April 18-27: Exploring Phoenix (all of it, and then some more)

We arrived in Phoenix with all of us eager and excited to spend some time in one spot.  We chose to spend over a week in Phoenix as Carrie needed to fly out for school interviews.  This gave the kids and I a week to explore the entire city and beyond.  When we first arrived, we chose to stay in a RV Resort park.  This allowed us a day to get caught up on e-mail, do our laundry (4 loads), allow the kids to swim in the pool and take some time away from the road for a bit. 

After 2 nights at the RV park, we decided to stay at a McDowell Mountain State park.  Not only was it significantly cheaper, but there was mountain biking near by.  The State park was about 30 minutes away from the town of Fountain Hills, which is a quaint suburb of Phoenix.   At the entry to McDowell, there was an established mountain bike area with 3 distinct loops (Sport, Extreme and Long).   I was able to bike a few days in the morning, while Carrie was able to get a few runs in.  The kids and Carrie were able to spend one morning with the Park Ranger for a nature hike. 

We also took time to explore Fountain Hills, which is named for…..the large fountain in the middle of town.  It goes off every hour on the hour and shoots up over 500ft for about 1 minute.   It was what the whole town focused their tourism on.  Other than that, not much else happening in Fountain Hills.  The average age of the area appeared to be in the retirement category with many things moving pretty slow. 

April 21-27:  We dropped off Carrie at the airport in the morning and then we began our week of doing everything there is to do in Phoenix.  We started the first day with a tour of the Hall of Flame.     This is a family owned museum that pays tribute to the Firemen and their machines.   They had over 100 authentic fire engines on display with the oldest dating to the late 1700’s!  The kids and I spent a good few hours enjoying the museum.  It was a good thing as the weather changed to a drastic cold wind throughout the day.   We finished the day with a presentation at the library about martial arts.  It was advertised as Chinese Acrobatics, but was more of a local martial arts class presentation.   The kids were keen on the karate and even showed an interest in taking classes in the future. 

While in Phoenix, the kids and I did all that we could including a few errands. The kids enjoyed the Puddington stuff animal factory where they were able to get a tour.  At the end of the tour, they were both able to stuff their own stuffy of their choice.  We also went to Culture Day at Arizona State University, attended a craft show and witnessed a few different styles of music and dance. 

Later in the week, we spent a day at the ballpark watching the Arizona Diamondbacks play the Philadelphia Phillies.   The Ballpark, Chase Field, was an awesome stadium.  The roof was opened, but could close if it was too hot outside or bad weather.  If closed, the stadium is then fully air conditioned.  When opened, many of the side panels (40ft high) open as well.  Inside it, there was a swimming pool near center field, a kids play area,  restaurants looking over the field, and seats that offered all-you-can-eat meals.  This is where our tickets were and they were great.  We sat in the first row of the second level, along the 3rd base line, overlooking the Diamondbacks bullpen.  It was free hat day, so the kids each received a children's Diamondbacks hat.  Our tickets were $30 each, with the all-you-can-eat!!!  This included hot dogs, peanuts, popcorn, chips, juice, pop, bottled water and fruit!  Needless to say, we all filled up and I was even able to take about 12 bottled water with us.   What a score!

One evening, the kids and I spent an evening at the Drive-in as we watched “How to train a Dragon”.  It was a nice experience as we all sat in the front seat, ate pizza and had the windows open.  The kids thought it was really neat and want a drive-in in Canmore!!!  All in all, it was a very busy week while Carrie was away.  However, we are all happy to have her back with us as we all missed her!!

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. 

April 7-10: Onward to the Coast

April 7&8:  As we started to drive towards the coast, we needed to bypass a place called Leon to get to our next destination west of Guadalajara.  Leon is an industrial city and is mentioned to be very polluted.  We noticed the pollution as soon as we drove into the city.  You could see the smog sitting lingering for miles.  Leon is also known for it’s production of leather and it’s massive public market filled with a sea of shoe stores.  How could one resist!  We paid a security guy at Costco to watch our truck and trailer and took a cab to the market.  It was 2 streets wide and 5 blocks long!

In addition to shoe stores there was also some stores selling bags and jackets.  We spent 2 hours there and only covered a quarter of the entire market.  We bought shoes for the family and leather jackets for Trevor and I.  The prices were so good I’m sure I’ll be kicking myself that we didn’t buy more the next time we need to buy shoes in Canada!

From there we were headed to an RV Park west of Guadalajara but we got lost trying to get around this large city.  There was a combination of poor signage, trees covering the signage, our lack of familiarity with the names of towns and Spanish directions all contributed to this problem.  It was getting late so we stopped at an RV park on the edge of the city before dusk.  It was a friendly park and some of the permanent guests almost had us convinced to see the sites of Guadalajara.  We gave it some thought, but it would be a long bus and/or subway ride into downtown (1.5hrs).  As many of you know, we’re not that fond of big cities so we headed west the following day to a RV park in a country setting west of Guadalajara. 

 April 9-11: We were happy to arrive at this peaceful ranch owned by a friendly English speaking family.  While there, we rested, swam at the public pool next door, got through some school work, went to an archaeological site  and visited the town of Tequila, famous for ….you guessed it! 

