December 10, 2025
This journal entry doesn’t have any photos, but a few videos, let me know if you like the change (photos will return in 2 days)
The day is here for me to finally start leaving for the Vamos a Baja project that I have been selling, promoting, and, well, annoying the hell out of all of you for the past few months. If that annoyed you, I am sorry, but on the bright side, the project sold out and I am happy to say, the next 2.5 months are going to be filled with adventures, so follow along on your favorite platform:
If you don’t care about social media, you are a better human than me and I don’t suggest you start. But, this is enough of a rant, so let’s dive into the preperartion required for this Vamos a Baja project.
Preparing for a 10-week road trip to Baja is a labor of love. Something will go wrong, so planning a road trip project like this is about building out resources to not get into trouble. This mental freedom allows for more fun and creativity with the camera along the road trip.
Here is a short list of maintenance for my van to prepare it for the journey:
Get insurance for Baja. I used Baja Bound and the cost was $450
100k check-up and an oil change. This cost $2100 OUCH!
New tires, shout out to Hankook Tires for gifting the Dynapro AT2’s to me. This cost $200-something to install
Have my awning welded as it broke on the last trip to Colorado - a $200 mistake
Fill the propane and buy new water jugs. I now have 21 gallons of water I can hold
There are still a few more maintenance items scheduled for Dec 12th due to delayed parts.
In total, I will be spending roughly $4,000 to get the van ready and if I had to pay for the tires, it would be closer to $5,500!
After I take a deep breath and realize that I am not going to go broke from the maintenance of the van, I looked towards the inside:
Camera gear
Clothing
Surfboards & SUPS
Snorkeling
Camp gear like tables, chairs, etc.
Warm layers (I will be making a short detour to NYC for two events in January)
Fire-pit
Living requirements like pots, pans, food, bedding, etc.
Yup, this is a fully loaded van that is ready to roll down highway at speeds far to fast. I’ll admit now that I am a speeder.
Not all of the packing for the trip to Baja was done in a single day, but over the past five days, the van has been getting cleaned and packed. Today, was just the last full day of preparing for the road. Now, the van is loaded up and we are heading to Baja starting tomorrow.
So, I guess this is good luck to myself in some way, right?! Wish us luck!
Again, thank you to anyone and everyone reading this. If you have enjoyed this journal entry, shoot me an email to say hey: dalton@dalton-johnson.com
✌️
About Dalton:
Dalton Johnson is a photographer, filmmaker, and writer.
Over the last 10 years, Dalton’s creative work has taken him to every continent, above the arctic circle, and below the antarctic circle.
His travels are documented in a free, weekly newsletter called UnBound, which is written for those daring to build their dream life.