6 minutes into Mexico

Note: I finally have my pictures from Mexico organized and I'll be posting them with comments today and tomorrow.

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This is a 6 minute video of getting into Mexico at Nogales. It starts out on I-19 and ends up in the streets of Nogales.



As you can see it was no big deal and there was nobody waiting to jump me on the other side. In fact, it was just like any other city with lots of shops and traffic.

I stopped at a bank to try to exchange money. I was told that they only did that for bank account holders and the woman took me out on the street and directed me to where the cambios were. 

There are a couple of streets off the main road that house many cambios (money exchanges). These look pretty seedy at first glance and all those Uncle Henry stories come to mind. However, I parked the bike and stood there to get some idea of what was going on. The cambios each had a sign that said Compra 12.70 Venta 13.25. 

Just as I was figuring this out (buy US$ at 12.70 pesos, sell US$ at 13.25 pesos) this guy walks up and strikes up a conversation. Hmmm ... What does he want. Not much it turns out. He just wants to talk about motorcycles.

I ask him about changing money and he says he knows a guy ... Just around the corner ... 

It turns out to be just another faceless window with a sign over it. The guy I met talked through the window and then asks how much I want to change. I tell him US$300 and he talks through the window and tells me his friend will give me 12.75 pesos for each dollar. This is 15 extra pesos or about a dollar and a half.

So I give him the money, he hands it through the window, and in a couple of minutes an old style adding machine tape wrapped around a wad of bills appears. I stuff it into my pocket and walk back to my bike with my amigo. I give him a 10 peso coin as a commission.

I asked him about crime with all the tourists and money floating around. He laughs and says this is the safest place in town. The cambio owners would not allow anyone to be cheated or robbed. It would ruin the confidence necessary to conduct their business. They are a police force unto themselves.

Later, I checked the math and counted the money and it was all there. My bike sat on the side street unattended and out of sight for maybe 10 minutes. It was undesturbed. 

So Uncle Henry was wrong again. This dangerous border town was just another place along the road. I'm sure that, if I tried, I could find a dark alley where I could find somebody to hit me over the head but that day my biggest problem turned out to be finding the road out of town.

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Regulations Part 2

Maybe I should consider myself lucky that it made it as far as it did. It definitely looks fried. Compare it to the new one on the right.

Just get me to Nashville, and then get me home. That's all I ask.

Presents from heaven

Now it's time to get to work!

Just waiting for the tires now.

Tool Time II

So much of travel is preparation and waiting. The post office alleges that my new regulator will arrive today. The box of stuff I didn't want to take to Mexico is also supposed to get here today. Suddenly the scene changes from patient waiting to one frenetic activity.

Then the sole impediment to progress is the tires. Hurry up and wait.

In the mean time I've gotten Jennie's Suzuki running. It has been taking a 6 month nap and has fallen prey to the Bad Gas Syndrome. Tekron to the rescue! If you don't know about it, Tekron is the absolute best fuel system cleaner. It's available at most every auto parts store.

You have to love Texas!

This is the sign by the door at the restaurant where I am having dinner.

Help!

This is not the adventure I was planning on. My friend Jennie had me drop her off while I took the car to get oil and filter for my bike. No big deal except that this is a new, all computer car. No ignition key.

Jennie has the remote control with her so I can't get the car restarted. Worse, if I get in or out of it the alarm goes off for 2 minutes.

After not getting Jennie for half an hour I had to pee so bad I just jumped out and ran to a nearby restaurant. Everyone looking at me probably thought I was trying to steal the car. Getting back in was equally embarrassing.

I finally got through to Daniel who is coming with the spare remote. Until then I'm trapped inside this psycho machine.

I'll take my good old Chevy pickup any day. It uses real gas and a real ignition key!

It just looks like a parking lot

My friend Jennie has a couple of bikes (doesn't everyone?) and we are planning on going out riding today as soon as the battery is charged.
The tires and new regulator will be here Tuesday so I can just relax and enjoy my friends until then.

The Alamo

History as just another tourist trap. Get your t-shirts and postcards here.

Nothing to see here. Move along.

The last few days, since leaving Parral, have been nothing but chewing up miles. The landscape is generic high desert. If you have ever driven from Winnemucca to Elko Nevada you know all about it. It makes crossing Nebraska seem exciting.
The roads are designed with a straight edge and the sage brush is monotonous in its lack of scope. I waved at all the truck and bus drivers and they are only too happy to wave back. At least I'm able to roll along at 65 mph.
Tonight I expected to stay in a little town called La Pryor TX. Good luck on that. I should have done a bit more research. La Pryor is a high school and a Dollar General store. I ended up in Lytle just as the sunlight died.
Tomorrow I'll be in Austin with my friends Jennie and Daniel.
Time to order those new tires!

Welcome back

The beginning of the next phase in this journey.

Riding north

We all have our horses for our adventures. I'm hoping Don Carranza is bidding me Via Con Dias

The road that never ends

Some times you just want to ride forever.

My last night in Mexico

Out partying with the girls.

Out in the canyons

If you look closely maybe you can see where I lost my tent.

The Race

Will I make it to Austin were new rubber awaits? Or will all the knobs finally fall off leaving me by the side of the road?

I'm going as fast as I can so that I get there before the tire wears out!

Best of bad choices

The electrical gremlins are back. I can't run the headlights and keep the battery charged. Only day time riding until I get it fixed. To make matters worse, my tent worked loose yesterday and got lost so I can only stay in hotels. It must have been all the rough road in the construction.

These two facts severely restrict my travel options. I'm in Hidalgo Del Parral now and will go for Gomez Palacio tonight.

Wish me luck.

At Creel Chihuahua - YEAH!!

Wow! I'm here! Finally!

