Good Ol' USA

Las Cruces is somewhat of a sister city with El Paso as they are close together and connected by the interstate. The movie “Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man” was shot in Las Cruces but we could not find any information about which bars and stuff were used during filming. Brenda was feeling extra tired the next morning so we decided to stay an extra day so she could rest and be ready for the road the following day. As it turned out she slept almost all day and was fighting a bit of a cold. I on the other hand did a little touring around town, but it was uneventful to put in kindly.

Over the next couple days we rode to Tucson AZ and then North into Phoenix. We no sooner had our helmets off when we looked at each other and said “Did the trip really happen or was it just a dream?” The simple answer is “Both”.

Norm and Shirley were gracious hosts as our 'couple of day' visit turned into a 10 day stay. There is always something on the go in Phoenix, so we just enjoyed the atmosphere and re-entered North American living. We also were anxiously awaiting Russ and Edna’s return to Phoenix from Winnipeg so that we could have our official welcome back party with all our new friends. Hats off to Russ, Edna, Dave, and Sharon for putting together another wonderful evening of food, drink and conversation. The party was fairly busy and we did not get to talk to our hosts very much, so the next night we returned to give them a private overview of the trip. I was a bit embarrassed that I did not have a proper presentation prepared and feared I may have been boring them a bit with details and searching for photos. I will have to work on my presentation in the coming weeks to make it a more enjoyable experience for those who ask to see it.
We also got caught up in the vacation home ownership enthusiasm, as housing prices are very cheap compared to Alberta and who can complain about the constant warm weather. We looked a bunch of places but in the end did not make a move on any, just too much to quick, plus we have not even made it home yet. The house became even more active when Nadine, Norm and Shirl’s daughter, and her two adorable children came down for a visit. The kids were very entertaining as kids usually are, and of course the endless energy. Anna, 6yrs, is quite the little fish and was having a hard time staying out of the pool. Max, 3yrs, is an avid golfer and push bike rider, yes GOLFER, he hits balls for at least one hour every day and has quite a good chip shot. Self taught style, he may be the next Arnold Palmer.

Ah, but all warm things must come to an end, so on Mar. 5th we headed out of Phoenix for the Great White North. We stopped in at the Hoover Dam to take some pictures of the new bridge that diverts traffic off of the dam on over the canyon.


We had intentions of staying in Vegas for the night but as with the rest of our trip, plans are meant to be changed. It was the first day of Spring Break and Vegas was hosting a Nascar event. Basically, complete chaos and no vacancies until we got out of Nevada and into St. George, Utah. From there it was pretty straight forward, we spent the last night on the road in the same hotel room we spent the first night. Boulder Montana, the same little hotel across from the bar in #103. We even looked forward to seeing if the little girl in the Lady bug costume would be at the restaurant in the morning, unfortunately they were closed for the day so we will never know.

Area in Montana with no snow.


More typical scenery.



We managed to avoid any severe weather, not just on the drive home but on the entire trip really, funny how that worked out. Yes, we had a few days of rain, and a few cold riding days, but nothing we would consider extreme or severe, just uncomfortable or less than ideal.

Welcome Home!!

San Antonio

The road slowly became more congested as we got closer to San Antonio, home of the Alamo, which has about 1.5mil population, so only slightly larger than Calgary but wow, did they build this city properly to handle the traffic. The infrastructure is amazingly simple to navigate but very complicated in design. This allows for very efficient people movement from what we experienced. Once we got settled into a hotel we headed to the downtown area as they have a river-walk system of trails along the San Antonio River that winds its’ way through the city.

