Alex & Lorraine's Travels !!

2011-12-07T18:10:00.001-08:00

This is taken from our Palapa rooftop ... our RV is top left, little blue tracker is sitting in front !

Taken from roof top

Ok ... so I keep busy with my newest interest ... Micro Macrame

Karaoke night in the park ! and an awesome Fire !!

Alex communicating in espanol in the sand again .... lol

A bit of a blustery day !! some nice surfing waves ... some people thought, but not me !

You can see the mist blowing over ...

La Parota RV park ... nice place

2011-11-25T18:13:00.001-08:00

We are parked but not all done setup, have to get the outdoor kitchen done. We are getting Chewy to wash the rig before we do. Maybe mañana ...

There are 3 rows going towards the water, we are in the middle row ... second from the right in this picture

This the other row showing our back end of rig, we are second from the left in this picture ...

Safe travels to Los De Marcos !

2011-11-24T17:41:00.001-08:00

Wow .. enjoying the heat here, taking a bit to adjust to it. It was very humid yesterday and clouded over but nice and sunny today ! We spent the day at La Penita market, of course ... it was Thursday !
Tomorrow I will get some photos of our RV park here in Los De Marcos, here is the website: http://www.laparotarv.com/

This is the highway once we left the main #15

We turn to San Blas here

A view of the Ocean from the Hwy #54

Another view ...

And of course the market ... we bought some fresh strawberries, pinapple and veggies ... mmm

Our journey from Huatubompito went well ... except for a couple of tight moments ... like trying to turn a corner in a mexican town plaza ! We had to get out and move a steel taco stand so we could turn ... my bad navigating ... :( The first night our took us to La Rosario just south of Mazatlan.

Our way to Huatubompito

2011-11-15T18:48:00.001-08:00

KM98 Vehicle Permit office, lots of parking ... as we were the only customers ! You CANNOT buy your FMM (Visitor Visa) here, that must be bought at the Border, Mexican side.

Lots of Kiosks

Huge Office !

Finally setup at La Playa ... behind is the local Police office !

Dish set up ... relax time !

Behind us ... how safe can one be !!

Beautiful Sunset last night ... and every night !!

Just wanted you to see our view from inside out motorhome ... give you some perspective on just how close we are to the beach !!

Getting up to this in the morning is really a tough job ... lol

Puerto Penasco Bike Rally

2011-11-12T18:06:00.001-08:00

This is looking back at the Border crossing, we pulled over after passing thru the Mexican border and walked back to the Customs office and got our FMM ( Visitor Visa) before going any further down the road.

On the Malecon

Pirate Ship

It rained all night Saturday into Sunday morning ... thus leaving a lot of street flooded .. these are some of the main ones in Puerto Penasco !

Making waves behind us !!

Catalina RV & Spa - Desert Springs, Ca.

2011-11-09T16:35:00.000-08:00

The hot pools feel great ! Spa mineral waters, natural springs from the undergrounds come into the pools at 120F and feel ohhh so good !! Of course I work on my stepper everyday ... haha

Nice little cozy spot just a few steps from the pools !

Sirloin Burgers on the Barbeque ... and they were good too !

Isleton, California

2011-10-30T17:15:00.000-07:00

Nice little resort here, is winding up though ... going into winter mode. Swimming pool heater is off .. booo hoo was looking forward to that .. oh well ! Lots of places to go and see, for now, got the dish working for Desperate Housewives tonight, that inportant !!

And we're off !!! 5200 Km. to go ...

2011-10-30T11:54:00.000-07:00

Our stop for day one is Walmart in Yakima. Day 2 went well, we stayed on Hwy #97, except for taking the route to Quincy then catching 97 again. Our second night is at Klammath Falls in Walrmart ... brrrr cold here in the High Country ! We spent the night and some money !! We have some stocking up to do before Mexico ... and got our priorities straight ... this is the start of it ... lol (pic #7)

It was my turn to cook .. and I don't like doing dishes ... lol (pic #8)

Day 3 takes us to California heading right of Mt Shasta and all that snow ... blaaaa

We are now at Lighthouse Marina & Resort in Isleton, CA, is sunshine and shorts weather !

Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011 - We got away at 12 noon after our flu shot and after leaving Greenwood twice ... I forgot my purse at the community hall after our shots ... wow it was still there being guarded by friends .. with our passports in it ! We would not have gone far ! %^$$^$

Nine miles to the U.S. Border, and was a breeze going thru, a few questions and a quick check in the fridge for fruits/veggies and we were on our way ... first stop is Curlew, WA to get our mail and some parcels sitting at the store for us. One is an Outdoor Camp oven for Alex to cook with !! A power surger from Camping World to keep our gadgets safe and some wire for me to keep me out of trouble !

Boat Rack !

2011-10-25T14:24:00.000-07:00

Wow ... no wonder Alex spent the last 4 days in the garage ... genuis !! and it works too !

2011-10-22T07:31:00.000-07:00

2011-10-21T18:20:00.000-07:00

The whole Family !
"Four" Generations ! believe it or not ...

Flower Girl

Now thats a comfy ride to your wedding !

not too sure of Gramma babysitting ...

Cuties !Snack in the motorhome What is that snow doing there in the Foothills ?? its only September !

Choppers' 50th Birthday

Birthday party at Toad Rock campground

Visitors ... not too nervous !

Kootenay Toy Run, Castlegar, Nelson, Trail and back

Gave Santa my list ... lol

Camped out at Castlegar Toy Run

Curlew Lake State Park

Curlew Lake RV parking

Bonaparte Lake Resort, Washington

Bonaparte

Jewel Lake

Enjoying the beach at Christina Lake !

Resort at Christina Lake

Who is that peeking over the boat edge ??

Horsethief Hideout Biker Rally

He loves Cars ... can you tell ??

Who me ??

More sweet kids !!

Working hard at Toad Rock Biker Rally !! LOL

MDA Run from Kamloops to Cache Creek, June

Visit to Kelowna to see my girls !

Falls about 2 km from our home

Mary ... theres no more zeeee !

Our Winter Plans 2011-12

2011-10-21T14:31:00.000-07:00

Only 5205 km from Greenwood, B.C. to Zihuatinajo !! This winter's destination for Jan/Feb. We leave home Oct. 27th right after our flu shots. Crossing the border 14 km from home.

More of Teacapan March 2011

2011-10-21T14:04:00.001-07:00

Our last dinner at Pelicanos restaurante right by our trailer park !

Jeff & Theresa needed a hand putting their atv rack back on ... who ya gonna call ?? lol

Alex's payment for helping !

Back to shore, where we are camped .. motorhome just left of the 5th wheel .

Catch of the day !

Pulling in the net ...

Circle the Fish !

Teacapan Dental Clinic

Brush, Brush, Brush your teeth .... la la la la la !

Surgical instrument Cleansing !

Mexico, winter of 2010-11

2011-10-20T18:30:00.000-07:00

Crafts on the Malecon

San Blas Crocs

over looking Rincon ?

Patsy & Randy, Sandy & Chuck

Los de Marcos beach

Maria Cruz trailer park

Los de Marcos

????

towards Rincon somewhere ??

Harley shop of Guadulahara

Limited Edition Harley

Telacapaque

Downtown Guadulahara

Telacapaque

Tequila !

Entering Tequila

On the way to Guadulahara

A nice catch from Francisco !

Sunset at the Trailer park, Teacapan

Alex at the dentist's, Dr. Luis

Lunch at the Turtle Restaurant

Off to the restaurant down water

Off to Tres Amigos RV park on Stone Island, Mazatlan south

2010-11-21T07:16:00.001-08:00

We took a drive down to Teacapan, Isla Paraiso RV park ... guess we will have our choice of spaces ... as there is no one here yet ! We happened to be there when the ladies from town/around were having lunch here at the restaurant. We also visited a few that live on Cuottro Circle. Everything looks so green and has grown tall since 1 1/2 years ago when we left. We move tomorrow, Weds. 100 km to drive. It will be slow going though, there is some construction on #15 Libre and a few new potholes just going into Teacapan, where the new asphalt ended.

Alex's new Pet !

One of the Schools' performance

Gymnastice class .. the little ones were so cute !

Saturday was Mexico's Revolution Day, bank holiday, this is part of the huge parade down the Malecon

We took the Water taxi over to Maz again, this one took us right by the Navy docks

To catch the water taxi back to Stone Island, we passed by a Baja Ferry that happened to be unloading ...

Old Catholic Church in Mazatlan Centro

One of the many narrow street thru Old Maz

Break time ... hard job doing all the walking, had to stop for a Pina Colada Smoothie .. yumm

We took this Water Taxi over to Mazatlan Old Colonial town to walkabout ...

