Holiday Festivities

It's certainly been a busy holiday here in Valle de Juarez. On Thursday night Sal and Barb suggested dinner at a restaurant in town that serves incredibly good enchiladas. It was their 39th wedding anniversary and we were honored that they chose to share it with all of us. Sal gave Barb a special anniversary/Christmas gift, appropriately named Don Quixote (donkey-hotay). They rescued him and have given him a fine home at the Hacienda. Maybe now Sal can even put the lawnmower away.

After our dinner in town we took a walk around the plaza to burn up a few calories while looking at the lights and Christmas decorations. We were invited to stop at the church to listen to a Christmas concert. The musicians were quite good and it was nice to see everyone enjoying themselves.

Friday was tamale day. Tamales on Christmas are a Mexican tradition. Sal's mother Dona Theresa and Sal's sister Juana came over to the Hacienda to make them and show us how it's done. It's quite labor intensive so it was nice to have so many helping hands.

The process was begun early Friday morning when Juana took the corn that she had prepared to the mill to be ground. There was a huge bowl of it on the table it and we didn't really think we would use it all, but we did.

 Corn husks are lined with the corn mixture, stuffed with a pork/chili stew, then rolled and placed carefully in pots to be steamed. I didn't count but I think we made several hundred. I was also informed that since I now know how to make tamales, I'm prepared to be a proper wife.

Our Christmas Eve tamale fiesta was delicious and lots of fun. We spent Christmas Day relaxing and trying not to think about all of the calories we've consumed this week.

Valle de Juarez

It hasn't taken us long to get settled in. On Wednesday we took a nice hike up a hill overlooking the valley, lake and town. It was a beautiful day for it and the view was spectacular. That evening we had a delicious holiday dinner hosted by Barb and Sal - lots of great food and good company.

San Carlos to Valle de Juarez

We had a few long days on our way to Valle de Juarez but it was worth it. Tilly's favorite stop was in Celestino which is about 40 miles north of Mazatlan. She got to run around on the beach, romp in the waves and roll in the sand.

We were continually amazed by the amount of traffic on the road. Most of the cars were from California and were loaded down with presents, ladders, bikes and just about anything that could fit. This is the first time we've traveled so close to Christmas and we were really happy that we hadn't waited any longer since the traffic will just get worse and the waits at the toll booths longer.

We were unable to pull into any of the rest areas to stop for the night so were very glad to find a few Pemex stations that were safe and secure places to overnight. We saw several cattle drives along the way that stopped traffic for a few minutes. Interesting to watch.

We pulled into Hacienda Contreras RV Park  in Valle de Juarez on Monday morning and are happy to be able to settle down here for a few weeks. This is a wonderful RV park with very welcoming hosts in a very charming area. When deciding where we wanted to be over the holidays we had no trouble choosing this as our destination. It's one of our favorites!

Mexico 2011-2012

San Carlos
No pictures, just an update. We crossed at Nogales yesterday, stopped and got our visas and the permit for the car, and got to San Carlos late in the afternoon. There was quite a line getting visas and permits which is to be expected this close to Christmas. It took a little over an hour to get all of that accomplished so it wasn't too bad. No problems at all along the way. We hope to get to Telcel in Guaymas today to activate our phone and purchase an aircard for the internet. If that goes smoothly we'll proceed south, if not will spend another night here at Totonaka RV Park.

Mexico Bound

We have spent the last month or two doing some renovations and repairs on the Bus in preparation for our winter season in Mexico. As usual, we don't have a definite itinerary. We hope to cross at Nogales and head down the West Coast, then inland, and from there we'll see what beckons.
I will try to post regularly and share our adventures along the way.

The Grand Canyon - North Rim

We toured the South Rim several years ago but wanted to visit the North Rim, which offers a different Grand Canyon experience. It is more remote and less developed than the South Rim, and so attracts far fewer tourists. Many people think its viewpoints are more spectacular and offer a better idea of the expanse of the canyon. We agree.  The elevation at the North Rim is approximately 8000 feet, about 1000 feet higher than the South Rim. It is more difficult to access due to road closures during the winter season and the limited campgrounds are typically closed from October to April. There are several viewpoint where we could see the South Rim, approximately 10 miles away.

The weather on our first day was foggy and cloudy which produced a rather spectral appearance - very cool.

The weather on our second day was sunny and bright which gave us a totally different experience. It was great that things worked out the way they did and we were able to see the canyon both ways.

The Grand Canyon is known for its visually overwhelming size and its intricate and colorful landscape. It is 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide and attains a depth of over a mile. There were several viewpoints where we could see the Colorado River far below.

We had several sightings of the Kaibab Squirrel. It lives in the ponderosa pine forest of the North Rim and the Kaibab Plateau near the town of Jacob Lake, where we stayed. I love the dark body and feathery white tail.



Antelope Canyon

Antelope Canyon is located on Navajo land near Page, Arizona.  It is possibly the most photographed sandstone slot canyon in the Southwest. There are two sections, the upper canyon and lower canyon. On our first visit four years ago we toured the upper canyon and hoped to do the lower canyon this year. Due to recent rains the lower canyon was closed but we certainly weren't disappointed with touring the upper canyon again.

Navajo guides take visitors on a pretty wild ride out to the canyon in vehicles similar to one in the photo above. They share the history, culture and geology of the canyon. It is a sacred place to the Navajo and it is treated with reverence and respect.          

Antelope Canyon was formed by the erosion of Navajo Sandstone, primarily from flash flooding but from wind as well. Rainwater and wind run into the slot canyon, pick up speed and sand in the narrow passageways, and over time erode the passages. This gives the rock a characteristic flowing shape.  The walk  through Antelope Canyon is narrow, but easy. Light enters through the top, creating fantastic shapes and colors.

On our first visit I took 134 photographs and on this visit I took 155. The photos don't do it justice, but hopefully will give some idea of what it is like. We highly recommend this experience.