This was absolutely amazing, the architects did an amazing job of integrating the river into the landscape of the city by lining the banks with walkways, restaurants, bars, small parks, and stairway access to the surface streets in order to maximize the use for pedestrian traffic in the city core. There are also water taxis that offer guided tours up and down the river that for the most part looks like a Venice canal as opposed to river.
San Antonio in the morning can be summed up in one word, cold. 1C to be precise. We took our time packing up in order to allow the sun to get any frost off the roads before we headed out. We headed out on Rte. 16 through the burbs and surrounding ranch land in the rolling hills. This area reminds us of southern Alberta, funny how the more we see the more things seem the same. It is also nice to see other bikers out for a Sunday ride. The town of Barona is this areas’ version of Bragg Creek where all the weekend warriors ride to with their shiny bikes and spotless leathers, then ride the nice country roads before heading back into the city. Once again, same same only different. The secondary highways only lasted about an hour before we merged onto interstate10. We usually don’t ride interstates as they are boring, unfortunately the secondary routes run mostly North and South. Best part of the day was seeing a stealth bomber parked at the San Antonio AFB and of course when the temperature reached 28C.

The Alamo.


The view from the Tower.

Mexico Border...one last time

We woke to 3C and the wind. Wow, I swear we are still in Northern Mexico not Northern USA. So after a breakfast of fruit and coffee we put on all our cold weather gear and hit the road.

We managed good time to Reynosa and the border crossing at Hidalgo. Mexico of course had very sketchy signage but we found the US customs/immigration station, problem was we had not found the Mexico immigration and Aduana office. The US agent was very helpful and allowed us to basically U-turn at the gate and go back into Mexico in search of their offices. We stopped at the entrance offices to ask for help and it was here that we learned that Mexico does not have a separate entrance station. So here is the process we basically did by trial and error: go over the toll bridge/border to the US station, turn around and re-enter Mexico, go to the Entrance immigration office and get our passport exit stamps. Then walk from building to building looking for someone who has the authority to cancel our vehicle importation permit. This is important because if we leave without getting this cancelled the next time we want to take a vehicle into Mex there would be big fines to pay. Because there is NO ADUANA AT HIDALGO, we had to ride about 5 miles to the East to the entry point at Pharr, there we found the Banercito dog house and the lady cancelled our permits.


Then we crossed the toll bridge/border at Pharr and made our way through the US customs/immigration station. All together about 2 hours total. What we needed to do was go to Pharr in the first place and not Hidalgo.

Well, here we are back in the USA and it is Feb 10th. It is nice to be able to read all the signs, which is the first thing I noticed mainly because I found myself trying to read them all. I had to snap out of it and pay more attention to the road now that I have to follow the traffic laws again, I also noticed that I picked up a few bad driving habits over the last few months. Pharr, Texas was also a major culture shock as all the North American “stuff” lined the streets. It is a nice day although not overly warm and we make some good miles up to Falfurrias, which is just a small town that is at the crossroads of #285 and #281. We slept in a bit the next day as we had to wait for it to warm up anyway, this cold front is not going to break until Sunday or Monday.


The landscape leading into San Antonio is made up of short shrub trees and ranch lands, it is amazing that every mile of the highway is lined with fencing on both sides. While eating lunch at a small diner in George West we discovered that most of the ranchers in the area have switched from cattle to deer. This old fella was 86 years young and still managed his farm, admittedly he does have a hired hand to do the heavy lifting but he still operates the equipment and gets out on the land everyday. It says it gives him a purpose and keeps him happy, he finished his lunch and bit us safe travels then he was out the door, pretty spry for 86. The only thing that would make this an amazing route would be if the trees had leaves, there are currently no leaves to be seen anywhere which makes it much like home in the winter, just above zero-no snow-no greenery.

Feels like winter again

Changing plans keeps us on our toes and after seeing what we wanted in Tampico we figured we could leave for San Fernando and be one step closer to the border. Along the route we passed through more ranches and farmland, then over the top of one hill the temperature literally changed from 25C to 17C in about 3 miles. Welcome to the cold front that has been plaguing the southern states for the last couple of days. I decided that when the temperature hit 15C we would pull over and put in the thermal liner, so about 5 miles later we pulled over. The temp is manageable but the 40mph head-wind made the ride considerably more tiring. The bikes also didn’t like this as our gas mileage dropped considerably, we were now getting just over 200km per tank compared to the 300km we were used to, luckily there are gas stations everywhere in Mexico. Anyway, enough about the weather, we had also heard from some other travellers that came this route that there were numerous barricades and bandits and all kinds of trouble, so once again we seen nothing like this. We did see a few army trucks with very cold looking soldiers, and two army checkpoints. We actually don’t mind the army checks, they usually just ask a couple of questions and occasionally want o look in a saddlebag, but never any issues.


