still under construction Transpeninsular Highway. Since then, David has made countless trips to Baja. He was a consultant on the Benchmark Maps Baja Road and Recreation Atlas and writes a regular travel feature for the Baja Bound Insurance Newsletter. His book BAJA CALIFORNIA LAND OF MISSIONS is in its 13th printing.

Learn more about Baja and David Kier here:

https://vivabaja.com/

Follow David on Facebook here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/vivabaja

Going to Baja? Get your Baja insurance here: https://www.bajabound.com/quote/?r=fl...

More information on Slow Baja Adventures:

https://www.slowbaja.com/adventures

Sal Fish, the Godfather, is back for his second conversation on Slow Baja. This time, we met above the beach at his place in La Paz. We picked up where our previous conversation ended around 1969. At the time, Sal worked for Petersen Publications as the Publisher of Car Craft and later Hot Rod Magazine. One day, while visiting Revel, the model company, with Bob Weggeland, his advertising salesman, the company’s owners asked Sal and Bob to race the Baja Bug in the NORRA Mexican 1000. He knew the adventure would be a good story (and ad sales) for the magazine and leaped at the opportunity. Sal competed in the 1969, 1970, and 1971 races.

Racer and entrepreneur Mickey Thompson recruited Sal as a partner soon after he created SCORE International in 1973. By 1974, Sal and Thompson were hosting the Baja 1000. Sal used his people and publishing skills to rapidly grow the organization and soon bought Thompson out. In the process, Sal realized Thompson’s vision to make off-road racing as big as NASCAR. Sal sold SCORE in 2012. Active and fit, he enjoys living in Malibu and spending time with his wife of nearly 50 years, Barbara. The couple has a second home in La Paz, where Sal enjoys kayaking and entertaining his friends. 

Sal is a 2006 inductee of the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame. Visit their website here:

https://ormhof.org/sal-fish

Enjoy this Slow Baja Podcast conversation with Sal Fish. Get your Baja insurance here: https://www.bajabound.com/quote/?r=fl9vypdv2t

More information on Slow Baja Adventures:

https://www.slowbaja.com/adventures

At age 8, Bob Bower read about the Bill Stroppe Lincoln teams that dominated the 1953 Mexican Carrera Panamericana and later learned about the Baja 1000 race to La Paz. It became a fixation with him to be part of it someday. 

Living the life of a Corvette enthusiast, Bower caught the eye of BFGoodrich at a time when the Brand was in the early stages of marketing performance tires to car clubs. He accepted the offer to go to work for BFG in 1977 and found himself at the Mint 400 as a pit volunteer. The fixation transformed into a deep passion for off-road. From that day forward, he would make a huge impact on the world of off-road racing in a variety of roles. Pit volunteer, chase crew, race team manager, pit manager, program manager, winning co-driver, winning driver, ESPN TV color analyst, and teacher. Bower’s goal was to have a positive impact on whatever he was doing. His philosophy of “be alert, listen to what people have to say and always use the truth” served him well.

It was 1982 when BFGoodrich put him in the role of Off-Road Program manager. With very thin budget resources available, the challenge was to provide support for the contracted teams and win races. Bower’s race strategy was very straightforward… “You start winning rather than finish winning.”

Bower’s vision was to establish a common direction on the race course and in the pits, and bring all the teams into one big BFG team. “The direction we’re heading is very, very clear.” “That is to be the best between the green and checkered flags”. Bower launched the BFGoodrich Pit Support program. To this day the BFGoodrich Pits are arguably the most successful and widely used pit service in Off-Road Desert Racing.

The 1985 Baja 1000 ended early for Bob and his teammate Mike Randall in the Class 4 Honcho when they got off course and lost, ending up sunken to the frame in a tidal mud marsh. It took two days for the team to find and retrieve them. Bower swore, and promised his wife Necia, that we would never be lost like that again in Baja.

He would make detailed maps of the race course, highways, and chase roads (KM mileage included), along with other information like fuel and food locations. The chase crews knew at any given time they could drive to the correct chase road and how long the drive should take. Teams raced with a higher degree of safety for their chase crews because of those maps. In the early 1990s Bower turned the map making over to BFGoodrich in order to make it available to the masses. By widely distributing the maps, all of the chase crews could support their teams with a higher degree of safety.

Bob wrote “What About You?”, a powerful piece that has been included in almost all pit books over the past 20 years. It remains fresh and relevant today because of its absolute raw truth. “What About You?” is Bob’s heartfelt advice to everyone in off-road, about safety and taking care of yourself and those you are with during the race. Many are convinced “What About You?” has saved lives over the last two decades. Bob says he was “simply speaking from the heart.”

Over the years Bob has shown his passion, humility and wisdom. They are matched only by his unshakeable ethic. There have been many young racers who have been helped along their way by Bower. He’s always been a champion of the little guy. Sometimes it’s a quiet conversation, sometimes a few hours of highway windshield time, other times simply introducing them to others in the sport who could help them get better. Young stars like Robby Gordon, Ivan Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Arciero, and Rob MacCachren all have had Bob help them along in their racing career in one small way or another. For Bob Bower, it has been a labor of love. “I never wanted to change things in our sport, I just wanted to do what I could to help it along.”

-- Courtesy of ORMHOF

More information on Slow Baja Adventures:

https://www.slowbaja.com/adventures

In 1978, shortly after graduating as an oceanologist, Antonio Reséndiz Senior went to live in Bahía de los Ángeles. They called him "Crazy" Reséndiz since he arrived with almost nothing and lived in a tent on the beach. 

