Ajo, AZ
I just realized that in my last post, I neglected to mention an important event that occurred while we were at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. One day on our way into Ajo, AZ for groceries and diesel, my truck dashboard shouted at me that I only had something like 100 miles to refill the DEF (diesel exhaust fluid) before it would shut me down completely. I figured there must be someplace in town that had DEF, so I dropped Leah at a thrift store and went from gas station to hardware store to more gas stations--nothing. However, they all pointed me to the local NAPA store, but, unfortunately, it was Sunday, and the NAPA was closed. I was in a large Shell station where I'd just asked an attendant where I could find DEF. She told me the NAPA, as well, and as I thanked her and opened the door to leave, she said, "Wait", and ran outside to talk to someone pumping gas
into a white van. When she returned, she confirmed that NAPA had it, and would open tomorrow at 8AM. I thanked her and left. After checking more stores, I concluded that my only choice was to drive about 60 miles one way to a truckstop on I-10, get the DEF, and drive back--if I wanted it today, and I did. As I was heading out, I saw a Family Dollar and decided to give it a try. Here in the US, dollar stores are popping up everywhere and they seem to have everything. However, they didn't have DEF either, so I walked back to my truck to drive the 60 miles to the truckstop when I heard someone call, "Sir" several times. Realizing I must the "Sir", I searched around for the person who was calling me. "Sir, Are you the person who needs the DEF?"
It took me a split second to process the question. "Yes!" "How did you know?!" We've been driving around looking for you; we even tried to wave you down, but you must not have seen us". As the man was talking, I recognized the white van from the gas station--the one the woman had consulted. "I run the NAPA. Why not just follow me over, and I'll unlock it and sell you some DEF." Great!! I couldn't believe it. I followed him to the store. As he got out, I saw that he was young--probably in his 20s--and his girlfriend was with him. I asked her if he was always this nice, "When he wants to be", she said with a smile. "You can't drive your truck without the DEF, right?" "Right." What nice people!
TO: Joaquin and his girlfriend (sorry, I forgot your name!), who run the NAPA store in Ajo, AZ.: Thank you both!
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| Joacquin & his girlfriend (Sorry, forgot your name) |
I had occasion to return several times to this NAPA and each time, I was impressed with how friendly and helpful these folks were. Definitely recommended, if you're in Ajo, AZ!
Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, Mexico
January 23-30, 2015
When we left Canada in late September, our plan was to be out of Ontario for the maximum 7 months. However, we knew that we could only be in the US for 6 months, leaving us with one month to be...somewhere else. How about Mexico? We could drive down the Baja peninsula, camping on the beach, eating seafood, and learning Spanish. That sounded pretty good until we began receiving warnings of violence and unrest in Baja. We started to re-think our plan; in fact, we'd shelved the idea--that is, until we met a couple at Las Vegas Lakes campground, on Lake Mead. These folks were pulling an old Airstream, and we learned, were heading for the southeast coast of Baja Sur, near Los Barriles. They'd gone the previous year for 4 months and had loved it so much that they were headed there again, this year. They reported that they'd felt safer in Baja--beginning about 200 miles south of the U.S. border, mind you--than they did here in the U.S.--with the caveat that no one should ever drive there at night. They said they loved the Mexican people and had been treated with nothing but kindness and consideration. We spent an hour or two looking over their maps and taking notes, our fears now assuaged by real people who'd done what we wanted to do.
However, one nagging concern I had that they could not allay was whether or not I could buy ULSD (Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel) in Baja (or anywhere in Mexico), the only kind of diesel available in Canada and the U.S. They drove a gasoline-powered truck, so didn't know about ULSD availability. Depending upon whom you asked, ULSD was not available at all, available only in the northern half of Baja, or readily available in the northern half, less readily in the southern half. I searched high and low on the Internet, as well as phoned organizations that should know, but still got nothing definitive. Some reputable and knowledgable people said it was available everywhere, while other, equally reputable folks said it was available no where. Again, we shelved the idea.
