We have been on the road since yesterday morning. We left Guaymas just as the Semana Santa madness was beginning. During the previous few days there had been a steady influx of revellers, setting up camp on the beach, partying at the local bars and being watched by an ever-growing number of police who seemed to be everywhere. In a few days the main street will be so crowded that traffic will not be able to get through.
Ourt last week was a busy one. Once we had all the stuff out of Bill and Linda's storage locker back to the RV park we spent a good day re-organizing the truck bed. Once the dinghy was lashed to the back there was no way we'd want to remove it, unless the border officials asked. We managed to find a place for most of the stuff but we still had a few bins, chairs and bags, some of which will encroach on Rosie's back seat while the remainder will have to be man-handled out of the trailer in order to use it.
Full load
In the few days before we left we spent mre quality time with Bill and Linda. We owe them so much. They have been a Godsend to us over the years acting as a B&B, mailbox, shipping address, delivery service and storage facility, not to mention, great sailing buddies. I got a chance to, finally, sail with Bill aboard their boat for a day when he was doing a sea trial for a prospective buyer. Once he sells Tanque de Tiburon he will be able to concentrate more of his time on his new acquisition, a 48 ft trawler, The Darkside, now in Ensenada. We hope to be his crew when they take her south to Mexico in the next year or so.
St Paddies Day
We are also able to spend some time with Virgil, Gosling's (now renamed, Halcyon Days) new owner. Most of that time was spent trying to transfer some Mexican transfer papers to his name. After many failed attempts we think we have a solution but will be holding our breath until it is finally done. It was good to see her again but not as emotional as our last parting.
We left the Totonaka RV park with a number of other rigs heading north. The drive to the border was non-eventful. We had to stop at KM 21 where the vehicle and visa paperwork had to be done. When we got to the border we had a long lineup ahead of us. We hadn't expected Semana Santa to affect the US border crossing but there were many Mexicans heading north. After a 2-hour wait we were finally processed through, relieved of our bacon (any pork product) and sent on our way. This was another good US border experience for us. The staff was pleasant and courteous, very different from the officious pricks of previous years.
It is so nice to get back on decent roadways and buy gas that is properly metered and much cheaper! Even with the difference in our dollar values gas is still way cheaper, on average, half the Canadian price.
Rosie has been a real trooper this winter. She has handled the heat, enjoyed the beach, has been so patient during our long drives and so loyal. Everyone has loved her and she has behaved so well. Everyone have met has remarked on how good a temperament she has. We have to thank her breeders, Blackadder kennels, of Manotick, Ontario for their superb breeding program. She is a bit timid and a barker when someone comes to the door
but she is a beautiful dog, loyal and very smart.
16:00, 29 Mar, 15 Desert Holiday RV Park, Yuma, AZ
We are in our last day in Arizona. We have stayed at 3 different RV parks since crossing the border last week. Our first night was in an upscale RV park just east of Casa Grande and the next day we drove to Yuma passing through some very fertile farming areas, fed by the waters of the Colorado River, surrounded by desert terrain. There were also many feedlots for beef with extensive solar panel farms providing cover from the sun for the stock.
Green desert
Shaded stock pens
Once in Yuma we settled in for a few days at a park situated on the bank of the Colorado River. The mighty Colorado has such an ominous ring to it but by the time it reaches these parts much of it has been redirected into canals that feed the agriculture of Southern California; water management at its best. By the time it empties in the Sea of Cortez there isn't much left. In Yuma, there is some river left and, by the remnants of fish heads nailed to a post by the river there are some very big catfish lurking in those depths.
Redneck totem pole
Colorado River
Easter dins
Our main reason for stopping here was to go across to the Mexican border town of Algodones to get glasses made for each of us. We arrived there about 9AM, each of us was eye tested, frames chosen and, 2 hours later, they were ready. Algodones, like many of the border towns caters almost exclusively to the US (and Canadian snowbirds) for cheap medical and dental work, prescription drugs, vision care,plastic surgery and a host of other services. There is a huge parking lot on the US side of the border run by the local native band where you can park all day for $6 and then you walk through the border crossing and are immediately assaulted by hawkers trying to get you to come to their doctor/dentist/optician. Some are even dressed in hospital scrubs. Along with the facilities mentioned above, there are the usual souvenir stands selling, for the most part, the same, made in China Mexican crap we have seen everywhere in our travels.
Algadones
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