Amazing flat beach and awesome sand to walk on !

Looking out to the Point on Stone Island

This is our RV park right on the Beach

Off to Huatubompito for a week ...

2010-11-21T06:58:00.001-08:00

The Shrimping boats were parked right in fron of us ... lots of them ! Shrimp taste mighty good too !!

Alex on the beach with the Tracker ... pic taken from the front of our motorhome

Saturday Market day in Yavaros

Street thru the little fishing village of Yavaros, just a few km from Huatubompito RV park

Puerto Penasco Bike Rally

2010-11-21T06:20:00.000-08:00

The Beach in front of our RV park ... beaches go for miles !

Which one is the Monkey !???

We went on the Pirate Ship cruise, got free tickets with our Bike rally registration, entertainment and all !

They had just brought in two new military speed boats

Lots of nice bikes at the bike show & shine

On the road to Puerto Penasco, was a pullover with info on the Wildlife Conservation area and Welcome Sign

2010 Winter Begins ! El Golfo, Mexico

2010-10-31T13:05:00.000-07:00

And up the hill to the Light House ...

Must be Cerveza time !

Old Light House from the beach ...

Good view of the fishing boats going in and out ... bringing in Shrimp ... yummmm

View from the top of the Old Light House Tower

Gotta try out the beach roads with the tracker ... smooth !

Nice shot of the Full Moon in the background !

Right on the beach, all set up for Two weeks in El Golfo, Mexico (Beads to get made .. so I'm not officially on vacation yet)

Just gotta have a shot of those awesome Sunsets !!

Our first site of the Sea of Cortez ... nice to see it again !!!

We spent our first night at Walmart in Omak. Of course we did some shopping ... went into the store 3 times before we finally left Sat. morning ... around 10 am. Travels through Nevada High Dessert, we saw snow on the top ... behind us was a snow storm brewing !

We finally got all packed and hit the road Friday, Oct 15 around 3:30 pm. We had no problems at the border, taking about 10 minutes ... a record for us ! Maybe because it was 4 pm and they close at 5 !!!

First of all ... Motorhome paint job turned out awesome !! Alex did it in our back yard !

2010-01-17T14:19:00.000-08:00

Ta Daaaaaaaa !!!!!!!!!! floor to finish yet ... countertop to get ... but its HOME !

Embroidery Machine Corner

Floral Arrangements ... actually made with Glass rods I melt to make my Glass Beads

Lampwork Bead torching corner

2010-01-17T14:10:00.000-08:00

Outer walls are painted ... inner wall are only primed

Moved in on Dec. 11/09

Back to the House !!

2009-12-20T19:46:00.000-08:00

I don't like this up here !!!

I really wanted the windows cleaned badly ... I am scared of heights !!

Studio, partly painted .. and in a mess !

Last minute Christmas gifts !

Kitchen, not painted yet (only pantry is)

Spray painting the walls and texturing the ceiling

Keeping the gyproc dust off the sheets !

Dec 11/09

A little Bit of Greenwood ! Christmas Light up at Deadwood Junction

2009-12-20T19:32:00.000-08:00

Continued House ... Insulation time !

2009-11-04T16:52:00.000-08:00

Break Time ! off to Calgary Oct 1st weekend !

2009-11-04T16:46:00.000-08:00

House Progress !

2009-09-26T08:58:00.000-07:00

You have to start from the bottom and go up to see the true progress !! We are inpressed ... hope you are too !

Okay .. we took a break and went up to Jewel Lake, about 15 minutes from Greenwood ... quiet, relaxing place !

Windows going in !!

2009-08-14T15:58:00.000-07:00

Enough fun ... now back to work leveling the floor, getting the wall & trusses !

2009-06-17T20:30:00.000-07:00

Trusses on, looking West towards the garage w/Garden door entry !!
Looking East to the old part, which will be our ensuite bedroom w/French doors
A view from the back end of the garage

Half the trusses upright, other half still hanging upside down at the back.

Yes ... I let them have a break ... one !!

Hauling the trusses from the front street to the back.

The Happy McCrew !!

Working on the third wall.

Both side walls up.

Building the walls on the floor.

The Floor is all poured !

Concrete floor being poured.

Concrete Floor.

Concrete

A Full Bucket !!

Don't leave your toys in our yard ... someone will figure out how to start em !!!

