Slow Baja - Chris Collard Architect Of Adventure Part II

Episode Date: July 10, 2026

Chris Collard is an internationally published journalist and photographer whose career has deeply immersed him in the world of off-road adventure, overland travel, and sharing the lives of those who dwell beyond the pavement.Through his reporting and photography, he has traveled to all seven continents, and he was a member of the Expeditions 7 team, which is believed to be the first American expedition to cross Antarctica in four-wheel-drive vehicles. Collard was inducted into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2015. In October of 2025, he covered my Slow Baja Vintage Expedition for two magazines. Most importantly, shortly after the trip ended, he and his wife returned to Baja to adopt “Cali,” a puppy he met at Baja Animal Outreach Rescue. Chris Collard is humble, thoughtful, deeply knowledgeable about all things off-road, and, most importantly, kind. I hope you find this conversation inspiring. This is Part II of our conversation.Follow Chris Collard on Instagram ⁠here.⁠Need Baja Bound Insurance? Get a quote ⁠here⁠.Support Slow Baja with a donation ⁠here.⁠Join a Slow Baja Adventure ⁠here.

Hey, this is Michael Emery. Thanks for tuning in to the Slow Baja. This podcast is powered by Tequila Fortaleza, handmade in small batches and hands down my favorite tequila. Well, if you've been listening to me for a while, you know I'm an absolute minimalist when it comes to Baja travel. But the one thing I never leave home without is a good old paper map. and my favorite is the beautiful, and I mean beautiful, Baja Road and Recreation Atlas by benchmark maps.

It's an oversized 72-page book, jam-packed with details, and now you can get it from me at slowbaha.com. That's right. You can get it in the Slow Baja shop, and in fact, you better get two, one for your trip planning at home, and one for your Baja rig. And if you love maps and you can't get enough of them like me, let me. tell you about two sites I am absolutely obsessed with. Eastview MapLink and Longitude Maps.com, whatever you're looking for in Maps, it's there. From the entire benchmark collection to Baja Wall Maps, to Custom Maps, you'll find it all at LongitudeMaps.com or EVMapLink.com. You know I've long said it, ask your doctor if Baja's right for you. Well, if you've been hankering to get down to Slow Baja with me, you got to check out the Adventures tab at Slowbaha.com.

All my trips are there from my famed fall vintage extravaganza to my winter and summer expeditions, which are open to trucks of any age. You know, on a Slow Baja expedition, your meals are always included, which really does take the sting out of camping. And when we get off the trail, let me tell you, we have the happiest of happy hours. If good dirt roads, private campsites, Rant stays, great food, and great people sounds like you're kind of fun,

well, you've got to check out the Adventures tab at slowbaha.com. But don't delay. These trips are small, they're highly immersive, and they will sell out. And folks, just so you know, I am always here for you

for your Baja trip planning questions. One question, 100 questions. The easy way to get me is Slowbaha.com slash contact. And if you'd like to go to Baja and you don't want to go by yourself, you don't have a vintage vehicle, my winter trip doesn't work out for you. I am happy to talk to you about organizing and leading a private guided tour. I've done it. I've loved it. The pictures are over

there at slowbaha.com slash adventures. And you can check them out. And if you've got some questions, let's talk. Thanks for tuning in to today's Slow Baja. My heaping dose of gratitude goes out to 4x4 engineering service and Bradley Wheels USA. Yep, they're really out of Japan, even though they say Bradley Wheels USA. They are the OG wheel for land cruisers like my 1990 HDJ80, my turbo digital, super cool, imported 80 series land cruiser. Yep, these wheels are the OGs and they look so cool on my truck and I'm so stoked to have them. And those BF Goodrich K-O-3s look absolutely perfect. Perfect spec went back down to a smaller size wheel and tire,

and it really looks good, and the truck performs beautifully, and I am so thrilled. So thanks, guys, at 4x4 Engineering and Bradley Wheel USA out of Japan. I'm going to be shown those wheels off all summer and fall. You'll see me at Overland Expo Pacific Northwest. You'll see me at Overland Expo Mountain West, and I will also be at the Solid Axel Summit and Cruiser Fest for you, Land Cruiser Nerds. So if you see the truck, if you see Frank, come over and say hello. All right, well, today's show is part two of the Chris Collard conversation.

And I'm not going to delay you anymore. Here it is on the slow bar. Chris Collard Adventure Architects wrapping it up are long and beautiful. beautiful conversation on Baja and all things adventure. So Chris Collard today on Slow Baja. Let's talk about our neighbors to the South that you and I have found so much enjoyment going to Baja. You're going to Baja this week. I'm going to Baja next week. 36 hours, man. I've got to be wheels up. Yeah, exactly. So let's talk about that. You've spent some time there in your youth with your dad. You've come back. You've come back.

as a professional photographer. You've dug a lot of stories from there. It's very close to your heart, in my opinion. You know, if you only had one place left to go, or if you, you know, this is your last trip, Chris, would that be the place? Yeah. You know, it's funny.

I mean, again, I'm not trying to steer you into that direction, but I think that's, you know. I've had a lot of people ask me, it's like, what was your favorite place? You know, or if you were going to go back to some place, If they asked me what my favorite place is, it would be the place I haven't gone yet. Sure. There's, you know, good and bad things about a lot of the places that I've been, you know.

But if somebody asked me, if somebody could teleport me to a place right now that I would just hang out for a month, it would be back in Baja, probably underneath a palapa on a beach somewhere, maybe around the Conception Bay or I don't know. but to me it's just it's an atmosphere it's you know my wife says it's my happy place it's a place that I can I can cross at Clexico and within 40 minutes I can be on a dirt road and I can stay on the dirt road for thousands of miles zigzagging your way south until you get to the you know until you get to Cabo yeah this is copyrighted but I always say it's the desolation on our doorstep. Yeah. And it's true that you can just get on a dirt road and go.

