Road Warriors

After three months of going no farther than the 20-minute run to Guaymas, this is a week of long-distance travel, both north and south. First, a two-day run to Arizona to get several pounds of mail and clear our stuff out of the disabled RV we've had stored in Amado for at least five years. Since our goal is to only visit the States every six months, it seemed extravagant to pay monthly storage on a rig we'd only use four days a year and never drive again. We were expecting to have it hauled away to wherever old RVs go to die, but the park managers said they'd take it, maybe give it to their handyman, who currently camps out on the property in this freezing weather.

We arrived in Arizona just as the sunset lit up the mountains
in hues of pink, gold and purple

Last night we arrived back in San Carlos, unpacked the van, showered and crawled into bed. In two days we'll re-pack the van and hit the road again, at "0-dark-30", south to Banderas Bay, about a two-day drive.

The VW Westfalia, having had extensive tweaking, performed marvelously except for one dead battery incident which happened happily at the Hermosillo tollbooth. The Capt hailed a nearby mechanic to get us a jump start. When the motor turned over again I cried "Musica!" and the mechanic grinned. When you use the toll roads in Sonora, you get free towing and other emergency assistance, with a little propina (tip) to the mechanic.

Chica had the passenger seat and the special dog seat to herself,

but she crept into the Capt's lap at every opportunity

The best thing about using the Westy is that I could stretch out in the back with Sofia, while the Capt drove, with the Chica in the passenger's seat. Very comfortable for everyone.

Highway 15 from Nogales to Empalme just south of Guaymas is designated a "hassle free zone" which means at checkpoints there is little or no notice of your vehicle and no papers requested. They only seem interested in whether we owe duty. However, the "hassle free" aspect doesn't apply to freight trucks, and the truck drivers seem to be taking exception to the discrimination. Going north, we were several miles from the military checkpoint when traffic came to a complete standstill. Usually the trucks line up in the right-hand lane for inspection, while the cars get the left, but this time hundreds of trucks were in both lanes. Since a truck inspection can take over an hour, you could sit in line and watch grass grow on the hillside. I had visions of us still stranded on the highway as night fell, stuck between freight trucks, our engine overheating and the gas gauge at Empty. No way to turn around, nowhere to run. Uzi-waving bandidos holding us up. "Never drive in Mexico at night," warned my inner Nervous Nellie. It was only about 1pm, but Nellie is always looking ahead. Luckily a jeep loaded with camo-garbed soldiers roared up on the verge and forced the trucks to divert into the proper lane. Whether or not they were brandishing rifles, I couldn't say.

The Fence at the border...your tax dollars at work

At the border, I looked out at the FedFence. (There's a controversial article on Wikipedia about the FedFence's impact on illegal immigration, wildlife and your tax dollars.) I was reminded of Cristo's Running Fence project in Sonoma County back in the 70s...glistening white nylon that billowed in the breeze and snaked over the rolling hills for 24 miles but couldn't stop a determined dog. Cristo satisfied all arguments about environmental impact and what remained was an ongoing flap about whether the project was "art." Cristo dismantled his fence as promised, and went on to erect pink umbrellas in Paris, rose-colored aprons around islands in Biscayne Bay, golden "gates" in Central Park and an orange curtain in Rifle, CO.

A nostalgic look at Cristo's Fence

Coming back, the van fully loaded with stuff from the RV, we stopped to declare a few items we'd bought at Walmart, and a lovely señorita from the aduana office peeked in to make a quick visual inspection. Otherwise, we got green lights at every stop and other than the little battery incident the trip was uneventful, especially for me, dozing in the back. We did spot more black and white Federal Police cars than we'd ever seen before, parked in clusters and racing up and down the highway, looking officious. Miscreants beware!