We took the detour, and it was worth it!

Woke up to the wild turkeys gobbling. We got up around 7am, and they were all outside, probably ten of them. The males had their feathers spread wide as they showed off for everybody.

I took some pictures through the window, but only one turned out half decent...

From one state park to the next...

We woke up at Caprock Canyons State Park, and went to sleep last night in Palo Duro Canyon State Park. Yes, making as much use of our Texas State Parks pass as possible.

We didn't have a cell signal at the campsite at Caprock Canyons, so we drove over to the interpretive building where they have free wifi. But as with most campgrounds, the public wifi is either not good to begin with, or if more than two or three people are using it, it's almost not usable. But, from that location I managed two bars of Verizon signal, so between the two managed to get the blog posted yesterday and some internet work done.

We got a nice site in the horse camping area at Caprock Canyons State Park

We were up at 6:00am yesterday morning and on the road at 7:00am in order to drive as much as we could without the wind, which was forecast to increase after 9:00am. And the forecast was pretty accurate in that regard. The winds did pick up, but at least it was a head wind... not great for gas mileage, but at least it was relatively comfortable to drive in.

At least until we got to the town of Turkey. After that, we had a minor problem.

Heat warning on Thursday, wind warning on Friday!

We had planned on leaving Paul's place at 9:00am in order to beat the worst of the winds, but for some reason we were a few minutes later than that. We knew the forecast was calling for wind, but it was supposed to be from the south so we were hoping for a tail wind.

Instead, it came from the west and we had a nasty cross wind that got worse as time went on.

Boondockers Welcome

Woke up yesterday morning after  a great sleep at Foster County Park, free camping for the night. Nice little park by the river, and quiet during the week, although I've read that it can get busy on the weekends.

One of the things we love about the transient RV lifestyle is opening the windows in the morning to see where we are! Yesterday morning, we had ducks and geese and turtles to see!

No logic at San Angelo State Park

We woke up to a beautiful sunrise at Menard County Park in our spot by the river. Didn't have to get an early start, so we puttered around on the free wifi and took our time getting ready to go.

But by the time we did leave, it was getting windy. We should have left earlier!

A perfect day

What a perfect day we had yesterday. Perfect weather, and a perfect campsite by the river. If we didn't have more exploring to do, we might have stayed even longer but we want to see San Angelo State Park today, and we have a booking with a Boondockers Welcome host tomorrow.

Spent most of the morning cleaning Sherman. Then after lunch, we took the kayak out on the river!

Yup, this will do for a couple of nights!

Knowing that it's still winter in Canada, we made a conscious decision to stay here in Texas as long as possible where the temperatures at this time of year are more suitable for human habitation.  If that means we have a few long driving days in the last week of the month, then that's the price we are willing to pay!

But, we still did some driving north yesterday.

March Expenses

Okay, have to post this mid day to get caught up. If you missed the earlier post, you can read it here...

http://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2018/04/not-thrilled-with-south-llano-river.html

We spent a total of $2,763 CAD ($2,200 USD) in the month of March. Yes, quite a lot higher than expected. Most of that was due to Sherman's breakdown, but we were also far higher in gasoline and toll road expenses than we would have preferred.

Not thrilled with South Llano River State Park

First thing in the morning, we drove over to the library in Junction, Texas to use their free unsecured wifi internet. I checked Verizon's coverage map... for some odd reason there is simply a huge gap in this area. Very strange.

But, at least we know it's not our device that's the problem.

Then, we did the short drive over to South Llano River State Park.

Very pleased with Junction, Texas

We weren't in a rush to leave Garner State Park, but we left our site at about 9:00am to drive through the park and down to the store where the laundromat is located. Haven't done any laundry since March 29th in Mazatlan.

That's also the last time we emptied our holding tanks, so it had been 8 days and we can normally go 10 if we're careful, so the grey tank was starting to get full. Probably could have gone another few days on the black tank though. Anyhow, we got the laundry done and emptied the tanks on our way out of the park.

Not that we would really mind if somebody stole them.

We rode our bikes over to the office again to pick up our windshield pass for our third night here. That was our morning exercise.

We then decided that we had better get some cleanup done to Sherman, so Ruth worked on the interior while I cleaned the bugs and grime off the front exterior. They were so plastered on that I had to use Greased Lightning spray cleaner to get them off. That, and some elbow grease.

Exploring Garner State Park

Woke up to a bit of an overcast day yesterday, and we didn't see any sun until late afternoon. But, it never did rain and the temperature was perfect to go out and get some exercise and explore the park.

Like I said yesterday, it's a big park so every time we go anywhere on the bikes, we know we're in for some exercise. That's okay, because we were kind of lacking in that department over the last three months and we need to get ourselves back in hiking condition because we're planning on doing lots of hiking and biking over the next six months!