We stopped at the first distillery we saw, apparently there are about 24 more.  This one happened to be one of the bigger ones, Sauza.  It was an enjoyable personal tour in the fields and production plant  which finished off with tequila tasting.  As some of you know, “me gusta la tequila” and I admit I had a little too much! Trevor  was driving so he refrained from too much sampling, although our guide  assured us that it was no problem in Mexico!  Scary!

March 30-April 6: Colonial Towns

March 30-April 2: We left the water park, much to the demise of the kids, to check out some highly recommended Colonial towns.  The first stop, after a very long day of stressful driving (curving roads, narrow city streets and unexpected speed bumps), was Patzcuaro.   We really enjoyed this small city.  We stayed for 4 nights in a small RV Park/Hotel on the edge of the city.  From here we took the short bus ride each day to go into town to eat, shop and see the sights.   There are many restaurants, cafes and street food to choose from including ice cream stands with tons of flavours and delicious looking cakes!  There are also trendy clothing stores where Carrie got some nice duds for reasonable prices.  Everything stays open late and the town is busier in the evening.  There is often traditional entertainment in the streets with various groups singing and dancing.  It could of been that it was the upcoming Easter weekend.  The town square was buzzing throughout our stay. 

Patzcuaro has two large plazas (park like squares surrounded on all sides by stores and venders).  There is also a large  market (small by Mexican standards) with fabric, clothes, pottery, toys, shoes, furniture…of varying quality.  This town is popular for copper and baskets.  There are beautiful cooper sinks, bath-tubs bowls and even copper toilets.  There are also many artisan stores.  We purchased a unique painting created on tiles from a local artist.  You can also purchase on of the many crucifixes in any size that you desire! 

Patzcuaro is a very religious town and there are several large and historic churches.   We ventured into a few and were marvelled at the architecture.  We visited the town square for Good Friday, and we stayed to watch the silent procession in the evening.  There were hundreds of people walking along the streets carrying candles and various  statues of Jesus on the crucifix and Mother Mary.   There were so many people gathered in town that they had to redirect traffic and we couldn’t find our bus so we had to walk back to our RV. park (45min.), Trevor carrying his own bundle (sleeping Trae) in his arms.

April 3 &4: Our next stop was San Miguel de Allende.  Again we needed to stay just outside the city and take a short bus ride into town.   The streets in the city were much to narrow and busy to attempt to drive an RV in.  We spent 2 days touring the centre of this town.  Shortly after we arrived in downtown on the first day, a Mariachi band paraded through the streets with  a gathering of following spectators.  It was a exciting sight, and we saw everyone’s heads pop out of the stores to see and hear them play. 

San Miguel is a popular town with North American expats and there is much more affluence here then in other Mexican tourist towns.  It is noticeable in the way people dress, the cleaner streets and the beautifully maintained buildings.   Of course, as a result, the prices are much higher.   For example a wooden box we purchased at the market in Patzcuaro, cost us $140 pesos ($11.67 dollars), the same box retailed in a San Miguel store for $420 pesos ($35 dollars).  However, we did find that in the markets of San Miguel the prices aren’t as badly inflated as in their stores.  We loved the beautiful wool rugs and almost purchased one, but we weren’t sure of what size or design to get.

There are many expensive hotels and restaurants with beautiful courtyards and terraces in San Miguel.  Trevor took pictures of the beautiful elegant and rustic doors which opened to the lush courtyards of homes and hotels in the center of the city.  We think that it could be a very romantic place to go when your not on a budget, not that it would be overwhelmingly expensive, only by Mexican standards.    We found a really yummy restaurant for reasonable prices on a side street.  The restaurant was themed to celebrate the Bull Fighter!!!  Quite interesting decor for sure. The four of us ate delicious fajitas and chicken kabobs for around $15.  There are also lots of Mexican food venders and yummy treats, including ice cream!  

The kids really enjoyed seeing that a circus was in town.  They would parade and display the circus animals as they drove them in cages around town.  You would see lions, monkeys, zebras, etc…  The kids found it fascinating as they like that the circus came to them.

April 5 &6 : Our 3rd stop and final colonial town to visit was Guanajuato.  It was recommended by many travelers.  It is a maze of tight,  twisting streets and underground tunnels.  As such, we could not get close to this city with our trailer or even our truck for that matter!  Unfortunately we had to stay at an RV park several kms away from town.  The bus ride took over an hour from our RV site.   It took us a while to figure out how to get to the central plaza area.  Once we got there we enjoyed wandering the streets looking at the old buildings.

Guanajuato has a beautiful central plaza with large lush trees, surrounded by shops, theatres and museums. There are entertainers there making it an

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

enjoyable ambiance.  We decided to eat at a restaurant with a terrace overlooking the plaza.   It was a very enjoyable experience and we felt like we were living it up high class.  The prices were still much cheaper than any similar restaurant in Canada would be.  Here we discovered the finest washroom we’d seen since crossing the border.  You could actually put your toilet paper in the toilet bowl.  Talk about high class! 

The Guanajuato market was a real disappointment.  It was filled with cheap junk and had no artistic pieces.  I believe the draw to the city is the museums and theatres but unfortunately the long commute made us decide to stay only for one day.  We then ventured on toward Tequilla…as Carrie was looking forward to this!!!