Day 12 & 13 - The final two days before we reached Lo de Marcos

 

Giant deer dance statue, Obregon Sonora
At over 30 meters high it is the tallest sculpture in Latin America
The sculptor’s intention was to represent the Danza de Venado (deer dance) a traditional dance of the Yaqui ethnic group native to this area

On Saturday October 29 we left Totanaka RV park just before 9 a.m. headed to Los Mochis for the night.  The drive would be uneventful, even though we went through Vicam which usually has “illegal” tolls manned by locals with ropes who request “donations” usually at least 50 pesos (approx $3.50 Cdn).  We were through Vicam fairly early at 10 a.m so perhaps that was the reason - too early on the weekend?  Who knows.  We were glad not to have to deal with that.  Shortly after Vicam the road turned to crap with potholed pavement and many topes (speed bumps).  The road went between bad and good stretches with some newly paved stretches mixed with those yet to be fixed.   All in all the road was much better than I remembered it was last year.  The real test would be the following day in the stretch from Los Mochis to Mazatlan which was undeniably the worst stretch of roads we’d ever experienced - hence one blog post from last year titled “Shake, Rattle and HOLE!”.

The only eventful part of the day was when we missed the turn to get onto the 15D toll road that goes around the city of Obregon.  Having missed it, we were routed through the city of Obregon but it wasn’t bad at all.  In fact, even though we know the toll road is beautiful around Obregon (from our experience returning home last year) driving through the city is very easy. It has large roads with no obstructions like low hanging trees or wires and good signage to get you through the city.  In the end we probably saved at least $30 in tolls by going through the city instead of taking the toll. We’d do it again.

Once through Obregon we returned to the 15D toll road and headed to Navajoa. There is no bypass around Navajoa, but like Obregon it is easy to drive through with wide roads and good signage.  And, when exiting there is a large grocery store called Soriana’s that has an RV friendly parking lot.  We stopped there to stock up on some more groceries so that once we made it to LDM we would be able to relax and not have to get back on the road to go re-stock our groceries.  

We ended our day arriving at the Smart Gas in Los Mochis just after 3 p.m. but there had also been a time change, losing one hour so it felt like 2:15 for us.  A nice short driving day all in all.  We had stayed in the Smart Gas parking lot last year too. It’s a nice gated lot with an onsite security guard.  It’s a large lot where RV’ers typically park far in the back away from the transport trucks and the highway.  A small caravan of RV’ers also spent the night there at the same time as us.  Most were headed to Mazatlan with a few headed to Lo de Marcos (LDM).

iOverlander is a great app to find free spots to boon dock
Click on any image to make it larger

Sunrise in the Smart Gas rear lot, Los Mochis
October 29, 2022

San Carlos, Sonora to Los Mochis, Sinaloa

Start Time - 8:50 a.m.

Temp at start - 24ºC (76ºF)
End Time - 3:15 p.m. (*we lost one hour due to a time change)

Total # tolls = 5 (even though we missed the toll road bypass around Ciudad Obregon)

Total cost of tolls = $121p + $244p + $244p + $244 + $146p = $999 pesos ($68.40 Cdn)

Total driven - 237 miles

Accommodation cost - $50 peso tip to Smart Gas security attendant ($3.50 Cdn)

Fuel - we filled the next morning

On Sunday October 30 after filling up our tanks we headed for Mazatlan.  We were only one night away from our final destination of LDM!! 🎉 

We started the day early before 8 a.m. We already knew from last year that we could expect at least six tolls during this stretch.  And, that it was the worst stretch of road in the entire journey.  All we could hope for was that some work had been done on the heavily pot holed roads. The best way to describe the drive this day was “off and on”.  There were definitely some very good stretches where it was evident the road had been completely re-paved mixed in with some old and badly pot holed stretches.  All in all, I’d say the roads were somewhat better than they were last year for this same stretch.   

Another fun new addition was the state police’s attempts to deter speeding.  They do this by putting up 3D painted cardboard cut outs of State police cars!  They look pretty good from a distance.  Sadly, I didn’t get any pictures of on the way down.  I’ll try to snap at least one on the way back.  I wonder if they’re effective?

We made it to Mazatlan just shortly after noon and rather than stop (which we likely should have done in hindsight) we decided we had a few more hours of driving left in us.  The roads after Mazatlan were really good and we still had a lot of daylight left so we forged on.  Once again I turned to the iOverlander app to see what options we had for overnight stays once we passed Mazatlan.  I found a post for a Pemex GasMaz station that looked really good.  Large cement lot fully fenced with lots of other amenities too.  Claimed by the reviewer to be the “best” rest stop in all of Mexico.  It was actually very much like a US rest stop too with a lounge area, laundry facilities and showers etc.  Our challenge came in getting there!  

