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SERI COUNTRY TODAY IF YOU LO^| Sonora side of triH a 100-mile blank TB tad to Kino Bay is ^H from previous trips i"V mosillo and Kino Bay aB versation with the Indians! was a road from Puerto LnH the Seri Indian village °f^B boque, but no map that we cB find gave any indication of its exnB ence. ^ I guess that off-the-road type people 26 / Desert Maaavina / Irrniinrv 1QRS could be par climbers who climb bee tain is there, plorer and car have the cha; ^ ^ g ^ py exwhen we this seemed a and a good place Transporter Borvair conversion. W Michelson and I decided H the trip when Ralph men- Re had a commission from a wkny museum to make an eth- & collection from Seris. Our basic equipment: a Volkswagen Kombi outfitted as a camper and equipped with a 95 HP Corvair engine. This adaptation was accomplished using a standard Volkswagen transaxle joined to the engine by a VolksVair Adaptor Kit. Flotation for soft ground and handling for general road travel had been improved by fitting oversized tires to wide base offset rims. An extra 5-gallon gas tank had been installed in the engine compartment and a couple of Jeep cans T 1% «*,#.,
y TED TREVOR photos by Ralph Michelsen gave us 25 gallon capacity, or about 450 miles of range between gas stations. After a fast trip from Costa Mesa, California to the Mexican border, we chose Mexican Route 2 which runs from Tijuana through San Luis Sonora and is a high speed paved highway all the way from Tecate to Pitiquito. A comfortable drive of 400 miles from our starting point put us in Sonoita on the Arizona-Sonora border where we stopped to get car and tourist permits. The immigration station here is open 24 hours daily. Caborca is the last place to stock up on beer, ice, and other staples if you are headed down the back road to Desemboque. It was here that Ralph changed our U. S. money to Mexican money. It was interesting to note that Mexican people doing business in the bank appeared affronted by my dress (overalls). All these people were well dressed and banking was obviously a part of their social life. Work clothes were not looked upon as acceptable garb at the bank. From Caborca we continued on Route 2 about 10 miles to Pitiquito where we topped off the gas tanks and obtained road information at the Pemex service station. This is the last place to get gas until you return from Desemboque, a round trip of about 230 miles. Turn right at the gas station and wend your way through town as directed. Our illustrated map shows the way to Desemboque. From Pitiquito there is a good graded dirt road to Puerto Libertad and it is possible to go to Libertad first and then to Desemboque, but this could prove confusing on the first trip. The Bamuri through La Cienega route is relatively worry-free and easier to follow. The only place in the world where the giant cacti, Cardon and Saguaro, grow side by side. Our map shows the route we took. After turning left at Bamuri, the road continues all the way to Desemboque. It is possible to check your position by the mileage gaps between the ranches. Nearly all these ranches are permanently occupied, and if you say the name of the ranch where you think you are to the friendly vaquero, he will either nod affirmatively or indicate the correct direction. Although all the ranches have horses for transportation, we did not see a single car on the road nor at the ranches between Pitiquito and Desemboque. The desert in every direction is a forest of giant cactus and desert trees. Deer, javelina, coyote, fox, wildcat, and antelope jack rabbit are numerous. This is the only place in the world where the two giant cacti, Saguaro and Cardon, overlap. Roads other than those on our map are practically non-existent, but the 4wheeler will find hundreds of square miles of virgin territory in every direction. It's no place to go solo without desert survival knowledge and equipment. A reasonable time for the 100 miles from Pitiquito to Desemboque is about 5 hours non-stop. Much mystery surrounds the history and culture of the Seri Indians. A nomadic, volatile people erroneously reputed to be cannibals, at war with the local Mexican ranchers for decades and finally with the Mexican government, these people fled from the mainland to Tiburon Island to avoid annihilation. In recent years differences with the Mexicans have ceased and the Seris have returned to the mainland to reside at Desemboque, a peaceful bay north of Tiburon Island. They still resist Mexican assimiliation and try to carry on their old culture and tradition, but this, we fear, is a losing battle. Ralph noted that on previous trips most of the males and male children had long hair and wore trapos (vestigial loin cloths) over their pants. Today many of the young men have short hair January, 1965 / Desert Magazine / 27
Page 1 and 2: T / LOST MINES GHOST TOWN TRIPS THE
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS Volume 28 Number 1 January
Page 5 and 6: Choral Pepper be. The author treats
Page 7 and 8: BOTTLE FIELD REVISITED IT WAS ONE o
Page 9 and 10: the strata as much as 45° from the
Page 11 and 12: can lay the willow down, then pick
Page 13 and 14: one ot which may have held the secr
Page 15 and 16: Right: Red Cloud mellows into the l
Page 17 and 18: Shallow diggings at Mendevil looked
Page 19 and 20: i LEE'S LOST LODE by RETTA E. EWERS
Page 21 and 22: through 1881. Five witnesses for th
Page 23 and 24: ir J
Page 25: flora and along cliffs rising above
Page 29 and 30: and a pot of dams cooks in front of
Page 31 and 32: to his discovery when he filed his
Page 33 and 34: on the average contain about V4 alg
Page 35 and 36: (jTROUPED AROUND a sunbaked plaza n
Page 37 and 38: anci I am certain this trip will le
Page 39 and 40: Lowest Photo Print Prices Highest Q
Page 41 and 42: • INDIAN GOODS • PLANTS, SEEDS
Page 43 and 44: First Prize I VOTED REPUBLICAN" Rut

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