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By David Kier
A comfortable night at the Baja Cactus Motel had us all ready to see more points of interest. El Rosario has two mission sites with ruins, in park settings. The first mission site was established in 1774. It is just off the highway in the center of town. The water spring at that mission failed in 1802, forcing a move about two miles west and closer to the river. Following the move, the first location was known as Rosario de Arriba (Upper Rosario) and the new location is known as Rosario de Abajo (Lower Rosario).
To see the second mission location, turn right where the highway makes a 90-degree bend to the left (just past Mama Espinoza’s Restaurant). The street is paved for a short distance and eventually crosses the river valley to the sister town of El Rosario de Abajo. The mission is on the right, past a church was a bell on display.
This mission fortunately remains unchanged since my earliest visits of twenty years ago.
Next, we travel to the first mission site by returning to the highway and heading southbound from Espinoza’s restaurant. Note the ‘San Borjas’ tire shop (on the left) and just beyond is a concrete street going uphill. The mission park is along this street a short distance from the highway.
I wrote about the mission a few years ago. The site looks about the same in 2025 other than some plaster coating fallen off the adobe remains.
The next mission down Mexico #1 is less than three miles from Km. 121, San Fernando de Velicatá. The ruins of the restaurant ‘El Progreso’ marks the side road. It is a fair road to the mission and goes beyond to a cliff containing interesting petroglyphs. One resembles a Viking ship and inspired TV’s Scott Wolter to bring his ‘America Unearthed’ show crew (and me) there to film, in 2019. I wrote about that experience here.
In 2025, the mission was slightly reduced from my previous visit. There has been no protective plaster coating applied as at most of the missions to the north. San Fernando was the only Franciscan founded California mission on the peninsula and the first founded by the famed Padre Junípero Serra (now a saint) during his expedition to occupy San Diego, in 1769. The road past the mission soon was blocked by overgrown brush. We continued, on foot, to see the petroglyphs and a reservoir located at the end of a long aqueduct.
Back to Highway One and we continue to Km. 149 for the 15 km./ 9.3 mile-long-road east to El Mármol, an onyx quarry that dates back over one hundred and twenty years. The mine was abandoned in 1958, but some onyx continued to be removed. The town was famous for having a schoolhouse made from onyx blocks. Sadly, in the 1990s, half of the school was demolished for its onyx. After a visit here in 2006, I wrote about its history here.
In 2025, a new fence separates it and the quarry from the road that continues on to El Volcán (4 miles) and La Olvidada (10 miles), a barite mine.
Just four miles past the schoolhouse, the La Olvidada mine road reaches the bottom of Arroyo El Volcán (misnamed Zamora on some maps). Turning right and going as far as possible to park, begins the short hike to Baja’s cold-water geyser: El Volcán. I wrote about it recently, following my third visit, in 2011.
Happily, in 2025, the geyser dome was still there and still has cold, bubbling, soda springs at its top and side. This is how onyx is made, a few inches every thousand years. The road was graded but is steep and a 4x4 would be a wise choice of vehicle for this drive. I hope somebody is lucky enough to one day witness and film the monthly geyser eruption.
The next two points of interest I saw for the first time on this trip. They were the subject of two recent articles: Seeking San Francisquito and San Judas Onyx.
Baja California is a land full of interesting sites and plenty of adventure. Be sure to find some on your next trip there!
To see more of this May 2025 trip, click here.
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