We miss Pepito

A bit of sadness. Late Wed afternoon, our kitty, Pepito, darted out of Destino while we had our hands full. He and his brother, Minou, have done this before but Pepito has always been the daring one. We almost lost him at the Homeland Security checkpoint before Hoover Dam when he dove out. The guard grabbed him just in time. He did not come back so we decided to stay another day to see if he would. Sadly, he did not. We finally left Fri morning but new friends at Kino have our contact info if he returns. We pray that he is with a nice home on Kino Bay.

We left Kino at about 1000. Steve missed the turn off for the shortcut and we had to go back through Hermilsino. Not all bad since we got to see a Mexican city. Yes, we also saw: Walmart, Sams, Home Depot, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Sherman Williams’s Paints, and someone else that we are forgetting. We arrived at San Carlos (Guyamas) at about 1400. We didn’t care for the 1st RV park so we back tracked to Mirador. It is a first class facility with pool, hot tubs, full services, etc. But it is a bit sterile so we’ll only stay one night, rather than two. We thought it was on the water. That said, the views are great.



We did enjoy our visit into town. Charlie’s Rock had fantastic views at very low prices.



We then ventured to a very nice Mexican restaurant. We found out later that it is part of the university system that trains young people for the restaurant trade. In Mexican restaurants everywhere you get chips and salsa. But here, Alma made the Salsa to order!!!


A nice gentleman played very nice guitar music during our dinner.

Our primary waiter was Gonzalo, a very personable young man who has great dreams for his future. He will do very well…look for him in the high end tourist resorts. Daniele drove home because the Margaritas were VERY good. While we did not care for the RV park, we loved our visit to town. Still, all the people we meet are so very nice.

Bye Kino

Wed 13 December 2006

Another Sonora day. Wifi was great today so logged some time on SkyPE with family, Pop, and Wes. Amazing to hold a “conference” call with Claire and my brother from the Sonora desert for free! Most of the day was spent looking at the Bay. A nice fisherman came by and sold us a kilo of freshly caught skinned and filleted flounder for $8. He had beautiful shrimp also but we had that last night. Ernesto came with his wife and daughter and did a fantastic job. They washed and waxed the Jeep and washed Destino (including polishing the windows) for $45. He was supposed to wax it but felt that it needed to be compounded first and that would take a whole day and he did not want to take our money for less than a perfect job! We’ll get that done down the road.

We finished the day on the beach where the dogs had a great time being free. Bruno stayed in the water and swam like he hadn’t for years.

Tue 12 December 2006

Hummm, Ernesto didn’t show to wash and wax Destino….perhaps mañana? Can’t complain though since even back home folks don’t show when expected. There are Ernesto’s in every RV Park we hear.

A laid back day. The excitement was a “parade” of shrimp boats and smaller boats with many townspeople aboard. The lead boat carried a replica of the Virgin Mary and the procession went to a shrine on the other part of Kino. We couldn’t see much since they did not come very close to shore. We understand that all of the towns will be having such processions between now and Christmas day. Nice to have the religious aspects of the season emphasized!


Played with the internet a bit but wifi is spotty and we now know why. Went to the office and saw that the Linksys router (probably like you have in your house with 2 antennas sticking up) is sitting on the roof with a rock holding it down . Hey, but there is wifi here very deep in the Sonora desert, a long way from civilization. By the way, check into SkyPE for phone service on the road! We just got hooked on it and are amazed…essentially free…all you need is internet access. We’ve talked daily with family. Danièle chatted with her parents in France for about 20 minutes and the cost was 34 cents!

We drove and walked around the dirt street village a bit and noted that the people are very poor yet they are all doing something and very friendly to us even when they are just passers by and not merchants. We also made an observation: even though we are right on the sea, there is no humidity. The Sonora desert keeps things dry, even on the sea.

Just another day :-)

Mon 11 Dec

We had a quiet day getting into the Mexico vacation state of mind. Daniele did a lot of house cleaning and several big pots of delicious stew. We’re trying to figure out our schedule: we’re not ready to leave here but there’s 600 miles between here and where we need to be on the 22nd and there are several other places that we want to see and stay at,

Met more of our neighbors and found them all very interesting from all walks of life. At least here, there’s no evidence of snobbery. A couple (she from Switzerland and her husband from Indonesia) and their 2 young children are in a tent. They participate in the sunset gathering along with all the others. We’re all passing DVDs around for viewing.