Yeah. And people are afraid of Mexico and Baja is part of Mexico. And I'm not saying that nothing bad happens down there because it is infiltrating into the peninsula. Unfortunately, the cartel stuff. But it's not as prevalent as one might think. And I wrote an article a few years ago. It was about Baja Travel Skills Guide. And so I did some research on how many Americans are murdered in Baja every year,

how many die and then how many are natural causes, how many were in an accident, how many were murdered. You have a better chance of being murdered in just about any city in the United States than you do in Mexico as a whole and even less in Baja. Yeah, I delivered a lecture right after the surfers were killed at Overland Expo, Baja 101. And I realized the only thing people want to know about is, you know, safety, where to go so you don't get killed or where not to go so that. And, you know, I live in Chicago and people think Chicago is a very dangerous city. Of course, not where I live. You know, the crime that I deal with is a $7 cookie and Uber's clogging my streets because it's a pretty nice happening neighborhood.

And being in, being in Flagstaff in Arizona with open carry, I always felt like I'm much more in danger when two guys start arguing over their rooftop. top tense than, you know, I ever have been in 42 years of Baja travel. I've never, ever felt endangered by another human in Baja. That has just not been part of my experience in any manner, any shape. I'm not trying to falsely say nothing happens there, but nothing has happened there wherever I've been over 42 years of traveling there. And in that old truck, which is completely open, and I'm doing 10,000 miles a year that, down there now, you know, for the last five, six years. Knock wood, knock wood.

Yeah. But it's not without its dangers. But I still think the danger, the danger that will get me one day will be the narrow roads, driving on the road, the pothole that shears off of, you know, tie rod. It's the dangerous place in Baja is the highway one. Yeah. And that's what's going to get me. And then my son's going to have to build a little shrine to slow Baja that'll have

the perpetual Fortaleza trickle. You can hold your shot glass and get a trickle. Oh, darn it, I just lost his name. The guy that's got the huge... Hector. Hector, the truck driver, the big red, yeah, photograph that thing. Hector. Hector. Hector lost it in his picture in like a number of different articles.

Yeah, so again, what keeps you coming back? What is it about Baja? Again, it's next door, so it's easy. but I mean if we lived in North Dakota would be would we be going to Canada with such with such excitement I don't know I don't think so it depends on the environment you grow up in and what turns you on I guess yeah yeah why do I keep going back that's a darn good question because I like it because it's my happy place because I got there's so many desert camps and Arroyos and beaches

and taco stands and people. The people in my experience, and I've had a similar experience to you, I've not had, I mean, I've had some run-ins with the police, you know, current police and et cetera. But the people in general are amazing, and they will help you in any way that they can. I mean, it was coming off of Punta Barajos years ago

and snapped a tie rod, and I'm on the side of the, this guy that's hitchhiking on the main road and he walks over and he starts giving those days was it still dirt it was dirt yeah it was a long time horrible washboard road and that was way out of the way in those days yeah this would have been late 90s probably but didn't get paved until some not a few years ago not too long ago I drove it a couple years ago I'm like holy crud yeah and people still don't go out there well yeah anyway he comes over and he's I didn't he just show people just show up yeah people live everywhere

Yeah. You know, whether it's in Baja or Morocco or Europe and northern Cambodia towards the Thai border, it's like people are where you stop and like people will just show up out of the jungle or out of the rocks in Morocco or in Africa out of the bush. Anyway, he showed up and had, you know, some suggestions on, you know, pulling off the rod end and they will just help you. And they know how to do stuff because they have been getting by. Mexican technology. Put a Band-Aid on it. With nothing forever, they figure out how they don't have cool, you know, DeWalt power tools and whatever. They just, they figure out how to fix it. Put a rock underneath it and beat it with another rock on the top until you loosen the,

you know, the ball joint pops out, put your jack under it, put the jack between the top and the frame. I mean, it's, you know, I have a great deal of respect for the people who live without means that figure out how to make it happen, that, you know, the folks that lived at, uh, that were at Mission San Borja, then old S-10 pickup, I think it was. I'm trying to remember, but they had like a Asuzu motor in it because they had a motor that they figured out,

you know, they just, they don't care, they mix and match. It's like it runs. It runs. It runs. Yeah, you got wheels. So one of the things that I've really been thinking a lot about, as Slow Baja, about the stories of the people who passed before us, We are, you and I are firmly in our middle age years, you know.

And the people who have passed before us, the OGs, the older guys who did amazing stuff there. Yeah. And who can tell me about those folks? I want you to tell me for five minutes, ten minutes, Rod Hall, one of the most amazing Baja racers. You pick it up from there. Why do people need to know who Rod Hall is now after he's passed? Well, okay, so you mentioned his racing. Rod was just, he was a genuine guy.

Another person that I'm like, how did I end up being friends with Rod Hall? And how did I end up navigating for him in like his original 68 Bronco? I'm like, I don't know. Yeah. And the quick fact about Rod Hall, how many, how many, how many, Baha'a thousandths? Was it 50 in a row or something that he did? Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. So he was there for the first one in 19. He's 67. And he won the 69 event. And, of course, he was racing a Jeep at first. And then Strop, Bill Strop with the Broncos, they couldn't figure out I'd beat him. So Strop hired him. And he raised Broncos.

And then he got on with Dodge, racing Dodge trucks. And that's when he really, really excelled. He, I don't remember, he had like 35 straight wins, like top of the podium wins. and Dodge loved him, and it was like he became, he was the winningest, I don't know about now, but he was the winningest Offroad Racer, American Offroad Racer. All right. I just wanted folks who might not recognize that name. Yeah.

So here I am, what I could, I still consider myself this not-nosed kid, even though I was, you know, 45 years old, you know, running with Rod Hall. And, yeah, so he was, you know, he and his generation, the guys that started doing the stuff in the late 60s, you know, they were the pioneers of going fast in Baja, but there were so many people that preceded them that were just exploring, you know, Earl Stanley Gardner and just last his name, Howard Gullick, and the guys that, like, they were going down there in, you know, the 50s and in the 60s just driving all the back roads through the peninsula, you know, through the Peninsula and taking amazing pictures. And I've referenced their stuff so many times in different articles that I've written because it's just like it was like I'm envious.

Because you know your history. Huh? You know your history. I'm learning the history. There's so much, you know, I don't know if you get Dusty Times if you saw the, I'm aware of Dusty Times. Yeah. Shot for Dusty Times back in the Middle 80s. And you did. Right. Yeah. When I worked for trackside. Not the glamorous Dusty Times. that it is today, but I do know Boyd a little bit. Yeah. So on the issue that just, they just produced, I did a story called the King's Highway. And it is a 30-page history of the, of Mex 1, so the Trans-Peninsula Highway.