We did a couple of laps around San Fernando before we found a hotel, they are all on a street just across the bridge on the way out of town. We decided on the La Quinta Hotel, a fairly large hotel with the reception office next to the road and the rooms about 150yrds back, beyond the empty strip mall, past an abandoned farm quanset, between the wrecked semi’s, down the palm tree lined driveway aka. Four trees-two on each side, through the gate facade, and into the largest freaking parking lot we have ever seen for a hotel in the middle of nowhere..and we are the only guests. So here we are, the wind is howling, blowing leaves around in front of the room and drowning out the city noise, the movie Physco comes to mind for some reason. Strangely eerie. Once we got settled into the room we realized that this area usually doesn’t see 2C as there was no heat in the room, but they did give us two very heavy blankets which reminded us of camping as we snuggled under the blankets to keep warm.

What happened to the heat?

We figured we had seen all we wanted to of Veracruz so we headed farther North to Tuxpan, passing through Poza Rica which is an oil town. Poza felt much like driving through Fort Mac or Lloydminster, dirty pickups everywhere and lots of road construction, plus the smell of crude oil in the air added a nice touch. This got me thinking about work for about 15minutes. Tuxpan is home to Pemex Oil’s port and tankage facility, the town itself is actually about 10km from the coast but has a large river that allows for ships to come inland to the docs. We rode down to the beach to see what it offered but were not impressed. The weather was not favourable, plus at one end of the beach there is a power plant belching out smoke from its stacks. Not a relaxing environment by my standards.

The next morning we headed to Tampico to see what that town had to offer. We figured there would be more to do there as it is a larger centre with a better balance of tourism and industry. We made good time by Mexican standards, 200km took only 3 hours, not bad at all. We have noticed that this side of Mexico is more open and less crowded, plus the roads are definitely straighter. With that come more toll booths though, it seems every time we have to go over a bridge we have to pay a toll, today we paid 4 tolls varying from 19-29 pesos for each bike. Thankfully they are not very expensive, and sometimes the bridges are quite impressive.

We managed to get into Tampico fairly early in the day which allowed us time to explore the town and still have a couple of hours to burn window shopping. They have a Sears here, Brenda was very proud of me for not going into the tool section. I am sure there was a table saw or a 12” Compound Miter saw on sale, but then again packing that home would be a hassle. Just kidding of course, 12” compound miter saws never go on sale. So once again our plan changed and we will be moving on in the morning, our next stop is a bit troublesome, we have to pick a place that is close enough to the border without being in the “Cartel Zone”. We have heard all kinds of stories about bandits close to the border, actually we have heard this about all of Mexico, however we have not experienced anything even close to this ourselves. Lucky or just expecting a pleasant experience, maybe both, you can decide for yourself.

Two days supply for breakfast. All this for $4.

Veracruz

Feb 5-6.


The next morning brought mixed weather as we traversed up and over another mountain range, which gave us a beautiful view of a cloud filled valley below. As we dropped down into the valley the temperature dropped with us.

The switch-backs going down were so sharp that we had to change the side of the road we were driving on in case semi trucks or busses were going up and needed the wider turn radius to make the corner. The lanes are marked accordingly with big white arrows to show when to change sides and only once did we meet a vehicle at the same time we were supposed to change lanes, so a little dance between bike and car ensued. Thankfully it was a short dance and no toes got stepped on. By the time we got to the bottom of the valley the temperature was 10C and overcast as we were now under that lovely cloud veil instead of above it. We again made good time as the road straightened and the towns became less frequent, just us and the sugar cane trucks mostly, at least until we came upon a procession of people on horseback, trotting down the highway with about 3 miles of traffic backed up behind them. Not sure what that was all about, just another day in Mexico I guess, funny thing is that nobody was honking their horns.
Veracruz is a large tourist town along the Gulf Coast.....the Gulf Coast, we really are getting close to the end of our trip, or so it feels. There are hundreds of hotels to choose from so we decided on something with an ocean view somewhere within walking distance to the main tourist areas.


