Outdoor Adventure USA

Tell us about the Lost Ship of Pearls run. Share your pictures and stories here?

Had a great time meeting all the great people. I can finally place a face and vehicle to a screen name! Slippin' and slidn' in the washes was especially fun. Now the FJ gets a bubble bath. Below are the trail files and a jpeg map. I would insert the link to the Google interactive map link, but it appears to be too long for the message.

I was amazed how fast the terrain and plant life (or lack thereof) changed every mile during this run, it seemed like we were on a different planet every 5 minutes.



This would continue pretty much throughout the trip, and soon we lost track of all the different landscapes and just started shooting pictures every few seconds. After seeing Larry's all-tan FJ, I decided I had to have a tan truck too. It didn't work out too well though, the guys I hired to do the job missed some of the paint and got all of the windows.



Then it was time to go see Mexico. Their side of the border looks just as different and just as interesting, and there was a canyon going up into the mountains on that side I'd love to spend some time exploring. A short distance north we circled the wagons for protection while we enjoyed our lunch.



Next we stopped by the De Anza Overlook and Yuha Geoglyphs.



Airing up for the long drive home (6 hours, 21 minutes)...




Thanks for pulling this one together John. I've always wondered what lie south of I8, but never had a chance (or a safe group) to go with. I look forward to seeing what you come up with for a California Border Run.


The rest of our pics start here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chazzlayne ... 117406289/

SanteeFJ wrote:Had a great time meeting all the great people. I can finally place a face and vehicle to a screen name! Slippin' and slidn' in the washes was especially fun.

It was good meeting you, Larry. Glad you had a good time out there.

Chazz Layne wrote:Thanks for pulling this one together John. I've always wondered what lie south of I8, but never had a chance (or a safe group) to go with. I look forward to seeing what you come up with for a California Border Run.

You're very welcome, Chazz! I had a blast out there.

As soon as I do my research and figure out a California to Arizona border run route I'll let you know.

Awesome run, really wish I could have made it, maybe for the next one

2010 BorregoFest Sunday Run: Lost Ship of Pearls

For those who may not be acquainted with the legend, somewhere admits the desolate landscape of the Yuha Desert, may rest an ancient ocean-going vessel.

In 1610, King Phillip III of Spain ordered Alvarez de Cordone to search the Western coast of Mexico and recover the pearls residing there. Cordone hired two other captains, sixty pearl divers and began having three ships build. By July 1612 they set sail to plunder the west coast of its precious oysters.

Along the way, Cordone, having been injured in a conflict with local natives, was forced to turn around. But not before ordering the other two ships to continue North up the coast. Eventually the cargo of both ships was transferred into the hold of just one when one of the two ran aground of a reef. With one ship remaining they sailed up the Gulf and eventually up the Colorado River and into the Salton Sea or Lake Cahuilla, which was six times the size of the present Salton Sea.



Now there are many speculations as to the exact conditions and size of this ancient inland sea and exactly who’s ship was here. Regardless, when whatever Spanish ship had sailed into this area, turned around to try and head back home, they were dismayed to find that it was closed off. With the outlet to the ocean blocked, the water slowly receded and eventually the ship was beached on the California desert, many many miles from the ocean. The ship was abandoned and four months later the survivors were finally rescued.

Over the years this story has persisted, as told by native Americans, immigrants, and prospectors. Our Sunday run into the unknown may not have been a success as far as uncovering the truth of this legend, but we did find adventure and explored the much unseen beauty and wonder this area has to offer.

The Yuha Desert of extreme Southern California is rich in both human and natural history. The area contains several unique attractions; the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail, geoglyphs created by Native Americans, an area of rare crucifixion thorns, oyster shell beds, and the Yuha Well. The Yuha Desert is an Area of Critical Environmental Concern and is a limited use area. Routes traverse a variety of terrain, from flat desert pavement to sandy washes, to mud hills and other badlands type features.

Airing down at the trail head, just south of Ocotillo.


The first part of our route was primarily flat open desert.


Sometimes it seemed as if we were on another planet.




We often found ourselves sliding through many of the still wet and muddy washes.


One of the many "immigrant help button towers".




I believe we only saw two or three Border Patrol vehicles that day.


Didn't Chazz's Rover used to be black?


Parked along the US-Mexican border.


Overlooking Pinto Wash.


We circled the wagons at an old rock quarry for lunch.


Chazz let me try out his Walther PPK .380


View from the Anza Overlook. One of Juan Bautista de Anza's campsites form his 1774 and 1776 expedition.





The crew.




Back into the badlands.






Overlooking much of the area we've traveled.


Nearing the end.


Airing up along Highway 98 we were greeted by a beautiful sunset.


There's still much to explore in this seldom visited desert. A big thanks to all who joined me for this run. I hope everyone had as much fun as I did.

Fantastic posts guys! First chance I've had to log on...the Fj is still dirty & the boxes are piled up in the garage, but work can't wait. Judy & I had a great time. It was cool meeting the new faces & seeing the old ones again. Thanks John, for the planning & leading the pack. Did the vac line fix the xfer case issue?

Cammo wrote:Thanks John, for the planning & leading the pack. Did the vac line fix the xfer case issue?

You're welcome!

I haven't had a chance to mess with the vacuum line yet. On my way home I sprung a leak in my radiator hose and had to jury-rig a quick fix. As for the vac line, I'm not even going to deal with it anymore. I'll just take the vacuum motor off the axle housing, drill and permanently pin the shift fork into the locked position with a bolt. Of course, this will cause the front drive shaft to spin while moving so I'll have to take that in to get it balanced, but I won't ever have to worry about whether I'm in 4wheel drive when I shift the transfer case.

BorregoWrangler wrote:

Cammo wrote:Thanks John, for the planning & leading the pack. Did the vac line fix the xfer case issue?

You're welcome!

I haven't had a chance to mess with the vacuum line yet. On my way home I sprung a leak in my radiator hose and had to jury-rig a quick fix. As for the vac line, I'm not even going to deal with it anymore. I'll just take the vacuum motor off the axle housing, drill and permanently pin the shift fork into the locked position with a bolt. Of course, this will cause the front drive shaft to spin while moving so I'll have to take that in to get it balanced, but I won't ever have to worry about whether I'm in 4wheel drive when I shift the transfer case.

An easy and fully revearsable option is to take the shift fork off the housing and use some old nuts as spacers on the shifters shaft. All you need to do it is a set of snap ring pliers. The nuts will keep the connection collar in the 4wd position. I ran mine that way for about a year before I just put XJ shafts in it.


And that was an awesome video. Did that brown Land Cruiser flop at the end?

OU812 wrote:An easy and fully revearsable option is to take the shift fork off the housing and use some old nuts as spacers on the shifters shaft. All you need to do it is a set of snap ring pliers. The nuts will keep the connection collar in the 4wd position. I ran mine that way for about a year before I just put XJ shafts in it.

And that was an awesome video. Did that brown Land Cruiser flop at the end?

That does sound easy. I'll have to look into it. Thanks.

Check out the Painted Gorge/Carrizo Mountain run report for the raw video on the cruiser flop.