Right. And it's beautiful. It's a beautiful article. Have you seen it. Yeah. I think you say so myself. So it, yeah. So it takes us all the way back, you know, to, you know, past the 50s and 60s. And when AAA started going down there, the 1920s, and, you know, the, the, the, you know, the, mining exploration that was done for oil and gas around the turn of the century into the mining that was happening in the 1860s and 50s and before that. And then the pearl, you know, some of the... Perl industry in La Paz.

I'm sorry? The pearl industry in La Paz. Yes. And that was actually kind of started by a soldier that started doing a side hustle with the indigenous Indians. that would, you know, he would trade stuff for pearls. So it's pretty amazing. I mean, the peninsula has got, you know, as you know, it's got a really deep and rich history.

You just have to go look for it. And then when you drive the backroads like you do, at least to me, I look around and I'm always envisioning the, you know, the Spanish soldiers that stayed, that took on indigenous wives and stayed and became the Bakiero. those, you know, the cowboys of the peninsula. And some of them, you know, received land grants.

And their families have been there for, you know, 200 years. Yeah. And it wasn't easy. It wasn't. That terrain is not easy. It's not, no matter how big that land grant is. It's not easy. It wasn't an easy place to stay and put down roots.

Well, you figure, you know, Cortez showed up with his fleets in, you know, 1530s. And they got their tails served to them on a, you know, on a tray. and, you know, the peninsula basically sat untouched for 150 years until the Jesuit showed up, you know, 140 years later. So, I mean, it's a, you know, it's a tough environment. The indigenous cultures that live there, you know, they figured out how to survive. I mean, they'd been there. That was their life. They figured, you know, figured knew where to get water, where to get food.

you know yeah yeah so um rod hall you skipped right over him 50 years of racing off road what made rod hall so special rod was you know what's funny is rod was not you know he he was a very modest guy he would never if you're sitting talking to him or if he was walking through a crowd with all the famous racers of the day you would not pick rod out of a crowd as one of the most famous most accomplished yes because he's he was not a guy that go around beating his chest. He was very humble. He wasn't.

Self-deprecating at times. And just a super nice guy. And willing to share knowledge, you know, share some of this stuff. I remember I had met him on a Hummer program up in Nevada, but then ended up in like 2005 or six on a H-3 program in Baja with him. And I didn't know him really well. I mean, we'd met and stuff, but I'm still. I'm just, it's not knows kid.

It's not a nose kid of 45. Right. Or 48. I was running with him and in an H3, somewhere down there, El Arco. And I hit the brake with my left foot or with my right foot. So I lifted from the throttle, hit the break. And he's like, you're never going to be a fast racer if you can't break with your left foot. You got to break with your left foot, kid.

And just like, berated me. Two foot. Rally driving stuff. I'm like, and I know that. Why did I? Well, it's rally driving stuff. Keeping that car balanced. Yeah, yeah.

Keeping that car balanced. If I could wave my, I could wave a magic wand and have one truly amazing sports skill, I wouldn't want to be a great baseball player. I'd want to be a great rally driver. Yeah. Just be able to do that, have that level of car control. Yeah. Well, let's, let's bring it home, Chris. Let's bring it home.

You're off to Baja. Are you off in your Tacoma with 300 and something thousand miles on? 340. 340. Only 340. Okay. So if you get account for the tires, it kind of kicks it up from there. Okay.

At least 5%. So you have spent enough time around Baja that in the off-roading, overlanding industry, you have access to stuff, but I think you're kind of a minimalist. And I know I always say, as people are worried about, if I need this thing or that thing, and I say, you need good tires and good cooling, change your oil and you're ready to go. because when you and I are out on some dirt road someplace, the only vehicle we're going to see out there is a local rancher in his 84 ranger on three bald tires,

not a single light working, leaking something. You can smell that coolant leaking if it still has coolant in it. You define that very well. That's perfect. And he's got three or four people in the front, and maybe there's a calf roped in in the back, you know, and he's got a little welded up cage in the back, or something, or he's got five people in the back. And we're worried about, you know,

16 lights across the front and onboard air and a bunch of other stuff. The light that works, he's got one headlight that works. That's all you need. Just one, though. And it's not pointed at the road. So what I'm getting to is, Chris, when you're preparing for a Baja trip,

and you're going to go down, you're going to follow the Nora 1000 all the way from Ensenada down to Cabo. And then you're going to take a couple weeks poking around with your new Baja dog, and your wife and you're going to come back and you're going to be on your own, what do you bring with you?

What are all the things that you, or, you know, how would you say to somebody who's preparing for a Baja trip? This is what I take. Well, first thing on my list is the electric dog polisher. The electric dog polisher. Yeah, everybody needs one. Yeah, and the LED double whammy sink.

Yeah. I like the instance. hot water on that double whammy sink? Yes, the instant hot water. No, for sure. No, I just had somebody reach out to me and said, you know, I have a Tacoma. I want to take my family. What do I need to know?

What do I need to bring? And, you know, and with my truck, and I, you know, I would get the oil changed and I would drive it 100 miles, 50 miles one direction, 50 miles back. I'm saying, it's good to go. It's good to go. And then I had to drive it from San Francisco to San Diego. So once I did the oil change and the 100 miles, then I would drive it all day, 16 hours or something down Highway 1 and 101

and through all that L.A. traffic. And if I got to San Diego, I knew it was going to be good for 3,000 miles in Baja, no problem. But what did, and I do it with a leatherman and a tool role because I don't have any skills at all in fixing stuff. I love my leatherman. But you tell me what's in your tool. Yeah, a story about removing the hood off of not this cheap. But no, they went just like it in the middle of Peru and the Andes overheating, had to reroute fuel lines like thing was overheating. Anyway, yeah, leatherman.

