2002-03 . . . Episode 6 - Ole'

We stayed at Tombstone Territories through the holidays until after New Years and then went down to Benson, AZ to join Fred (Jan & Fred) while Jan went off to Florida for two weeks.

Each RV Park has its own attractions and drawbacks. While Tombstone Territories was new and trying to get established and facilities-wise had a lot of work to do, Pato Blanco Lakes (Benson) has been going for a few years and the property and facilities are well established. The lakes attract the birds and animals, as well as the people.

In the more established RV parks and resorts (as many of them call themselves resorts), there is often a group of permanents (RV'ers who return each year for a period of time or have permanent trailers set up). They seem to set the tone and activities for the place and also tend to resist others trying to do something different. One couple (who actually live full time in their 5th wheel) offered to set up a Fun dog trial afternoon. They certainly weren't encouraged. Most times the transient RV'ers are expected to participate and volunteer but certainly not initiate. From Benson we moved onto Ajo AZ via Hwy 86 and our last stop before going into Mexico and Rocky Point.

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Mexico

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We have been in Mexico before but never took the 5th wheel so we were feeling concerned and vulnerable (kind of scary and exciting at the same time). We had no problems at all, although we got more insurance than we needed ( we've chalked that up to a learning expense). Actually, crossing the border was nothing!! The Customs guy didn't even get off his chair when we drove through. Lukeville (where we crossed the border) is a typical border town . . . busy, vendors, narrow streets and dirty. It takes a little while to change your mind set to try and read and understand the signs (it has become my job to read all the signs as we go down the road).

Again, the terrain changes!! The road down to Rocky Point continues through the Sonora Dessert for about 90 kms and you see even more Organ Pipe, Saguaro and Cholla Cacti. There tends to be more and bigger growth here because of the more moderate night temperatures, lower altitude and more precipitation, so the desert is covered with a blanket of vegetation. There seems to be less Organ Pipe Cacti on the US side than across the border in Mexico.

Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point) is a fishing village cum winter haven for northern tourists. In town there is one R.V. Park after another all bunched together close to the centre of town. The sites are so close, you can open your window and ask the people next to you to butter your toast. We did manage to find a park about 5 km away right on the beach. It seems not too many people had discovered it (it had only been open for about a month) and the services were limited but had everything we needed ( water, power & sewer ), ocean and beach. There were four other R.V.'s in the park when we arrived, one pulled out another one came in and we literally had a whole sandy beach to ourselves for almost the entire first week.

Our backyard was the ocean (actually it is the Sea of Cortez) beach and each morning we woke up to a more exquisite sunrise than the day before and listened to hundreds of sea birds to the background of the water rushing in. Besides watching the tides go in and out, we took daily walks along the beach . . . it changes and stays the same every day. A good size pod of dolphins joined us almost every morning fishing and playing right in the water off our beach while we sat out with our morning coffee and watched them.

We are about 5 kms from the actual town site of Puerto Penasco (or Rocky Point) and only went into town when we need to (usually every two or three days). The back way into town goes through (what the Gringos call) Shacks Fifth Avenue. It runs for about two or three blocks and is lined on both sides by vendors and shops - all the trinkets, T-shirts, blankets, etc for the Gringos to buy. The road is narrow, washboardy, with pot holes we could lose the truck in.

The Fish Market in town is (of course) right along the water. On one side of the street is one fish market stall after another selling shrimp, scallops and all kinds of fish. There are big restaurants and small outdoor cafes or locals selling burritos and tacos right out of the trunks if their cars. Most of the clothing and souvenir type places are on the other side of the street. Each stall displays its wares out front so the street is a blast of colour and BUSY - people everywhere. As you enter the street there are usually uniformed restaurant people waving menus and inviting you to come eat at their place. Then there are fish hawkers waving shrimp and every time you stop (which is about two or three feet) some one will come up offering to sell you something - best prices in town; almost for nothing. It is an experience!

We went on a tour of CEDO (the International Center for the Studies of Deserts and Oceans) on Tuesday. Oceans and Deserts are not something I've paid a lot of attention to in the past, but being here, you start to appreciate just how much of the earth is ocean and desert and how Man has effected the ecology even though they both seem so vast and endless.

Food can be very reasonable. Fred's fishing trip netted us about five good feeds, some flounder and some other fish we're not sure what they are called. We went clamming with a couple from Missouri and we I made a big batch of clam chowder for all of us. We dug a whole bucketful of clams and by the time we got them all shelled there was barely enough meat to make enough chowder for 6 people. It was fun, though - both the digging and trying to co-ordinate three cooks to get the chowder together. After the first week, we managed to find the markets, bakeries and cafes frequented by the local people frequent, which made things more fun as well as reasonable. I think we could easily have stayed for a couple more weeks but adding the extra insurance makes it very expensive.

Reluctantly, we left Mexico and started our journey north and west - destination Yuma (after visiting the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and the ruins at the Casa Grande National Monument).