The Radio Girl

On the Road In Arizona

First day of our road trip (heading home to Canada) was a long one.

It started at 4:45am when my inner alarm clock went off.  Rarely have I ever set an alarm to wake up at a certain time.  I'm one of those freaky freaks that can decide what time I'm waking up the next day and then just do it, within about 10 minutes either way.  Weird, I know.

We had JohnnyDisco at the RV shop by 7am and Norman was at the vet at 8:00 for his very first rabies shot.  He was totally composed on the vets table.  

Course at this point, he had no idea he would be getting a needle in his butt.  Pretty nasty way to start the day.

Shelbert was just along for the ride this time, so she was cool as a cucumber.  Note Exhibit A:

Doesn't she look like Bono?

After the vet appointment, we ran a few other errands and then picked up JohnnyDisco at 11am.  By noon, we were heading northbound on the highway and waving goodbye to Tucson.

It took 5 hours to get to our first stop, 3 Dreamers RV Park just outside of Salome, Arizona.  A one night stay with water/power/sewer cost $18 bucks with our Passport America discount.  The park was pretty average and a little out of the way, but a good spot for an overnight stay:  gravel sites, clean/quiet and a strong, fast wifi connection.

We have no RV park pics but here are some shots from the Arizona highway.

Desert cactus and highway construction were the main themes for this drive.  

Most of the road work took no time at all to navigate...

But a few spots took forever to get through...

At least we had the convenience of bringing our home (JohnnyDisco) with us ... for important stuff like snacks and potty breaks.

And naps.  And bone chewing.

More road trips pics coming tomorrow, but before I forget...  If you're ever in southern Arizona and need RV repairs, parts, maintenance, etc. bring your rig into Lance's RV Center just off the I-10 in Tucson.  The shop rates are much cheaper than any of the local dealers and Lance's customer service (and work ethic) is top notch.  True story.

Crossing the Nogales Border

Our drive in to Mexico was posted here last week so this post will be mostly pics.

Whether you are crossing from Nogales, Mex to Nogales, Arizona by car or RV, the lanes are well marked and there is new signage up everywhere in both Spanish and English.  It's very clear that cars, small trucks and RV's stay left and cargo trucks or semis cross in the right hand lanes. 

The word 'estacionamiento' means parking in Spanish, which explains the big letter E with a red line through it - NO PARKING!

There were four border lanes open for cars/RV's but there were quite a few folks ahead of us so it took almost an hour to inch our car up to the US immigration officers.  The guy was nice and asked us 5 or 6 questions and then we were on our way.  Don't know about your experiences with immigration officers but the American ones have always been more polite to me than Canadian ones. 

After crossing back into Arizona, there was another check point within a half hours drive.   

This one was set up by US Border Patrol guards and it was a lot quicker.  Not sure if they were checking for drugs or illegals but they took one look at our Canadian license plate and basically waved us through.

Although we did slow down long enough to point out this sign to Shelbert.  

Yes, my little four legged friend, some dogs really do have to earn their kibble.

Roughly three hours after this check point we hit the outskirts of Tucson and were ready to pick up JohnnyDisco from the RV dealership.

Quick money stats about the round trip to San Carlos:

• Gas:  $60 CAD, included touring around San Carlos and Guaymas
• Mexico highway tolls:  $22 CAD, round trip
• Food/booze/snacks:  we spent $150 for food at the Walmart in Guaymas and then a few quick trips to the local market for fresh veggies.  The Walmart bill included a kitchen knife, a can opener, some Corelle dishes, 3 dish towels, 2 dish cloths, liquid dish soap, salt and a few things I'm forgetting. Without these items the groceries would have cost less than $100 and the bill did include expensive items like meat, cheese and pistachios (and if course, BEER  :) 

*One more thing to mention:  Before we crossed the border, we did stop at the Mexican immigration building where you get your tourist card and we returned ours.  Not sure if this was necessary and I've never returned my tourist visa during past trips, but since the process has changed this year we decided to stop and return them.  The building is right across the highway from where you need to return your car permit, so it's not a big deal to return your tourist card as well.  

We're Planning a Road Trip

JohnnyDisco is going in for her maintenance check-up in January.

That means we'll be homeless for about a week  :)  so My Fella and I are heading south to Mexico. 

We'll be crossing the Nogales border into Sonora sometime next week and driving south to the Guaymas/San Carlos area.  

Here's a few pics of what we did and saw on our last trip there:

No fishing in the marina so we hooked up with a couple Mexican fishermen and went out to the Sea of Cortez where the water was about 300 feet deep.