We are liking Garner State Park!

Yesterday morning, we did the short drive from Uvalde to Garner State Park. Amazing how much the scenery changes when you get into Texas Hill Country. Of course it's called Hill Country for a reason... there are hills!

We wanted to arrive at Garner State Park early so that we could enjoy the day there. Plus, we had read that it's a big busy park, so we wanted to ensure a good site. In fact, Garner State Park is the most popular state park for overnight camping in all of Texas. Turns out we had nothing to worry about!

Knock, knock, knock... "It's the police..."

Got on the road early yesterday morning, and headed to the Carizzo Springs Walmart to do a big grocery shop and use their free wi-fi. But the Walmart in Carrizo Springs is just a basic Walmart store without much of a grocery section.

We did some internet and bought a refill card for our Verizon mi-fi so we can stay connected to you all for the next four weeks in the U.S..  Only bought a 5 GB package for $60 USD ($77 CAD) so we'll try and make that last. Still have some data remaining on our Telcel SIM card, and it's supposed to work in both the U.S. and Canada, so we'll see.

We are now into the United States!

But boy, they don't make it easy. Having been to 34 different countries, we have crossed a lot of borders. The United States makes things the most difficult.

And of course we have to put up with the border circus because it's part of travel. But sometimes it just makes you shake your head. Such as it was yesterday.

A long driving day in Mexico!

If we wanted to cross the border on Monday, then Sunday was going to have to be a long driving day! Still traveling with two other rigs, we were up and on the road at the crack of dawn.

Originally, our destination was the city of Saltillo, and the Imperial Hotel where we had stayed our very first night with the Mexico RV Caravan group. But traffic is busy in the city, and considering we were only staying the night and just needed somewhere to park, we nixed that idea and figured we would wing it.

Fantastic day at a Mexico National Park!

It's Semana Santa (Easter Week) and it's the weekend. A lot of Mexicans head to the beach during Semana Santa, but that doesn't leave the mountain spots untouched, and such is the way it is here at Sierra de Organos National Park.

There aren't a lot of camping spots here, and it's pretty busy. We had music well into the night, but that's the way it is in Mexico so we expected it. But they are friendly people, just having fun with their friends and families and we have no problem with that.

Here's how our day went on Friday...

Three of the group left Isla de la Piedra at 6:00am. A few of us were even up to wave goodbye. They wanted to get an early start and a long days drive in to head towards the Arizona border on Sunday and get back to Canada for various reasons. Next, at 7:00am, seven more rigs pulled out, again heading towards Arizona, but this group won't cross until Monday.

Then at 8:00am, it was our turn. Us, with James and Karen behind us, and Kenny and Gail bringing up the rear. We are down to a three rig caravan!

Just a short note

To let you know we made it to the National Park. No cell signal unless we do a hike to a lookout! That's where we are now. Using my phone to do this blog post. Normal blog post will resume tomorrow!

I've never tried doing a blog post from the phone. Hope this works!

Mazatlan, and saying goodbye

We walked the the ferry dock here at Isla de la Piedra and took the panga boat to Mazatlan. It crosses the shipping port and is about a ten minute journey.

We were meeting up with Steve and Rebecca, a couple who had hosted us at their place in Duluth, Minnesota back in 2013. They've been loyal readers of this blog since 2011!

Mazatlan Countryside Tour

The bus was here to pick us up at 8:30am yesterday morning. First stop was the village of Puerta de Canoas, about 57 kms (35 miles) from where we are camped at Isla de la Piedra.

This is where there is a guy who trains dancing horses. Plus, it's just a nice little typical village. I always find it interesting how you only have to be 16 kms (10 miles) outside the hustle and bustle of the big city of Mazatlan to find yourself out in the country. You'd never know that you're so close to the city.

February Expenses

Better late than never, right?!

If you remember, Sherman broke down on Thursday, March 1st. That week, and the following week were a little hectic for us, and we kind of got out of schedule and the February expenses never got posted. So I'm posting them now.

February was a pretty reasonable month, which is a good thing because March was not! However, we have to keep in mind that February was only 28 days...

Last driving day with the group

We did the short drive from Teacapan to Isla de la Piedra yesterday. We had a 9:00am start because it's only a 131 km (81 mile) drive. A couple of us needed to get fuel, so we left 20 minutes early to stop at the station up on the road, but when we got there they had one pump closed and it was pretty congested. We decided to carry to to El Rosario where there was a bigger station.

And, we took the free road again. It's in pretty good shape, so it's one of those situations where you can't justify spending the money on the toll road.

Planning our exit from Mexico

Six more nights in Mexico. Hard to believe. But, all good things must come to an end, so they say!