There is a big shipyard here as it is one of Mexico’s most important ports. The zocalo was very busy as expected, lots of tourists taking pictures and watching the boats come into the shipyards. We took a double decker bus tour of the city, or at least two laps around the 6 block radius of the tour office anyway. There was a group of local bikers taking a break at a cafe, we stopped to see if anyone spoke English but no-one did. We tried to ask a few questions about where they were from and such but they gave us blank looks, then I mentioned to one guy who was riding a 2010 F800GS, that we were also riding the same bike. This brought a big smile to his face and a thumbs up of approval, there was also a couple of Harleys and Hondas in the group, it was good to hear a Harley rumble again.


We finished out tourist duties and walked back to the hotel on a local sidestreet noticing how drastically different the city looks just a couple of blocks off the main boulevard, lots of closed shops, run down or vacant buildings, and of course garbage. We spent the evening reviewing photos and trying to stay warm, the cold winds off the Gulf add a windchill factor to the moist air, plus there is no heat in the hotel as it is normally never needed. Damn Canadians sending their cold winter weather down here.

Side trips are great!!

Feb. 2-5th

The landscape changed from farmland to mountains and the fauna changed from pineapples to pine trees, this reminded me of home and it even smelt like our mountains. You know, that pine tree and fresh mountain air smell that greets you when you are on your favourite hiking or mountain bike trail.

This also turned out to be another great road, twisting and turning all the way into Oaxaca. We putted along most of time not exceeding much more than 50kph, just taking in the scenery and enjoying the day now that the weather had cleared up and it was a beautiful 28C. We pulled into the bustle of Oaxaca with it’s cobblestone streets and somehow managed to get to where we wanted to be despite not having a proper map. This seems to happen allot to us. We found a nice hotel a few blocks from the Zocalo (central park and market area), there is probably a great Grandpa Simpson story why it is called that because it seems like a funny name for “downtown”.

The city was well worth the side trip, it reminded us a lot of Antigua Guatemala without the volcanos. Nice architecture, great food, friendly people, nice weather, and a very peaceful energy. We of course found the fruit market and a bakery for our breakfast supplies, then spent the evening walking around town taking pictures and people watching. The central park was filled with vendors and performers of all ages.




There are also numerous restaurants and just enough North American influence to make it comfortable. The city is rich with history as it was founded by the Spanish in 1521 and their influence is still present in the elaborate churches.

The Catholics have quite a business going here, these are some of the largest and most opulent churches we have seen in all of Central America. The next day we walked the parts of the city core that we thought would be worthwhile, that included a nice little uphill climb to the observatory. Unfortunately, it was under renovation so we could not check it out thoroughly. We did however find another park with waterpark for the children to play in, one little fella was having such a good time everyone in the park was watching him.


The road from Oaxaca was well marked and we made pretty good time through the mountainous area. Once again the landscape changed from the more familiar pinetrees to a more desert like shrubbery and dry grass.


Some of the local housing.


Tehuacan was meant to be an overnight stop but once we spent the afternoon walking around we decided we would take an extra day to see what else we could find in this little city. The Lonely Planet guide only said that it was a sleepy little agricultural town or something to the like. We found this to be inaccurate to say the least. The market area was very busy, and the central park also had a bandstand much like Oaxaca, although we did not see any bands. Flanking one side of the park was the municipal building that was decorated with elaborate murals that tell the story of the different areas of each Department within state.

We also had two more firsts, the town provided us with the first time we seen a whole street full of flower shops, and thus the first time that a market street had a very pleasant aroma. I think our hotel was on the busiest street in town, so it was again necessary to sleep with ear plugs or have a restless night listening to cars honking and music blasting. We really enjoyed this sleepy little town.

