Saturday December 10, 2011

945am and I am at a complete stop on Highway 95 South from Needles to Blythe where I will pick up the interstate and head into Arizona.

This was supposed to be a shorter route on a one lane highway…who does construction on a Saturday??

So…do some blogging.

Left 645am….brrr outside and inside the shower. Por que? No hot water in shower…but in sink? Told the lady at the counter and we had a chuckle about it. I was not looking for anything…they have not Motel 6 in Mexico anyway!!

Barstow is in the desert…did not see this at night…who knew?

It was 220 km from Barstow to Needles and I passes an American Legion. Does Olen get deals at American Legions?

Headed east…directly into the sun…again. That’s ok…mañana I will be heading south into the sun for most of the day!! Ja ja ja

Historic route 66…for anyone that cares.

Just drove through the Providence Mountains and the Mitchell Caverns

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830am…first CHP…pulled over 18 wheeler

Stopped in Needles for gas…filled the gerry can (just in case) and grabbed my vitamins (that I had not meant to pack) from deep within a box.

10am…about to move to the next set of construction!!

Clutch fan is acting up...argh.

Highway 95 had a turn off. Lots of peeps who had been stuck in the construction for 30 minutes, turned off while I stayed and bombed to Blythe

Mojave desert…trailer parks...in the middle of no where. No lakes, no water, no trees...just trailers?

35 miles from Blythe…bicyclist pulling a niño bike trailer? In the desert?

Now this is where to have a trailer park...the Colorado river borders AZ and CA and MANY trailer parks along the river. Saw Blythe Boat Club in the middle of the desert!!

They seem to grow a lot of cotton in Blythe.

Cross a bridge over Colorado River and in to Arizona. Greeted by a huge McD billboard advertising their location in Quartzsite AZ…Quartzsite?

5 km into the yellow warning light for gas…and a gas station appears in the middle of nowhere. 12 noon…time for a PB sandwich!!

Took a secreto route at Buckeye AZ so I could bypass Phoenix…great call…it was the bomb!!

Drove by the prison at Buckeye…lots of peeps in orange jumpers out getting some sun.

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Middle of desert I drive by a guy pushing a wheelchair loaded up with his possessions. I mean the MIDDLE of the desert…yikes.

Right after the prison, it became hot…hot enough for the ac in the camioneta!!

Casa Grande...south of Phoenix…lots of cotton grown here

Another prison? Arizona state prison in Picaho.

We took this route down in September 2010 and Pinal Airpark intrigued me then and again today.

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You know you are getting close to the Mexican border when the signs change to kilometers…86 km to Nogales!!

Only 35 km to the border and a guy drives by with a live Christmas tree roped to his roof. I wonder how much one of those costs down here?

Hilarious…but not really…to see these pickups loaded 10-15 feet high with possessions that know are headed south to Mexico. Do not drive behind one of those if they drive over a tope!!

Last note before Nogales…Mariposa exit at 430pm…right where we were rear-ended by the drunk driver the last time we were here. The clutch fan is acting up. Don’t understand why it sometimes acts up.

I do understand that gas mileage AND power SUCK when it happens. I mean I am driving along fine and then all of a sudden it sounds like I am driving a turbo boosted engine at 10,000 rpm. Going to have to break the bad news to Mike…I will wait until Monday as there is nothing he can do form here anyway.

Just one thing I did not need to have happen on the trip. Good news? Day 3 is done and only 3 more to go!!

Got into Nogales bang on 430pm!! Who knows how to estimate driving times? Yo!!

Off to Walmart to pick up some misc items…sorpresas for Bexico and a knife for me. Need something better to make the PB sandwiches!! Also grabbed some turkey…hello road trip!!

Then off to the Nogales Motel 6…key did not work and now someone is smoking making my baño smell…argh!! It IS a sign that I need to move to Motel 8!! Ja ja ja

As I was unloading the truck, I ended up having a 30 minute conversation (his doing) with a Mexican from Mt Vernon WA. He drives a 2001 Nissan Frontier (non-super charged) and wanted to share some was stories with me. Hilarious!!

Unloaded, ran across to the pharmacy to get some Pepto…not sure why my stomach is not 100%. Could be the friggin clutch fan on the truck driving me crazy…or maybe I am just eager/anxious to get this truck load of goods across the border!! Nothing is illegal, but no one is 100% sure of what they will allow you to bring across the border without paying impuestos…taxes.

After chugging some Pepto…off to KFC…dinner of choice. But I could not go in. Por que? The inside was closed due to the baños not working…so drove through and grabbed some pollo to go.

Not much here in Nogales Arizona…but ONE reason to come back?


Look at the size of this pechuga de pollo!!!

Nice to be in a town where 99.9% of the peeps I have seen, all speak español. Time to shake off the rust.

FaceTime with mi familia and then mis padres. I called them via MJ at 530pm and they should be finished their fish sticks (or is it chicken strip Saturday?) by now.

I will finish the blog (I am missing the info from between the 10am entry and the 430pm entry) and then hit the sack.

Back soon.        

Oh good…happy to see Bex via the FT…and the top of Max’s head as he feeds!! Ja ja ja Bexico will call me back when he is done eating and burping.

Total kilometers for the day? According to the odometer…841. As they say in español…mas o meno….more or less…all due to the wacky tires!!

Ok…had a GREAT video chat with Bexico y Max. Wow do I miss them both. I have his foto on the dash by the speedometer, but seeing him on the video chat is waaaaaaay better. So looking forward to seeing them both on Thursday.

Mañana…feliz cumpleaños to mi amigo in TO…Bubba Brent. Newly married and 6 months from becoming a new padre!!!

My mañana? Up at 530am and hit the road for 6am. I take the truck crossing and the actual border is only 10 minutes away, but the inmigracion y customs is at the 20 kilometer mark. This is because there is a “free trade” type of zone for the two Nogales and there is no need for clearing Mexican customs prior to the 20 km. I am not sure the same policy exists for peeps trying to enter America.
So…here’s hoping that between 7 and 8am I am happily on my way down ruta 15 on the way to Mazatlan and beyond!!

Talk soon.

Marco

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