That was the only tools we had. Yeah, if I can't do it with a leatherman, I've got to find somebody to do it. And then I have tequila to pay him. Well, yeah, that's Baja currency right there. Here it's Little Baja. We can't wait to drive our old Land Cruiser south of the border. And when we go, we'll be going with Baja bound insurance. Their website's fast and easy to use.

check them out at Bajabound.com. That's Bajabound.com, serving Mexico travelers since 1994. Hey, big thanks to those of you who've contributed to our Baja baseball project. You know, we launched our gear deliveries on my winter expedition. Michael and Matthew from Barbers for Baja. We're along for the ride, and we got to deliver that critically needed baseball gear up and down the peninsula. It was really, truly amazing.

All right, well, please help us continue. this vital work. Make your tax deductible donation at the Barbers for Baja. Click, Barbersforbaha.org, click the Baseball in Baja link, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I really do. It is so amazingly gratifying to be able to give these kids this chance to keep playing this sport. Keep them on the field, keep them out of trouble. Please check it out. Baseball in Baja link at barbers for Baja.org. Thank you. I want to tell you about these new Rocky Talky radios that I absolutely love. Heavy duty, beautifully made, easy to program, easy to use. We had 28 people, 15 trucks on the Slow Baja Winter Expedition.

You can hand these radios to anybody from a 14-year-old kid to an 80-year-old and they'll know how to use it. They are that well designed. One charge lasted the entire week. We are never out of range. I happen to upgrade to the accessory whip antenna for my radio and for my sweeps radio, the Donovan Brothers. We were never out of contact. I can't say it strongly enough. Rocky tokey radios, rocky talkie.com.

Check them out. Slow Baja approved. But go ahead. You know what? So I do carry a lot of stuff. I'm not necessarily a minimalist. And I think the more you travel, the more you realize there's stuff that you don't need. and he needs to start jettisoning things, you know, and I have friends at sale,

and I like, yeah, we start with all this stuff, and we just start getting rid of it because it's in the way. I'm not saying that I'm not, I'm a minimalist, but, you know, and I do work on vehicles. I deal that I need to be as self-contained as I can, and that doesn't mean a bunch of accessories that you don't necessarily need. But tools, I mean, I have an air compressor on my vehicle. I have a welder. I've got a 2K inverter. You're putting a man out of work that you go to Baja with a welder. There's a welder on every block.

There is. But sometimes not when you break. Nowhere. And I do that because that's the fear. That's the fear. Because you're chasing a race. And if you need to fix something in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere, it's a good, it makes you feel better to have a welder. Sure.

I've had to use it several times on the race car, not necessarily on my vehicle. Sure. And the good thing about having stuff, tools like that, is that hopefully you're not using them on your vehicle. Right. It's always a lot easier and comfortable if you're fixing somebody else's junk. Well, let's turn this around a little bit.

What would Chris Collard, adventure architect, travel to all seven continents? What would your advice be to somebody who has a modern Tacoma or forerunner who might not have a lot of fixy skills like me? I don't have any ability to fix anything, even on my simple truck. What would your advice be to somebody going on a bond?

What should they have with them? Well, if they're driving a newer, you know, Tacoma or forerunner, they're probably not going to have any mechanical issues as long as they drive like a sane person. Right. And that's slow. Go slow. That solves a lot of problems. It's like, you know, short of, you know, major mechanical stuff, you can need good tires. You need recovery equipment, which could be a strap.

I like having a winch on the front. A set of max tracks is great to have. I have buried myself in salt flats by myself in the middle of the night. Not exactly where you want to be. Well, first of all, you're not supposed to drive a night, Chris. I don't want to tell you that. Well, you know, if we were chasing a race and I needed to get in a car in a certain place. These races are dangerous.

Like, you know, I wasn't on the track. I was just looking for a place to pull off and sleep in the middle of the night. And it looked so flat and clean and safe. But even like four or five years ago, my wife. wife and I were coming up from Avarohos up the beach track that the buses drive on and I ended up over in the bushes on the track and I'm like I think I'll just get back on the beat on the bus track well that was a mistake I just buried myself and I was fortunate somebody came to help pull me out so the things that you need max tracks yeah they didn't I had a set they just I needed I needed six I needed four yeah I mean I was just to that point where it was a marsh salt flat it just like went from I broke through the crust. It just, yeah, there's a problem. You know, one of the most important things is common sense. You know, that is one of the most important things about any kind of international, any travel, but international travel especially, not be an ugly American, which means, you know, don't jump out

and be loud and say things louder because in English, because they don't understand them. That's because it's not your country. They don't speak English here, so to speak. That's why you're traveling. Yeah. I mean, learn a few words in their language. You know, as far as the things to bring, I bring, you know, my camp kit, you know, Coleman stove. And you're still, you're on a rooftop tent now. You're off of a ground tent. I have a ground tent. And I always bring a ground tent. But I do have a rooftop tent. It's super handy, especially when you're chasing a race because I can stop anywhere that's a level and I'm, you know, in bed in five minutes.

but personal items. Make sure you bring, you know, modium-a-D, you know, be careful about, you know, the basic stuff about in Pajah. It's like you used to, it's like you never ordered anything with ice. They're much better about that now. But you might order something with lettuce or vegetables and they're not necessarily clean and then you get, you know, you get sick. And so you need to bring those types of items. So from a vehicle standpoint, make sure you got plenty of rain.

you know fuel-wise. Fuel, yeah. Understand how to read a map. Too many people are dependent on their GPS. And if you look at my glove box, there's a triple A map of the peninsula, you know. I was at an antique fair yesterday in downtown Petaluma, and there was a AAA map framed for $45. And I thought, God, I should just buy that. Then I'll go on eBay and just buy the map.

Do you know what year it was? It was probably in the middle 80s. Middle 80s. It was Baja Sour. It wasn't the full. It was just the half. So a map, a compass, you know, I'm a strong advocate of being aware of your surroundings and not following that GPS line in a map.

Next week we're going to be racing. I'm going to be navigating one day. I run the roadbook and I'm back between the gauges, the GPS, the roadbook. I'm constantly going into that roadbook because if your GPS goes down and you're not paying attention, you have no idea where you are. It doesn't matter if you're racing or just driving. Yeah, you're down a rapid hole. If you're only on GPS and that GPS doesn't...

100% dependent. And they say it's not a matter of if, you know, it's going to stop working. It's when it's going to stop working. And you just need to, you know, it did not be, you know, tethered to that ambelical cord. So some recovery gear. Yep. A map. What else?