Mexico one more time

In the morning we took on another border crossing at Chetumal, this will be our second last border for the trip, kind of sad in a way really. The border is the usual process of Immigration and Aduana for both countries, luckily the Belize side was very organized and quick, the Mexico side is less of both. We have to laugh at the logic used when the layout of the crossing station. First navigate through the parking area manned by what appears to be blind attendants, then into the building to get the declaration form, then back outside to stand in line to get back into the same building in order to get your passport stamp. This of course is followed by going across the parking area to pay the visitor visa fee, and then back into the first building to deal with the importation of the bikes. Wow, Mexico again...here we go.


We were once again surprised by the differences in the countries, the poverty is much more prevalent but with that comes the ingenuity of the people to make a go of it. We once again see everyone from young children to seniors doing some sort of work or selling some sort of product in order to make a living. Making a living in Mexico takes on a different meaning than in Canada, in Mexico it is more like making enough to live another day while in Canada it is more like making enough now to live comfortably in retirement. I guess that is why have not been haggling on prices, if the first offer is reasonable we just pay it and be happy that we can afford to pay an extra dollar or two here and there, and really how can you negotiate down from $3 when the same product at home would be at least triple the price.

After a very long and straight highway across the Yucatan peninsula we found ourselves in Escarcega and the Gran Hotel for the night. The city is located in a good area for seeing ruins and some natural beauty like waterfalls and such. We will have to save those activities for another trip though.

This time we had a roast chicken dinner from a cocina and slow roasted sweet potato, yam, and banana w/cream from a vendor cart. We found the vegetable vendor when a car pulled over next to this cart type thing and ordered some food, we were standing on the sidewalk and seen the transaction so we asked the vendor what he was selling, were pleasantly surprised when we tried ours. Definitely something I am going to try at home.

As it took us three weeks to get through Mexico going South we figured that it should take about the same going North, of course the East side of Mexico is shorter but we would still have to cover from Brownsville Texas West to Phoenix, so in the morning we packed up and made more miles. Villa Hermosa was just too big to deal with so we drove through and stopped in Cardenas, one of the smaller centres just past, really more like a suburb of Hermosa if there is such a thing.

Keeping with a system the next night we stayed in Looma Bonita, where we met a friendly kid in clothing store. He asked us all types of questions in Spanglish and we did our best to answer. Bonita is a commerce centre for the agricultural area surrounding it. We had passed through field after field of pineapples, sugar cane, and oh yes more pineapples. Thus, in the city central park there is a large pineapple statue. We woke the next morning to a thick fog, practically raining. This worried us slightly as we knew we would be heading into the mountains in order to get to Oaxaca (Wa-hawk-a). We have heard nothing but good things about this place so we made the side trip to see for ourselves. Good decision.

A little Belize

Belize is surprisingly spacious for a small country, well not over surprising considering that there are only 300,000 residents. As we rode from Placencia down the coast to Punta Gorda we got to see just how much open spaces there are.
Brenda getting swarmed in Punta Gorda.

Most of the southern part of the country seems to be covered with Orange groves, lush forests, and a somewhat arid section. The highway is good with only a couple of potholes here and there, but the side roads are all dirt.



We made it down to Punta Gorda in good time, drove around the town, ate lunch then left, backtracking North up the highway to Belmopan. Belmopan is the capital city of Belize, some time ago they built this city and moved the official capital from Belize City to Belmopan. This was done because someone felt that Belize City was too exposed to hurricanes, so moving the politicians inland fixed the problem somehow.

A little farther North towns like Orange Walk, which is in the middle of sugar cane fields, and then Corozal which is the last good sized city before the Mexican border.


Corozal was a very pleasant surprise, as we expected it to be just another 2 horse border town, however, it turned out to have a very pleasant atmosphere and a nice bay-front street and walkway. Our guesthouse, appropriately named Bayside Guest House, was conveniently located just ½ block from the waterfront and 1 block away from the main commercial street. Karen, a British expat, is the owner/operator of the house and was a wealth of knowledge about Belize. We spent the rest of the day and evening enjoying the town and the view.