MX Trip # 13 Nogales to San Carlos ( Wed )

We got up around 7 AM and I scanned the Home Depot parking lot to see if Jackson had arrived during the night. No Luck. Being a bit of a skeptic I assumed he had gone without us. 

Since we did not want to cross the border in the darkness we waited until 8 AM and then headed to the border. There are two border crossing in Nogales . One is for cars only, however small RV's can get thru and the others crossing is for truck and RVs although anyone can use this entrance. Of course we took the truck crossing, however about 1/2 KM from the border you have the choice of two lanes and they are not mark in any fashion. But once you enter a lane you are "barricaded" in until you reached the actual border.  I chose the lane with several trucks and they take forever to get checked thru. After 20 minutes I finally got to an opening in the barricade and a truck driver directed me to the other lane. 

When I got to the inspection Kisok, which barely provides enough room for a Class A MH, I clipped a camera and turned  my Mirror so I could not see from it. Nobody said anything so I kept on going. Then we were pulled over to have our documents verify. A young lady who spoke English verified the  documents and that the vehicle VIN numbers matched and then  sent us on our way. It is unlikely that we will be stopped again because the Federal Police can see that we have the stickers on the windshield. 

We had seen two RVs behind us at the border so we knew that we would be playing leap frog with them all day. We actually seen they fueling up so we stopped to say hello and as it turns out we are all going the same camp site in San Carlos tonight. 

When we got close to the city of Hermosillo we recalled there was a  bypass ( perifico ) and if you don't get in the proper lane you are in "dodo". We both remembered it was a left turn but was there a sign and if so should we be in the left lane or the outside left lane. Just a we approached the city the 2 RVers following us passed us so we said great, we'll just watch what they do. They got in the outside left lane so we followed suite. As we approached the intersection the lead guy ran a caution light and the 2 nd guy ran a red light but there was no way I was going to run a red in MX. Since we stopped and  we never seen them again until we got to San Carlos. While on the bypass I hit two really, really bad bumps or dips ( wherever ) and when I stopped 1/2 hour later to check what was left of the car I noticed that I had bend a bar on the tow bar. However, thinking back on it, I may have bent it  coming thru the border inspection station because I did have to make 2 very sharp turns. However it is still bent and it doesn't seem to be a problem yet but will I be able to hook up the car once I disconnect it? That's a problem I will try to solve once I get to Quayabitos.

Just as you exit Herosillo you again have to get on to the Freeway ( of a sort ) or toll road from the right lane and I knew this. However a Truck without his trailer was ahead of us but he was having engine trouble and was traveling at a very low speed so I decided to go around him but before I could ( safely ) move into the right lane 3 Mexican had pulled in so I could not move over. Mexican drivers are not known to be courteous. Since my entrance to the toll road was fast approaching I just turn on my right signal and a lady let me in. Thank you Lady.  From here on it was clear sailing right to San Carlos.

The  RV park  at San Carlos are back in only and I knew that. However, I also knew that  the main road into the park  is extra wide so RVers like us who are only staying overnight can  park in the lane way, with full hookups  and  not interfere with people coming and going.  ( Not my first Rodeo )  The power cable, water hose and sewer lines are on the sidewalk, but, hell this is MX, who cares. When I went to connect the water line there was no water so I went to the owners and he said , sorry but we haven't had water for 3 days because the city has a problem. So I paid for power, water, sewer and wifi and I get water: hell of a deal

So a resident seen my water hose and came over to explain the water problem and said they get water about 3 days a week so they have to top up whenever it is on. So I thinking : OK, its' about 20 C during the day, its' windy, its' cool at night , there is limited water supply and the wifi is hit and miss; What the hell are doing spending a winter here. I did ask around and the reason is that you don't have to get the Import Stickers for your vehicle because this state of Sonora is considered a Free Zone. People  i spoke to think it is too much hassle  to get the Stickers but it is not . They just need your insurance, vehicle registration, drivers licence and of course you "wallet". Cash or Visa will do. 

The camper across from me noticed my Veteran plate and said I see you are Vet. Yeh, how about you and he said yes, Air Force and as I got closer, I said " we know each other and he said yes I think so ". I ask his trade and as soon as he said Fire Fighter I said Edmonton in 1970 and Comox in 1986.  "Game On}. He later invite us over for a beer and we swapped stories for an hour. Small World. 

Now about Jackson: We finally got wifi around 8 PM so we pulled up FB and there was a message from Jackson. On his way to meet with us he got hit by a 18 wheeler near Tucson and it demolition his trailer.  Luckily he survived the crash but our only means of communication was thru FB and I'm not a real fan of FB but luckily Carroll checked with FB. He send pictures of what is left of his trailer. I'm glad he contacted us because was thinking he left us.cheers

MX Trip #12 Yuma to Nogales ( Tuesday )

We left Yuma on schedule at 9 AM and we expected to be in Nogales around 3 PM since our GPS said it would take 5 hours. When you throw in couple of Pit stops and a lunch break 6 hours was a good guess. Well, we arrived at 3:15 PM and headed to the Home  Depot which was our meeting place with our traveling companion, I W  Jackson. Jackson was the guy we met only thru Messenger on FB. Our plan was to stay at the Home Depot parking lot overnight and Jackson was going to Bar-B-Q chicken and we would provide the sides.
When we arrived at the Home Depot; No Jackson. 

Well maybe we were early so we waited until 5 PM and then went to Wal-mart, which is about 100 M away, to pick up a few items that we decided we needed before getting to MX. By 7 PM still no Jackson so it was obvious he would not be coming and  we thought that we driven  6 hours for nothing. If we were traveling alone we  would not have come to Nogales. 

First we thought he stood us up, but why would. They we send of two messages and he did not answer. Then we thought he might have had an accident and could not answer. But I really thought that he met another Rig going to MX and went a day early. 

