Baja Travels Winter 2025 – Part 1
As told by Tim Burke with input from Theresa
In January of 2025, we had about all we could take with the cold and dreary winter we were experiencing in Cincinnati Ohio. So we packed up the camper van and headed south to Baja Mexico. As with any long trip, this adventure would have many twists and turns.
A bit of backstory first: For a few years, Tim had been trying to convince Theresa that a trip to Baja Mexico in their van would be a fantastic adventure. But like most north Americans, Theresa feared the idea of overlanding in Mexico, which all news broadcasts told her was certain death from Cartel violence. And family and friends told her it was a bad idea. But Tim persisted and showed her many YouTube videos of everyday people enjoying their travels to interesting beaches and towns, and doing so safely. Over time, Theresa bought into the idea and said “okay” but not in their old van, it had to wait until they had a rugged off road capable van. Their first van was more of a highway queen, but they were already building a more capable van to take them further off the pavement. This would be Andiamo 2.0.
Jump forward to the fall of 2024 and winter was upon us. We had a new puppy in the household, Sansa Stark. She was enjoying her first ever snowfalls and learning how the rest of “the Pack” liked to travel. We had already begun to plan a trip to Baja California Mexico and were putting out feelers for any friends who might be willing to join us. A few raised their hands but in the end, none of those panned out. One day after posting my plans on Facebook, I get a call from an old friend, Beth, who told me that they were planning a trip to Baja and wondered if we might want to come along. No, she hadn’t seen my Facebook posting, it was purely coincidence. We hadn’t seen Beth and her husband Brad in well over a year, so we met with them at a local market and began planning. Since Beth only had 2 weeks of vacation, they had a set of dates that worked for them. But we had some commitments that kept us from being able to leave at the same time. We would have to leave later and travel quickly across country to meet at the border crossing at Mexicali California and then cross together.
Three days before they were set to depart, Beth got laid off from her job. She was devastated and believed she should not be going to Baja. But her grown children and husband convinced her this was the perfect time. She could job hunt along the way or wait until she returned. She should sieze the opportunity despite the financial hardship it would create. It would mean they could spend more than just the two weeks her company allowed and could really slow down and enjoy the experience. Beth and Brad left in the middle of a brutal cold snap and headed south. Only to find their van heater was not working and they were struggling to stay warm at night. We stayed in touch with them as they traveled and we sorted our clothes, gear, food and made final modifications to the van in preparation for our departure in a couple of weeks. We were proud of their positive attitudes that enabled them to launch into this great adventure.
We said our goodbyes to our friends and family, assuring them we would be traveling with others and would avoid getting murdered along the roadside. (Although, statistically, I’d have a far greater chance in most US cities, than in Baja Sur). And on the coldest day yet of the year so far, (-2 degrees Fahrenheit) we winterized the house, finished all of our last minute preparations and began the long drive towards Tucson Arizona where we would meet up with our friends Beth & Brad. Along the way, I was working in the mornings and afternoons and driving between calls or late into the evenings in an attempt to get there quickly and not make them wait too long for us to arrive. Theresa was doing her design work from her laptop whenever I was stopped to work. And it all seemed to flow well. Four days later we finally reconnected with Beth & Brad at a Home Depot outside of Tucson as they made final preparations and repairs.
We drove towards Yuma AZ where we would camp out one more night before crossing into Mexico. Our chosen campsite was American Girl Mine BLM land just over the California border. Its a flat and easy to access desert area just before the famous Imperial sand dunes. We arrived in time to watch the final bits of the sunset and enjoy the stars and planets which shone brightly above in this fairly dark sky region. Tomorrow would be the big day and we were hoping we had thought of everything. I don’t think I slept very much that night, trying to remember if I had done everything back at home in preparation for being unoccupied during the harsh winter months. And if I had everything we would need for the weeks ahead in Baja Mexico. Sansa slept just fine.
Stay tuned for Part two of this multi part story.