One of the first fish caught was full of surprises...

He had a live crab in his mouth.  I guess everyone likes fresh crab  :)

Here's the first fishie My Fella snagged.  As our morning Fishfest continued he caught at least two dozen more.

We probably won't be deep sea fishing this time around since it's not in the budget.  Plus we don't know how Shelbert would react to being on a small fishing boat - those waves get a little crazy.

But we can still enjoy the gorgeous scenery...  

the cheap veggies...

...and the sweet people we meet.

Hasta pronto, Mexico!

Happy Christmas in Southern Arizona

My Fella suggested we explore Mount Lemmon yesterday.

The weather was perfect for a drive (sunny and +22C / 72f) and some hiking seemed like an awesome way to spend Christmas day.

From wikipedia:  

Mount Lemmon is in the Santa Catalina Mountains located in the Coronado National Forest north of Tucson, Arizona.  It is 9,157 feet above sea-level, and receives approximately 180 inches of snow annually. Mount Lemmon was named in honor of botanist Sarah Lemmon, who trekked to the top of the mountain with Native American guides by mule and foot in 1881.

I wasn't really excited by that whole 'receives 180 inches of snow' thing, but we all hopped in the car anyway for the quick drive north of Tucson.

I think Shelbert was the first one in the car.

And she was the first one out of the car and ready to hit the trails, when we got there.

The desert cactus quickly changed to massive rocks and then foresty mountain scenery.  Happily there was a lots of sunshine, a light breeze - and NO SNOW.  

It's hard to convey how monstrously huge some of these rocks are, until you see them beside the highway and the passing cars.  

And finally, the trek down the mountain ....as seen in the side view mirror.

Rocks in the rear view.  

My Fella thinks this one looks like an angel praying...

And this one kinda looks like - well, never mind...

See ya later, Mount Lemmon.  

"ARF!"

Road Trip: Part II

Let's start with the photo tour:

We left off yesterday at day #4 of our week long road trip when My Fella and I hit central California.  This year we crossed Cali via the Mojave desert.  The first part of the day was spent driving through a spooky desert dream:  mist hanging in the air, skeletal Hallowe'en-like trees, big rocks and dry yellow shrubs covering the brown landscape. 

And then we saw the windmills. 

My pics do NOT capture the beauty or power of these monsters.  They were amazing, especially when we first saw them on the hillside, rising out of the fog.

Just past the windmills, the morning mist cleared and we were surrounded by tan desert landscape and Joshua trees.

and rocks...

And finally the California palm trees swaying in the wind... as seen here through our filthy windshield  :)

On day #6 of the road trip we made it to Arizona and by day #7 JohnnyDisco was parked at our winter home.  This pic was taken on our first night, just past sunset. 

There are no streetlights out here in the wild west. 

For Shelberts last pee walk of the night we've been bringing out a portable lantern - no one wants to step on a diamondback snake by accident. 

The sky is so black that the only the light you can see is from the orangy-red western sky ... reflected here on the side of our RV.

Quick money stats: 

Originally we set aside $900 for RV park campsites for the travel portion of our road trip - $450 each way.  After buying the lifetime Passport America membership we knocked that down by 50% or $450 ($225 each way).  The trip out here only cost us $125 (USD) so we saved $100 to spend elsewhere.

RV gas - our budget was $1200 each way but we spent only $1016 to get here - under budget with RV gas as well. As you can probably tell, I tend to overbudget.  I hate money surprises.

More details on our winter budget (safely stored in my neon yellow budget holder) plus more Arizona desert pics coming up in the next few days.

Sunny Arizona

We've finally arrived.

Actually My Fella and I have been in Arizona for the past few days but my laptop totally died the day after we left Canada, so I've been without a computer since then.  I replaced it with a brand new Toshiba laptop last week in Oregon.  AND THE WIRELESS DIDN'T WORK.  

We just exchanged it here at the Office Depot in Arizona and the wireless fired up right away, so for now, all is well again in Traveling LaptopLand.