What's Chris Collard's top five? Water. Fuel, water. Bottle tequila. three o'clock. I know it's, I know you have a different tequila, but we call it, my friends that, you know, travel down, we came up with this thing. It's like the three o'clock down Julio stop. So three o'clock, you get a stop and salute, you know, your buddy, signor Julio. Yeah. Well, I think we're going to leave it right there. You know, Forteiliza is so hard to find these days. It's just you can get a, you can get a fortulaysa in most of the very good bars, Mexican restaurants, what have you. It's no problem to find a, you know, a shot as long as you've got the means, but to find a bottle in a liquor store now that's not 2x or 3x of what the MSRP is is almost impossible. I was not, my introduction to it was through you.

Yeah, well, I know. You've lived a very sheltered life. I must have, but it's actually, I'm a fan. I became a fan. It's good stuff. Yeah. If you can find it, buy it. Yeah.

All right, we're going to leave it right there. Chris, thank you so much for making some time to talk about it. adventure and why adventure matters and some of your adventures and um your your feelings on baha and rod hall um last but not least i i wanted to wrap this up with on our last trip you were on my trip you're on the slow baha vintage expedition and the most important thing about that besides the two magazine articles you shot one and you shot and wrote another one that's coming out yeah um so car and driver just came out, bought it yesterday at a newsstand, a real newsstand bookstore magazine rack, which was what I was. Hard copy. Yeah, hard copy. And tangible, put your hands on it. Exactly. I read it

last night in, you know, in person. It was really amazing. Flip those pages, turn the pages. It was a good story. Alana sure wrote that. But the most important thing of that trip, besides the article that's coming out in Haggerty is you adopted a dog. I did. So, that was, Baja animal outreach, Rick Howe at Shipwrecks San Jacinto, I've been passing by that place for years with Nora and I hadn't stopped and I was doing some pre-running for my Nora, for my trips, for my slow Baja trips and just decided to stop and see what I could do for Rick, what he needed. And of course, you know, he's running a dog rescue. He needs dog food.

He needs money for vet stuff and he had 40-something dogs there. Then I ran into Matt Frick at Camp Four Low. We were just past each other on the road. He said, oh, there's a stray dog up the road. I tried to get it, but I couldn't get it. Well, I had Frankie with me, my dog. So I put some water out for this stray and put some food out. And eventually the dog came over and ate and drank,

and I was able to get close enough over the period of 45 minutes. I was able to pick him up and put him in Frank's little travel case and run him over to Rick, who was only 40 minutes down the road. and Rick started crying when he saw him. He said, I can't take another dog. I can't. I got 46 dogs. Yeah.

I said, well, here's 47. I think he had 45 when we got there. Yeah, here's 47. And here's a $100 bill to assuage my guilt for turning around and driving away as I'm shedding tears. And then, you know, I came back whatever a month-ish, month-and-a-half-ish later. And they had these three beautiful puppies, and that's what we're going to get. to three gorgeous puppies that I had photographed on the second part of my pre-run,

and I said, I got to find these dogs home. These puppies are gorgeous, three sisters. And thank God for Mark Jukes, who brought his daughter, Macy. 17-year-old Macy came on the adventure. Mark, who was my medic, and she locked on to one of those three puppies. So we see how you work, Mike.

Worked her dad over. I got to find homes for these dogs. I'm going to bring those stuckers. Can't help themselves. And, you know, so we brought, I don't know, six, eight hundred pounds of food over and, and, and, um, some, some De Niro's. And, uh, but Macy, Macy talked her dad into taking a dog. How did it work? Because you came all the way home.

Mm-hmm. You came back here to Northern California, which, you know, one of you, eight, ten hours north of the border? Yep. Yeah. Six hundred miles. And, yeah, so it, you got all the way back here. And you talked to your wife. I did.

I did. How did that conversation go? I had been thinking about it, of course, but I'm in Edla and I had somebody writing with me. You're a practical guy. Well, I also was working. Yeah. I was filming, had a whole bunch of stuff in the back. And, you know, I assumed that the dog probably would still be there in a couple weeks.

Yeah. The dog I dropped off is still there. Yeah. God, he looks good now. Yeah. So I had been thinking about it, and I got back and I talked to my wife. I showed her pictures. We had, we had to, we went to Seema for Las Vegas for the Seema show and then I had to run up to Canab after that for a memorial for a friend.

And my wife and I had been talking. We had gotten a hold of Rick and said, I think we're probably going to try to get back down. And I was talking also with Mark, the other Mark. Yeah, who's also on the trip. So Mark was Mark's brother-in-law. Mark Jukes with the forward control and the daughter who adopted Corazon. His brother-in-law came in a Jeep, Jeep gladiator pickup, the beautiful blue truck. Not like the new gladiators, like the old J-2000s.

No, no, 66, I believe it was. It's stunning, stunning patina, beautiful sound. And he lives in El Dorado Hills, so not all that far from you. And he came all the way home and then turned around and went back. He was over here. We had an Alexis. We had his vehicle in the rack changing out parts on the front end, like before he was trying to head down there. And he went back and got it.

He did. His second sister. And he volunteered. He said, you know, I can pick that one up for you if you want. And I talked to my wife and, and we were like, you know, if we were 20, we would just drive that 900 miles down there and get that dog. And we're like, yeah, yeah. If we were 20, I was like, so we went from Vegas to Canab, Utah and then turn around and head headed back down. So, yeah, picked her up.

And the cool thing is, first of all, thank you for introducing us. to the three puppies. Is they're all in the States? Yes, we smuggled them back across the border. And they are all within like 30 miles of each other. So the other two have gotten together. We haven't gotten, my debt, we named ours Cali. The other two have gotten together.

Cali, Bahra, and Corazon. Because the first one has a little heart-shaped white spot. Yeah. So we've been playing in a little doggy reunion. Yeah. And how did that work out? Honestly, you said you smuggled the dogs back, but I know that we go through a very rigorous inspection

on our side of the border with our customs officials, and they look inside your car. And in practice, what I've found is, while you are supposed to go online and fill out some forms, which I have done, there's not a whole lot of rigamarole either going south with a dog or coming north with a dog.