The map showed we’d stay on the 15D toll road the entire way but would have to go past the station and turn around because it was on the wrong side of the highway with a median dividing the lanes.  We didn’t think much of it, surely the turn around would be easy to navigate given how nice the stop was.  Duh - we forgot we were in Mexico!  BUT that wasn’t the worst part!  The worst part was that somewhere along the route our phone GPS popped up a message that I only partially caught.  Something about “a faster route is available, click yes to accept”.  Well, learning that the “faster route” is often not RV friendly, I ignored the message and we kept on our way.  SOMEHOW though, it must have thought we said YES to that “generous” offer and so when we were only supposed to be 5 minutes from our stop it routed us off the toll road and into the small town of Escuinapa de Hidalgo.  AND when the GPS told us to turn off the toll road Dan correctly said to me, “NO we stay on the toll road”…then he added “Right?”  And silly me, I told him to listen to the damn GPS.   DUMB DUMB DUMB!!!  ARGH.

Map showing where we turned off the 15D headed into Escuinapa de Hidalgo

So, on we went down this very quiet two lane paved road through farmers fields before it dropped us smack dab in the middle of this busy small town!  We thought for sure we were going to get pulled over by local cops and taken for a “ride”.  We’d heard from fellow RV’ers that this area had “men in black” pulling people over and padding them down apparently looking for people smuggling money into Mexico for the cartels. Frantically, I reset the GPS back to the “Pemex GasMaz” station co-ordinates through iOverlander.  Unfortunately it kept routing us right to the centre of this small cramped and very busy town.  You’d think for a Sunday it might be quiet, but it was also the final days leading up to Dia de muertos (day of the dead) so it was very very busy.  The Google street view image below doesn’t show the scale of how full the streets were.  Imagine cars on both sides of each road and people everywhere!  Ay Yai Yai!

The blue arrow shows how we needed to weave through the centre of this town to get back onto the 15D.  Let’s just say it didn’t get us to our final destination any quicker 🤦🏻‍♀️  

Once out of that nightmare we continued on our way to the Pemex GasMaz.  Of course, we had to drive past it and turn around, following Google’s directions again.  That was our second error of the day!  Unlike what you would expect for a turn around, this one took us through a small dirt road town that appeared to have been flooded badly during some of the recent tropical storms.  This year there were a couple of hurricanes that hit land around Mazatlan in late September/early October.  Once again, we should have known better than to turn off the toll road.  When will we learn!!! This time it’s not solely my fault, we both knew it wasn’t a good plan to make this turn, but once we committed we were committed. 

Distance between the GasMaz station (upper left) and the small town to turn around in

Our first sign of trouble should have been the transport truck cab that was stuck up to the bottom of it’s door in dried mud!  The roads had been completely washed out and ruined by recent storms.  Then there was that damn TREE!!!  It overhung the road just low enough and with the stuck truck on our left we had no room to manouever.  It was then Dan saw something fall off the roof of the RV 😳 He thought we’d lost an air conditioner unit - shit!  Thankfully though it was just the HDTV antenna.  Still not good, but much cheaper to replace than an A/C unit.  Once again….Ay yai yai!!

No street view of this small dirt road town, but from the highway turn off I think you can get an idea of what we were driving into.  Long days make for poor decisions!

After somewhat successfully turning ourselves around, we arrived at the Pemex GasMaz truck stop rest area by 3 p.m. After filling our tanks, we found ourselves a nice spot away from other truckers.  The one detriment to this spot is that all of the truck parking spots were back in only.  Not conducive for an RV towing a vehicle as we need to be able to pull through or else we have to unhook the truck.  

As the iOverlander post had said, this was a beautiful clean stop that was all cement with picturesque agave fields surrounding it.  Unfortunately, it was one of the louder stops we’d stayed at for the night with the sound of trucks using their very loud engine breaks before they screamed into the station to stop.  Then they began the choreography of backing up into a spot and you know what big trucks have when they back up….”BEEP, BEEP, BEEP”. Poor HoseHey (and us) were at our wits end with all the noise.  HoseHey literally cried the whole night! 😿 

As this post is already getting far too long I’ll just end with some shots of the fuel/rest station.  Although it was very nice, we wouldn’t stay there again unless we had no other options simply because it was so loud. And never again would we attempt it on the way down.  No way we’d do that turn around through the small village again.

The good news at the end of this crazy day…..we would be in Lo de Marcos the NEXT day! 

Los Mochis, Sinaloa to Escuinapa de Hidalgo, Sinaloa

Start Time - 7:45 a.m.

