Thanks for the input guys!
PLEASE also keep into perspective the details of the stories you are hearing about on the news.
My friend Chris Hall (was part of the Corona Class1 team with me) was the father/driver of the truck and family that got kidnapped last year coming home from the Baja1000. The story made huge headlines and scared a lot people. I feel that incident is what started the whole "Fear Of Baja" thing. He is a good friend of mine, i have traveled baja with him for years, and i feel for his family, BUT being a very seasoned "Baja Vet" he broke some key rules when this incident happend:
-He was driving @ 2am
-He was traveling solo
-He was driving a 2007 F350 all modded up
-He was towing a HUGE McMillin Racing trailer.
No disrespect meant to him or his family, but seriously, thats a roling target for crime anywhere!
Also, the similar story to his was the surfers from SD, same scenario, 4-5am, pitch black, flashy trucks with tons of gear, traveling near TJ, cmon now, a little common sense? TJ is bad news anyway ya look @ it, nevermind @ 4am!
I still feel its plenty safe to travel in Baja with some common sense rules.
Here are my RULES that i try my best to stick to when in Baja:
-99% of the crime/violence you are hearing about is in Tijuana or Rosarito, simple commen sense, dont go there

-There is NO REASON whatsoever to ever go to Tijuana, EVER
-Travel with a mininum of 4 vehicles
-Do not drive @ night, period
-ONLY Cross in Tecate, NO EXCEPTIONS! (i add 2+ hours to some of my trips following this rule, but i feel its that important)
-2m radio coms in each vehicle, CBs simply dont have the range down there, often times we are spaced apart quite a bit because of dust.
-Stay together as a group, IE, no one leaves camp solo to "run to the store", etc...
-Travel $ is well hidden, keep $40 or so handy, in case
-@ Militaty checkpoints, as soon as your clear, pull over and wait for your group, stay together
-Parking lot attendants are ALL crooks, DO NOT, repeat, DO NOT leave your car attended because the restauraunt or hotel says they have "Security", these are the crooks!
-ALWAYS pay attention to your change, double check your change when paying for gas, food, etc.. using the 10:1 rule. Exchange rate is always flucuating but its always around 10:1
-99% of the locals down there love visitors, talk with them as best ya can, share extra food or water you might have
All i can think of, off the top of my head, i will update/edit the post as i remember them
Once the weather cools off a bit, i hope to be going back at least once a month!
Anyone else care to chime in?
In the end, the discussion often leads to "Is it worth all the trouble?" The extra planning, the back-watching, the hassles, the added stress, all for a good-sized payoff of what California looked like a hundred years ago, or hollow, uncrowded surf, or great fishing?
I hear ya on that one. For me, YES, it is well worth the payoff. I grew up in Boston but often traveled to New Hampshire and Maine, where camping is camping, NOT where camping is making a reservation 6 months in advance for a postage stamp size campsite with 1000 other people with "Cruise America RV's" running their generators all night. Camping is not taking a shuttle to a trailhead and hiking a trail saying excuse me every 2 minutes cause its so crowded.
For me, camping and wheeling is all about getting away from it all, exploring, and adventure. I have traveled a good portion of CA and wheeled a good majority of the trails and while Death Valley is easily my fav, there is still the "No Dogs, No Fires, No Weapons, No Groups bigger then 6 trucks, No Camping Here, No This, No That", all the rules (which i know are for the greater good) kind of take away from the whole experience.
For me, i absolutely LOVE Baja and everything about it and want to keep going back as much as possible!
For anyone that was on our Feb trip to Mikes, Laguna Hansen, and The Observatory, you know exactly what i am talking about!
Try pulling a trip like that off in the states! HA, NO WAY!
Anyway, good thread, lets hear more input