Enjoy our latest video “Holiday On The Hardy” and be sure to watch it in 1080p on a big screen with the volume cranked way up!!

It’s December 2024 and once again we find ourselves in Baja California. This is our fifth winter of traveling south of the border (in the Farther). 

But instead of immediately heading further south we decide to slow down and post up for a while at one of our favorite destinations, Rancho Mil on the River Hardy just 60 miles south of Mexicali.

We have stopped here several times over the last few years and have fallen in love with the tranquility of the slow moving river, meeting other travelers and especially the fantastic bird watching.

Located directly on the Pacific flyway, birdwatching at Ranch Mil is at its finest during the winter months. Denise’s life list has grown exponentially this winter.

All of a sudden a few days turns into 3 weeks as we fine tune our daily routine.  

Up at dawn for coffee and homemade muffins then a 2 mile walk. Upon our return Denise makes her famous Tortilla eggs for breakfast as we sit under our thatched palapa while watching the pelicans diving for fish, just doesn’t get any better…

Soon it’s time for a siesta during the hot part of the day. Later we kayak along the river watching the bird life. Then at sundown we begin a game of Scrabble while sipping a little red vino and munching on cheese and crackers… the next day repeat.

Another reason we really enjoy this place is meeting fellow travelers from all over the world. Many stay a night or two on their way south or north.  It’s very easy to make new friends here. 

Ranch Mil is also a great place to finish or begin your Baja adventure due to its proximity to the border. It’s only a little over an hour to Mexicali and with an early start one can generally pass through customs without a long wait.

We had a grand time hanging with Don Mil (owner of Rancho Mil) especially during the holidays, partying with him and many new friends along the waters edge. 

We would like to thank Don for his hospitality, his great stories and his generous support of the local Cucapah village.  If you get a chance to visit Rancho Mil don’t miss it, you will never regret it!!

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Additional Comments:

We have been traveling into Baja (and the Mexican mainland) since the late 60’s, we absolutely love this country.

But Baja is in the middle of a major evolution, visitation is exploding.

The main reason for these changes is technology and the direct influence social media is having on travel to Baja and the rest of the world. 

The internet has made foreign travel less mysterious and is inspiring many new travelers to make the trip.

I must admit this simple blog has in minor ways contributed to this problem.  For the last few years I have struggled to post our adventures in fear of inspiring others to follow in our footprints. 

I have recently mentioned we keep this blog alive only to act as a travel journal for our adventures and is solely intended for our friends and family and its purpose is not meant to be a route guide for others.

This season we will take a break and halt our progress south and find new places to post up trying our best to stay off the “gringo highway”.

 It has become apparent that we must adapt to our ever changing world and look at travel in a different light. We feel very lucky that we were able to travel the world when it was far more mysterious, strange, exciting and remote. 

I will not say that we are disheartened or dispirited and we know the world will never stop changing, developing and growing but maybe it is just time for us to move on and accept life and the “new Baja” as it is.

Thanks for following the Big Dogs!!