Misc data and adventures of a Tayopa treasure hunter

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

Morning Annie, wonderful to see you posting again. 'Any' posts that you make are welcome by me, no matter where they may be. Your post is quite interesting and factual, and breeds a ton of speculation. Soo many Tayopas may fit that data. Another of the many problems on the search for Tayopa.

Coffee?

Don Jose de La Mancha

 

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[poorhunter78]

My attempt to play Sascha Seimel (Tigrero)with a broke handled 3prong pitchfork after a bobcat that ran into a very low crawl space under a house pales in comparison to that story ,Senior .

>I'll just get back on the porch and listen to the real dogs

back to the keyboard with yuh!!!!

 

[peralta]

Hello Don jose, hope your fine.someone earlier mentioned opata.remember you would be talking more on the border line.take care my friend for soon will have coffee.

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

HIO, wanna hear of my Orchid seed hunting?

Don Jose de La Mancha

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

Ok peeps, go to the patio where Lupita will serve you cold drinks of your choice.

It was back in the winter of 1864 - 9? can't remember dates too clearly lately (snicker but I was following up a story on a lost jesuit mine when a local mentioned that there was copper near by.

So I saddled up my mule, and off I went. It was a two day journey, and I had two cold, very high rivers to cross.. The first night I spent in an Indian's small hut, since it was drizzling, and I was grateful to have a dry place to sleep instead of under a small piece of tarp.

I remember as I rode up to his isolated little hut, he came to the door and told me "Bienvenido senor, mi casa es suyo" "Welcome sir, my house is yours.

After unsaddling and seeing to my mules comfort and dinner, I returned to his hut. I found him, his wife, and three lil kiddies inside. It was a single room with a small open fire on one side to cook with. He had a small wobbly wooden, home made, table and three similar chairs. All cooking utensils were home made from wood or clay.. They slept on the floor with one blanket.

As I was laying out my blankets, his lil wife came to me and shyly told me that dinner was ready. I went to the table to find two tortillas, a few beans and a glass of warm sugar cane juice. Hmm, as I was folding the tortilla, I noticed the three little kiddies huddled in the corner, watching me very intently and anxiously?

I asked my host why they weren't eating.? He rather matter of fact said that his crop of corn had failed, and that was all they had to eat, this and his sugar cane juice.

Sheesh, for some reason my appetite just disappeared, so I opened my saddle bags and brought out my store of day old Tortillas, dried meat, some spices, and Coffee. So we had a nice dinner and put the kiddies to sleep with full tummies.

His wife almost cried over the coffee, she said that she hadn't tasted any in over a year, so naturally I left my coffee with her. I also left the #5 bag of hard candy which I always carried for the isolated ranch kiddies that I met.
To me it wasn't a big thing, but to them it was , since the head of the family probably only made one or two trips a year and their candy was low priority.

The next day was clear and sunny, so I left my wonderful hosts, who were willing to share whatever they had with a stranger. I also left most of my trail money with them and continued on my way

As for getting a mule to cross two swift rivers, with icy water chest high, sigh, that is for another day. However, after crossing I cleaned up, shaved and made myself presentable.

The trail wound up and up until it broke out into a valley with the trail running up the middle with houses on both sides.

Since I had an interested and critical audience, I sat straight in the saddle with the most dignified manner that I could think of, and continued. The trail passed over a small rock wall that had collapsed. As my mule reached this spot, she gave a little jump and slid completely out from under the saddle leaving me still sitting in the saddle on top of the remains of the wall...

My audience broke out in a roar , laughing and yelling, with tears runing down their faces, sheesh talk about embarrassing. Naturally, all that I cold do was to shrug my shoulders and grin. They loved it, and they are all still my friends to this day.

Don jose de la Mancha

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

Hola saturday story coming up

Don jose de La Mancha

 

[releventchair]

5

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

Flying or Border Patrol stories ok??

Don jose de La Mancha

 

[releventchair]

your driving, Don Jose. Where ever you would like to take us.

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

G'afternoon RChair: twas back 43, while on the Canal, I received a letter from a friend of the families that was a specialist in Orchids. He lived, breathed, and I suspect, ate orchids.