Leveling out the back yard ... front yard ?? haven't decided yet which is which !! haha

Leveling out for the concrete floor !

MDA Run from Kamloops to Ashcroft

2009-06-17T20:25:00.000-07:00

"I'm special ! or did I fluff ??"

Visit from Karla, Troy and Liam !

2009-06-17T19:34:00.001-07:00

Liam was more interested in the Pastor's mic !

Liam's Baptism, go down to bottom of page to see a Video, couldn't seem to move it once there ...gehh

What a Ham !

The Beautiful Family !

Lazy daze in Greenwood

Just hangin' out in the hammock !

Out walking about in Greenwood !!

House Addition !

2009-06-17T19:20:00.000-07:00

Addition gone ... concrete patio uplifted !
There goes our patio ...

The destruction of our house ! Can't wait to see it down ...
The takedown !

Our starting place !! remember when .... LOL

On the Colorado River !!

2009-03-29T19:03:00.001-07:00

Another great boat ride with John & Pat and Rockie & Scooter !!

I got to try out a Seadoo ! Thanks to Amber & Robert (above pic) !

Someone had a dream .. build a Town, so he built a Bar and a Church. It's open only Sat. and Sun. dusk till dawn. It was a full house when we went out !!

Little People !

2009-03-29T18:52:00.000-07:00

I have to do some Gramma Bragging now ... these are the two most adorable babies ever !! Liam and Cailyn are two days apart and almost 9 months old already ! Can't wait to see them again

Arizona !

2009-03-18T21:31:00.000-07:00

We spent 2 weeks at Casa Grande, taking in trips to Phoenix and Tucson. From there, we drycamped just north of Quarzsite

We are back in Arizona, stayed at St. David for a week, then moved to Fort Huachuca for a week. We spent a couple days rock hounding out in the Hills. Of course there were numerous Bike rides squeezed in now and then !

So ... I do get a little work done too !! My Studio area ....

Teacapan, Sinaloa

2009-01-18T10:19:00.000-08:00

Our Evening Happy Hour on the beach by the campfire !
A Restaurant is right near, closed shortly after dark, so no disturbances at all.

This is looking out from the front of our Motorhome

Beautiful place ! we are enjoying it here !!
Front row right on the beach, now how can you beat that ! The sandy beaches go for litterally miles, and the Sun shines every day. We are parked on a small pennisula, but can see the breakwaters not far out.

Sayulita, Nayarit

2009-01-09T10:24:00.000-08:00

Our little visitor ! where we stayed in Sayulita, second story bungalow.

We took the Bike down to Puerto Vallata and had a great ride.

Celestino, just north of Mazatlan

2009-01-09T09:54:00.000-08:00

Miles and Miles of Beach and Sun ! Some fine looking waves too !!

Our campspot at Celestino RV Park, lucky enough to get the beachfront location !!

San Carlos, Sonora

2008-12-06T17:42:00.000-08:00

We spent 3 nights on the Beach of San Francisco with friends, Darren & Gayle and Sammy & Koda, from Darango, Co. We had met them last year in Huatubompo. We went out to La Manga Fishing Village for a bite to eat. Then we took a drive up the coast thru one more little village.

Saturday morning, we headed out for Huatubompita. We got all our permits at Km 98 for our vehicles and got here around 4 pm. They were very happy to see us back, greeted with open arms !

Sunset over Sea of Cortez

2008-12-01T19:04:00.000-08:00

A beautiful sunset showing the Moon, Jupiter and Venus !

All cleaned up !!

Out at Cholla Bay, a ride built on stilts ! A Taxi out of the water.

Broken Belt

2008-12-01T18:43:00.000-08:00

A rock got lodged in the belt and wore it thin, thankfully Alex noticed before it broke ! We managed to get parts sent down from Tucson and got it all fixed up !!

Puerto Penasco, life on the Beach !

2008-11-26T18:08:00.000-08:00

Looking out onto the Beach, temps have been just perfect, high 80's with some nights as low as 60's.

Click on pictures for LARGER view ... worth it !!

We met a few Americans & Canadians living and working here at the local "Capones Pub". They turned out to be quite entertaining ... the truck was the 'stuck' vehicle, causing 4 others to also get stuck ... of course Alex had to be the one to pull the truck out ... they ended up towing the tower .. towing the toad ... I think Alex thought he was back on the Railroad !

Life is certainly entertaining at times !

