San Miguel de Allende at night

A short driving day yesterday, so we planned for a 10:00am start. It's normally only 67 kms (42 miles) between the RV park we were staying at in Guanajuato, and the one we were going to in San Miguel de Allende.

However, we got to one turn that we needed to make and there were a bunch of signs saying the road was closed so we had to make a detour.

Ripped off by an ATM

Yesterday morning, six of us headed back to central Guanajuato. Ruth and I just wanted to wander around and see if we could find anything new to see, as well as showing the other four some of the neat things we had seen before.

Oh, and we wanted to go have enchiladas mineras for lunch... a local specialty dish.

Touring beautiful Guanajuato, Mexico

Guanajuato is one of our favorite cities in Mexico. Built into a very hilly area, the colorful city is a maze of narrow streets and alleyways. And with a large (30,000 students) university population there are a lot of young people about. It's also considered to be one of the safest cities in Mexico.

And, there is a lot to see and a lot of history. So as a group, we decided to hire a van and a guide.

Long hike in the mountains near Guanajuato

It was a free day for the group... nothing organized and everybody was free to do their own thing. Four of the group decided to hop on the local bus and head into the city of Guanajuato, about 13 kms (8 miles) from here.  Cost for the bus was 10 pesos (50 cents USD, 65 cents CAD).

Others simply stayed back at the RV park and relaxed, or puttered around on their rigs. Ruth and I wanted to do a hike, and Bob and Denise wanted to join us.

Another driving day in Mexico. San Luis to Guanajuato...

Planned on a 9:00am start, and the group was ready to head out at 8:55am! Gotta love this group, they are always on time. We said goodbye to our host Peter at El Faro de Peter RV Park and thanked him for looking after us so well. Despite the negatives of the place, we wouldn't hesitate to go back.

There is no easy way for us to get through the city of San Luis Potosi, so this is one of those situations where we know when it's best to take the toll highway (cuota) north around the city.

A day off with some great views

Yesterday was a rest day with no structured plans for the group.

It started off with an unfriendly dog lose on the property. It turns out that he belonged to the owner of the property. There are actually four dogs here and we hadn't seen any of them out of their cages until this fellow was lose. Not sure why or how he got out, but he was not very friendly! I went out with one of Ruth's walking sticks and made my way to the owner's house to wake him up.

Second day touring San Luis Potosi, Mexico

At 10:30am, we were back in our host Peter's Suburban SUV, ferrying the rest of our group into the city of San Luis Potosi.

When we arrived in the center, it seemed much quieter than it had been on Saturday. But, it's possible that everyone was still in church!

Exploring the city of San Luis Potosi, Mexico

While the property here at El Faro de Peter RV Park is not as well maintained as it could be, our host Peter makes up for it. He's a friendly, helpful guy. We asked about taking the bus into the city of San Luis Potosi (the locals simply call it San Luis) and he replied in Spanish, "no, let me take you... I am at your service".

He has a big 7 passenger Suburban SUV. I asked the cost, and he said it was his pleasure.

Driving day in Mexico to San Luis Potosi and El Faro de Peter RV Park

As with our RV travels in the U.S. and Canada, we try to keep our driving days in Mexico under 200 kms (120 miles). And, we try to stay off the busy four lane highways here as well.

Yesterday's route was new to us, but we checked it out on google maps and google streetview, and I spoke to a taxi driver in Matehuala to make sure the route was okay for a group of eight RVs. Some of these small towns in Mexico are not suitable for RVs, and you have to be aware of routes that have bypasses around the central areas of these towns.

A great day trip to Real de Catorce, Mexico

We are staying with the RVs here at Matehuala. This is a common stopover for people heading south to the beach. We spoke to one couple here who have been here four or five times... and they had never heard of Real de Catorce. They're in such a rush to get to the beach that they don't look around to see what there is to see along the way. They are destination people.

But we are explorers! Nine years ago, we visited Real de Catorce and we knew that our group would enjoy it as much as we did back then. And, it's a great place to give our new camera a workout... so be warned... lots of photos to follow...

