Saturday, October 26th - Lisa and I prepared the RV for travel, dumped the tanks, and placed it in storage at the Yuma Proving Grounds before heading to Yuma, Arizona to meet with Jeff and Cherekee Dickey who were driving from Phoenix, Arizona to San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico. We met Jeff and Cherekee at the intersection of Highways 95 and 8 in Yuma. We had lunch and then headed out to cross the border and drive to San Felipe.
This was my first, ever attempt to drive in Mexico, so we had purchased insurance for the day we drove in and the day we drove out. The insurance cost us about $28 per day for full coverage in Mexico. Before we crossed the border, we had Jeff drive with me and Lisa rode with Cherekee. This was to help guide us through. Jeff explained the route as we went and this made it very easy to find my way back to the US with just Lisa and myself. We hit the border and the Mexican officials just waved us by; they did not inquire as to whether or not we had any property to declare of how long we planned to stay. They can make you pay if you stay over three days or if you bring something into the country that could have been purchased while you were there. We then drove through Mexicali being extremely cautious to not speed and to stop at all stop-signs; even though some were very hard to see. Speeds were in kilometers, so I had to look closely at my speedometer. The drive to San Felipe took about three hours since some of the roads were not in such great condition. We arrived about 7:30 pm and it was dark.
Sunday, October 27th - The next morning was beautiful with clear skies and no wind. We drove the ATVs on the beach and watched the sunrise over the Sea of Cortez. We parked the ATVs and went exploring out in the tidal pools. At some point, I turned around and noticed that the tide was coming in and that we had better move the ATVs to higher ground. Jeff prepared a great breakfast and then I decided to break out Lisa’s drone and take some photos and videos of Los Sahuaros; the gated community in which Jeff and Cherekee live. The videos and photos came out great since the Sun was low in the sky and the angles were just right with the drone camera looking west. I made sure that Jeff and Cherekee got copies of all the photos/videos. We relaxed during the afternoon and got caught up on our sleep. The TV at Jeff and Cherekee’s home did not get the World Series, so we had to go “bumming” the chance to watch at someone else’s house. Pam set up a projector and tied it to another families TV, so we were able to watch the game on the “big screen” as a group.
Monday, October 28th – Travel day for the Nats and the Astros; no game today. Very, very windy day. Rode the ATVs on the beach, but got “pelted” by the sand being blown by the strong wind. Turned out to be a great day to stay inside and organize the photos I had taken and also work on the travel blog of our trip. Cherekee talked Lisa and I into teaching some Salsa lessons for any members of the housing area who wanted to attend. We planned two sessions; one on Tuesday evening at 7:00 and the other on Thursday afternoon at 2:00 (prior to our trip to San Felipe for the evening Halloween parade and festival.
Tuesday, October 29th – The wind continues to blow and blow hard. Causing major problems with fires in Southern California. Another walk on the beach, but the winds made the trip back to the house challenging. Walking in the sand and into a high wind is not easy. We weren’t sure we would make it back. We decided to relax around the house and take it easy. The waves on the Sea of Cortez were extremely high and pounding the beach. The tide was particularly high and the erosion was substantial. Fun watching the seagulls flying into the wind and making no forward progress. Also, the seagulls on the ground did not have to move forward at all to get airborne. Kind of an oddity. At 7:00 pm, Lisa and I went to the clubhouse to prep for the Salsa lesson. On the way, we met a young coupele who are bicycling from Alaska to Columbia who are staying with Pam. The cycling couple were from the Netherlands and have ridden their bicycles from Alaska on their way to Columbia in South America. They had ridden into the wind for a large part of the day and had just sat in the hot tub, which drains your energy. We invited them to dance, but they did not think they had the energy. Lo and behold, they showed up for the lesson and they did a great job on the basic Salsa. They will need this skill when they get to Columbia, since Salsa is the national dance there. We had a great lesson with four couples; everyone had fun! The Nats beat the Astros to even the series.
Wednesday, October 30th – Believe it or not, still very windy. We worked around the house and I was able to help some workers pump out Jeff and Cherekee’s septic tank; actually a fun job for me. In the course of the pumping, we discovered that a large filter inside the tank had broken loose. We removed two large pieces of the filter, but the third piece would not come out. We decided that we would have cut it out, but did not want to cut it until Jeff gave us the “go-ahead.” Jeff was in town helping a friend with his car tire and getting some parts for another project, so we did not get to it until he returned and approved the destruction. We were then able to cut is out and use the system without the filter, which is not usually needed anyway. We made sure that we got the system done before the 7th World Series game started. By this time, Cherekee had called Directv and gotten the “local channels” to work which put the game on their TV (a minor miracle). Great job Cherekee! The Nats won the World Series.