Puerto Penasco Bike Rally

2008-11-09T17:10:00.000-08:00

(Click on pictures for larger size)

Some of the entertainment we watched from the upstairs bar !

Are there new black marks on this pavement ???

2008-11-08T17:25:00.000-08:00

We spent a few days in Las Vegas on the way down, then on to Yuma for a week. The Yuma Lakes Resort was nice, and the weather was very warm, high 90's !

On to Puerto Penasca for the Bike Rally ! It's a nice little town right on the Sea of Cortez, and the weather has been beautiful.

Winter 2008 ! (well, almost Winter !! ;-)

2008-10-20T19:27:00.000-07:00

We left Greenwood Friday, Oct. 17, approx 10 am, headed south. Our first stop for the night was Pembleton, Oregon. The roads were great and it was actually quite warm. Saturday went well, making our evening destination Well, Nevada. It was quite chilly there. Sunday morning, we headed for Las Vegas. We entered N. Vegas and spent the night up on the hill with the ATV and quaders. They zipped around the hills way past dark.
Monday morning we came down to the Oasis RV Park just at the south end of The Strip, and spent the day just setting up, organizing and just relaxing ! I have some bead orders to get made, so that is on my list for Tues. morning. Then maybe the Pool ?? or do some site seeing ??? will decide that then.
All for now, will load some pictures tomorrow !!

Our Busy Summer !

2008-09-20T08:15:00.001-07:00

It has been a very busy Summer, doing lots of Bike Rallies and Markets. Our first to start the season was at Mary's Home: http://www.toadrockcampground.com/

And of course the visits to see the Precious little Granbabies !
First came Cailyn Brianne !! July 8th

Then came Liam Michael Grant !! July 10th

And Then a visit from Tanya !

Alex became a Great-Grandpa to Savannah !! well, he is Great anyway !

2008-04-06T18:53:00.000-07:00

Off to Las Vegas for a few days, then onward to Pahrump only 50 miles out. One of many of our Rides was into Death Valley. I thought I would take you on a ride with us !! See Video---> (still trying to upload it !!)

2008-04-06T18:33:00.000-07:00

This is what we had to put up with !! Nice weather and lots of Sunshine !

February was spent in Arizona, first stop Casa Grande, then to Florence. The pictures here are of a Monistery built by 14 Greek Monks and is unbelievable Grande Style !!

Our Broken Axle at Hermosillo !

2008-02-10T19:05:00.000-08:00

About 3 kms south of Hermisillo, there was a thud, I looked out my rearview mirror to see the tag axle wheel sitting crooked and sparks flying ! We somehow were right at the spot where there is a turnoff and Alex got the MH pulled over immediately. Would you guess what we were parked at ??? a machine shop ! with probably the only welder for miles ! So with much hand signals, pointing and body motions .... of course get guys together and they all know what needs to be done. What a bunch of friendly and helpful people. Their yard was a good place to stay overnight too. By noon the next day all was fixed.

Hermosilla is the Capital of the State of Sonora. We didn't spend any time there, but in the Fall we will have to tour the City.

http://www.tourbymexico.com/sonora/hermo/hermo.htm

Also, right across from the Machine Shop is a huge Shrine up the side of the mountain. It was Sunday and there were lots of cars and people there.

Our Last week at Huatubompita

2008-02-10T18:18:00.000-08:00

They are working hard at making a retaining wall to hold back any more storms that may hit. Last Fall they had a bad hurricane come thru, so this should help keep the beach on the beach !

The Stone wall is coming along very nicely !! Good job !

One of many Fishing Boats we would see out every day.

Some Cool Wheels !

Our Last week at Huatubompita, we went back to Alamos for the Festival, lots of vendors.

Drag Races on the Beach !

2008-02-10T09:29:00.001-08:00

Alex will have to post descriptions ... all I see is the beautiful ocean in the background !! haha

Alex will have to post some description ... all looks good to me !

This was Sunday, Drags on the Beach. I think everyone from Town (Huatubompa) was out for this event ! We really didn't know how often they came out, of course only Spanish is spoken so ??

Very quiet Villages !

2008-02-10T09:04:00.000-08:00

Most of the homes have fenced yards, the barbwire around them is used for their clothelines ! Must be careful pulling off laundry ...

I thought this little place was so neat with all the painted rocks.

No traffic jams here ! one of the many little villages we drove thru. I don't think they see much traffic, so we did get some looks ! And everyone has friendly waves !

