5C's Que Pasa

We spent Wednesday the 27th doing nothing but relaxing in the middle of the desert.  Colin played with his new BBQ.

He was delighted.  I  mostly slept.

Sound asleep. When I woke up, I went inside for another nap!!

Enjoyed a lovely sunset followed by a great dinner and some good wine.

Thursday we drove to about 40Kms north of  Nogales and are staying at the DeAnza RV Resort.  This is a lovely park with a locked gate overnight.  It seems safe, clean and is full of great Rvers.  We arrived a day early only to find 2 of our travel buddies already here.  It seems that Beaudry RV in the Tuscon area closed down 2 weeks ago with only 48 hours notice so they also arrived here early.  We shared a drink before sunset Thursday but I was attacked…by mosquitoes!!!

Today, Friday, will be spent with final preparations for the “big” trip. Things like finding a safe place to put the wine so the Mexican authorities don’t find it; things like putting away all the US maps, cell phone, etc and pulling out the Mexican equivalents; things like pulling out all the papers required to cross into Mexico; things like getting some quick meals organized!!!! And just a wee bit of sitting in the warm sun and absorbing all the good things of life!

Colin & John (one of our travel buddies) look like they are working so very hard at all the last minute preparations!!

Our  next post will be from somewhere in Mexico…stayed posted….

Caeli has created a nest under my driving chair, her new den!

Folks….I add these comments to my blog for your information.  I am not trying to influence you one way or the other but rather hope to give you some facts I have gathered from different areas.  Colin and I are headed to Mazatlan no matter what but at the same time we can’t be responsible for others safety or decisions.  Here is the lastest….

First the bad then the good stuff…..

U.S. Consulate General Hermosillo

Warden Message 10/25/2010

This Warden Message updates U.S. citizens traveling to and residing in Mexico of the continuing threat of highway robbery on the Mexican Toll Road Highway 15, in Sonora and on the Maxipista Benito Juarez toll road in Sinaloa. The number of robberies involving U.S. citizens reported to Consulate General Hermosillo on these two highways has tripled over the last year. The increased frequency of robberies reflects an overall increase in the level of crime throughout the district; Americans do not appear to be targeted solely based on their nationality. While such incidents are more prevalent in Sinaloa, a recent highway robbery involving U.S. citizens occurred outside of the Sonoran city of Huatabampo.

Most highway robberies in the Hermosillo consular district occur after daylight hours. The Consulate recommends all American citizens residing in, visiting, or transiting through the consular district DRIVE ONLY DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS. Travelers are encouraged to plan their trips so they can overnight in large towns and limit stops at road-side rest areas and toll booths. The individuals who commit these crimes use a variety of tactics. Some groups construct false police style checkpoints to net dozens of cars at once, while others force individual vehicles off the road. In both scenarios, victims are usually robbed at gunpoint, at night, and the criminals often take the victim’s vehicle.

The Consulate’s Security Office requires that Consulate personnel use armored vehicles on well traveled roads during daylight hours when traveling in Sinaloa. For U.S. Government employees, travel in Sinaloa in personally owned vehicles is not permitted. Although travel is still allowed within Sonora, U.S. government employees are instructed to follow the security practices detailed in “A Safe Trip Abroad,” which can be found at http://

….and from a fellow Rver speaking from his heart…he usually tells it like it is…

“My wife was reading some of the diary pages. Each page has a recuerdo: post cards, pictures, business cards and menus. The diary is almost a Reader’s Digest version of our life since 1998. Earlier in the day I had read the Borderland Beat ( as I do every day). After reading some of the diary stories I began to cry. This was not a happy cry. Rather I was lamenting that we might never get to enjoy those spots ever again. At least not in an RV. I cried for the country which has turned frome peaceful to one of the most violent places on earth. RV’ing through Mexico has been the happiest times in our lives. I think of staying on a Pemex lot in Tepic ( yesterday 12 workers were shot, innocent bystanders were injured). Acapaulco is all glitz and glitter but we always had fun playing tourist in that city. Today restaurants are shuttered, 500 hotel workers have been laid off and 10,000 others work only weekends and Fiestas. The police I remember overnighting at a Pemex in Culiacan and visiting the shrine of Jesus Malverde( would you do that today?) Huatabampito was not a favorite spot but I certainly would not drive on that road today. Sonora is ” our home state”, Nuestra Tierra, but driving through the state on Hwy. 15 could become an impossibility very soon. Last spring we planned a trip to Celestino in January but have decided to cancel. I wiped the tears and wondered if things will ever change. They say you can never go home and this is true!”

