MX Trip Entry # 8 Friday ... Rain followed by Sun

Late  Thursday evening and all during the night the rain just poured and it never stopped until around 8 AM. Some of the residents ( but not us ) where surrounded by a mini moat and the odd part is the that it seldom rains in Yuma. We rec slightly over one inch. 
In fact the veggie farmers pray that it never rains because they can control the amount of water thru  irrigation but the rain disrupts the irrigation process and in most cases ruins their corps.  

Although the day started our cloudy, by noon the Sun came thru and it was a gorgeous day with temperatures around 22 C. Carroll and I went grocery shopping knowing full well that the all those "dam" seniors would be doing the same and they did not disappoint. We decided that after an hour fighting the crowd we returned to base. 

I could not find the TV satellite signal so we have had no TV to date. However we have been too busy to watch TV so it not an issue yet. We have been out for supper twice and we took in a show ( Behind the Green Door ) another evening. So today I got serious about setting up the satellite dish and I did find the satellite so now we have TV except I don't have all the HD channel but I'm not trying to tweet the dish since we are leaving on Tuesday and I can get the hockey game; so life is great. Cheers

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing

MX Trip Entry # 7 To San Luis for Docs

We delivered the MH to the Sun Screen place by 8 AM and they guaranteed it would be ready by 4 PM. 

Then we were off to San Luis , MX  about 25 miles down the road from Yuma to get our Tourist Visa and the Temporary Vehicle Importation Permits ( TIP ). 

Crossing into MX is no different then walking into Wal-Mart. A young lady was sitting in the entrance but just said good  morning as she was busy on her cell. We then went to an office to get our Tourist Visa which we have done before so we didn't need directions. There was no line up so this took about 15 minutes as they need your Passport to complete a form which is in Spanish and which we " blindly " sign. Then we take that document to another office a pay for the Visa and then return all the docs to the same office where someone else verifies that we paid and he stamps our Passports and gives us the Visa. 

Now it is on to another office  ( 100 ft away ) to get the permits for the MH and Car. Since Carroll had all the docs ( passport, vehicle registration, MX Insurance and drivers licence in duplicate) this saves time and money because it cost about a dollar a page for Zerox. In addition to the cost of the permits you have to pay a fee of 400.00 for your car but it is refundable when you and your car exit MX. The MH gets a 10 years permit but if you sell it in MX it is unlikely that you can every get another RV into MX. When you leave MX you MUST check in with MX immigration so they can check you out. 

While in San Luis we ask immigration about a TelCel store so we could get a MX Sim card but nobody knew of a store nearby. On our way out, about a block from  the immigration office was a TelCel store. How did they not know ???. Anyway we dropped into the store and they agreed to sell us a Sim . The young lady did not speak good English so she phoned her boss and he explained the package to us over the phone.  We clerk tried to activate the Sim card she advised us that the phone was locked. I thought " Dam it " no phone for 3 months unless we bought another one. So I ask if it can be unlocked and she said Maybe. Well maybe is better than No. She called someone and she said he would be here in 1/2 an hour. I thought, oh yeh a Mexican  1/2 hour... we'll be here all day. I ask if the store owner was coming to unlock my phone and she said no; it is my husband. Go figure!!!

He arrived in 1/2 an hour so I ask if he could unlock it and he said probably. He worked on his compute and my phone for 10 minutes and said I need your password for Apple ID. Good Frigging luck that I would remember that password since I never use the Apple ID. I thought I would have to return to our MH in Yuma and get my Password book so I said can we reset the password. He yes but we only have one shot at it and if it fails you will have to get me your password so I said give a shot. The reset was successful but it cost 25.00 to unlock the phone.

Finally we got the phone activated and we have unlimited calling and text in North America with 10 GB of Data and a personal Hot spot for 25.00 per month. Tell that to Bell; Telus and Rogers who are gouging us. 
Before we went to San Luis some folks in our camp warn us that there would be a long line up due to the security about the Trump Caravan. Actually. we  were first at the Pre-check on the return and second at the finally Custom check. Obvious the people with all the scare stories never have visited MX and they are listening to the Fake news. 

We returned to the shop that was doing the Sun Screen for our MH and it was finished. I paid the bill and Carroll took the car back to the camp. I had checked the tire pressure on the MH in Mesquite and one tire was at 90 Lbs and the rest at 95 and I wanted  all the tires at 100 lbs. So I went to a gas station to use that air pumps that charges 1.50 for about 5 minutes. After trying to pump up the 1 st tire I realized there wasn,t  enough pressure so now I had to find a tire shop since the tire pressure had in fact dropped to 85 lbs. 

Luckily there was a tire shop on my way home so I pulled in and ask the manage if I could inflate my tires. He said I will, have a man on it shortly. The tire man put new extenders on all the valve stems and then inflated tires  to 100 PSI at no charge. I gave the tire mechanic 5.00 for his effort. 