Our Day Trips from Huatubompita

2008-01-25T08:58:00.000-08:00

We went for another drive down to Los Mochis, Sinaloa. It is about 300 miles north of Mazatlan.

This little town, just west of Los Mochis, is Topolobompa, where the Ferry docks from La Paz, Baja. We didn't get to see the Ferry, but we've heard its quite an experience !

Internet server doesn't want to let me upload any pics !!! ggrrrrrrrrr more a next day !!
(Finally can upload some pics and update !!)
La Aduana, Sonora Mexico ( this little village is only a few km. west of Alamos.
Old Church from 1610 - Cactus grow in weird places !

Alamos, Sonora Mexico

Old Church from 1665 - took a day trip over to Alamos Jan 18.

We went back yesterday to take in their infamous Music Festival, lots of colorful costumes, vendors and of course Food !

2008-01-08T20:17:00.000-08:00

Well, I did manage to find some Seahorses on the beach ! I think 8 in all now. The one pictured is a little over 4 inches long, almost weightless, don't know what happens to them when they get beached. Also, we are finded lots of Sand Dollars, they are so neat with the design on them.

This is for Eric ! Homemade plastic tailights, looks to be an mid 50's Mercury ?? parked in front of the bodyshop

Settling in for a month at El Mirador !

2008-01-06T07:43:00.000-08:00

We are going to stay here for a month, until Feb. 2 then head back up to Tucson for the Rock & Gem Shows there. I have to get my fix on glass, silver, rocks, gems ... etc etc etc !

Yesterday, our neighbors from Colorado came back from down the way with some seahorses, guess what we are going to go look for today ?!?! They were fantastic looking, kind of petrified in the sand. I guess they got washed up from the big storm in Sept. There is hardly anyone occuppying the homes down the beach, lots of damage, and some homes totally demolished. Some look to have been really beautiful homes too !

The Restarante is right beside us, also the RV office. There is free wifi here and Enrique put another wireless router in a little building next to the RV's so the whole park is wireless !

Of course, this is a gated community, electric too, I just jump out and drop the wire and jump back in, reminds me of being out in Sask !

We have 24 hour security too, he lives on the roof of the restarante and barks when ever someone comes, good watch dog !

El Mirador on the Beach !

2008-01-05T10:31:00.000-08:00

Well, we got away from San Carlos around 10 am for Huatabompita. It is a 250 km trip, with stopping at Km98 for our vehicle permits. They have a brand new facility still under construction, but are very quick and efficient on getting us what we need. New rules now, you must purchase a 10-year permit for Motorhomes only. For the Tracker, we got a 6 month (only thing available).

On the way we planned a trip to Wal-mart in Obregon to buy a camera (other one crashed). Nothing in there was any cheaper than normal, only add a 0 to make it Pesos, camera was $1990. pesos. We bought a few other goodies too, a quesadala cooker ... and what was unique there was a production line tortilla maker. It was run by one person, the dough was filled by the top, rolled out thin and run through a round cutter, then baked and piled out on the end. They sold them packaged in 10/$55 pesos ($.50) mmm good too !

1st Picture is going through Huatabompa, and a couple of miles out is Huatabampito, then the beach.

This is the RV Park, nice and quiet, there are 3 of us right now, the odd overnighter has come and gone. Up and down the coast, there is a lot of damage from Henrietta Storm in Sept. They are working to clean it up. This park was under sand dunes until they dug out all the hookups.

Think we have a big enough sand box yet ??

Beautiful Sunsets !! and of course Sunrise !

Happy New Year ! !

2008-01-02T08:30:00.000-08:00

This is our Sunday afternoon leisure time spent at a Jam Session at La Palapa beach bar. Good music and good company. In the picture are 2 couples that are staying at Totonaka RV Park, which we are staying in until Thursday morning.

(picture, l-r sitting - Ken & Claudette from 108 Mile House, Lorraine(me) & Alex, standing - Gerri & Rich from Florida, but full-time RV's.

On New Years Eve, we went to a house situated on the beach front. The home belonged to friends of theirs, Jack & Gina from Redding, CA but had to go home to work ! We all had a good time, beautiful, newly decorated home ! Our camera crashed and couldn't get pictures ... grrrr
Gotta stop off at Walmart in Obregon and buy a new one. We leave in the morning for Huatabampo, beach front campground should be nice, and 150 miles south so should be a little wamer too !

http://el_mirador.tripod.com/rv-en.htm

Fishing Trip ! !