Yeah, in practice. I've done it. You know, I brought my dogs to Baja, my entire life of traveling in Baja. And I got the USDA certificate, blah, blah, blah, blah, never been asked for it. So, you know, I made tags for her and we took her across, and she was nice and quiet and just sat in the back. She was scared to death. Sure. She was like, she's like, oh, my gosh.

What am I doing here? What am I doing here? I just got, aliens just picked me up and it stuffed me in the back of this, in the back of the, in the back of the, coma and she had a little pillow and I got her a collar and a name tag and all that. So, you know, there wasn't any questions. I think they're more interested in all the bad stuff, the bad guys are bringing across. Yeah, yeah. I mean, they're looking for guns and drugs and whatever. They're not looking for people who are going to give a dog a new life. Yeah. All right. So it was, that was great. And I did, I wanted to circle back around on your question about what I bring to Baja or traveling

in general. I think one of the things. that people get tied up in is like, yeah, we're going to do this trip, whether it's to Africa or going to Baja, is they spend so much time researching the gear and buying this and that and the other thing. And pretty soon, you know, they've got all this stuff. But it's like, to me, it's more about the experience. And I would say you can forego a lot of that stuff and just go out there and do it. You know, I mean, you know, and, and, you know, and, and, you know, and, you know, and, you know, and, you know, and. And depending on people's budgets, it's like, you know, you can spend a lot of money on that stuff, which is great. I mean, a lot of, so much of it has a purpose. But to me, it doesn't make up for maybe the lack of experience. If you just, like, get your recovery gear, get some good tires, get your camp gear together, get a map, have some common sense, and head south with a map and talk to people. Always talk to people. Talk to the locals.

Go to the guy at the taco stand. Learn a little bit of Spanish. and say, what's interesting around here to go see? Are there good beaches? Or is there something interesting in the mountains? Or is there any old Spanish missions or, you know, just get out there and do it? Yeah, I would say that if you unfold a big map or you open your benchmark or your Baja Atlas, in somebody's small roadside cafe, they have a table where you're able to do that on the final floral printed tablecloth.

Somebody will inquire it. What are you doing? Where are you going? And if you're huddled over your phone, looking maybe at the very same thing on your small screen, I don't think, I think that sends a signal that says, don't bother me. Yeah. I'm scrolling Facebook or something like that. I don't know. And what you're doing right there is crowdsourcing information from people who have posted information online instead of asking the people who live right there who may very well tell you that my cousin has a.

a palapa out there at that beach. And if you say that Juanita sent you, you might get onto a pretty interesting evening. That's right. Because they're going to say, or that road washed out on the last storm and you can't get there. That's right.

And that's valuable inside information as well. It could save you hours. Don't be afraid to talk to the locals. Don't be afraid to turn down an alleyway. If you see a taco stand that's down some dark alleyway and there's a whole bunch of people in front of it, that's because they have good tacos. That's because they have excellent tacos.

We have tacos go where the locals go. We were talking about memorable meals if you had to pick like your top five. One of them was out near Pontomaria, which is on the Lost Coast area. With me, it was 28 or 29 years ago. Buddy of mine were out there. We went out fishing for the day out on the point, a mile away from our vehicle. We come back and two locals, the fishermen, there's nothing around. I mean, on Lost Coast back then there was really nothing around.

Two guys are sitting there in my camp, our camp. And one of them had a lobster and another one had a set of shark jaws. They wanted to trade us for beer. They were fishermen from the fish camp. There was nothing around. Everything came from the cigarettes, the beer, anything came from El Hefe in the fish camp. They wanted to trade for beer. And to show you, you know, an example of how dishonest these people are,

our beer was sitting underneath the tailgate of my truck all day. Just sitting out there to open. They could have taken it. They could have taken it. Yeah. I mean, we came back, but they wanted to trade. So we worked out a deal. I'm like, I want the shark jaws.

I still have them. Kevin wanted a lobster. And then he realized he wanted shark jaws, too. So they're like, oh, in a moment, so regressamos, we'll be back. And so they went back, carved out another set of shark jaws, came back with like five pounds of shark meat and the jaws. And one was Daniel and the El Hefe,

The older guy was named Eduardo. And he was like the old man on the sea. And they wanted to make Machaca. So they made a bloody mess out of my camp kitchen on my tailgate of my truck. You know, tomatoes, you know, tomatoes and savoya and this everything. Tortillas. It was one of the best meals. They made saviche.

Cevice. No, they made machaca. Machaca. Machka. Okay. So they dragged it out. One of the most memorable meals I've had. What did it cost?

A couple of people. We finished off all of my beer and just about all the tequila we had. Yeah. But it was like, it was amazing. It's like we finally, you know, we finally were like, like, I don't know, midnight, one o'clock, two in the morning. I don't know, we're like, we gotta get rid of these guys. I gotta go to sleep.

But it was, you know, awesome people. And you just need to open yourself up to the experience, to letting them, you know, to letting them get to know you, you know. Well, nice getting to know you a little bit over the years. And I would be remissing to know you a little bit over the years. if I didn't ask you about your experience on the Slow Baja Vintage Expedition. So I feel like I roped you into this thing over a number of years trying to get you involved in the Slow Baja Safari with Nora and some other things.

And finally, you know, I was peppering you about coming on this trip. And it was the 50th anniversary of Sal marking his first 1975 Baja 1000. And I thought you were going to be in my mind. you were going to be Sal's minder. I didn't think you were going to be a photographer, photojournalist writing a story about the thing. So I thought in my mind, you know, I need to get Chris involved to look after Sal,

because Sal said he was going, which I always thought he was going to say, I can't, last minute, sorry, can't do it. Then I realized you're going to bring this amazing vehicle, and I'm not going to subject Sal to riding, you know, 800-something miles in your amazing vehicle, you know, which would be a little bit too close, to the way he did it in 1975 in a Volkswagen thing,

you know, all open exposed. And I'm very much like you. I'm, you know, it's an open vehicle exposed, half doors, vinyl top, and all that stuff. And so that's when I, you know, reached out to Alana. I said, can you get something with air conditioning and B-Salle's minder? And I felt very much that you were going to be able to sell a trip.