One block from the camp there was a real bad vehicle accident so I was re-routed on a 10 mile detour. I thought this day would never end.  I got to the camp at 2 minutes after 4 PM  so Carroll had to direct me into our space because the " back up director " doesn,t work after 4 PM. Actually Carroll is much better at giving direction the " back up director".  Cheers 

MX Trip Entry # 6 Setting up for a week ( Wed )

We have now set up in our site at Benita Mesa in Yuma,AZ. The park policy is that they have to be marshaled ( directed ) into your site because 25 years of backing into a site does qualify me to park without help but the guy who directs me has never own an RV nor a MH so apparently he is more qualified me.  Anyway the "back up director " gets free rent for doing this job so good for him. 

Incidental the rent for a week was 250.00 USD.

Now we have to plan for the next 6 days and we have a lot on our plate. We need to get a Sun Shade made for the windshield which will block out 80 % of the sun's heat when sitting in MX. 
 Then we need to go to San Luis MX, 20 miles away,  to get our Tourist Visa and our transportation sticker for the vehicles. 
Then we need to get the MH washed by Sergio and since he is busy at this time of year I will have to kiss some butt to get it done by Monday. 
While in San Luis on Thursday we hope to get a phone package for our cell phone from TelCel as they have a special on right now.We still have grocery shopping on our list but that can wait until the weekend if nec.

So ;we went to visit the company to make our sun screen and they agree to do it tomorrow but they want  our MH in their yard by 8 AM.  As they said; first come first served and it will be done by 5 PM. This a family business run by a Mexican ( American ) family. All business is done in Spanish except when the talk to customers. 

We then completed setting up but we are having trouble setting up the TV as I can't seem to find the satellite. I probably  spent 2 hours before giving up. I'II try again when I have more time. 

Our friends must feel sorry for us as they invited us for lunch and supper. Super people. 

We then went to Wal-Mart ( where else ) to buy a few items, one being a coffee pot because I thought I blew ours up. I turned it on without water, then I add water when it was hot and this added a lot of steam to the MH. I later found out the the ON button was Red and the OFF button was green. Seems odd to me but it now works so the other one goes back to Wal-Mart.

We then went to another small grocery store that is somewhat between a Giant Tiger and a market and their vegetables are much cheaper that a grocery store. Seniors are the biggest customers.
base but trust a senior to find a bargain.

MX Trip entry #5 Mesquite to Yuma Esler's Follies

We pulled out of Mesquite around 10 AM, AZ time ( NV time was 9 AM ) and since we are heading for AZ the NV time is irrelevant.  
The GPS said it was a 5 hour drive which would mean a causal 6 1/2 hours for us as we do not drive at " Indy " speed. After asking the GPS about speed and hours to reach a destination I also say,  "Good Luck " with that info.
To start with we had a strong cross wind so 60 MPH is our max and since it is all up hill from Mesquite to Las Vegas it is hard to maintain 60 MPH.  We also got stuck behind a few truck on the long steep hills. Also once you hit north Vegas you have to chose  the correct lane to catch 515 and since there are 8 lane to chose from it becomes a gamble. My navigator got me into the lane for Phoenix since the other choice was Los Angelo's and we knew that was wrong. 
Finally we got thru Vegas onto 95 south and with 4 lanes and  very light traffic I laid back and prepared for a 4  hour cruise. However this was short lived as we seen the dreaded sign that said " Road work ahead for 30 miles" speed limit 45 MPH. We had to drive on the left lane with the left wheels on the area between the rumple strip and the edge of the shoulder which had slight drop off. So much for my casual cruise.
Instead of going to Laughlin and into AZ I decided ( not Carroll )to stay on  California 95. What a mistake that was : the speed limit is 55, there are trucks , there was a train and there was 2 Agriculture check points and there dips in the road then you can imagine, plus the curves would break a snakes back which all adds to a slow trip. 

Finally ( We ) decided that we had enough of the CA roads so we took a left turn and got into AZ at Parker. 
Now Parker normally has cheap gas so we intended to fuel up, however the first 3 gas stations were 2.85 so I intend to try Quartsite which is only 44 miles away as I already had 1/2 a tank. 

Then Carroll spotted a gas station for 2.35 ( what a bargain ) but I was in the wrong lane so after several right /left turn I managed to get turned around. Of course the gas station was full with people filling up on the cheap fuel. When I pulled in I barely got off the street with the car and MH. In fact we did encounter a few horn hoking so I move up another foot but that was all the room I had. In fact I blocked the Tanker truck  who had just dump his load of fuel. 
The guy in front of me was fueling up but was B.S.ing with a guy on a Motor Cycle so I ask what the holdup was as I was blocking the fuel truck. Here is what happened. 

Apparently there was very low pressure at the pumps , in fact it took 36 minutes for  the guy in front of me to fill his tank and because there was no pressure coming from the pumps the only way the pump would shut off is from the back pressure once the tank was full. If you pull the nozzle from your vehicle and hung it up it would continue to pump fuel. I was told that two guys tried it and the pump spewed fuel all over the lot so the had re-insert the nozzle back into their tank until it was full.  I would have thought that the station would have just shutoff the power to the pumps but those people at the pump just stay there waiting until their tanks filled up and the back pressure shut off the pump. I never heard of such problem in life. 

