Out of Mexico

Shortly after leaving Jardin La Rinconada the free road joins up with the toll road. We made good time until the Sinaloa/Sonora border. There was construction for the next 40 miles. We switched back and forth between the old and new highway. Slow and laborious.

 Then we hit the completed highway. 100 km/hr and cruise control, easy drive all the way to Guaymas. We stayed at the Totonaka RV Park. They had a hot tub which felt wonderful.

Saturday we headed for Santa Ana. Again the toll road was great and we made good time. I was worried about getting through Hermosillo, but it turned out to be easy.

 We hit an inspection station south of Santa Ana. A solider came in and opened some cabinets and drawers. We were through in 15 minutes. The truck line was two lanes wide and two miles long. It must have taken them hours.

 We reached Sant Ana by noon and decided to head for Lukeville and cross today.

 We arrived at the border in Sonoyta in good time, 3:15. But Mexico is always an adventure. Customs does not take the vehicle sticker off at the border here. We had to backtrack 18 miles to the customs station that does that. 

 With the sticker removed, we were back at the border by 5:15. It took us 15 minutes to cross.

 Passing through Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.

Saturday night Boondocking just north of the park boundary .

Puerto Vallarta to Escuinapa

It was 217 mile drive north to Escuinapa.

I took the 200 hwy all the way to Tepic and then a good to excellent free road, 15, the rest of the way.

Heading out of Vallarta

Ancient swamp just north of Vallarta being terra formed into Circo Soleil amusement park

Burning the sugar cane fields in preparation for harvest.

Huge surprise when we reached El Tobogan Water Park. 22.833736, -105.762875
My cargo bay had become detached. Damn topes! I am lucky it did not fall out on the highway.

 That is 30 gal water tank in the bay.

I emptied 3/4 of the water out of the tank and jacked the bay back into place

 This is the culprit. The bay was attached to this bolt that passed down through the sub-floor. It had pulled out through the sub-floor.

I had no access to the sub-floor, so I ran a longer bolt down from the main floor and used some aluminum angle to spread the weight over a larger area. It should hold.

It took a few hours, a blood sacrifice to the repair god Murphy and all is good.

I was so involved with repairing the bay I forgot to take pictures of the small water park. There is enough room for 8-10 rigs, but no hook-ups. When I asked attendant  how much to camp, he said what ever I wanted to pay. I gave him 200 pesos.

Today was 177 mile drive to Jardin La Rinconada, 24.598378, -107.300669. No hook-ups, but beautiful spot on the water. No one is here.

I took the toll, cuota, road around Mazatlan and then just north of Mazatlan got on the free, libre, road. Again the free road was in good shape, speed 80-90 km/hr most of the way. A few patches of 65 - 75 km/hr. Love the free roads.

Agave fields on both sides of the highway. That's a lot of tequila.

 Jardin La Rinconada

 Nice pool 

 Fun bridge

Tucked in for the night.

Circo de los Ninos

Co-creator of Cirque du Soleil, Gilles St. Croix, created Circo de los Ninos San Pancho in the small village of San Francisco, MX. It is designed to "encourage artistic, technical and personal development of each child through a holistic yet high quality approach to teaching various disciplines of Circus as well as dance. Children and young adults gain self-confidence and self-awareness, gaining physical capacities and exploring their imagination through the arts."

Dinner before the show

Really great onion rings. One of my favorite food groups

It's Mr. Ribs, of course I got the ribs. Excellent choice. 

Two entertaining ladies amused us while waiting in line. 

What's in the bag?

Something wonderful?  ...........Your reflection in a mirror.

The ringmaster

Let the show begin. A few of the many spectacular performances.

Dancing on the wall

These performers put on a spectacular show.