Visit to central Matehuala and the doctor

A bit of a cold front going through this area for the next day or two. Overcast almost all day, and a high of about 17C (64F). But that didn't stop us from taking the group into the central area.

Matehuala isn't much of a tourist town... there's not really a lot to see. But they have an interesting cathedral and a typical market and for some of the group it is their first opportunity to see a small non tourist city.

Through the mountains and on to our next stop!

The group really enjoyed our stay with Chris and Juan at Campestre Monte Sur. But, it was time to move on! So yesterday we headed out right on time with our 9:00am departure towards Matehuala.

The day started off overcast, and looking towards the mountain range that we had to cross, we could not see the tops of the mountains which were up in the clouds.

A great first full day in Mexico!

We wanted to do a walk yesterday morning here at Campestre Monte Sur, but Chris wanted to go at 7:00am, and Denise and Bob wanted to go at 9:00am. So in true Kevin and Ruth fashion, we went on both walks!

We did the same route each time, because we wanted to show Denise and Bob the same things that Chris had pointed out to us the first time around. We had 14 kms (8.6 miles) done before 10:30am!

First driving day in Mexico

As planned, we left the RV park in Mission, Texas at just after 7:00am Sunday morning. It's a fifteen minute drive from there to the Anzalduas bridge that takes you to the west side of Reynosa, Mexico.

But of course, once you pay the $7.00 USD ($9.25 CAD, 140 pesos) toll fee to cross the bridge you still have to stop at immigration and customs to get your tourist visa and your motorhome permit.

On our way to Mexico!

By the time most of you read this, we will already be on our way across the border and into our first driving day in Mexico.

We're getting up early and making our way to the border station well before the crowds... and doing so on a Sunday morning because we know that all of the bad guys will either be sleeping... or in church!

Breaking news!

So we're sitting at the computers last night, and I see a flight deal highlighted on my facebook feed.

Any of our long time readers know that we are suckers for a good flight deal. Whenever we fly anywhere, we want to be the people on the plane who paid the least amount of money!

We took a look at this one... and after a five minute decision making process... we booked it!

Getting ready for Mexico

Well, this is an enthusiastic group! Seven of our eight rigs are here. Just waiting for Garth and his Trek motorhome. I know he was having some brake work done before arriving here. And again, he doesn't have to be here until Friday afternoon.

But everyone else is here early, and very excited about our trip. So are we!

We made it!

And holy cow, that was a lot of driving over the last five weeks! I love driving, but even I am due for a break. In fact, we purposely drove a few extra miles the last couple of days in order to get to the Mission West RV Resort a little early so we could stay in one spot for a while!

We've got five nights in one place!

Another winning casino stop

Back on the road yesterday morning, and headed for the Kickapoo Indian Casino just south of Eagle Pass. This was actually where we had planned on spending the night when we cut our driving day short because of the wind.

But we decided to stop in there anyhow, even though it was a very short detour to do so.

A good day, but we didn't make it very far!

Slept fine outside the Judge Roy Bean visitors center in Langtry, Texas. It's a pretty sleepy little town that hasn't grown much since the time the Judge died in 1903!

The visitors center opens at 8:00am every day of the year. It's actually run by the Texas Department of Transportation as a highway rest stop, even though it's well off the main highway.

Ruth goes sand sledding!

We hit the road at a decent hour yesterday, not sure of how far we would make it. With a full fresh water tank, and empty waste holding tanks we said a silent thank you to the town of Jal for the totally free RV sites at Jal City Park and we headed out, making our way southeast into Texas.

A nice day with no driving

Woke up yesterday morning to the sound of birds singing... lots and lots of birds singing! They are here at sundown, and again at sunrise. Wonder where they go at other times. There are thousands of them! They are common grackles.

And then we spent the day working on Sherman. We never left the park!

Sherman is at the spa!