We have only one more drive with the whole group, and that is today from Teacapan to Isla de Las Piedra near Mazatlan. Then on Friday, we split ways and most of the group is exiting through Nogales with the leader of the Copper Canyon group, while Ruth and I take two rigs out through Laredo.

The beach goes on for miles...

We went for a walk on the beach yesterday morning. The last time we were here, two years ago, we walked all the way to town which was about 10 kms. We didn't feel quite that ambitious this time around, and so we took off in the opposite direction to see what there was to see.

The beach goes for literally miles!

RV camping on the beach in Mexico

We had to get an early start yesterday morning. Saturday is market day in Lo de Marcos, and it would have been tough (maybe even impossible) to get all the rigs out through the town if we waited until later. So, better to be safe than sorry and we were all out of the park by 6:30am!

Also, better to get an early start to do the twisty windy road up the mountain towards Tepic.

Nothing wrong with a soak in the hot springs!

Just a short update today.

We went with Mike and Linda up to the Aguas Termales De Nuevo Ixtlan. 

What is that, you ask?

Ruth and I have been there before. It's a natural hot springs up in the mountains northwest of Puerto Vallarta.

This is the first time

This is the first time during this three month trip that we have had time to relax. And there's less than two weeks remaining in the trip! Overall, it's been an okay job, but it's a pretty hectic schedule and it's been more work than we thought it would be.

Of course, if we do it again next year it should feel like less work because we will be totally familiar with the route and the schedule.

I think one of those hammocks has my name on it...

Ruth had a couple of haircuts scheduled for yesterday morning, so while she was doing that I went for a walk around the property here to take some photos for you all.

Tlaquepaque is a resort hotel property with bungalows and rooms for rent, as well as 70 RV spaces. In our opinion, it is one of the nicest RV properties in Mexico. And, it's fairly pricey, but sometimes you get what you pay for.

Arrived at Lo de Marcos

Managed to get 16 rigs out of the Laguna del Tule Trailer park in Melaque. We decided to group up at a nearby gas station, that way everybody could get out of the park at their own pace before our 8am scheduled departure. It all went pretty smoothly and thankfully there isn't a lot of traffic at that end of the town.

We had some leftover members of the Copper Canyon caravan with us for this drive, so we split into two groups of eight, and the second group departed 15 minutes after the first group.

Relax day at the beach in Melaque

We needed to get some exercise, so before it got too hot we took off for a walk. Of course, when we start wandering we never know how long we're going for... or how far!

We set off through town, then part of the beach. We ended up doing about 8kms (5 miles)!

We are back on schedule!

Went for a nice breakfast yesterday morning with Heinz and Uli, Becky and Jerry, Doug and Cathy, and Nancy at La Cocinita restaurant in Valle de Juarez. Nice of everybody to join us. Our favorite breakfast place in Mexico! The fresh orange juice was the best I've ever had. And with a delicious mushroom, onion, and chorizo omelette. Total price with tip included, 85 pesos ($6.00 CAD, $4.55 USD) each.

With full stomachs, we made another attempt to go see Whiskey's Tree at Hacienda Contreras RV Park.

Terrible roads, but we made it!

Up at 6:00am yesterday morning and we left Trailer Park Las Americas in Cholula at 6:45am, 15 minutes later than we planned. Sherman fired right up and was ready to go. As I put him into gear and we crept forward, the springs creaked as they settled into place.

Next question? How is the alignment?

We waved goodbye to the gate guard and carried on to the main road. So far, so good...

We're on the road again!

At least we hope we are. The last time I said that, it didn't go so well.

The mechanic Pedrito had finished up the passenger side (the side that broke) on Thursday evening, and he was coming back Friday morning to change the lower ball joint on the driver's side. Both ball joints had been changed at the same time a few years ago, and with one giving up, I didn't have a whole lot of faith in the other one.

We've got some catching up to do...

Yesterday, the Mexico RV Caravan group carried on from Villa Corona to the Pacific coast beach town of Melaque. They are in for a five night stay at Laguna del Tule Hotel and RV Park.

Because they are there for five nights, we want to arrive there by Monday at the latest because they move on again on Tuesday. That means we've got some catching up to do.

Maybe it's better that we're not heading out today!

When we woke up and got on the computers yesterday morning, I checked the status of Sherman's parts. They said "out for delivery", with a promised delivery time of "end of the day".

I went up to the security guy at the front gate and explained that I would have two packages arriving at some point today. He said he would let me know when they show up.

Meanwhile, back at the caravan group...

While we've been sitting here waiting for Sherman's parts to arrive, the caravan group has carried on according to the schedule. Michel and Louise, a couple who had expressed interest in leading their own caravan next winter had taken over as temporary wagon-masters until we can rejoin the group.

The group did three nights in Patzcuaro, and then yesterday they moved on to Chimulco Water Park in Villa Corona near the big city of Guadalajara.