Pyrotechincs Display

We have been enjoying the weather and friends in Havasu.

Last night we saw the Winterfest Pyrotechnics Display. It was a bonus that this coincided with our visit. Over President's Day weekend, fireworks distributors use Lake Havasu City as a 'fireworks showroom' to display their latest. The display was not timed, nor set to music. They simply set of fireworks from darkness (about 6:45pm) until about 11pm. There were many nice displays and some duds too.

Heading East

The brakes on the Teton needed some repair and that was finished yesterday.

We're heading east today and plan to spend some time in Lake Havasu City, AZ

Tire

Here is the tire damage from Mexico roads and getting stuck on the beach. (See 2/3/07 here.)

The damage was visible on 2/3/07 but we knew that San Diego was our best bet to get a replacement tire.

It was the outside dual on the Peterbilt and the inside dual showed no damage.

The tire did carry us safely through Mexico and we found a dealer in San Diego who quickly replaced it this morning.

Back in the USA

We cleared customs yesterday morning and arrived in San Diego just after noon.

We are staying at Mission Bay RV Park for a few days. Today was rainy and I had time to catch up the blog - see Jan 16-23 for posts & photos.

We went grocery shopping and got accustomed to hearing English spoken!

Plan to get some repairs done, catch up the blog and do some sight-seeing when the weather cooperates.

Hope everyone is doing well.

We had a great trip and would recommend it to anyone looking for an adventure.

Ensenada

We took a bus tour today. Ensenada is a beautiful city -- a stop for cruise ships and home to many different nationalities.

The first photo shows Tuna Farms. These circles are 400 feet across and 900 feet deep. Thousands of tuna are raised in this 'stress free' environment. They have an endless supply of krill & anchovies. And what makes it stress free is the way they kill the fish. It is an instant death and the tuna have no time to become stressed!

Mexico is very proud of their flag. This large flag is in the Ensenada Harbor.

The gardens are at an old gambling casino that is now used for tours and rented for private parties. The casino was build by Al Capone and managed by Jack Dempsey. Our guide omitted the part about Al Capone. "Nobody knows who provided the money to build the casino." It was frequented by the rich & famous until abandoned in 1964.

Common sights in Mexico

We drove 132 miles today to La Salina at the outskirts of Ensenada.

I am sharing these photos because they are typical of what we see most everyday on this trip.

Every town has at least one Farmacia (Pharmacy). The names usually include a woman's name -- Farmacia Mary, Farmacia Diana, Farmacia Gloria. But the name most common is Farmacia Jesus, as you see on this photo.

Mexico has barren dusty landscapes and rich, fertile farming. This was acres of cabbage and broccoli. Closer to Ensenada, we began to see vineyards surrounded by olive and pistachio trees.

A few miles down the road will be huge junkyards of automobiles and farm machinery.

In the last photo you will see a housing development that was started and abandoned. Maybe someone has taken possession of a house and finished (or at least occupied) it. You see streetlights in the photo below. They are not common is Mexico. These probably do not work as thieves have stripped them.

Colonia Vicente Guerrero

Here are photos typical of all the road in the Baja. The lanes are 9 foot wide. Very seldom are there shoulders or areas to pull off. Usually one side is a straight drop-off -- 6 inches or 1,000 feet, it really doesn't make a difference. If you lose it, you lose it.

Walt has done a great job driving. He holds his speed down and stands his ground is the lane. We have had no problems.

Driving to Catavina (Santa Inez)

SANTA INEZ, BAJA CALIFORNIA, Mexico -- Drove 146 miles. Up the spine of the Baja to a no-frills but secure location to break up a long drive. Explore lunar landscape Baja national park.

The park we drove to was indeed 'no-frills'. At one time the Mexican government decided to build RV parks to encourage tourism. Then they gave the parks to citizens to run them. This was one of those parks. The 'citizens' had stripped all the wiring, plumbing, lighting, etc and took off for parts unknown. They left this abandoned park which was beautiful but can only be used for dry-camping.

We arrived in the afternoon and took a cactus walk to see the variety surrounding the area. This is a part of the Baja Preservation Forest.

Our group had a potluck with the wagonmaster providing Mexican Hot Dogs. We then had a Mexican Gift Exchange -- each of us chose an item to 'gift' and we drew & exchanged until the items all found homes. It was fun & funny.


Our potluck was at 4pm because it gets very dark, very early here. We were back 'home' before 6 pm.

Whale Watching

GUERRERO NEGRO, BAJA CALIFORNIA, Mexico -- Went to Scammon's Bay for a whale expedition. The whales travel to this salt laden bay to give birth. The high concentration of salt makes the whales very buoyant.

We saw mothers and babies but they move very quickly and we didn't get any good photos. Mostly we were so awed by them, we forgot to snap a photo. It was beautiful to see them 'blow', then surface and dive below. That beautiful tail was the last part to disappear.

There were also seals in the bay.






The salt is mined from the sea in evaporating fields. We saw barges loaded with the sea salt for shipment.

Crossing the Baja

GUERRERO NEGRO, BAJA CALIFORNIA, Mexico -- Drove 198 miles. Crossed the Baja from the Sea of Cortez to the Pacific port and salt mill town of "Black Warrior."

That crossing included the Devil's Spine - 2 1/2 miles of 12% grade and many curves (Curvas Peligrosos!!)

We are now sitting in the bar at the RV park and watching the Super Bowl on TV. The game is in English but the commercials are Spanish. We are missing out on all those great super bowl spots.

Sunny and warm here. We will have a dinner tonight. Then go whale watching tomorrow.

Life's a Beach -- and sometimes you get stuck in the sand!

BAHIA CONCEPCION, BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR, Mexico -- Drove 151 miles. Up the coastline of The Sea of Cortez to placid Concepcion Bay for exploring, beachcombing, relaxation and fellowship.

Here we are overlooking the Sea of Cortez. It is such a beautiful blue.

Only one minor problem today -- we drove onto the beach to park and immediately got stuck in the soft sand. Our friend from North Dakota was able to pull out the Peterbilt (unhitched). Then the Peterbilt pulled him (hitched to the Teton). It was quite a sight.



We had a good spaghetti dinner this evening. Great way to celebrate our 34th wedding anniversary.




The last photo is the view out our back window after we got parked - breath taking!

Ciudad Constitucion

CIUDAD CONSTITUCION, BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR, Mexico -- Drove 127 miles.

The road sign shows a "tope" or speed bump. Instead of street lights or stop (ALTO) signs, most towns use topes to control the traffic. Some really did seem as large as the sign indicates!

We began to climb in altitude and the roads are steeper, narrower and more winding.

We stayed in a nice trailer park where they served us a meal and our entertainment was provided by charming children doing Mexican folk dances. They were charming.

Driving up the Baja

Yes, all good things must come to an end.

We left Cabo San Lucas this morning to drive to La Paz (where we exited the ferry Monday morning).

Here are some photos of the campground in Cabo -- Los Vagobundos. We do feel somewhat like vagabonds at this point.

Have been so glad to have heavenly, warm weather since Mazatlan.