San Pedro Mártir in photos (1930-2024)
Full name: San Pedro Mártir de Verona Founding date: April 27, 1794 (relocated 7 miles south after just 3 months) Mission #24 Catholic Order: Dominican Founded by: Padre Caietano Pallás, Padre Pablo Grijálva, Padre José Loriénte Condition: Stone footings at first site. Stone walls at second site. Closing date: Abandoned in 1811 GPS: 30.790069, -115.472458 Access: 2 days backpacking or horseback ride, one way. […]
Baja California Mission Albums
The old missions of Baja California are artifacts from the past. Of the twenty-seven missions, eight are intact stone-built churches from the 1700s. The others are in ruins, vanished, or replaced by modern churches in the 1900s. The history is quite interesting and detailed. Several books attempted to tell the story of many or all […]
Santa Catalina in photos (1949 to 2018)
Full name: Santa Catalina Virgen y Mártir Founding date: November 12, 1797 (last Spanish mission founded in Baja California) Mission #25 Catholic Order: Dominican Founded by: Padre José Loriénte, Padre Tomás Valdellón Condition: Footing stones, room outlines Closing date: Abandoned in 1839 GPS: 31.660583, -115.821111 Access: Mex. #3, Km. 91, southeast of Ensenada, east 5.4 miles (90% concrete paved). Read more: HERE The mission […]
San Vicente in photos (1926 to 2025)
Full name: San Vicente Ferrer Founding date: August 27, 1780 Mission #21 Catholic Order: Dominican Founded by: Padre Miguel Hidalgo, Padre Joaquín Valero Condition: Adobe ruins, stabilized in a park setting. Closing date: Closed in 1829. GPS: 31.329972, -116.259167 Access: Mex. #1, south of Ensenada, Km. 88.5, 1 km. west. Read more: HERE May 2025 (Photos by David Kier and Dave W.) June 2017 (Photos […]
Santo Tomás in photos (1919-2025)
Three mission sites with ruins were visible before 2012. Very little adobe ruin remains at the third site, in 2025. Full name: Santo Tomás de Aquino Founding date: April 24, 1791 (moved 1 mile east in 1794 and 3 more miles east in 1799) Mission #23 Catholic Order: Dominican Founded by: Padre José Loriénte Condition: Adobe ruins at final site, nearly […]
Guadalupe (del Norte)
Full name: Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Founding date: July 25, 1834 Mission #27 Catholic Order: Dominican Founded by: Padre Felix Caballero (after Mexico’s independence from Spain) Condition: No remains. Footings added at site in 1998 to simulate mission. Closing date: Abandoned in 1840. GPS: 32.091944, -116.574250 Access: Mex. #3, Km. 77. To find the mission, take the paved road going into town, at the […]
Mission Photos
All the missions from north to south (single photo each) Multiple photos of each mission, plus history, below: El Descanso in photos, 1927-2025 San Miguel in photos, 1935-2025 Guadalupe del Norte, 1834-1840 Santa Catalina (coming) Santo Tomás (coming soon) San Vicente (coming soon) Santo Domingo in photos, 1886-2025 San Pedro Mártir (coming) Rosario de Arriba […]
Mission San José de Comondú
Full name: San José de Comondú Founding date: 1708 (relocated 22 miles south in 1736) Mission #5 Catholic Order: Jesuit Founded by: Padre Julián de Mayorga Condition: Stone foundation outline of an adobe church, completed in 1716, and stone ruins of missionary’s home, is at the first site. A cut stone church was constructed from 1751 to 1761 at the […]
Peveril Meigs Mission Site Plans
From his explorations in the mid-1920s
2-17 Javier-Purisima (incl. Comondú & Comondú Viejo)
Baja Story Book
A collection of 121 stories and articles by David Kier from the past to present. My Personal stories (15) [the number in brackets indicates the order the articles were written, between 2010 & 2025] Catching the Baja Bug (1960s)[104] *Driving to Cabo in 1966[74] *The Old Baja Road (pre-1973)[28] A Passion for Baja Maps (1967-Today)[96] […]
1975 Score Baja 1000
The first Score Baja 1000 was run on October 30-31 of 1975. It w as the final Score race of that year. The Parker 400, Baja Internacional, and Score World Championship of Off Road Racing (at Riverside Raceway), preceded the 1000. For this first Score 1000, rather than a peninsula-long race to La Paz, a […]
El Volcán
Four miles northeast of the El Mármol onyx schoolhouse, the process by which onyx is made can be seen, at El Volcán. Mineral springs, where onyx is created (about an inch every thousand years), are in the arroyo. The biggest spring is on top of a thirty foot dome, which erupts once a month. This […]
San Miguel Photos (1936-2025)
Full name: San Miguel Arcángel Founding date: March 28, 1787 (moved 7 miles west in 1788, then north 8 miles in 1810, then back circa 1814) Mission #22 Catholic Order: Dominican Founded by: Padre Luis Sales Condition: Adobe ruins at the second site. Closing date: Abandoned in 1834 GPS: 32.094279, -116.854331 Access: Mex. #1, Km. 65.5, south of Tijuana, next to school in La […]
Baja 525: Missions & More
May 2025 Baja California Tour (5/25) One of my friends, who I met through association with Baja Bound Insurance, is Dave W. Dave created the ‘Toyotas in Baja’ Facebook group, he owns a Tundra and 4Runner. Dave likes the kind of places I also like to visit (history and geology sites). On the weekend of […]