When we woke up yesterday morning, we were shrouded in fog! We had originally planned on getting up and doing some driving right away, but it made more sense to stay put until the fog burned off.

We got under way around 9:30am, and headed towards Jal, New Mexico.

Visiting with the aliens, and inside the caves!

Busy day yesterday! Slept fine in the Home Depot parking lot in Roswell, and then topped up the gas at $2.36 USD a gallon ($0.83 CAD per liter).

Then, the reason we came to Roswell... we were off to the U.F.O. Museum.

Valley of Fires and on to Roswell, New Mexico

We ended up doing a little more distance than originally planned. We had totally forgot about Thanksgiving Thursday being a holiday here in the U.S., and we had planned on visiting Carlsbad Caverns on Thursday. So the choice was to do that either Wednesday (today) or Friday.

But Friday is Black Friday and I have some work to do that day on my Facebook Amazon Deals Group. So we need to get to Carlsbad Caverns today!

Just us on the road

Once again, we got up and did some driving as soon as the sun rose. Nobody on the roads at that hour, so we did 50 miles or so and then stopped at the town of Magdalena. We pulled in to an empty lot in front of the gas station to try for some free wifi.

But everything was secured, including the one coming from the gas station, and there had been no AT&T cell service along this whole stretch of highway so we didn't have any cellular internet either.

How does wood turn into rock?? And Sherman reaches a milestone!

Yesterday morning, we did a quick trip into Petrified Forest National Park. We actually didn't think there was going to be that much to see... but we were wrong! So it wasn't that quick of a trip. We ended up spending pretty much the entire morning there.

First stop was the visitors center at the south entrance to the park.

Got some miles done on the Interstate

We're at Petrified Forest National Park as I write this, and there is a lot more to see and do here than we thought there might be. More on that tomorrow!

Just giving you a quick recap of what we've done the last two days... essentially driving!

We need your feedback please!

We're at the point in this trip where we had planned to put on some miles... so that's what were doing. Yesterday, we drove from the edge of Death Valley National Park, through the oddly named town of Pahrump, around the southern part of Las Vegas, and south from there to Kingman, Arizon. I have to say, the entire drive was nothing special. Even our free overnight spot was nothing special.

So to make up for that, I'd like to talk to you about something that MIGHT become something special...

Some things go fast, and some things go slow...

Well, that was a pretty interesting day!

The entire last three weeks could have easily taken us three months. There has been so much that is worth seeing and doing, and we've been skipping most of it. But we're on a deadline, so we're trying to see the highlights, and we're doing the best we can under the circumstances. But there is so much more.

First thing this morning, we did the very short hike from where we had overnighted, to the Mobius Arch in the Alabama Hills near Lone Pine, California.

Got some miles done on a very scenic highway

We had another great day yesterday. It started off with a soak in the hot springs. Well, for one of us anyhow!

We woke up to well below freezing temperatures again at 6,500 ft altitude. But as soon as the sun comes up, it warms up quickly. We had been parked near the Travertine natural hot springs, and so after breakfast we wandered over to have a look.

It was still pretty chilly out, but Ruth brought her swimsuit!

Yes, they did say it was a scenic drive!

We didn't leave Danielle's place in Reno until just after 10:00am. We had nice hot showers, we filled our water tank, and I had cleaned Sherman's K&N engine air filter the day before, so had to re-oil and reinstall it.

A few people had told us that route 395 south of Reno was a scenic drive... and they were right! It's too bad our clear blue sky finally gave way to some cloudy periods... in fact, we didn't see the sun much at all for the whole drive yesterday.

Well that was a productive day off!

We needed a non driving day to get caught up on some things and Danielle didn't mind us hanging around for the day. We got some laundry done, we had a good consistent supply of internet, and managed to get some minor repair and maintenance completed.

And, Danielle had to run into town so we went with her to pick up a couple of things and have a short driving tour of Reno, Nevada since we were here anyhow.

