Reading Up On Baja
READING UP ON BAJA
There is a surprising amount of reference material on Baja California, if you know where to look. It has proliferated along with the dune buggy/4WD invasion of the peninsula, so it is not surprising that some of it is oriented towards four-wheeled vehicles. This fact does not make these books less useful, as they contain general information, maps, routes, descriptions of points of interest, etc.
Baja Handbook by Road & Track Editor James T. Crow (Bond Parkhurst Books, 1499 Monrovia Ave., Newport Beach, Calif. 92663, $2.50) is a good starter, because it deals directly and concisely with the problem at handtraveling. It covers some of the basic routes you may take, places to stay, eat, how much they cost, and some likely gas and water stops. A useful chapter is one on other Baja references, from which we borrow, with thanks to our colleague upstairs:
Lower California Guidebook, by Peter Gerhard and Howard E. Gulick (Arthur H. Clark Co., Glendale, C alif., $6.50). Crow calls this the basic Baja guidebook, a detailed road log with mileages to landmarks, some of which may have changed slightly since the last edition in 1967, useful information on stops for gas, meals, supplies and excellent maps.
Another good source of maps is Cliff Cross’ Baja California Mexico (Cross Guidebooks, North Palm Springs, Calif., $3.50), along with 450 photographs of landmarks. Crow feels that these are the best, most detailed maps of Baja ever done.
A good mail order source for information, books and maps of Baja is Dawson’s Book Shop, 535 N. Larchmont, Los Angeles, Calif. 90004. Dawson’s is said to have the largest selection of books about Baja, and publishes the Baja California Travel Series.
