three, three, three days in one

Friday was one of those fortunate days when three adventures were delivered in one day.

The first was expected -- the reason for being here.  We drove up to Ensenada and then went fifteen more miles inland to watch each of the Baja 1000 racers speed past us in the mountains of Baja -- the technical part of the course. 

One of the reasons Baja has become home to this race is its topography.  Mountains.  Beaches.  Sand.  Rock.  Anything to create driving hazards during the 17 hour race.  This is not a Sunday drive in the country.

Nor is it a sport for the unmoneyed.  At one point in time, this was a race for guys in Baja buggies (stock Volkswagen bugs).

These days, it is not unusual to spend upwards of $500,000 on the race vehicle. The truly moneyed have multiple chase crews -- and are guided by helicopters.  You can almost feel the dollars rushing past on the course.

The only competitors we did not see were the motorcycles.  They left early the night before.  But we saw every other class come whizzing by.

The most dangerous thing I did as a spectator was eat breakfast at the local cantina.  I am still not certain what the filling was.  But I survived.

When we got back to the house, the second adventure began.  Before boys can play with toys, boys must do mechanical stuff.  No matter how well we maintain our recreational vehicles, something always needs to be done.

So, out came the tool boxes and a few accessories to get ready for our third adventure.  To spend the rest of the days speeding through the dunes and beaches near John’s house.

Of course, another rule of adventure intruded itself.  Whenever tools come out, time seems to speed up.  As a result, the sun was starting to set when we set off on our Rommel reenactment.

I guess Rommel is not a good comparison.  I doubt he really enjoyed going either way across North Africa.  We had the advantage of a long beach to ourselves.

And with only one small stuck-in-the-sand episode, we had more fun than four guys should have while being loud and fast.  Conquering he dunes is better than anything Disney can offer.  And even better the roller coasters at Six Flags.  After all, neither park offers the constant specter of death on each dune.

Some of the of the motorcycles have competed the course as I write this.  By the time you read it, some of the trophy trucks will have completed it.  The remainder of the pack will straggle back up the Baja peninsula through Saturday night.

We may go out to find some.  Or we may wait and have our own cross-peninsula adventure on Sunday.  That is the joy of Baja.  No plans.

Whatever it is, I hope I can keep sharing with you.  John does not have electricity to his house.  But we have intermittent power.  That might make a good blog post.

See you soon.