ENSENADA, B.C., MEXICO

Today we lounge about and take in the beauty of this famous resort.  The weather is warm and the place is almost deserted.  It is the off season.  The resort, built in the 1940's encompasses all of Estero Beach and was a favorite of the rich and famous like Marilyn Monroe and Steve McQueen.  We check out all of the pools and hot tubs and visit the huge museum that documents 400 years of Mexican history.  The Maya exhibits are spectacular.  We again have dinner in the hotel restaurant.  This time I have tacos and Peggy has her sushi.

Entrance to the Museum.

Private residence at the resort.

TIJUANA AND ENSENADA, B.C., MEXICO

After an Ihop breakfast we head for Mexico.  The border crossing is crowded but it only takes us about twenty minutes since we already have our tourist visas.  We exchange our dollars for pesos at a 13% rate (130 pesos = one dollar).  As we pull away from the guard house we are both nervous and excited.  We notice the very long line of cars waiting to get into the US.  Vendors are everywhere.  We follow Mex Rt. 1 through some of the poorest neighborhoods you can imagine,  block and concrete structures with no door or windows.  Everyone throws their trash on the roof.  At our first stop light we are besieged by youngsters selling trinkets and candy.  They ply their trade until the light turns green.  I pull off the highway looking for an old bull fighting ring and end up lost in Tijuana for the rest of the morning.  The great white motor home attracts lots of stares as we negotiate narrow streets and crowded intersections.  Turn signals are used differently in Mexico.  Apparently a left turn signal means it's OK to pass.  We stop at an OXXO store which is equivalent to a 7-11.  We buy coffee and successfully use the ATM machine.

We finally find Mex Rt. 1 and head south.  The scenery and the poverty level both rise as we leave town.  Rt. 1 is a toll road and we get short changed at one booth because we're not familiar with Mexican money.  There are many vistas looking down on long sandy beaches.  We stop at a sea level wayside and have a run on the beach with the dogs.  Several horses are saddled and ready to rent.

We wind our way through Ensenada, the third largest city in Baja.  Due to the lack of signage we end up on a narrow one way street.  We again find Rt. 1 and stop for gas at a Pemex.  It turns out that gas and gas stations are owned by Mexico.  It's sold by the liter and it's cash only.

We take an RV site at Estero Beach resort and have our first authentic Mexican meal.  I order my favorite - chili rellanoes.  It comes out looking good but it's so spicy hot I can't finish it.  I have to order ice cream to put out the fire.  Peggy orders sushi (eel rolls), of all things to have on a Mexican menu, and she says it is very good.

Crossing Border from U.S. into Tijuana, Mexico

View of coast just outside of Tijuana, Mexico

The dogs running on a beach in Puerto Nuevo, Mexico.

Surfs up in Puerto Nuevo, Mexico.  Poudre forgot his surfboard.

Mitch contemplating on how cold the water is before he decides to jump in!

Just call me "The Dog Walker!'

Horses on the beach in Puerto Nuevo, Mexico.

Mex 1 from Tijuana to Ensenada, Mexico

Beautiful view from Mex 1.

Sunset at Estero Beach south of Ensenada, Mexico

The next morning at Estero Beach.

Estero Beach's estuary which is home to many shore birds.

Dixie loving retirement.

CHULA VISTA, CALIFORNIA

We spend this time preparing for Mexico.  We drive into San Diego to get our tourist visas and insurance.  We do laundry, fill tanks and repair stuff.  The weather is delightful, sunny and warm but when the sun goes down it gets chilly quick.

Home is where ever you park it.

San Diego in the distance.

Park behind the RV resort.

Beautiful sculpture at the park.

Creeping Rosemary used as shrub borders.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

As we travel through southern California it's easy to see why it is able to grow so much.  The ground is flat and fertile and irrigation water comes from the Colorado River.  As we leave the river basin and enter the Yuha Desert the landscape becomes piles of large brown boulders.  They call these the Jacumba Mountains.  We pass through the Cleveland National Forest before entering Chula Vista, south of San Diego.  We take a campsite at Chula Vista RV Resort and Marina.

Rocky hills in the Yuha Desert

Yuha Desert

More of the rocky Yuha Desert

Amazing!

ARIZONA TO CALIFORNIA

Arizona continues to amaze us as we drive through the Vulture, Harquahala, Eagletail and Plomosa mountains.  Plenty of sage brush and cactus but no trees.  Most people would call this a desert area.  We enter the Colorado River Indian Tribe Reservation where the whole area is irrigated farm land.  It appears they mostly grow cotton and hay.

We cross the Colorado River into California and cross the Chocolate Mountains.  As we level out onto the dunes we notice a huge dust cloud ahead.  As we get closer we see there are dune buggies everywhere and we are in the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area.  It's five miles wide and forty miles long and people are camped everywhere.  On the other side of the road is the North Algodnes Dunes Wilderness Area.  It's like looking at before and after.  We spend the night at another Walmart in Brawley.

Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area

Beautiful Dunes

Dune Buggy Racing at Imperial Sands Recreation Area

Palm Trees that have not been pruned

PHOENIX, ARIZONA

After breakfast I call Dorthy Trent, an old family friend I haven't seen in over forty years.  We drive across Phoenix and spend the afternoon visiting with her.  The weather is beautiful, cool mornings with warm afternoons and sunshine all the time.  If you don't like to cut grass or rake leaves, Phoenix is the place for you.

APACHE SITGREAVES NATIONAL FOREST, ARIZONA

Our drive toward Arizona is awesome.  Around almost every bend is a vista that makes you say WOW!  This is what we're here for.  We enter Arizona over a cattle guard and quickly find a pull-off in the Apache Sitgreaves National Forest.  We hike up a small creek that would probably be dry except for the snow melt.  The dogs love it.  It's their first time in any water since we left home.  We cruise through the beautiful San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation and then over the Pinal Mountains and into the Superstition Mountains.  More WOWS!  We find another Walmart for the night in Apache Junction.

Man in the water

WOW!

Prickly Pear Cactus

WOW!

More WOW!

WOW and WOW!

Saguaro Cactus

WOW!WOW!WOW!