And when Alana said that, you know, she was coming, I said, do you work with Chris? And she said, she did. And I felt that that was going to be a good match. And then you did your separate article for Haggerty, which has not come out as time of this recording. So what did you learn? We had a lot of vehicles on that trip, 20, 20 vehicles, 40 people. What did you learn on that?

Or what was maybe your highlight of that trip? Yeah. Well, first of all, having Sal ride with Delano was awesome. That was perfect. And the reason I figured that out very shortly, very quickly. is because Sal had so many amazing stories. And in my Jeep, you can't hear it, aren't they? You can't hear.

And I'm losing my hearing from driving mine. I kept, like, cupping over the microphone on my radio, trying to, you know, I don't have an intercom system. I should, that's what I need to get for it. And that if he was writing with me, he wouldn't have been able to share all those stories with everyone. Because he just couldn't hear. So that actually worked out great.

You know, I learned a lot about, I've known South through the industry circles, but never really had a time to, you know, spend time with him. And how much fun. I mean, the guy is 86 years old. How do I want to be when I'm 86? Exactly. He's got so much energy. He's got the sense of humor of a late-night comedian.

I mean, you were there. He comes off with these rips, these wild jokes off. You're like, really? And just a smile that doesn't stop. He was smiling at everything. Legit. Smiling in everything. Yeah. So I thought this little Baja your trip was, you know, was really, really fun and a great way. And I wrote this in the Haggerty article is coming up.

Which I haven't seen yet. No, it hasn't come out yet. A great way for somebody to get their feet wet in Baja and have a great experience. I mean, I really liked some of the camps that you went to. And folks who are listening and are watching, I'm not blowing smoke up Michael's skirt. And I'm not asking him to. You know, but the... I've been very nice to you for this entire interview, though. You know, the camps that we ended up, the ranchos that we went into, a bolita. Yeah, Rancho La Biotta.

I mean, that guy, Raul, huh? And the other one was Concepcion. And those Vitsa and Cesar are lovely. They're just lovely. Awesome. So places that I've, like, driven by, you know, obviously they're kilometers off of the main track, but I would have no idea that they were. 10 miles above melling for Vita and Cesar. And you probably would never go to Raoul's ranch.

It's a half hour down to dirt road. Didn't know it was there. Exactly. But it's so close yet so, so far away. And that was gold. You know, those were highlights. I think besides having a lot of, you know, vintage rides, which always makes, you know, a trip interesting. It's the people.

Again, it comes down to the people that were on the trip. Everybody was, you know, so like-minded. Everybody loved old iron. And when, you know, I mean, I was like super embarrassed because you weren't there, but I'd been working on this thing on Edlet, like all hours of all days leading up to it. Somebody needed fuel coming out of that first camp. And I'm like, I got some fuel. They're both having fuel problems. Yeah.

Yeah. So I come back and like, okay, ended up that I didn't have as much fuel in my can as I thought. So I'm like, well, I'll just pop the hood and we'll pump, you know, take the fuel line off and use the fuel pump. to, I pop the hood, Kurt, right, mind you, off-road Hall of Fame guy, Kurt LaDuke, famed racer, off-road Hall of Famer. We pop the hood. The mechanic and sweep of this trip. And he's like, you're missing the cap on your power steering pump.

I'm like, oh, jeez. I look in there. I'm like, you know, I've just, like I said, long days scrambling trying to. And then I think it was Mark on the other side. He's like, you know you got an air filter laying down here on the side of your motor? I'm like, am I actually admitting this to the public? I think I am. But it was such chaos trying to get everything.

You had a few things on your mind. Yeah, you had a few things on your mind. I found that power steering cap, which is amazing. It was sitting in a box over here because I was like throwing stuff in boxes and I just forgot. And I forgot to put it back on. So that just gets covered up with some plastic bag over it. Okay, yeah, all right. So, yeah, that was embarrassing, especially with Kurt.

And I'm like, oh, okay. Everybody's, I'm like, first day, this guy's like, this guy is a regular knucklehead. Well, this is why I bring a mechanic on the trip. I don't always have somebody as famous as Kurt LaDuke, but that's why I bring a mechanic. And had you had a splinter, well, Mark could have taken the splinter out of your hand because he was my medic, a mechanic. A medic and a mechanic. That's a little insurance for me. Yeah.

So anyway, I was embarrassed. But anyway, we, you know, put a zip-tied plastic bag. over the power steering, put my air filter back on. I actually had an extra air filter with me. I carried some of those parts. And I was really happy because Edlet ran awesome, the whole rest of the trip. All the way up to Mike Sky Ranch. It was amazing.

Yeah. Okay. So we're going to put you on the spot for that story. That's a campfire yarn right there. All right. Well, again, I'm delighted you made the effort and you brought this magnificent vehicle down, which we haven't discussed, but this vehicle is part of the Mark Smith. team of vehicles that went all the way up the Pan American Highway and through the thought to be

impassable at one point in the day in the world, the Darien Gap. And this was one of a team of seven vehicles or five, five vehicles? There were six, but only five CJs that did the Darien. The other was a wagon air support vehicle. And this has the dents to prove it. Tree fell on it or something. Yeah, yeah. It was, they had a lot of mechanical issues and it was being towed. According to Tim, Tim, Stegan, who is an OG on that trip, and they were toned it, and it got Caddywampus and got rolled over in a creek. So just an honor to own it. It's a whole other story on how I ended up with this vehicle.

Well, it's just an honor that you actually used it and brought it on my trip. I mean, even if you didn't have the power steering cap or the air filter in or any of the other stuff, you were willing to help your fellow jeepers who all the problems were with jeepers this year. So I admit that. And now Michael's not going to let that one die. No, no. I'm going to hear that again. Not at all.

But you would mention OG. I think of you as an OG. And best way for folks to follow what you're doing, Google searching Chris Collard, C-O-L-L-A-R-D-C-H-R-I-S. Just like the vegetable if you're from the South. Yeah, the collared green. So if you're Google searching that, you'll see lots and lots of articles and lots of articles that you've photographed and written. and lots of information about you, the person.