He simply asked me for some orchid seeds of any type that I could find. sheesh simple request no?

After asking and looking around I simply couldn't find any. Those tropical trees where they grew were just too high.

I must have scouted around everywhere I could, looking, asking the Natives, and bugging whoever else I could corner.

No Orchid seeds.

Then one day after a particularly heavy bombing by the Japanese, I found that they had answered my request.

Among the many huge trees that they had blown down, one had orchids that had been in bloom so I started poking and peeking at one in particular and finally found a bit of dust that was almost a fine as talcum powder, it hopefully was composed of seeds, which was later confirmed.

Now the next step was how to send them to him? Our only means of letters at that time was called "V" mail. it consisted of a single page, short letter form that was microfilmed, sent to the states, then blown up to normal size and posted. How --n-ell was I supposed to send any Orchid dust seeds.

Then I found one of our aircraft being sent back to New Caledonia, then on to Northern Ausiee land.

So being almost as good a scrounger as the Marines, I arranged for one of the men to post my letter from there via regular mail.

How to post micro sized seeds?? I simply pasted them 'under' the stamp. heheh worked to perfection.

Almost two years later, I found that he had received them, some thousand seeds, and every one that he planted grew. He was happy as a hound dog wth a bone.

Late he told me that they were a new variety of spray Orchids, and that he had received many honors. He also named the new variety after me in thanks.

So you see, not all treasures are underground or water

Don Jose de La Mancha.

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

 

[poorhunter78]

Flying or Border Patrol stories ok??

Don jose de La Mancha

Hi Don Jose!

Your Adventures, Are just mere boyhood dreams to Me/Us! Most will Agree. Anything you write is a Treasure! So please don't feel like you have to ask what to tell.. I/We are like kiddies, You, and your Stories are the Candy store my Friend... So Write Away!

 

[truckinbutch]

What Poorhunter said x2 . What you fail to share with us will leave all of us poorer for never having heard your adventures . What you share with us could help keep some of us alive .

It is not just sharing stories . It is lessons in life for the less initiated .

>Sitting in the shadows of the fire as Doughboys , China Marines , and War2 vets talked and LISTENING(!) has gone a long way in keeping me alive to this point .
>Give us the benefit of your experience . Please !

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

Hola gentlemen: I thank you in that you seem to think that my misc stories are worth reading, gracias, but I need to again remind you that I cannot post hand to gland / fang stories daily.

Sheesh while my life so far hasn't been that active, one can hope.

Conditions in Mexico are deteriorating, they are now finding bodies of executed people in my bro. in law's cerco, fields. Latest one had been shot in the head.

Just think, Mexico has effectively out lawed firearms, and disarmed her law abiding civilian population, so naturally violent crime is going down ??

The days when all I would meet was perhaps 3 or4 bandidos in a small gang are gone, now it is most likely a band of 12 - 40 narcos with auto weapons.

It all has a distinct bearing on a wierd dream that I had on Guadalcanl in 43, everything is playing out exactly as it was dreamed, curious.


Don Jose de La Mancha

 

[coazon de oro]

Hell O Don Jose,

Those auto weapons are the Mulato specials from operation fast and furious. I know they make your pistola look like it was made in China.

I hope your dream had a good ending, or are the stories about to get better? Cuida el pellejo, it will be a very long time before things are back to normal in old Mexico. It would please us more to know that you are safe, than to see the riches of the Tayopa.

Homar

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

Good morning Ladies & Gentlemen: I was notified that a memberof our club has passed away.We did have a very short bit of correspondence some years ago, he was very gracias.