There must be 20 shrimp boats working right off from where we are. A lady came through selling fresh shrimp and of course we bought some. Fellows also came through selling carvings…we passed. The propane truck came through and filled our tanks….a very efficient system they had. A fun thing: our Canadian neighbor came over and said…he’s coming…you’ll want this! We heard a truck with a loud PA speaker and a cute little song as he rode through the neighborhood outside the campground. Sure enough he pulled in and here was a small pickup with a burner, a vat of hot oil sloshing around, and a device that extruded dough into the oil. The result was a cinnamon doughnut thing that was fantastic! Think they are call churros…Daniele got mad at me because I ate most of them.

Hola!!!!

Sat, 9 Dec. Go South!!!

Got an early start (0655) in 15 degree weather. Proceeded back to I-40 and then East until I-15 in Flagstaff where we then headed south. Very nice road through the desert with fantastic views. Warmed up as we came down from Grand Canyon’s 7,000 feet to around 1,000 in Phoenix. As we approached Phoenix, started seeing the Suargo cactus (the one’s that look like a person…probably spelling it wrong.) On past Tucson and to Nogales on the border.

Here’s where it gets exciting (for us anyway). We pulled into a campground that was mentioned in one of our books at 1430. We planned to do a little shopping and then study all the info we had on the border crossing, etc. Well, we were parked for about 10 minutes in this “trailer park” and Daniéle says: why don’t we just cross the border? Well, that is not the plan I thought….for about 30 seconds and then the Mexican attitude struck and we started the engine! We proceeded to the Mariposa crossing (designed for trucks and big rigs) and before we knew it, we were in Mexico!!!

The procedure is you proceed for about 21 KMs to the place where you get your visa and car import papers. As we neared what we thought was the place, we were waved off the highway into an area with huge tents and a zillion cars. The sign said this was the place for foreign cars. Well when we pulled to the entrance, the boss was in shock! We should not have been directed here…this was a temporary place for cars only. Our first encounter with the wonderful people of Mexico: the boss was apologetic and turned out several helpers to clear a path through the area so that we could get out. All the while he was apologizing. We got back on the highway and proceeded a few more km to the real place. Again, very nice people guided us to a parking place. Inside we went through a bureaucracy that was typical of all governments yet less onerous than our own. Without exception, all of the people were very nice, professional and anxious to help. Mexican nationals were going through the same maze as we. All told, it took an hour and forty-five minutes and we were back on the road. Not bad at all (the traffic at the north bound side going into the US was miles!!!

It is now dark. You’re not supposed to drive at night because the trucks are speeding and sometimes animals are on the road. Well, we were not going far and since there was so much traffic, it would not be bad. And that was true. We had a nice drive and saw some neat things. Several times we saw warning signs for Topes, which are speed bumps…and this was on a major highway. Well, you’d better pay attention and slow down. We found that these were in an area where there were lots of food stands and shops on both sides of the highway. Whereas we would have chain fast food places, they had these mom & pop stands. We wanted to stop but the day had been long so we pressed on.

Near Magdelena we saw a big Pemex station with lots of parking. Pemex is THE gas station all over Mexico…the only one. We pulled in and asked of we could stay overnight and the lady was shocked that we even asked. Big smile and “sure, sure… Buenos Noches” So we pulled to the side, cranked the generator and settled in. There was a neat little mom & pop food concession so we had a fantastic stew for dinner.



We’re excited! We’re about 4 hours ahead of where we would be if we had stayed in Nogales and have already had a great day of Mexico. Today: about 12 hours; 405 miles.

Sunday, 10 Dec Bye Pemex

Awoke after one of the bests sleeps ever. Lo and behold in front of us was another motor home that came in during the night and we chatted with the owner. They had just bought it because they were in an accident (in Mexico) and had turned over and totaled their 5th wheeler and car (they were not hurt). He said they decided they could go back to the US and mope or just proceed on. So they rented a car, drove to Tucson, bought a motor home, and were proceeding on. What a great spirit! Steve wandered around the Pemex and chatted with the staff…well, not really chatted; he smiled a lot and communicated in sign language, hand gestures, and Spanglish. Again, everyone was friendly and interesting…one of the staff chided his buddy for not being able to speak English after having been in DC for a little while.