 Finally the guy in from of me moved and between me and the tanker we both manage to squeeze by each other. There goes another 1/2 hour out of my life I won't get back. Besides we  where trying to reach Yuma before dark but that idea was shot to hell. 

Just as we were about to depart Parker, Carroll spotted another station with fuel for 2.56 and of course I was thinking; will I or won't I. Since I noticed an empty pump I did a quick turn and pulled in for the cheapest fuel I have seen since we left home.

Next stop was Quartzite where we stopped for Propane at 2.30 a gallon which once again was the cheapest we have seen in the US.

We arrived in Yuma around 5;30 and of course the office was closed. However they have a couple of sites for late arrivals so we took a spot. Luckily our friends had just arrived home from golfing so they help us to park as it was getting dark and some assistance was required. After we parked our friends invited us to go out for supper which was an excellent idea. 
  
Finally we landed and we can now settle in for a week before heading to MX.

I always say "  If you are going thru Hell , keep going"

MX Trip Enrty #4

I have neglect to provide the high price of gas. Montana was 2.74 at most places which I thought was high until we hit Idaho where some Truck stop had it advertised at 2.99. I did get it for 2.74 in Idaho Falls. 


The snow stopped during the night and the temp dropped at our Truck stop haven so by morning the roads where clear so we quickly got on our way. We calculated that if I Kicked Butt we could reach Yuma,AZ by night fall albeit a long day.

As the day worn on we started to re-think why were we in such a hurry so  we changed our mind and decided to stop in Mesquite, NV. We arrived around 3 PM and stayed at the Oasis Camp site which is own by a casino. We have stayed here many times when playing ball in Mesquite and it is basically a pave parking lot with hook ups but is only 20.00 which is cheap.

We stopped here so we could de-winterize the MH and get drinking water in our tank. Also the vehicles had to be washed as it was nearly impossible to get near the car. I did not wash the MH because  the only one that I knew about was too had to get into and out of so it can wait until we reach Yuma. I later learned there was a new one but it was too late.

After getting setup we did some shopping and of Carroll had to hit the Casino and donate her 20.00 bucks. Around 7 PM we decided to visit the Virgin River casino and have their Prime Rib dinner for 7.99. After dinner Carroll decided that  she had not donated enough to the casino profits so tried again. This time she had a profit of 17.50 so I dragged her out before she gave it back. 

Gas in Mesquite was 3.14 but I got it for 3.07 for cash. If you used Debit, or Visa there was a 1.50 surcharge

The weather was good but a little cool. cheers 

MX Trip Entry #3 / Grounded by snow

We left Dillon, MT at daybreak with a temperature of - 20 C however the roads were clear which made for good sailing. Then we hit the Minida Pass and a little snow started to fall but no road problems. As we got closer to SLC ( Salt Lake /City) we hit a light rainy snow which slow our progress as we had hope to reach Idaho Falls by evening.

Just south of SLC it began to snow harder and since it was 2 PM we decided to stop for lunch at the Cracker Barrel in Sprindale where we would ponder our plan just in case it snowed harder. Also I need to fuel up so it was two birds with one stone. 

After we hit the road it was obvious from the weather and road conditions that Idaho Falls was a dream not a destination today.  I decided to tuck in behind an 18 wheeler who was going my speed and we followed him for about a 1/2 hour. As we were going up a hill I felt the wheel spin slight and right there I said we are going in to the next Truck Stop because these condition where not going to get better. The 18 wheeler must have read my mind because he did the same.

As we pulled into the Truck stop we noticed a MH already parked so we pulled in beside him. As it turns our he had already been there the day before because of road condition. Suffice to say we spent the night and watch the snow fall and watch the Truckers as the peel off the Interstate for a safe haven. There were so many trucks that the ran out of stalls so they just parked at random.

About 4 AM our coach batteries died so I had to start the MH so we could have enough power for the furnace. We will solve that problem tomorrow. We hope for clear weather in the morning. cheers 

MX Trip Entry #2

We left home right on schedule; at 7:00 hours even though driving in the dark is not my strong suite. However by 7:30 is was getting daylight and the traffic was light, so not a problem.

We stopped in Taber for a Breakfast sandwich and a coffee for breakfast. This 5 min stopped took over 20 minutes and there was nobody ahead because they only had one sandwich maker while 3 teenage stood around swamping stories ( I assume ) about their boyfriends. Yep; they need a new manager.

I picked up a bottle of Gibson's finest at the duty free ( Carroll didn't want a bottle this time ) and there was about a 20 minute wait at the border. The attendant ask us 3 questions: Where you from ; Where you going; and How long you staying, followed by "have a good day". 

It started to lightly snow as soon a s we crossed the border and stayed until we reached Great Falls. After that it was clear sailing with bare dry roads until we stopped overnight in Dillon , MT. We covered nearly 500 Miles. 

We stopped in Shelby and Boulder for fuel and it was 2.79 a gallon. We hope it gets cheaper, as Idaho is normally less expensive then MT. 

Life is 10 % what happens to you and 90 % how you react to it.