Lots of podcasts I noticed are out there. I'm surprised. I actually Googled myself. And I'm like, oh, no. Don't tell anybody. I'm sorry? Don't tell anybody you're Googling yourself. I did. I googled myself.

I'm like, oh, that's kind of fun. A lot of stuff you forget about, you know, over time. Yeah. And then I got in. I will tell you you have an ancient, is that a website? Is that a one from like the first part of the internet? I'm sorry. Your website?

You have a website. I do have a website. And why don't you give people a web address? It is. adventurearchitects.com. Adventurearchitects.com? Do you have a Facebook? You know, my website is just a, it's photo gallery and stuff.

It's a, it's a smug mug. So it is a, you know, I don't have like a. True smug mug, folks, that says it all right there. It's just, yeah, I don't, I'm horrible in that respect, you know, and I'm not. You don't have time for that stuff. You don't have time for that stuff. The social media thing, you know, I'm Chris Collard on social media, whether it's Instagram or Facebook.

But, yeah, I mean, I didn't, I never. I never had a grand desire to, like, be the guy that jumps out in front of the camera. Right. You know, more comfortable behind it. Yeah, you're pretty good behind it. So I figured I'd stay in my lane in that respect. You know, the website, even though it's through smug-mug, it's more just marketing. If somebody wants to find out who I am or what I've done, I mean, it's got different pages for covers and columns and, you know, wildlife and that type of thing.

It says you're legit. It says you're legit. I mean, I don't, if you wanted to see the number of people that go to my website, it's probably very small. I don't really care, but. Well, we're going to leave it right there. One more thing. They can find this, we've been doing a restoration. So I get involved with Rick Payway and Mike Carrington and these guys.

Cheap legends, some cheap legends there. I mean, a guy that one of my mentors when I kind of started, he would redline all my editorial stuff. And I'm like, oh, why don't you like this? He goes, nobody cares. Get to the point. But so anyway, we started this thing called G-O-N-G-E-E-E-E-P-N-G-E-E-P-N-G-G-O-N-G-E-P-N-G-E-P-N-G-E-P-N. And we've been doing, and we started it for fun. Like, if we make enough money to, like, buy ourselves and the group breakfast at the Moab Diner each year, that's a win, you know. So, gone jeepen.

It's the word. And we've been doing all kinds of fun Jeep videos, like, all Jeep all the time, even though I've got tootas and other stuff. Yeah, but I've been doing a restoration project on this and not going to mess with the patina, the dance, or any of that stuff, but just mechanical. So, yeah. All right, fun stuff. Gone Jeepin, that's on social media, that's on YouTube.

It's on YouTube, yeah. Yeah, social media. And Chris, have a safe drive down to Baja. Can't wait till our paths cross again. I'll be looking for that Haggerty article in the Drivers Club magazine. And I appreciate seeing the photos of of the Ineos Grenadier and you snuck a few photos of

the vintage trucks in there and you got a picture of Frank in there. Yep. Yeah. Yeah. With the dog food. I think he's, we were standing on the tailgate. Yep, exactly. Loading up that Ineos quartermaster full of dog food to give to Rick Howe. And so before we part, I think you're going to be down in Baja

in a week or so too. So I can't wait. Yeah, I will be in my I will be in my other Land Cruiser. I have a 1990 Landcruiser 80 series with the Camp Tech conversion European import and I'm getting a new set of shield man seats put in and some wheels and some tires. I'll be seeing the magnificent Zalzin who's working on the Pacific Crest Trail, finding an extension through the mountains of Baja. So I'm looking forward to interviewing her down in Catavina. Well, we may cross pass because I get done with Nora and then I'm going to

meander my way north. And are you, will you be at Overline Expo? Not this year, actually. Sorry. I get back and I got a quick turn time. I got to go to Detroit for a shoot with the ramp trucks. Busy man. Glad you made some time for me today. Thank you so much. And you made me lunch and a beautiful cup of coffee. So, yeah, so appreciative to be on the show and on the podcast.

And again, it's always fun sitting down and hanging out. And hopefully, like I said, hopefully I'll see you in a week or so. And we'll... Can't wait. To a little tequila around the fire. I'll have some. Okay. All right.

Thanks, Chris. We did it. Well, I hope you like that conversation. Chris is a great guy and I really love getting to people's homes sitting down in his garage with his trucks and his gear and his stuff and his dog and my dog. And if you like all that stuff, if you like the way I roll, if you like me going to see these people where they are, where they live, putting in the time, putting in the miles, putting in the gasoline, please, please, drop a taco in the tank. Please drop a taco in the tank. I am imploring you taco holding folks. Share a few with me.

I need it to keep on doing what I'm doing. I'm closing in on show 180, which means I'm not very far away from show 200. I will get there this year with your support. So slowbaha.com slash donations, drop some tacos in the tank. And if you don't have tacos, I get it. I get it, but I'm not letting you off the hook.

You really do need to go to Apple or Spotify. a five, drop a five-star review. Tell people why you're listening to the show. It does help folks find me. It does help the show grow. And that is super important. Okay, well, I will be back with a great show very, very soon. And until then, I'm going to leave you with my pal, Mary McGee, her pal, Steve McQueen. And you know, Steve, he loved Baja. He really did. He loved driving the Baja boot. He loved riding motorcycles with the Eakins brothers. He loved all that stuff. And he said, You know, Mary, Bahá's life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting.

You know, people always ask me, what's the best modification that I've ever made to slow Bahá? Without a doubt, it's my Shielman seats. You know, Toby at Shield Man USA could not be easier to work with. He recommended a Vero F for me and a Vero F XXL for my navigator, Ted. His Ted's kind of a big guy. And Toby was absolutely right. The seats are great.

fit both of us perfectly. And let me tell you, after driving around Baja for over a year on these seats, I could not be happier. Shieldman, slow Baja approved, learn more and get yours at shieldman.com. You know, I'm all about keeping things simple, travel and light, and finding the really good stuff. And that's why I've been wearing iron and resin for years. It's not just clothes. It's gear that holds up in the dust, the salt, the spilled tacos, and still looks good when you roll into town. Made in small batches by folks who care, no flash, no fast fashion, just the kind of stuff that gets better, the more you wear. Check them out at iron and resin.com and pick up something that'll last the next thousand miles.