Baja - Day 4

Dorothy and I walked over to the kitchen this morning and got the guys breakfast tacos.

The road turned inland today so we only saw glimpses of the Pacific Ocean – miles and miles of pristine beach. Whenever we got close to the water we saw osprey nests on electric poles.  When was the last time you saw glass insulators?  The road was less mountainous and straighter. The pot holes are bad enough but all the small towns have “topas” which just adds insult to injury!

A weird driving rule here – you never turn your left hand turn signal on when making a left hand turn – you only use it to let traffic behind you know it is clear to pass! Go figure!

Fruits and vegetables are not allowed to be brought into Baja Sur so we all cleaned out our RV’s and gave everything to Maria at the ranch last night. Today we passed through an inspection station where they charged us 20 pesos ($1.00!) to spray our tires, axles and undercarriages with pesticide.

Reminded me of Emily, in Kuala Lumpur, running into the house and shutting all the doors when they sprayed for mosquitoes, saying “you can’t breafth that stuff!”

Dinner tonight at the RV park – excellent food and margaritas!

Baja - Day 3

Today’s travels have been up and down the mountains. Scary driving but beautiful country. We are amazed at how green everything is – we anticipated Arizona like desert. There are several plants that are indigenous to the Baja.

We passed through our second military check point with no problems. Guess a bunch of white hairs in motorhomes doesn’t fit their “profile!”

We hiked up to a small cave, this afternoon, to see pictographs and learn about the varied plant life. Interesting – unfortunately, my camera battery died!

We are “dry” camped at Ranchero Santa Inez, a private two thousand acre cattle ranch, near Catavina, where we are parked near two huge mesquite trees. The long drive to the ranch house used to function as a private airstrip used by medical teams from the U.S. that staffed a medical/surgical/dental clinic for local residents. It is no longer open – not sure why. They have a small bunk house kitchen that served us dinner -two tacos, an enchilada, beans and rice for $6.00. Good food in a very rustic setting – no power, limited water and far away from any sizable town! Cows and horses roam freely through our area. The night sky is gorgeous!

We are towing the Buick and had about a half tank of gas in it yesterday but, when Roger checked it this afternoon when we parked it was empty! We think someone stole it last night while we slept!

Baja - Day 2

Just because the brochure says we are going “straight down the Baja” does not mean the road is straight down the Baja!  When we weren’t going through towns the terrain was mountainous with winding roads! The main highway is the only paved road – everything else is dirt! The roads are narrow with non-existent shoulders! A little scary when 18 wheelers pass us! We quickly learned the Spanish word for “bump in the road” – topas. Many of them are “grande topas!” In the small towns, they park an ambulance near them and then stand in the road to collect donations. Hard to know whether the money is used to support the emergency services or a scam!

When we descended out of the mountains we entered the main agriculture area of the Baja – miles and miles of “green houses” –  growing primarily, strawberries, tomatoes and what looked like kale or brousel sprouts.

The standard of living is low in this area – cement block houses are high end – most are a hap-hazard combination of wood, sheet metal and plastic wrap. Feral dogs and chickens are everywhere! Tommy wanted to stop at one of the many road side stands for some menudo – it is traditionally only served on Sundays! People routinely riding in the back of pick ups.

We camped at El Pabellon RV Park – right on the Pacific Ocean. Shells and sand dollars galore on the beach. Unfortunately, it was cool and windy so our margarita/tamale party was cancelled. But, John, our wagon master, delivered fresh tamales to each of our rigs. They were huge and delicious – stuffed with chicken, jalapenos and a green olive! We could hardly believe our luck when the satellite dish locked on and we watched the Super Bowl! We got our fire pit out, turned on our outside TV and a few of us braved the weather. What a game!

Baja - Day 1

We met with, Tommy and Dorothy, and all the other Baja Winter Caravan participants in Potero, CA on Thursday morning and got our “pre-briefing.” That afternoon we all went into Tecate, Mexico to get our tourist visas and to exchange our money into pesos. John and Becky, our wagon masters, walked us all through the process and it was easy. Then we walked a few blocks around the town to Hwy 3 so we all knew where to go on our first morning across the border. Of course, we had to stop and have our first (of many I presume!) margarita!

Performing at the red light for tips!

The actual border crossing went smoothly and our CB radios allowed us to stay in contact with the leaders and the “tail gunners.” Ours has a lot of static that we can’t get rid of and it drives us nuts! Something wrong with the “squelch.” We only drove about 60 miles to an RV park that is affiliated with a school for the deaf. It is run by missionaries from the U.S., survives with volunteers and donations, and has been in business for 45 years! We all brought supplies that they need or donated money for their cause.

We went wine tasting at L.A. Cetto Winery this afternoon – a lovely place to sip and enjoy the beautiful weather. There is a place called “Dano Lupe’s” nearby that sells jams, jellies, and spicy sauces so Roger had to get a couple jars that will clean his sinus’!

L.A. Cetto Winery

Tonight, there is a catered dinner here at the park and a chance to get to know our fellow travelers – so far it seems like a fun bunch! We are hoping President Trump doesn’t build the wall before we get back!

Tortilla Flats

Judy drove down to Casa Grande last Sunday. We went out to brunch and then over to Eloy to watch the parachute jumpers. The small airport there is a happening place for instructors teaching people from all over the world - even military troops. They have a wind tunnel and two landing fields and the planes are dropping jumpers out of the sky on a regular basis. Fun to watch! You can schedule a "tandem jump" but that is not on our bucket list - no way!

We went to Apache Junction on Thursday and spent the day with Judy. We drove out to Tortilla Flats, at the base of the Superstition Mountains, and had lunch at the fun saloon there. Saddles for bar stools, dollar bills all over the walls and funny stalls in the ladies restroom!

After lunch we drove the 25 mile trek around the mountain to the Roosevelt Dam. A beautiful day to be out exploring.

We have met Dave and Carol, who are staying here, near us, and are going on the Baja trip with us - what a small world! They came over for happy hour last night and are as excited as we are to begin our adventure!

Palm Creek RV Resort

We are settled in at Palm Creek - nice to return to a place where we have friends. It has rained more in a week than it did the entire 3 months we were here last time! But, in between the weather has been wonderful - cool in the mornings and evenings and lovely during the day.

This is a huge park with plenty of smooth roads to ride our bikes - feels good to be outside exercising! Glad Roger's ankle is feeling better. I played in the women's golf league and loved my new Christmas present!

Getting excited about going to Mexico in February! Making a list!

Show Case of Floats

All the floats were parked at the Show Case of Floats for close scrutiny on Tuesday and Judy and I were amazed at the details that we missed as they passed by in the parade! The creativity and artistry is unbelievable! They use every flower imaginable - even expensive ones! - plus all sorts of natural fibers, vegetables, fruits, beans, leaves, cotton, moss - the list goes on and on! The painstaking work of gluing and inserting all the flowers at the last minute is mind boggling! Like a huge paint by numbers project!

Mums, pumpkin seeds, oranges and kidney beans

These eyeballs are amazing! Love the colors!

Bean baskets

The detail on the turtles is amazing!

Look at the weaving of these leaves!

Volunteers fill these vials with water and then put the stoppers on so the flowers can be inserted at the last minute

Banana chip coat!

These iguana eyeballs fascinated me!

The Lion's Club

Surfer dog!

A rose made from rose petals!