2007-12-30T09:20:00.000-08:00

The next day, was our Fishing Trip. We took a five hour adventure on the Sea of Cortez ! The pictures and videos, tell the story !! It was my first time fishing, so you will note the HUGE Calico I caught, and also caught 3 Salmon. In total, we caught over 30, Calico Bass and White Salmon. My first catch is this FIRST picture !

Ralph .... umm hhpp oppppsss .. I mean Ken was not too fond of his breakfast we cooked him, so thought that he would feed the birds all morning !

On our way to check out another fishing spot !

Taking a drive over to Kino Bay

2007-12-30T08:11:00.000-08:00

Well, we had spent a nice quiet Christmas, going back out to La Manga Fishing Village for our Christmas Dinner. Of course, we started out sharing a very large Seafood Coctail that was just delicious. I had butterfly shrimp and Alex had stuffed fresh fish. You get to bring your own refreshments, a cooler with beer !

We got company Boxing Day and toured around with Ken & Zeta (from South Dakota). We drove over to Kino Bay to check it out, nice beaches and sand. Our lunch there was great.

Sunny Beach !

2007-12-19T14:58:00.000-08:00

I just have to show you the pictures of where we are now parked. This one is taken from the roof of our Motorhome !

A few clowds but actually brighter than it looks out. The sandy beach goes for miles both ways here.

We have two neighbors, the one on the left is one, the motorhome is ours. After talking with Noel, I find out that he was born 8 miles from me, and we have the same last name, distant cousins ! Small world.

These are the roads out here, all sand of course, the more traffic, the smoother they become. But of course, we are only about 1/2 km from the main highway coming in (4 lanes plus side lanes going both ways, that makes 6 lanes)

To the left is San Carlos, about 1 km and to the right are some Condos, then winds around to old Spanish settlement & fishing village called Miramar (just before you enter Guaymas), maybe 2 km from the condos that are past us 1/2 km.

The water is so clear and always calm. It's just full of fish and the birds dive nonstop to snatch them up. I think it is another day to sit at the beach in the sunshine !

Hey Karla, Teddy says hello and found himself a buddy, Donkey !

Busy Busy !!

2007-12-15T17:49:00.000-08:00

There is a little fishing village about 2 km north of San Carlos, so we decided to try out their restarante ... it was a fantastic meal of fresh catch of the day and Shrimp. It was the last night here for our friends, Donna & Dave and Deb. They are off to the bottom of Mexico, past Acapulco.

Wow, don't knew where the days go, but they are just too short ! We are keeping busy, walks on the beach, trips to the market, etc etc. We went over to Guaymas on Wed. for the weekly market and bought some fantastic vegetables to make La Salada. Even bought a bag of chopped cactus, and is it ever good. On the way down into Mexico, we passed a lot of Nurserys all full of greenery. They do grow a lot of produce down here for export.

Our Shrimp guy came again today, we bought another Kilo of Jumbo Shrimp. They come from Kino Bay, another village just north of here. Right now there are no Shrimp on the shores of San Carlos. They vary in areas, depending on the time of the year.
I'm not sure if I can eat Shrimp everyday ... but we are trying ! Of course, Alex is the cook. The only thing I cook is in the Kiln !!

A few pictures .... eat your heart out !

In the morning, we are going to move out of the rv park (Totonaka) and park right out on La Playa (Beach) I will be sure to take pictures ! The almost white sand is just beautiful there.

Happy Hour all day ??

2007-12-11T20:33:00.000-08:00

We went for a walk down main street San Carlos, enjoying the nice sunshine. There are lots of little gift shops along the road, about 2 km longs.

We ended up driving north out to La Manga and meeting some great people, Donna & Dave (Van.)and Deb (Ontario) had a couple of beers at "The Hang Out"

75% of the people here are from B.C. or Alberta.

Tour of San Carlos (Click on pictures to enlarge )

2007-12-10T18:17:00.001-08:00

We took a drive around San Carlos to see some sights, the views were pretty awesome. The Sea of Cortez lines the coast of this small village.

There are lots of fishing boats way out in the Sea, we were told the Shrimp is really good too. We will have to buy some tomorrow and cook some.

There are not a lot of resorts yet, but lots of new ones just getting started with escavating and roads being put in.

The rock formations are quite the site all around the coast.