It took us roughly one week to RV from the BC interior to southern Arizona, and we took our time this trip.  Stops included:

• Chilliwack, BC
• Vancouver, Washington
• Myrtle Creek, Oregon
• Corning, California
• Bakersfield, California
• Desert Hot Springs, California
• Maricopa, Arizona 

We are now parked at an RV resort just outside Tucson and we love it.  Haven't established a daily routine yet, but here's an example of how we spend our time:

• I wake up at 6am to make coffee and read the biz news online
• hang around the computer for the market open at 6:30 (still on pacific time here)
• 8-ish My Fella and Shelbert get up
• 9am - after breakfast I sweep the floors and make the bed
• 9:30am - we fill up a couple water bottles for a 2 hour desert hike
• get back to Johnnydisco and eat lunch around noon
• 12:30 to 1pm - I'm at the computer for the market close
• 2pm - My Fella washes RV windows - I take out the garbage, walk Shelby 
• 3pm - play a game of catch with the baseball and gloves
• 4pm - My Fella vacumns the RV and cleans the bathroom, I do dishes
• relax with our computers for a couple hours (stream BNN or hockey games online)
• 6:30 suppertime, unless we had a big lunch
• play a few games of Yahtzee or Scrabble
• 9pm - bedtime... I'm not joking - we're snoring faster than the RV park seniors

So far we both love this desert RV park... not to mention the fact that we get to spend the entire winter in sunny southern Arizona.  More about that in the next few days but first I need to get all our road trip pics off my camera (and onto the blog).

Road Trip 2010/2011 - The adventure starts here:

Traveling through the BC interior, heading south in Johnnydisco towards the USA border...

Quick note about the US border crossing (our very first one in the new RV) ... It was a breeze!  Took us about fifteen minutes from the moment we drove up.

• first, a few questions from the customs guy in the booth
• more quick questions about fruit/alcohol/firearms from agent #2 inside
• and a two minute walk thru inspection of Johnnydisco from agent #3
• easy peezy lemon squeezy

And we all lived happily ever after as we drove off into foggy Washington state.

And the crowded freeway heading into Seattle... holy moly  :(

Three hours later we crossed the big green bridge from Vancouver, Washington into Portland, Oregon.

And then we hit outlet mall #2 on our "Outlet Malls of America 2010/11 Tour".  The first mall we stopped at was Tulalip in Marysville where we grabbed a few good deals. 

But this mall in Woodburn, Oregon is one of our faves because there is no sales tax in the state of Oregon.  And this mall has a huge RV only parking lot right across the street.  You never realize how important parking is until you're driving something 50 feet long (motorhome + hitch + car).

After a couple nights in Myrtle Creek, Oregon we continued south, finally making it to northern California where we ran into more fog...

And vineyards. 

Acres and acres of vineyards.

Up to this point My Fella figures we were getting 7.7 miles per gallon in JohnnyDisco, towing our little car. 

Regular gas cost $3.06 to $3.19 (USD) through Washington and Orgeon and we filled up the tank twice before we hit California.  

More exciting road trip stats and our Cali/Arizona road pics coming up tomorrow  :) 

Scenes from Teacapan

Here's a few shots from La Tambora beach just outside Teacapan:

 
 
"What the heck is on my shoe?"

 
If I look nervous, it's cause we just walked past a dead jellyfish, bobbing along in the surf.  Ever since the movie Finding Nemo, I've become very leery in the company of jellyfish.

On the other hand, I consider shrimp my friends.  Especially when they are drying deliciously out in the sun, on the roof of a nearby seafood shop.

And I had to get a shot of the ice truck. 

 
Those are massive blocks of ice being carried from Point A to Point B, in the back of a pick-up truck on New Years Day. 

That's how most thing are transported in Mexico ... In the bed of a truck  :)

On the Road in Mexico

As seen from the car window.

It's been over two weeks since I took these pics and I don't remember enough to give you a detailed tour, but this is what you can expect to see during the drive from Hermosillo to Teacapan, Mexico - starting with the first highway toll booth, or caseta de cobro:

 
There was a real variety of traffic on the highway, including a herd of cows and several farmers commuting to work...

 
Fancy schmancy cars were constantly speeding by us.  But in the end we usually passed them, not to mention the federales who pulled them over  :)

We noticed less of a military presence this year, but a lot more federales on the highways.

And the same amount of pelicans were happy to pose for pics this year.

 
The pelican on the far right side slept through the entire photo shoot.  We kept waiting for him to fall off his post, but apparently pelicans have great balance.  Even in their sleep.

Crossing the Nogales Border

Another Mex Road Trip, and another safe crossing into Mexico.

Everytime we speak to someone who has never crossed the Mexican border by car, we are asked if it's safe.  I've travelled quite a bit in Mexico but have only driven across the border five times.  An ex-pat who resides in Mexico could give you a more thorough answer about safety but here's my take.

The chance of danger is so small that I'm more scared of embarrassing myself with my Spanish, than any fear of drug cartels or being kidnapped at the border. 