Nice drive to Reno, Nevada

Once again, up at the crack of dawn and did some driving right away. Nobody on the roads at that hour. We stopped in Susanville, California (pop 17,000) for breakfast and internet time before moving on towards Reno, Nevada.

A pretty comfortable drive for change... some actual straight roads without too many hills!

Through the smoke, and into clear blue skies...

Most of you will have heard of the devastation of the town of Paradise, California. We were supposed to be going right by there, but the main highway was closed due to the fires. So we altered our route to head across the mountains to Reno, Nevada.

But the winds were blowing the smoke right through our path. My thinking was that we should be able to drive through the smoke, and hopefully get far enough east to get out of it. We had enough smokey skies in British Columbia this past summer!

"What the heck was that??"

We took off from the Bear River Casino and headed up highway 36 east towards the mountains. The first part of the road took us through another section of big California redwoods forest. Ruth took a video for you below!

After that, we climbed... and at some points, very steep. We had seen the warning signs at the beginning of the road, so we knew there were going to be lots of curves and steep grades. But I don't think Sherman has ever had to climb a long 10% grade before. Probably a few short ones, but never one that goes for two miles! He had to summon all of his horses for that!

Those are some big trees!

One of the reasons we wanted to come this far south before heading east was to see the big trees in Redwood National Park. We have in the past seen some big trees... such as Cathedral Grove on Vancouver Island. But those are douglas fir trees, and these ones are of course coastal redwood.

When we left the casino, we topped up the gas tank once more, this time at $3.25 USD a gallon ($1.14 CAD per liter). Fuel is expensive in California (often near $4.00 USD per gallon), so we will top up when we see it near the state lows. It will be cheaper once again when we enter Nevada next week sometime.

Goodbye Oregon, hello California!

What a great day we had yesterday... let me tell you all about it!

First of all, as you'll see from the photos below, it was a beautiful blue sky all day long. Temperatures about 60F (15C) which is perfect for doing a bit of hiking and exploring. And, there was a lot of exploring to be done... once again, every five or ten minutes there is somewhere worth stopping at along this section of coastline.

Settling or Being Realistic – What’s the Difference?

Have you ever asked yourself if you’re just ‘settling’ with your life, or do you make a more realistic and positive assessment of what is around you? You can ask this question about many aspects of your life—relationships, houses, traveling, friendships… basically anything.

Settling can mean different things. It could possibly signify that you are maturing and are ready for new and exciting challenges. However, it more usually has a negative connotation, meaning that you’re sacrificing your happiness. That is when you need to be concerned.

We finally got a 100 mile drive done!

We actually got the required number of miles logged yesterday, despite the fact that we didn't really get going until almost 11:00am.

We have to be in Mission, Texas around the 28th of this month. That means, we're trying to do at least 100 miles (160 kms) a day on average. And even at that, we know there will have to be some longer days because we will want to have some rest days too!

More fun on the Oregon coast, and sunny days ahead!

Early start to the day yesterday because we had promised the folks at the Newport Municipal Airport that we would be gone at sunrise. Good thing we were too, because there was definitely some activity around the airport at that hour and there was not a lot of parking.

We actually hit the road at about 6:50am, but we only drove to the first scenic stop, which was not very far away. There is not much distance between attractions here on the Oregon coast!

October Expenses

No, I haven't been procrastinating due to the abnormally high expense report! But yes... we have had another expensive month. We're really looking forward to having a month go by without spending yet another $1,000 on Sherman!

But, it wasn't only Sherman's fault... whenever we travel back to Ontario we seem to spend a fair bit of money.

Well, we didn't get very far!

And no, Sherman is not giving us problems. He's doing just fine.

Its just that there is so darn much to see on the Oregon coastline!

We drive for ten minutes, we stop for half an hour... we drive for ten minutes, we stop for an hour.

Back to the Pacific coast!

First thing we did yesterday morning was go for a walk around the campus of the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum. It's a big property and we probably did 1.5 miles (2.4 kms) just walking around it.

Lots to see even if you don't go inside the buildings. They have a very cool indoor water park on the property as well.