Retracing our Route North-Border Crossing

April 11-12:   We couldn’t have planned our timing better for our passing through Mazatlan.  Trevor had hoped to go for a bike ride with Fernando, the bike shop owner whom he had ridden with on our way south.  He gave him a call a couple nights before we planned to arrive and Fernando told him that he was organizing a 40km. mountain bike race for the day we planned to be there.  So Trevor signed up along with the over 150 other competitors.  Trevor was doing really well in  the race (1st in age category) until the last few miles when he got lost and got a flat.  He ended up placing 4th in his age and 14th overall!! Overall he enjoyed the event and the great comradery as he met up with some of the guys he rode the last time we were in Mazatlan. During the race, it was extremely hot as it hit 30degrees at 10am! 

April 13th:  Trevor recovered today so we all spent the afternoon swimming in the pool at the RV park.  It was great as there were only about 6 RV’s in the park.  RV season is winding down in Mazatlan due to the heat.   However, we pulled into Mazatlan the same weekend as Motorcycle week.  RV’s were simply replaced by thousands of loud motor bikes. 

As for us, the kids wanted to ride in the open air taxis (VW golf carts) before we left, so we took a ride to Old Mazatlan, where we had dinner in a small, local restaurant and enjoyed the live jazz music in the plaza.

 

April 14-17: We chose to spend 3 more long days on the road (6-7hrs. per day) as we pushed to the border.  First we returned to Las Glorias, (where we spent 2 nights and the kids enjoyed meeting a few friends in the pool).  The kids also liked the park dog whom they got friendly with the first time we were there.  He was a good dog and slept under our trailer each time. 

Then we drove on towards Guaymas / San Carlos.    We stayed at this RV park which had a beautiful, old historic hotel that was getting restored.  We stayed one night and then on towards the US Border.  We took the recommendation of numerous travellers and crossed at a small crossing, Lukeville, rather than going through the busier Nogales crossing.  It proved to be a good choice  as there was no traffic or difficulty crossing the border.  (In fact, during our time in Mexico we were never pulled over or searched apart from twice at state borders when they were looking for produce which is not allowed into certain states.)  Before crossing we gave a gas attendant a bag filled with clothes and toys that we no longer had use for and Trae gave his bike and helmet to a 4 year old boy.   The boy looks grumpy in the picture but as we drove away he was running along pushing his bike and wearing his helmet with a big big smile on his face.

April 18: We spent our first night after crossing the border in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, a mere 7 miles from the border.   It’s a quiet park filled with numerous varieties of cacti.  The following morning we awoke to an overcast day.  Ironic, considering that every day during our 2 months in Mexico, apart from one, the sun shone brightly. We continued on to Phoenix and spent the day looking for places to camp.  We spent one night in an RV park north of the city, however we found it to be very busy.    We then found a regional park known for its hiking and biking trails north east of Phoenix/Scottsdale.  There we spent 3 nights at McDowell  Mountain Regional Park.  Trevor did some biking on trails that are rated some of the best in the country, however it’s tough to beat the ones in Canmore.  We will keep searching as we head north. 

While in Phoenix, we thought that we would enjoy some of the tourist attractions.    We visited the Heard Museum.  A beautiful collection of native artefacts and history for the Arizona area.  We also visited Fountain Hills and witnessed their water feature…the worlds 4th largest fountain that goes off every hour on the hour.  It reaches a height of 560 ft! 

I will be flying to Toronto and Vancouver for my school interviews….wish me luck.  Trevor and the kids will move back to the other RV park which has WiFi and a pool to help keep them busy.  By the way, sorry for taking so long on the blog updates!!  We do hope that you read them.