I arrived last night to find quite the night scene. Isn't this supposed to be a sleepy little logging town? But let me back track a little ...

This is pavement?

The maps and gps files I got from Mark are great but, remember, this is Mexico. What is on the map or on the screen does not necessarily have anything to do with what's on the ground. I was taking a road to cross to Rt 16 which was shown on the map as paved. It as was, as far as this village halfway, and then it just stopped. I rode through the village looking for the road on the other side but nothing. A dirt road to the right where the original road stopped seemed to match a faint trail on the gps. Since it was a long way to backtrack I decided to give it a try.

I'm thinking that some politician promised a road to the villagers but never promised that it would connect on both sides.

So I'm going down the road doing OK. Class 2 & 3 and the AT is handling it well. I´m taking photos here and there and having a good time. Then the bike just quit!

20 miles forward or back and no transportation. I tried the starter a couple of times and then quit because I didn´t want to add a dead battery to my problems. I got off and took off my gear. I needed to relax and think clearly.

The AT has a big tank that hangs down on either side of the engine. My thought (hope?) was that the bike needed to cool off. I had been going slowly over rough terrain and then letting it idle while I took pictures. I decided that nothing was to be lost by taking a 30 minute break.

Then a family appeared. They were just out for a walk from who knows where. So they talked to me in Spanish and didn't understand a word I said in English. The older women seemed to think that if she spoke louder and more forcefully I would somehow get what she was saying.

Afet waiting 30 minutes I got my gear on and gave it a try. After a couple of false starts it caught and ran steadily. RELIEF!! Luckily, it seems that I was victim of good old fashioned vapor lock. The fuel in the carburetors had vaporized. Colling off was just what it needed. Needless to say I did not stop again until I got to Route 16. No problems since so I think I'm OK.

Route 16 is a major route across Mexico. I had invisioned a 4 lane freeway. What I got was 2 lanes of gorgeous beauty through the Sierra Madre but with a surface with more potholes than a Brooklyn neighborhood. I would upload pictures but they are too painful at this internet cafe.

I'll leave you with the Cascada de Bassaseachi. I made a wrong turn and ended up here. It appears to be bigger than any in Yosemite and I can't even imagine how big it would be in April or May. The rocks at the top looked like they were flooded in the spring which would mean about 10 times the volume of water.

So tomorrow I go down into the canyons. After a day or two there I'll turn north and begin the journey homeward.

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There are so many Middles in Nowhere

I'm in Hermosillo now after wandering around the state of Sonora a bit. I'm in an internet cafe attempting to deal with a Spanish keybord. I have no way to post pictures so that will have to wait.

What to tell you? So much seems to have happened in only 3 days. As you can tell from the nightly news I haven't created an international incident (yet).

First, let me say that everything in Mexico is different. Not better or worse, just different. The language is my biggest barrier but I seem to be managing. My biggest fear was not banditos or scorpions but going into a restaurant and making an ass of myself!

Second, this is not Baja. I'm totally off the tourist grid. No cute shops with t-shirts and postcards. And it's not the quaint Mexico of TV land. No colorfully costumed peasants parading for my benefit.

It's been simply ordinary people living ordinary lives that are much like our own - but different.

For instance, the No Passing signs on the highway are merely for amusement. It means "No Passing - Unless you really want to - And don't worry about the blind curve ahead!" Should you be faced with an oncoming pickup in your lane the custom seems to be to slow down and pull over if necessary to let the poor guy back into line. Nobody gets upset or mad, it just seems to be the way it's done on back roads. 

In Arizpe I met Carmen Puente. She is a decendant of General De Anza, the founder of the city of San Francisco! We could bearly understand each other's words but she invited me to see the museum she maintains. The remains of De Anza are entombed in the local church under glass, a bit creepy for me.

Señora Carmen gave me the grand tour of her 2 room museum carefully explaining each item. Suprisingly I understood most of it. I signed the guest book and offered a donation but she refused. Good things are happening on this trip.

I wish I could show you the pictures. The desert and mountains are beautiful. I've gotten off track but I'm so glad I haven't taken the main roads.

There is so much more to tell. I don't know when I'll get to post again but keep watching the SPOT train and you´ll know where I am.

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Maps and More

Before I shut this laptop down I want to say Thanks! to Mark Walker at Mexico Maps.

Mark has provided me with all the paper maps and the gps files I'm using on this trip.

More than that, Mark has been infinitely patient with helping me get the files transfered to my gps. Far beyond the call of duty he has supported me directly. It's so refreshing to talk to a person who remembers my name and my problem. I wasn't just an incident number.

So if I don't get lost on my way through the Copper Canyons it will all be because of Mark's help.

There might be cheaper places to buy maps of Mexico but there are none better!! Buy them from Mark!

Contact Information

We welcome any and all inquiries about our products. Our offices are open Monday through Saturday from 7:00 AM to 5:30 PM Pacific Standard Time. Emails are answered within the same day whenever possible.

Mailing Address

World Map Source / Mexico Maps
3920 Maricopa Drive
Santa Barbara, CA 93110-1414
US

Phone Numbers

phone/fax 805-687-1011
mobile 805-448-7273

Email Link

Mark Walker, mwalker@mexicomaps.com

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South with the morning light

I'm heading into Mexico this morning and should emerge around the 1st of Nov. I was talking to a friend who is in the Texas Attorney General Office about my plans. She is going to check the latest narco-terrorist reports for me so I can come back through the safest crossing. Nice to have friends who care.

Yesterday was spent at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. What an amazing place. The term museum does not do it justice. It's more than just a living museum, it's a living space! Desert flora and fauna all mixed into a 24 acre space. Here's a sample of some of the pictures I took.

Attacked by Whistling Ducks

A rare moment of repose

Almost packed up and loaded now. I'm going to shut my laptop and send it off. See you on the other side.

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