About 0930 we left the Pemex for Bahia Keno via Hermosillo. To Hermosillo the road was all a divided highway with some parts toll and the other open. This road was pretty good. Smoother than many interstates, but what is missing is a paved shoulder and in may cases, a severe drop off from the paved part to the dirt….you have to stay alert. Tolls are not cheap…one stretch was about $14 and the other $5…this for a total distance of a little over 200 miles. Now, we do pay more for Destino’s 2 axles and the 2 on the Jeep.

Hermosillo seemed like a nice small town…saw a lot of our familiar chains: Walmart, Radio Shack, McD’s, and others we forget now. We then headed west for Bahia Kino on a free 2 lane road. We should say 2.75 lane road because in both directions there was a huge shoulder that almost made it 4 lanes. Very good road through the Sonora desert. The town on Kino is not much but the beach is fantastic. We left Destino at a Pemex station and the reconnoitered Kino for an RV park. We loved the very first one we saw but looked anyway. We came back and chatted with the manager, a very friendly and personable Mexican lady. She told us to take what whatever site we wanted. We asked about paying and she said just do it before we left! Have no clue how much it is but it won’t be much. Our site has a beautiful view of the Bay, nice paved patio and palm trees. The beach is 40 yards away. The dogs had a ball plaing in the water and running on the beach after over a month of being restricted to a leash. No one cares about leashes here of the dogs are behaved and picked up after. Even the kitties roamed. Our neighbors are fantastic. Canadians and Americans from all walks of life. One couple came here planning to stay for 4 days….that was 2 years ago. Those that want to participate gather under a palapa to chat and view the gorgeous sunset. Very interesting people. We finished the day as the only clients in a nice little mom and pop restaurant. Everything was cooked from scratch and delicious. Little pricy though ($30). The owners were very personable even though their English was almost non-existent…hand gestures and smiles come through again.





Already we have a problem: our plans are to work our way down the coast and be near Guadalajara for Christmas. We don’t want to leave here!

Oh and a new challenge: Ernesto just stopped by and wants to wash and wax the motorhome for $50. I think we'll say yes :-)

That’s a Mighty Big Hole in the Ground!!!

Thursday, 7 Dec.
After more than a month, we departed Vegas. Had a short drive to the Hoover Dam and then on to our old Friend, I-40. Remember comments about the head on winds wind we drove to here? Well, naturally, they’re still head on even though we’re going in the opposite direction. About 4 hours later we left I-40 and went cross country to the South Entrance of the Grand Canyon. When we made reservations for the Trailer Village inside the Park, they said they were crowded. Hmmmm out of what must be 150 sites, we see maybe 5 RV’s!. We walked along the trails for a little and watched the sun go down. Very Impressive!!! Today: 281 miles; 5hr38min.

Bye Vegas

Well, our work is done and we're out of Vegas tommorow morning. This has been a long month. Great RV park and the work was interesting but DJ was stranded a long way from anything. But, all said, it was not bad. That said, we're looking forward to tomorrow! We spent the day reorganizing Destino since we've been on the road so much that we've tended to stuff stuff wherever. We also wanted to get some special things for Mexico.

The great news is that Claire and DJ found a great spot to spend Christmas and that uncertainty is all taken care of. Claire et al fly in to Guadalahara on the 24th so Santa will find Eli in Lo De Marcos...just a bit north of Puerto Vallarta. Next mission is to find a fishing charter for Dinkus...when Steve is around, he catches no fish.

The other thing we found that is fantastic is SkyPE, the "phone" system obver the computer. This is great and almost free. DJ called her parents in France and talked for about 20 minutes for 34 cents! A new friend from the RV forum chated with us today and she had a camera...really neat! Gotta get one so we can see Eli. We've called several folks and the system is great!

Ok. Off to Grand Canyon in the AM. Weatherunderground says that the temps (hi/lo) are: Thur: 49/16; Fri 47/20!!!! Ouch!!!!!

Hugs to all