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]
*The Old Baja Road (pre-1973)[28]
A Passion for Baja Maps (1967-Today)[96]
*1967 Baja Trip to Bahía de los Ángeles[76]
Beyond San Felipe – Half a Century Ago[25]
Beyond San Felipe – Part Two[26]
*The Books That Brought Us to Baja, Part 1[98]
*The Books That Brought Us to Baja, Part 2[101]
TV’s ‘America Unearthed’ Goes to Baja (2019)[69]
Returning to Mission Santa María (2022)[91]
Returning to Points of Interest Part 1 (2025)[118]
Returning to Points of Interest Part 2 (2025)[119]
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People stories (10)
*Searching For Melchior Diaz[34]
The Pearl King’s Buried Treasure[94]
*Fernando Consag, the Jesuit Explorer[103]
Valladares, a Person and a Place[87]
The Controversial Padre: Félix Caballero[73]
Jesus Flores and His Gold Mine[31]
Remembering Luis of Nuevo Mazatlán[78]
*Choral Pepper[35]
*Eliodoro Arce[100]
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Event stories (7)
*California: Island or Peninsula[79]
Pirates in Baja California[105]
*The 1684 Atondo-Kino Expedition Route[108]
The U.S. Occupation of Baja California – 1846-1848[42]
*World War II in Baja California[107]
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Location specific stories are arranged from north to south.
Interactive Map of location articles
Baja California [north state] locations (55 stories)
Directions to the Missions: Part 1[81]
The Mystery At El Descanso (Mission #26)[37]
The Mission at La Misión: San Miguel Arcángel (Mission #22)[110]
The Rich History Of Guadalupe Valley (Mission #27) [6]
The Sulfur Mines of Baja California[80]
Guadalupe Canyon Hot Springs[86]
Petroglyphs, Pictographs, and Geoglyphs[77]
Laguna Hanson: A Baja Pine Forest[67]
Mission Santa Catalina (Mission #25)[62]
El Alamo Ghost Town[112]
The Disappearing Missions at Santo Tomás (Mission #23)[61]
San Vicente Beginnings (Mission #21)[93]
*The Sky Ranches of Baja California (Mike’s, Meling, Hamilton, Santa María)[85]
The Albertino Barite Mine, near Camalu[102]
The Grandpas of San Jacinto[90]
San Felipe’s Valle Chico and Canyons[56]
Mission San Pedro Mártir: The Highest California Mission (Mission #24)[120]
El Berrendo Canyon: Baja’s Blue Palm Canyon[2]
*Matomí Falls[38]
La Lobera[14]
The Petrified Forest Of El Rosario[10]
El Rosario: The First Dominican Mission in Baja California (Mission #19)[66]
A Surprise Desert Campground Near El Rosario[63]
The Lost Mission Of Santa Isabel (2011)[4]
*El Volcán, Baja’s Cold-Water Geyser[111]
San Judas Onyx [116]
Mission San Fernando de Velicatá (Mission #18)[117]
El Rosario Petroglyphs (Las Pintas)[1]
Agua Dulce[32]
Mission Santa María (Mission #17-B)[23]
*Las Arrastras de Arriola (at New Coco’s Corner)[44]
Exploring Calamajué (Mission #17-A)[20]
Exploring La Gringa And El Toro[40]
*The Case for a Lost Jesuit Mission[64]
Mission San Borja (Mission #16)[15]
Backcountry Baja: The San Borja Loop[60]
*The Painted Cave Of El Carmen[18]
*Pozo Alemán[43]
Santa Gertrudis Beginnings (Mission #15)[92]
Baja’s Pronghorn Reserve Visitor Center (2017)[52]
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Baja California Sur locations (34 stories)
Guerrero Negro: What’s in a Name?[8]
Directions to the Missions: Part 2[82]
The Highway to Bahía Tortugas and Beyond[58]
An Amazing Structure at San Ignacio, La Muralla[65]
San Ignacio Beginnings (Mission #11)[106]
Bahía Asunción[50]
The Eiffel Church Of Santa Rosalia[7]
The Mysterious Magdalena Ruins (2009)[11]
La Magdalena Revisited (2015)[33]
El Triunfo de la Cruz and Mission Guadalupe (Mission #8)[53]
*Mission Santa Rosalía de Mulegé (Mission #4)[99]
The Painted Cave of San Borjitas[71]
*The Other Side of Bahía Concepción[45]
*Comondú Viejo – Nearly A Lost Mission (Mission #5-A)[48]
San Bruno: The Oldest Spanish Ruins in All of California[70]
The Spanish Missions Of Baja[16]
*The Lost Missions Of Baja[39]
The Vanishing Mission of La Purísima (Mission #6)[89]
Mission San José de Comondú (Mission #5-B)[115]
Loreto Mission History (Mission #1)[36]
Mission San Francisco Javier (Mission #2)[9]
A Sandy Beach And The Vanished Mission Of Ligüí (Mission #3)[19]
A Baja Sur Mission Adventure[55]
Los Dolores: The Mission of Sorrows (Mission #9)[109]
Mission San Luis Gonzaga (Mission #14)[113]
Why Mission La Paz is in Todos Santos (Mission #7 & #13)[75]
Santiago Beginnings (Mission #10)[97]
The Tropical Beach At San Pedrito[17]
Mission San José del Cabo (Mission #12)[114]
*indicates popular articles that may be used for a new book
More Baja California resources
Baja Bound Road Guide (created by David Kier for Baja Bound, online edition 2025)
Baja California Land of Missions book (a few new copies still available)
VivaBaja.com website, for your Baja California travel planning and history, photos, maps, and much more!
Let’s talk about Baja California: Join our Facebook discussion groups to share your travels, ask for advice, or make requests.
a) Viva Baja Facebook Group (travel, camping, off-roading, exploring)
b) Baja California Land of Missions Group (mission sites, old mines, cave art, travel before 1973)
c) Toyotas in Baja (for Toyota vehicle drivers)
d) Email David: info@vivabaja.com