We have a friend who just stays in bed when they leave very early in the morning.  He drives and she just stays in bed with the dog and the cat!  Not always but when it is very early AM.  Sounds like a great plan to me but we seem to have too much stuff!

Our bed is covered with stuff! I really want to know....how does your bed travel?

We seem to have a large black fan on the bed as well as a Tiffany lamp, a table lamp, a table, a dog ramp, 2 guitars, and under the clothes in the bottom right corner an exercise machine.  Oh yes…also 2 fire extinguishers..they stay.

Regarding the caved in piece of road north of Mazatlan, here is a bit more information I gleamed from another post…

…Here’s a report from another forum:
I hit it doing about 80 on Friday. Thought for sure I was going to bust a spring on my loaded van. Can’t remember exactly where its at, but its around the exit for the Celistino RV park and the rest area. It is in the passing lane. Stay in the right lane and you will be OK. There was a traffic cone along the shoulder. Just don’t count on it still being there…..

Regarding our coach problems….

We are in great shape.  Everything is working 100%.  The problem with the retracting jacks was due to sagging springs.  The Mexican salt air had taken its toll over the last few years.  Basically the springs were taking longer to retract causing the fuse to overheat and created the fire.  Bottom line, new jack springs and a new 40AMP fuse.  An easy fix.  We even got a $40.00 discount on the job just by asking. We even got a 10% discount on our dog food by paying cash.

Our big news today is that we got kicked out of Walmart last night about 9:30PM.  No overnighters!!!!  I was just returning to the coach with a buggy full of goods when I saw Colin bringing in the slides.  Finally settled just down the road in an empty lot.  Not fun after the last two days.  Today we are going to have a wee visit with our friend Libby here in Lake Havasu.  We graduated nursing school together so very many years ago.  Then we are heading out to the desert, to the BLM Lands (Bureau of Land Management) where you can camp in the middle of nowhere at no charge and just be at one with nature.  We need to just sit and be for a while.

We were up early in Boise Monday morning, but Wilsons RV could not guarantee to even look at our rig.  It’s hunting season and they are busy fixing up the hunters.  (By the way I don’t enjoy seeing the vehicles drive past draped with a with carcass, antlers, etc.)  Someone in Twin Falls said they could see our RV on Nov. 2!!

Beautiful golf course in the Twin Falls Gorge

Then we remembered the 3T’s in Lake Havasu, an RV repair facility.  We had used them in the past and yes they could fit us in, no not on Wed. the 27^th but rather Tuesday the 26^th early afternoon.  So, we filled the airbags and drove and drove and drove some more.

Jackpot, Nevada- first snowfall just hours earlier

I could barely carry the 'first' box of wine!! Help please!

Is it going to snow again? No, but we could feel it in the air.

Beautiful light across the hills into Las Vegas....

The sun hit this area so beautifully. We were reminded of areas in Jaipur, India.

We got to the Walmart next to Sunset Station Casino at 8:30PM exhausted with 629 miles behind us.  We had experienced more excitement just before we joined I15 to Vegas, one jack went down and the siren started again. Since we were already in Vegas, Tuesday morning Colin went to see a special type of chiropractor he has seen before for the ringing in his ears.  The usual 20 minute appointment ran closer to 90 minutes so we only left Vegas at 10:20AM.  We arrived in Lake Havasu City at the 3T’s just as they were going to lunch for an hour.  Hopefully they will be able to sort us out today.  I’m getting tired of living in cramped quarters and tripping over the dogs.

At least we get to see the lake while we wait at the 3T's.