Commercial exploitation of the turtle had skyrocketed, and the species was on the brink of extinction. The National Fisheries Institute and Reséndiz created the first Center for the Study and Conservation of Sea Turtles in Bahía de los Ángeles.

Today, the sea turtle is no longer in danger of extinction, and the scientific knowledge about its lifecycle is extensive. One of the turtles that Antonio kept in captivity was released carrying a radio tracker. A year later, this turtle appeared in Senday Bay, Japan. An epic journey of eleven thousand five hundred kilometers! 

Antonio "Toni" Reséndiz Jr. runs the eco-tourism resort, Campo Archelon on the grounds of the now-defunct turtle research center. On today's Slow Baja Podcast, we discuss his history at Campo Archelon and his focus on sustainability in every aspect of life, from reducing, reusing, and recycling to creating a hamburger from Tonno, a little-loved member of the tuna family. If you visit, have a meal at Toni's locally-focused Cafe Siete Filos, although I strongly suggest sharing your plates as the portions are sizable.

Campo Archelon is Slow Baja Approved. 

Visit their website here:

https://www.campoarchelon.com/

Enjoy this Slow Baja Podcast conversation with Toni Reséndiz. Get your Baja insurance here: https://www.bajabound.com/quote/?r=fl9vypdv2t

More information on Slow Baja Adventures:

https://www.slowbaja.com/adventures

Trudi Angell makes her third visit to the Slow Baja Podcast to discuss her new "retirement project," The Museo Antigua Californio in Loreto, BCS.

Trudi is well known in Baja as the longtime owner and "Bell Mare" guide-in-residence of the mule-packing outfitters Saddling South. Through her travels into the remote mountains of the Sierra de Giganta, she befriended Dario, a gregarious rancher and "keeper of the old ways" who became the subject of her fabulous documentary film La Recua. https://larecua.com/

You can visit the Museo de Antigua Californio in the Pueblo Mágico town of Loreto BCS on the corner of Benito Juarez and Calle Davis.

To book a mule-packing trip, contact Saddling South:

https://saddlingsouth.com/

Get your Baja insurance here: 

https://www.bajabound.com/quote/?r=fl9vypdv2t

More information on Slow Baja Adventures:

https://www.slowbaja.com/adventures

Today’s Slow Baja conversation is with Kurt Williams. He owns Cruiser Outfitters, a legendary company specializing in parts and services for Toyota Land Cruisers. I am eternally grateful to Kurt and his staff at Cruiser Outfitters, who were instrumental in sorting (and sponsoring) my suspension upgrades last year. 

Williams, a lifelong Utah resident, bought his first Land Cruiser Fj40 at age 15. He’s an intrepid traveler (40 countries and counting) and an integral team member of E-7 (Expeditions 7). In that fantastic experience, Williams drove five of the seven continents and befriended fellow team member Clay Croft, whom he’s joined in several X-Overland Expeditions. 

As a member of Canguro Racing, he’s raced a "stock" Land Cruiser 200 Series in the grueling Baja 1000. While he embraces the Slow Baja travel philosophy, Williams attributes his success in finishing 8 out of 9 Baja 1000s to going just slow enough to survive. He’s a Tread lightly Master Trainer, HAM radio operator, Land Cruiser Heritage Museum Board Member, and a member of several local Utah 4×4 clubs. 

In this episode, we discuss his extensive travels, his love for paper maps, and his shop locally, eat locally philosophy that feeds his passion for connecting with locals --usually over a meal!

Cruiser Outfitters is Slow Baja Approved.

Visit their website here:

https://cruiserteq.com/

Enjoy this Slow Baja Podcast conversation with Kurt Williams, powered by Baja Bound Insurance. Get your Baja insurance here: https://www.bajabound.com/quote/?r=fl9vypdv2t

More information on Slow Baja Adventures:

https://www.slowbaja.com/adventures

We meet Brandon Thomason and Nathan Stuart in today’s Slow Baja conversation. Brandon owns and operates TopoTerra, a leading off-grid vehicle and camping gear rental provider. Based in San Diego, California, with operations in Colorado, TopoTerra “has the rig and the gear to help you escape the daily grind.” Whether you are looking for an off-road vehicle, a rooftop tent, a camper van, a trailer, or an off-highway adventure vehicle, they have you covered! Their slogan says, “Adventure is our specialty; get out and explore today!”

Nathan Stuart is a highly-respected travel guide. He’s the son of a mountaineer, diver, pilot, sailor, and backpacker, and went on his first hike strapped to his father’s chest at 16 weeks old. He learned to love the outdoors and adventure at a young age, --and moved to Baja at 18. His deep passion for nature opened a path to guiding that has him well positioned to show his guests a side of Baja few travelers see.

Nathan operates Legends Overlanding and provides small-group, African Safari-style, vehicle-based adventures up and down the Baja peninsula. His experience, knowledge and meticulous attention to detail set him apart. Legends Overlanding shares Baja’s wild side, --from private chefs delivering delicious locally sourced food to expertly scouted, exclusive camp locations, Nathan can get you to where the wild things are.

Check out their upcoming Loreto and El Camino Real trip here:

https://www.elcaminorealbaja.com/

Learn more about TopoTerra Overland Vehicle and gear rentals here:

https://www.topoterra.com/

Learn more about Nathan and Legends Overland here:

https://www.legendsoverlanding.com/