We were able to wrap up business and pleasure in the Verde Valley within good time. The weather was amazing for us, while we were there which allowed us to get a lot of work done. This visit had some highs and lows, losses and gains along the scale of human relationships. Of special note was the opportunity to spend time with my sister, Jessica. Saying good-bye was a little more difficult this time.
We did not go far on the first run. But it was a great stopover at Billy Sheppard’s place. He took some video of us (see it on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/slowcarfasthouse) and a few photos of the van. And his mom made us a delicious peach cobbler which was perfect for breakfast TWICE!! (The servings were enough for leftovers) Billy runs a YouTube channel with some cool videos (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2l8nj943mjUnSm3jCMtRlQ) and a Facebook page that chronicles his travels and the people he meets https://www.facebook.com/pages/VW-Vanagon-Westfalia-Travels/1451832385069936 . We hope to see him on the road again later, and if you happen to meet up with him—stop and say hello!
As we ran through the outskirts of Phoenix we stopped to get the tires balanced.
Now that the steering wheel is more friendly, Mike let me drive while he and Mango cuddled and navigated.
Our next night was spent on some rangeland outside of Patagonia, Arizona. It seemed to be the perfect spot for peace and quiet, but the sunrise erupted in gunfire that sent the dogs to shivers. It seemed that there was a local “target practice” area just over the hill from us. The shooting started at about 8:00am and continued for hours. Feeling like we were at risk, we packed up and moved on pretty quickly. It did cause us to reflect on the recent months in Mexico- where gunfire was not commonplace and certainly not within 100 yards of campers!
Stopping at a health food store in Sierra Vista brought out the most amazing $10.00 bill.
The drive across the desert of Southern Arizona is beautiful. We saw a VW Vanagon stopped at a riparian area, so we stopped to leave a free sticker on their windshield.
Our morning crossing at Naco brought about a new and unexpected concern. We have crossed many Mexican states, and the borders several times in the past 6 months. But we have never been asked about our propane tank. This time we got a red light, as usual, I think they are bored and want to look at the odd vehicle. We pulled into the inspection parking and three female Mexican customs inspectors approached. The jefita (mujer a cargo= woman in charge) tapped the front of the van and said, “Open the hood” in English. I replied that it does not open and she was immediately offended. She began to walk towards the back and stopped at the minion propane tank
The drive to Nuevo Casas Grandes passes through mountains, agriculture and a few industrious towns. The city itself is quite a busy crossroads. We passed through and went to check the archeological site of Paquime. We found out that it is closed on Mondays so we had the day to find a place to stay and hang out. The RV parks mentioned in Churches book are closed so we rented a cheap room for $250 pesos. It included Wi-Fi and a hot shower, but we slept in the van in the parking lot.
Paquime is a huge archeological site that has been acknowledged as a UNESCO location and presented with great care. All the signage is in both Spanish and English. The museum is well prepared and informative. The grounds show signs of restoration and maintenance. It was once a huge settlement, and the remaining structures are beautiful. Touring the museum and the grounds only takes about 2 hours. I am not sure I can recommend this as a destination, but certainly worth a stop along the way if you are in the area.
We left Paquime and stopped for some roadside food
A little bit of Internet research showed us that we were not far from the San Jeronimo/Santa Teresa border crossing. It seemed that there was a Banjercito office there, but since it is not 7pm, it may be closed. We decided to give it a try, it could not be worse than the borders we had recently dealt with. And finally, it worked. We crossed easily into Mexico one more time. Made a U-turn just before the Mexican inspection station and pulled up to the Banjercito booth. Turning in the permit was quick. Another U-turn and we drove back to the US border, a quick chat with the US Border Patrol and we were done. This whole thing took us less than 10 minutes.
A quick check of iOverlander (our favorite app for finding camping spots http://www.ioverlander.com ) led us to the Pancho Villa State Park nearby and we settled in for the night. The next blog will tell more about our visit to New Mexico. Thanks for following along, and as always… keep those questions and comments coming. We love getting emails from you!