Another Explorers Club Member and legend, Neil Armstrong MED’76, has moved on to ultimate exploration stardom, passing away Saturday, Aug. 25th, from complications of heart surgery. Armstrong, 82, was the modern embodiment - the actual realization, if you will - of the hoary myths, millennia-old, of the "Man on the Moon."
Fellow Explorer James M. Clash FR’99, a long-time friend of Armstrong’s, wrote a memorial piece for Bloomberg BusinessWeek Sunday. It can be found here: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-26/memories-of-neil-armstrong-shy-hero-american-patriot.html
As first to walk on the lunar surface, he joined his fellow Club Members to realize the biggest dreams of our species—Sir Edmund Hillary (first to climb the world’s highest mountain, Everest); Robert Peary (first to reach the North Pole); Roald Amundsen (first to reach the South Pole); Don Walsh (first to dive to the deepest point in the oceans); and John Glenn (first American to orbit the earth).
Armstrong, an Explorers Club member since 1976, also received our highest award, The Explorers Medal, for reaching the farthest point man has ever explored. Along with fellow EC Member astronauts Buzz Aldrin MED’76 and Michael Collins MED’76, he was awarded an Explorers Club Flag to carry aboard the Apollo 11 capsule. That flag, which flew to the moon, has since been retired permanently and can be viewed at our historic Lowell Thomas Clubhouse in New York.
Armstrong’s "giant leap for mankind" is an apex in the history of world exploration. His memory will be treasured by all Members of his beloved Explorers Club, which he last visited just this past spring for a Lindbergh Foundation event.
R.I.P. Mr. Armstrong. The world is a lesser place without you.


Don Jose de La Mancha

 

[PROSPECTORMIKEL]

IT'S A SAD AND WONDERFUL THING TO BE REMEMBERED FOR ONE'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
THAT WAS A BEAUTIFUL TRIBUTE TO A GREAT MAN.
THANK YOU, DON JOSE.

GOD BLESS.
MIKEL

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

Hi my friends. I commenced to watch movies online, particularly western ones, even the corny Italian ones. However, two did bring me up short, they were "The Bravados" with Gregory Peck, also 'Garden of evil ' with Gary Cooper.

Incidentally that trail on the cliff still exists, but it has not collapsed in the center section as in the movie..It was the original trail down to La Reforma mine. I tried to get it but lost in the sorteo. They did lose pack animals and people on that trail though.

The filming is perfect and the scenery is superb. They travel over much of the ground that I did in the 50's. I could easily feel myself riding my mule back then again. The country became real. Those deep, distant barrancas were the ones where I explored in the initial phases of Lost Jesuit mine hunting.

I often spent weeks alone without meeting another human, and in those hidden barancas is where I had a few encounters with bandidos.

There are flocks of huge wild turkeys in the hundreds in the distant mesas and barrancas, Deer also. So it was only of a matter of a shot or so every week with my pistol to have plenty of camp meat..

The high falls that Gregoy Peck rides past is La Basaseachi, now a popular tourist mecca with Swiss Chalet type hotels etc. A highway now crosses the Sierras from Hermosillo to Chihuahua city, with modern gasoline stations every so often, and motels, sigh.

I first heard of the Basaseachi falls from an old Chinapa Indian. So I took off north from Chinapas, up the Chinapas river barrancas, then crossed over to the north west to the Mayo drainage and continued to the falls. It took me days to reach them, I had to make my own trail at times. I camped down below the falls for another three days, ate some trout, then returned to Chinapas. Now it is only a matter of a few hours in an air-conditioned car sigh.

Yes, this picture brought back many memories. I miss that country as it was, sigh, Nights where one could lie on his blanket, drink his hot coffee, listen to the coyotes sing their lonely songs of lost love and dinners earned, sniff the fresh, deliciously scented Pine air, which hinted of frost by morning, roll over and it 'was' morning. sigh.

So if you have access to movies on line, I strongly suggest watching 'Los Bravados' with Gregory Peck. and Gardenof Evil with Gary Coopper.if you don't have a movie channel, try searching for 'free online movies' which require no information from you, and join me for nostalgic riding. sigh.

Don Jose de La Mancha

 

[Cubfan64]

Thanks for the recommendations RDT - I'll definitely look them up! You've got some great memories to look back on! Places like you describe are fewer and fewer every day!

 

[truckinbutch]

C'mon ,now ; RDT asked for adventure stories to be shared with all for the education and amusement of all . He said they didn't have to be in pursuit of treasure . Surly you guys aren't going to hide your earned wisdom from all and let this thread expire because what you did wasn't in pursuit of treasure . The fact that you are able to post here is proof that you managed to save one treasure for a number of years .