Jim Bishop’s Castle

Posted on by Dick Dorkin

This gallery contains 12 photos.

Jim Bishop’s plan was simple: buy some land in the San Isabel National Forest, then build a modest get-away cabin. A great idea, but it didn’t quite turn out that way. Bishop has been building his “one-room” cabin in Central Colorado since 1967, but the project evolved into a castle with a tower 160′ tall, […]

Remote Toroweap

Posted on by Dick Dorkin

This gallery contains 10 photos.

Toroweap is on the north rim of the Grand Canyon, but with more than 60 miles of dirt road to get there, it provides an uncrowded and remote experience, especially with 100º August daytime temperatures. The National Park Service describes the services available at Toroweap: “there is no water, gas, food, lodging, or phone service.” […]

Basecamp: Indy

Posted on by Dick Dorkin

This gallery contains 21 photos.

We’ve been unintentionally staying at all the little towns which line California Highway 395 on the eastern side of the Sierras. Over the Martin Luther King holiday, we adopted Independence as our temporary home, a town which has been around since 1861. As always, our basic MO will be wandering, exploring and maximizing fun.  

San Ignacio After Dark

Posted on by Dick Dorkin

This gallery contains 17 photos.

The good news was that Carol and I got to spend Thanksgiving in Mexico. The bad news was we didn’t spend it together: she was in Loreto and I was in San Ignacio, 273 km to the north of her. I made the best of it by wandering San Ignacio like the village idiot, to […]

COPS Racing at the 50th Baja 1000

Posted on by Dick Dorkin

This gallery contains 32 photos.

It began 50 years ago as the National Off Road Racing Association’s Mexican 1000, beginning in Tijuana and racing from Ensenada to La Paz. 68 vehicles started the race competing in four classes. This year, SCORE-International is the sanctioning body for the race named the Baja 1000, with a 1,134 mile run from Ensenada to […]

Video: Total Solar Eclipse July 11, 1991

Posted on by Dick Dorkin

The decision was made. Drive 1,000 miles south, to the tip of Baja to watch one of the longest solar eclipses ever: totality for six minutes, 53 seconds. The sun’s shadow traveled over Hawaii and then Baja California — most eclipse fans opted for traveling to Hawaii (which was overcast during the eclipse).

Eric and I camped near Punta Colorado on Baja’s East Cape to wait for the noon event. We’d done our homework on what to see, what to expect, but nothing prepared us for the sensations during the eclipse: much cooler, a noon-time sky with stars, and dusk 360º along the horizon. To say “surrealistic” would be an understatement.

Ahhhh … 1991 VHS quality!

Nine Days in the Eastern Sierras

Posted on by Dick Dorkin

This gallery contains 23 photos.

Nine days to kill in the Eastern Sierra — what a great problem to have. Of course there was the usual mountain biking, most likely relegated to Lower Rock Creek or other non-Mammoth Mountain locations. We wandered into the eastern side of Yosemite Park a couple days, and also hit a lot of other trails […]

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