We are standing on some old homes that were destroyed of demolished some time ago, only the roads and foundations left.

There are so many pennisulas and protected areas.

Our Drive from Nogales to San Carlos

2007-12-10T07:57:00.000-08:00

Getting through the border was easy, no one stopped us. We got waved on.

This is our first (3 in total) Toll Booth on the 250 mile trip to San Carlos. Our greeter, the dog, one of MANY we see on the way. The toll was $133 Pesos (approx. 1=10 ratio) $13. us (2nd = $50 pesos, 3rd = $152 pesos)

It was actually brighter out than the pictures look. The sun did peek out once in while.

This is KM21, our first stop on the way. We are parked in the parking area of the Tourist Visas office. In the distance you can see a small brown roofed building where you must show all vehicle registrations, mexican insurance, passport and birth certificate (I told to make copies of all this !) We went in and the clerk gave us a FMT to fill out, he stamped in and didn't even look at anything and waved us on our way ... easy as pie !
We still had to drive through the check point, but were waved on down the road.

What a mix of land formations ! From sandy deserts to actual treed areas. This is Saugaro Cactus Forest, lined with tall cacti on both sides of the highway for about 1/4 mile.

Weird looking things, wouldn't want to see what lives or crawls around them too closely !!

There were two seperate Army check points, this car being stopped and questioned in fron of us. On the left of us, were more Army officials checking trucks, lots were totally unloaded. I didn't want to get my camera too much into their face, so missed getting more pictures !

Again, we were waved on through.

This is the Truck route throught Hermosillo ! sure glad we didn't take the city route !!

It was Sunday morning, so really no traffic compared to during the week. We were told it can be pretty frantic at times getting through.

I just had to post this picture, we got to the south end of Hermosillo and came to a very congested area. The Prison is on the left and Sunday is visiting day !

Tons of people were coming and going. It reminded me of Christmas shopping at the mall and trying to find a parking place !

This Toll Highway is a divided highway, but with no shoulders at all. This semi driver did something wrong. There is a minivan part way underneath his trailer in behind.

Hopefully no one was hurt. We did see two other semi's off the road, all with trailers backed onto them unloaded its cargo.

We took our time driving, but there were some that did go just to fast. There are places in the hwy with some large pot holes !

Almost there !

2007-12-09T13:29:00.001-08:00

We are about 1/2 hour from San Carlos, at Junction turn-off to Kino Bay. Going through the border was very easy, we stopped at KM21 to purchase out Visas and vehicle papers. To our surprise, we weren't charged anything. Others we talked with were charged $150 U.S.
I will upload some pictures I took on the way down later.

Leaving for Mexico

2007-12-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

We are heading to Nogales today, pick up some last minute groceries and stuff. Guess there is no horseradish or Cocktail sauce .. so we stocked up on that and are bringing some extras !

Early Sunday morning we will start across the border, destination San Carlos. I have a good 'driving guide' to follow, even has the Topes (speed bumps) marked, which I've heard can shake things around pretty good in the RV. It is 250 miles to San Carlos, but lots of stops (customs) and Toll Booths, so will likely be a full day's drive.

I will post some eventfull tidbits for you when we arrive our destination !!!

Take care, stay warm !

Alex & Lorraine

Dec. 1 - Tucson

2007-12-05T12:26:00.000-08:00

We are staying at Whispering Palms RV Park in Tucson for the week. Our drive here was wet. It is the first time in three winters that we actually see rain !

It has been warm and sunny since we've been here though. The temp is +80 today (Weds.)

November 18 - Left Canada !

2007-12-05T11:52:00.000-08:00

We left Greenwood about Noon, crossing into U.S. at Midway. An uneventful customs check was done, and away we went ! Our first night was spent in Kenniwick, WA just on the Wash/Oregon border. 284 km day.

We got a fairly early start, (for us thats 9 ish !) Good thing it wasn't any earlier, because as we climbed into Pendleton, we passed all the trucks chaining up, as the sign indicated that they had to. But into the mid-morning all was melted and it was good to go. We drove all the way to Ely, NV and parked behind the Casino. 675 km day.

Or next day brought us through Vegas, and on to Bullhead City, AZ across the river from Laughlin, NV. This is our destination for a week ! Ridgeview RV Park.

We got to visit with friends, and celebrate Thanksgiving twice this year. AND take in 5 am shopping madness, which was actually fun, after we woke up with some coffee.