We've crossed at Nogales and also the Lukeville/Sonoyita border crossing and have never had any problems.   None. 

There's a lot of drug activity in Mexico, but we've never seen it.  And neither of us are involved in drugs in any way, shape or form.  If you're stupid enough to abuse drugs, and even stupider to smuggle them across the border OR try buy them in Mexico, you're a complete moron and deserve to get caught. 

Being maimed in a drug cartel shoot-out is the last thing to worry about when crossing the Nogales border.  I'd be more concerned about the lack of signs and initial confusion of where/how to get your car permit and tourist visa.  The first time is a little intimidating, but it gets easier if you do it a few years in a row.

Here are some very uneventful Nogales border crossing pics:

It's actually hard to tell you've even crossed the border, because you drive right through the crossing into Mexico with no guards or check point.  The customs stop is about ten or fifteen kilometres past the border.

 
You have to pull into a parking area at the left if you are bringing any goods/cargo into Mexico.  If not you continue through to the customs guys, standing by the pylons.

Our customs guy (handsome Mexican fella in his mid 20's) was all business until we told him we were headed to Teacapan.  Then he became very chatty, telling us all about the neighboring city of Escuinapa, his hometown.

After our customs stop, we drove on to get our tourist visa and car permit at Kilometre 21, aptly named since it's 21 kilometres from the border.

 
 
After running back and forth between several different offices, we filled out the necessary forms, paid our pesos, and found My Fellas parents (who we lost in Nogales, but not on purpose :)

Then we were on our way towards Hermosillo and our first military checkpoint.

We were at the head of the line in minutes and quickly waved through.  Easy, sneezy, lemon squeezy.

More pics tomorrow of our final leg of Mex Road Trip 2010 to Teacapan - where I'm currently lounging with a cold cerveza and scratching a few nasty bug bites.  But the cerveza is helping :)  

Get Your Mexico Insurance Here

The date is Sunday, December 27th, 2009.

The plan is to cross the Arizona/Mexico border, but every single Tucson and Nogales insurance office we try contact is closed.

I finally stumble across an after hours phone number for San Xavier Mexico Insurance and give them a shout.  I realize it's barely 8am on the Sunday morning after Christmas - what I don't realize is that I'm phoning their home number.

My call is answered by Bob Acosta, who is not only gracious about the early morning phone call at his home, but he offers to drive 45 minutes into Tucson to hook us up with Mexican insurance - on a Sunday, when every single insurance office in town is closed.

I give him the necessary details and within the hour we meet Bob and his wife Hazel at their office.  Twenty minutes later we have auto insurance for Mexico ($180 USD for 6 months).  And My Fellas parents got their motorhome insured as well.  Not sure how much it cost - I think about $260 USD. 

Bob and Hazel Acosta (pictured above) have been in the insurance business for years, and are actually semi-retired.  They sold the biz to their daughter Susan, but they still went out of their way to help us on an early Sunday morning on Christmas weekend.  This kind of customer service guarantees my loyalty for life.

But wait - the story gets better...

After we crossed the Mexican border, a member of our party discovered that their credit card was missing.  This person (who will remain anonymous to protect the innocent :) doesn't know if they dropped the card in the insurance office parking lot or just left it behind at the office after paying.  Needless to say, they were in a bit of a panic.

After emailing Bob and Hazel we got a response from Susan (the daughter) who quickly searched the office and found the credit card.  As you can imagine, our anonymous card loser was very relieved.

Susan says her parents went on and on about what a nice family we were and how important it was to get in touch with us asap, to get the credit card back in our hands.  Susan's email was very personable and reassuring.  And the lady has a great sense of humour.

Without a doubt, we have a new fave Mexican auto insurance company and we'll be contacting Susan next year for Mex Road Trip 2010/11.  Everything can be done online, and the actual contract can simply be emailed to us.

If you're driving to Mex in the future and want a free insurance quote from a really great company, here's the contact info for San Xavier Mexico Insurance:

San Xavier Mexico Insurance Offices
Tucson, Arizona	Nogales, Arizona
2900 E. Broadway Blvd, Suite #108 Tucson, Arizona 85716   Phone: (520) 327-1255 Fax: (520) 327-1303 Toll Free: 1-888-327-1255 From US & Canada	1777 N. Frank Reed Road, #C Nogales, Arizona 85621  Phone: (520) 377-0424 Fax: (520) 377-0418 Toll Free: 1-888-377-1570 from US & Canada
E-mail: info@mexican-autoinsurance.com