No sense losing any sleep over it as we have travel around MX alone before and we have done this particular trip several times. Beside we knew we would meet several RVers on the road and if nec we would tag along. So we went to bed knowing we would be traveling alone. cheers

MX Trip # 11 Horse Races

Yes, we went to the Horse Races but more about that later. We are leaving Tuesday for Nogales to meet our Travel Buddies so we had to do some last minute grocery shopping. Since we had the morning to kill  we dropped in to pay a visit to friend we met years ago on our travel. As it turns , at about the same time they had dropped into see us so we missed each other. Then Carroll suggested we visit her favorite clothing store ( Bon Worth ) just to look and see what’s on sale. Apparently 4 items were on sale and 75.00 later we headed home.
I like to have most things done the day before we leave, like top of the water, drain the tanks and put away the chairs but that seldom happens. Why, because it is now 1:30 and the horse races start at 3:30 ( cocktails at 3:00 ) and our friends that were here earlier dropped in for a visit which lasted an hour. Hence nothing got done and it will be dark after horse races.

Now for the Horse Races which are held in the Club House. There are 6 horse in each race and the club house floor is laid out 1 ft tiles. There are 2 dice thrown, one for the horse number and one for the numbers that horse can move. You can bet but you draw a blind horse number and the limit is 2 horse per races. The cost is 25 cents per horse so as not to contravene the gambling law. Carroll and I broke even.
After the race there is steak Bar-B-Q with all the trimmings, including a bake potato. It was a fun night with our friends but all the work I was going to do in the afternoon will be done in the morning before we leave for Nogales . Cheers

MX Trip # 10 Driving around the area

Sunday was not a busy day so we joined our friends, Vince and Lynda from Sask and Barb and Dick from Minnesota as we  took a driving trip around the area as we have done before. This area is basically a dessert but some places kind of resemble a moonscape. There are miles of hills that kind of remind one of volcano ash. Because of the hills there are many gun/shooting range because these hills are ready made so there is no need to built any shooting Butts. 

Our friend Dick is a gun enthusiast and he goes shooting several days a week, much like some folks go golfing. There are many different Ranges in this area , depending on the type of gun you prefer. There is one range for the Police, another for the Border Patrol because they are too proud to share a Range. There is also another for " cowboy  shooting " which is a 25 yard range where they have competitions.   First you  fire a pistol, then move to a rifle and then a shotgun.  This is a timing game and the fastest person get to be cowboy champion ( I guess ). The rifles  cost over 1000.00 and when we ask one shooter the price of his rifle he said he was ashamed to admit the cost. Oh yes; they also dress up like Wyatt Earp and Annie Oakley. I believe there were 6 different ranges include an Archery range.

 Then  we continued on our journey and  drove by the military training base when they do Sky Diving, Tank Training and a Bombing Range. Also they have  mock ups of 2 small towns that resemble a typical town in Afaganastan so the troop will be able to train so then can have some idea of what they will face when they get to these places. 

We then continued to  Martinez Lake which is located on the Lower Colorado River. This area has a subdivision built on the  lake near the Colorado  river. This a summer home for people who like to boat or fish in this lake. Most of the housing is trailer type home however in one area the house are built homes that probably reach several 100,000.00. We are told that one house is valved at over 1 Million dollars and the owner only frequent it 2 or 3 times a year. Apparently she has had many offers but will not sell it. 

Finally, on the route home we dropped into a place for an ice cream. The young  guy that served us  was quite interested in Canada and our politic and we were surprised how much he knew about Canada and our politics. It not often the an American has a clue about Canada.    Cheers















tank training and a Bombing Range. 

MX Trip # 9 Parade of Lights

Saturday's are  breakfast at the Rec Hall and our Sask friends insisted that we join them.  The menu was scrambled eggs, sausage, juice, coffee and crepes for 5.00 which we thought was a bargain and it was great. Before breakfast we threw our laundry into the washers, so when breakfast was done so was our laundry. 

 

    It doesn't matter how many times you go shopping there is always something you need and since we are going to MX we must make sure we have all the nec items because they may have our needs in MX  but it doesn't mean we can find them where we camp. 

Our first stop was the dollar store( where else ) because we needed a shoe horn. With the MH  we seem to removing or putting on our shoe more often then at home. Of course, once in the dollar store there is no end to items that you feel need. Wouldn't you know it; they never had a shoe horn but it still cost us 15.00.

Then it was off to Wal-Mart where we plan to buy a small vacuum that I could store in the MH because storage is at a premium. And surely Wal-Mart would have a shoe horn. Wrong, they are on back order. Really, do you thing that shoe horns are that big of demand.

We did get a vacuum  for 39.00 that suited us but the bill was 65.00 before we got out of the store.

Our friends were going to the Yuma City Light Parade ( Christmas Parade ) and convinced us it was the parade of the century so we joined them. Although the Parade started at 6 PM we had to set up along the street by shortly after 5 PM or we would not get a good advantage point. I was skeptical but I was wrong. The streets were lined with thongs of people so we ended up in the 2 nd row which was ideal.

I'm not sure what I expected because I have not frequented many, if any Christmas Parade but this was definite not a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  There were High School Marching Bands which were great,  but the majority were funny cars, dental, doctor, car dealers  and farm floats which number over 100 floats. We lasted until number 95 and we where cold and hungry so we left. However, the Yuma area is known for growing vegetables and Lettuce is the main vegetable, so most of the floats theme  was

Lettuce put a smile your face; Lettuce provide your  health care; Lettuce be your home care provider and Lettuce show you the best deal on a vehicle.

Suffice to say I/we have been at this Parade twice; first and last. cheers

"There are no short cuts to any place worth going"   

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