Puerto Penasco / Challo Bay

1. Taco meets the Sea of Cortez. Campsite at Puerto Penasco

2. Looking over Colla Bay from the "big dune".

3. Ray trying to play with the ATV guys on this serious dune.

4. Joel holding the signed agreement for condo purchase.
$200k can buy you this patio view.

Friday 26 February – Puerto Penasco / Challo Bay


We got up today and did some serious loafing. After gazing into the sea until our tea got cold, we showered and did some blogging. Around non, we drove out to Challo Bay. Another very nice spot taken over by Arizona. We drove up some serious dunes until the Tacoma started to complain and then got out and took some pictures. We visited some beach condos on the way back. The building bust in Arizona has spilled into Puerto Penasco making it a buyers market. Cash gets you a discount. For $200k, this is a view from the front patio.


We returned to the harbor and had more fish tacos and beer. We then went to the grocery store and restocked for our next four days, gassed up the truck, and broke down much of camp. We plan to get an early start tomorrow. We will take the “new” road to San Luis Rio Colorado, where we will rejoin Hwy 2. We will cross the Colorado river then drive west through Mexicali to Guadalupe Canyon.

Puerto Penasco

Thursday 25 February – Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument to Puerto Penasco, Sonora, Mexico

Broke camp this morning and crossed the border at Sonoyta. We secured our FMT visa (262 pesos each) which allow us to travel beyond the “Hassle Free” zone. Ray and I are still laughing about this. Hwy 8 proved to be a good road full of cars from Arizona going much faster than the posted speed limit. We arrived in Puerto Penasco about 1 hour after leaving Sonoyta. The landscape was much like southern Arizona except the signs were all in Spanish. The Saguaro cacti gave way to more sand dunes. Then, we arrived at Puerto Penasco on the Sea of Cortez.

When we arrived in Puerto Penasco, we found our way to Concha del Mar (conchadelmar2008@hotmail.com) next to the Playa Bonita resort. The proprietor, Edgar, was very helpful and friendly. The RV park has all the requisites: beautiful beach, close to town, hot showers, and friendly people. I think Concha del Mar’s days are numbered as the beach is being taken over by high-rise condominiums. We are minuscule among giants as our neighbors are all retired gringos in their mammoth RVs.

Ray and I went on an explore. First we went into the old port were we made friends quickly. We ate fish tacos and drank cold beer looking over the water as the sun began to wane. We went to Telcel to try and buy prepaid phone cards. All the disadvantages of not speaking Spanish were quickly highlighted (no, we did not get the cards). Finally, we went to the grocery store. Sticking to the script that I have been rehearsing for the past month at home, Ray and I were able to buy the necessary staples. Returning to camp we watched an AWESOME sunset over the water. As the sun went down, we could see the mountains behind San Felipe, Baja California del Norte – Our destination for next week.

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

Tuesday 23 February – Tucson to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

Woke up in Tucson and proceeded to do chores in preparation for crossing the border. After 3 days of rain, the sun came out in all of its brilliance. We changed dollars for pesos then did a quick tour of University of Arizona. The campus was very impressive. We bought propane, adjusted the tire pressure, and bought food for four days.

We visited the Dessert Museum near Suguaro National Park where we learned about cacti and agave.

We drove 120 west on AZ 86 across the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument where we are camping under clear but cold skies. We are about 2 miles from the Mexican border. From our campsite, we can look out across Lukeville (US) and Sonoyta (MX). We are 60 miles from the Sea of Cortez. Hiking tomorrow in the monument. Sleep now.

Wednesday 24 February – Tucson to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

We had a great day of exploring the National Monument. We drove around the back county loop out to the Ajo Mountains. We had the Tacoma out on dirt for the first time and drove about 20 miles. We hiked up Arch Canyon but were unable to actually reach the arch. We came back to camp for an early dinner of rice, zucchini, and beef. After cleaning up, we hiked up the mountains west of our campsite and witnessed a beautiful sunset over the Sonora Dessert. Tomorrow we cross into Mexico and drive to Puerta Penasco and hope to be camping on the Sea of Cortez.

Tombstone, Bisbee, and Charlestown

Monday 22 February – Tombstone, Bisbee, and Charlestown

Another day of rain, sleet, hail, and cold (freezing) weather persuaded Ray and I to take the Hotwire route. We awoke from the Best Western in Benson and drove down to Tombstone where we learned much fact and fiction about the Gunfight (near) the OK Corral. The town of Tombstone has a good museum in the old courthouse built in 1882. There is much to learn about the Spanish era, the Apache wars with Cochise and Geronimo, the silver boom, and of course the Earp brothers, “Doc” Holiday and the MacLowery brothers.

We drove to Bisbee, a copper mining town on the Mexican border, We had beer and a late lunch at the “Copper Queen Hotel”. The freezing precipitation continued and limited outdoor exploration.

We drove down to Sierra Vista and then back to Charlestown (a ghost town) to spend the night in a camp ground we saw on the map. Both Charlestown and the camp ground were not to be found. We would up back in Tombstone at an RV park. As we stood there in a downpour considering the $32 nightly fee, we decided that the $65 hotwire rate on the Viscount Hotel (very nice) was well… very nice. We went to bed, showered, each with 4 pillows and fresh sheets. Now this is camping.

Feb 23 2010

Hi,

My brother-in-law Joel and I are on our way to Baja California. We are traveling with a 2002 Toyota Taco-ma with four wheel drive.

"Tacoma adopted its name after the nearby Mount Rainier, originally called Mount Tacoma or Mount Tahoma. It is known as the "City of Destiny" "

So it seems appropriate to name this blog Taco 2 Baja; taking liberty with our fluent knowledge of the Spanish language (JK). We were at a Mexico Cafe in Phoenix on Sunday morning and we both had problems ordering our meal ! We both are of the opinion that we might have selected the wrong partner for this expedition.

We are currently in Tucson in a motel. Our plans were to test out our gear for our expedition in the desert of Arizon. Our testing grounds turned out to be cold and wet for the last few days. Today we will head for Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and plan to enter Mexico on Thursay. We have reservation for Sat and Sun at:

http://www.guadalupe-canyon.com/

Ray