Thursday, October 31st – (Halloween) Still windy!! We walked on the beach and I took one of the ATVs to ride on the beach. I would have been miserably pelted all over my face if it had not been for one of those Mexican wrestling style head covers that made me look extremely cool and kept the sand from “peppering” my face. My lips did take some hits though. At 2:00, we held our second Salsa dance lesson with a new cast of dancers. We had five couples and several had not had the first lesson, so we started with the basics again. It was a ton of fun and the couples did extremely well. After the lesson, we drove into town for the annual Halloween parade. Virtually all of the children and most of the adults, paint their faces like the likenesses you would see on “Dia de los Muertos.” The have a parade with floats and then the children all walk the Malicon’ and say, “Tricky, tricky.” We then give them candy from our baskets. It is just like “Trick-or-Treating” in the states. The kids were so cute and just having fun. The families were great. Luckily, the wind had begun to die down and the evening was a pleasant one. The next day was the beginning of the annual “Shrimp Festival,” so the town was really bustling with activity. The Shrimp Festival is a very big event for San Felipe and people come from all over to take part in the activities. They even set up carnival rides for the children (and parents).
Friday, November 1st – Time to head back to the states. Wakeup time was 6:00 with a planned departure time of 7:00. We loaded the truck and thanked Jeff and Cherekee for the hospitality and then hit the road for Mexicali and the border crossing. We really watched the speed limits which are all in kilometers. It took about 30 minutes to get through San Felipe alone; the roads are pretty rough and, in some places, covered with sand dunes from the high winds. At least the winds were low and it was a beautiful day. About 30 kilometers out of San Felipe is a border check point managed by the Mexican Army. I had to get out of the truck while a soldier searched it for contraband; mostly drugs and weapons. They checked the ice chest in the back and even asked what was inside the 100-gallon fuel tank. After that, they passed us through. About two hours later we entered the Mexicali metro area. You really have to watch for stop signs since they are often hidden from view by parked trucks and buses. The stop signs are often on both sides of the road, but not always. I did manage to run through one stop sign, but, luckily, I escaped apprehension. We planned to stop for a restroom stop at our first turn off of Highway 5 at the “double Oxxo” stations. We were surprised that the restrooms were in much better condition than the last time that we had stopped there; you still had to bring your own toilet paper. We then followed Jeff’s instructions on the route through town and we successfully navigated to the border without any major issues. At the border there are three lines you can take. One is for people with Global Sentri passes who just pass right through. The next line is for “Fast Pass” people who have some sort of pass (we think) that allows them to pass more quickly. We entered the line on the right called the “slower than a snail” line. It took us three hours to reach the front of the line. The pickup truck ahead of us took about eight minutes to get through the check point. We pulled up to the checkpoint, the guard looked at us and our passports, and waved us through; less than one minute at the checkpoint after three hours in line. We will be getting our Global Sentry passes soon. We then drove to Yuma and on to the Yuma Proving Grounds via Highway 95. Overall, we were pleased with the trip since it was the first time that we had driven by ourselves in Mexico. It can be done, but you need to be careful and stay out of trouble. We also had purchased Mexican insurance for our vehicle for the day we drove in and the day we drove out. That is a must!
We arrived at the Yuma Proving Grounds and met Teresa (the camp manager) and Nick (the camp host) at the RV Camp office. They gave us a key to the storage facility and assigned us site #90. Just as I hooked up the RV, I found that one of the truck tires was flat and had a large screw in it. Lisa and I took it to the base auto hobby shop where we put the spare on the truck. The plan is to take it to Yuma tomorrow to have it fixed and remounted. Since we had no cold food in the refrigerator in the RV, we went to the bowling alley for dinner and then went back to fully set up the RV. All systems in the RV are working well and we are established here at the Yuma Proving Grounds until about Wednesday of next week.
Saturday, August 2nd – Washed the truck and headed for Yuma. Having the truck tire fixed right now and then it is off to shop for groceries to refill the refer. Going to check out a place to ride the tandem too. I arrived at Discount Tire and they worked to fixed the flat tire and also rotated and balanced my two front tires. I was shocked when they gave me the bill and there was no charge for the work done. I suspect that they are a sister-company with America's Tire, which is where I purchased the tires originally; I was in their computer database. I also found out that they could replace the tires on the trailer for about $150 each which was much lower than I had expected. The tires are beginning to wear down and will need to be replaced by the end of this travel season. I returned to the base and went to the base Auto Hobby Skills Center and changed the oil in the truck. It always feels good when the oil is new in the truck; seems to run better.