But the urge to go to Mexico lingered. And since, at the Organ Pipe campground, we were only 5 miles from the Mexican border, we figured we could just leave the trailer in nearby Ajo, AZ, and drive the 60 miles to the beach town of Peurto Peñasco, Sonora, Mexico--right on the Gulf of California. Let's see: walking on the beach, staying in a motel, eating seafood, and learning Spanish--and I could drive right up the Pemex stations and see for myself if they offered ULSD. Sounded good to us! To add to the serendipity, we discovered that our friends, Barb and Jeff, had an unused and inexpensive timeshare week at the Mayan Palace, in Puerto Peñasco. We could buy it, and get our feet wet in Mexico without worrying about the trailer or the ULSD fuel, since our truck has about a 500 mile range when not pulling the trailer. Sold! Thanks, Barb and Jeff!
That's not to say that we didn't experience some trepidation, but we felt the risks were minimal, so we crossed the border at Lukeville/AZ/Sonoyta, Sonora. The border crossing was casual, even though the Mexican agents wore battle fatigues and had guns. "Anything to declare?" "Any guns?" "No." "Where are you going?" "Puerto Peñasco." "Go ahead." That was it. Driving through Sonoyta we saw lots of skinny dogs, abandoned houses, rusting metal, pealing paint, garbage, dirt sidewalks. We drove hyper-slowly, as we'd been warned by the US Border Patrol that the police were "predatory".
Out on the highway, things looked 1st world, again, with smooth asphalt, paved shoulders, and not much traffic. We were still a bit tense, as an RVer we'd met who'd been to Puerto Peñasco recently told us he'd been stopped at a roadblock by uniformed men carrying automatic weapons; however, the uniforms had no ID on them. The men had materialized out of nowhere, set up the roadblock, and made he and his wife get out of their truck while they searched it. With this story in mind, I was scanning the roadsides uneasily, but the trip went smoothly and we arrived just before dark.
The Mayan Palace is located right on the beach, about 14 miles from Puerto Peñasco. It's about 5 miles off the main highway, the last mile or two, unpaved. Same with the parking lot.
We were pleasantly surprised by our 2-bedroom suite:
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| From entrance door: dining table, then living room, then balcony |
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| Dining Room |
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| Nice restaurant, but food only so-so |
The suite and the restaurant were nice, but the grounds and beach were magnificent:
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| Gorgeous grounds and pool. Just a bit too cold for swimming though. |
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| Nice beach. Saw a lone coyote prowling near here. |
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| View from our balcony |
We drove into Puerto Peñasco several times to explore, to shop and to eat. The town, itself, is an interesting mix of gringo touristica and working-class Mexican neighbourhoods. We ate at a delicious seafood restaurant, The Blue Marlin, where we were glad we ordered a seafood sampler. Below is course # 3, the main course:
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| Seafood sampler, at The Blue Marlin in Puerto Peñasco |
Back at the Mayan Palace, Leah enjoyed a salsa-making class she attended. Can't wait to sample her creations!
We had been thinking of driving back to Ajo, AZ and pulling the trailer back down to camp somewhere on the beach in Puerto Peñasco--and we found just the place:
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| Concha del Mar RV campground. On the beach, $10/night. |
But we didn't feel we wanted to stay in Puerto Peñasco. This campground was nice enough and a bargain for right on the beach. On the other hand, the town, itself, did not seem to offer much for us. And, surprisingly, we found that we couldn't buy basic things that are part of our diet, like whole wheat bread. Also, we learned that we'd need to stay outside the U.S. for a minimum of a month to count as having been "not in the U.S.". All-in-all, we decided we'd rather spend the time in the U.S. exploring places we'd hadn't yet visited in the Southwest. Maybe we'll visit Mexico again another time, probably Baja.
Hope all is well with all of you.