Temp at start - 17ºC (63ºF)
End Time - 3:00 p.m. 

Temperature at end of day - 29ºC but felt like 31ºC (84ºF felt like 88ºF)

Total # tolls = EIGHT! 

Total cost of tolls = $68p + $239p + $239p + $101p + $436p + $397p + $142p + $555p= $2177 pesos ($149.65 Cdn)

Total driven - 305 miles

Accommodation cost - $0

Fuel

    - Filled in Los Mochis: $3667 Pesos ($267 Cdn) - 40 gallons @ $24.59 pesos/liter ($1.69 Cdn/litre)

    - Filled at end of day at Pemex GasMaz: $3615 Pesos ($250 Cdn) - approx 40 gallons

Day 10 & 11 - Headed to Los Mochis then a change of plans

Beautiful and fragrant Plumeria flower

On Thursday Oct 24 we woke up after a surprisingly peaceful overnight rest at the Pemex station just outside of Hermosillo.  The original goal for the day was to head to Los Mochis which was just over a 400 km drive.  But, as we began our journey at 8:00 a.m. with temps already at 17ºC, we quickly remembered the conversation we had the night before.  Specifically the one about how we were going to take more breaks along the way “next time”, driving for 2 days and stopping for 2 nights.  So within an hour of driving we approached the turn off toward San Carols and made the decision to head there for a couple days of rest.

Our destination in San Carlos was Totanaka RV park where we had stayed last year for a few weeks.  Of course we didn’t have a reservation due to our last minute decision but we were hopeful that because it was still early in the season we’d have no problems staying for a couple of nights.  

Thankfully, they found us a spot.  They said it was the last one available for the two nights we wanted, but while we were there the park was only about 1/4 full (odd).  We arrived at 10:00 a.m. so we had two full days and two nights (Thursday Oct 27 and Friday Oct 28 leaving on Saturday Oct 29) the perfect amount of time for a rest.

Our spot right up at the front of the park

We used the time to relax, do some laundry, hit an ATM, grab some fresh fruit & veggies and of course visit the beach and take in one of the gorgeous sunsets that grace San Carlos every evening.

View from Los Arbolitos seafood restaurant right beside the park

Dan ordered three different tacos (shrimp, octopus and beef) and I had the ‘Camarones a la diabla’ 🌶 Yumm!

HoseHey was very grateful for the stop!  Although he didn’t want to venture out into his tent, he enjoyed relaxing and sunning himself in the front window where he could keep an eye on all the birds and activity in the park.

HoseHey showing his appreciation for the stop in San Carlos 💕 

View of HoseHey’s lounging spot from outside through the bug splattered windshield 🥰 

Heffay coming to see what HoseHey is up to

And of course, both Heffay and HeyZeus got lots of walks around the park and to the beach. Somehow     I didn’t get any pictures of HeyZues out walking but rest assured, he got at least 2 walks each day…little bugger demands it of us.  He’s got quite the song voice and a unique little warble cry I’ll have to try to record one of these days ha ha!

Big goofy boy!

Heffay started to show his protective side when we were in San Carlos.  On two different occasion’s when I was walking him he barked, lunged and growled at a Mexican.  Both times it was a single Mexican man who approached us but was holding something in his hand. It startled the crap out of me, but I assumed as a dog he likely judged them to be a threat and he was protecting me.  Boy, does he protect!  Let’s just say those men’s eyes were wide open after that encounter 👀 

All in all, we had a great two day rest in San Carlos.  Totanaka is a very nice, well manicured and clean park with very friendly staff who are always busy working to keep the park looking as great as it does.  And, there are a few staff in the office plus the owner who speak fluent English.  

There are some downfalls which include power issues (but we have an auto-former box that helps to offset those issues along with our surge protector), poor water pressure - you have to fill your tank and run off your own water pump if you want decent pressure (but they do advise you to do that) and many people think it is too expensive ($572 pesos/night for a 30 amp site or approx $39 Cdn with the current exchange rate).

The biggest downfall for us is that there are many dance bars very very close to the park.  I swear there is one on each corner, although the back of the park is definitely quieter.   We had asked for a spot at the back but were told the one we got was all they had (again odd as the park was only 1/4 full the two nights we were there).  One of the bars is located right at the front western most corner of the park.  The spot we were in this time was within three sites of that dance bar.  Although Thursday night was quiet, on Friday night the music started around 6 p.m. and went strong and thumping until 2 a.m. I seriously thought my ears were going to bleed it was SO LOUD!  And the bass boomed so strong we could feel it in our chest.  We ended up turning the bedroom A/C on, even though we didn’t need it just for some white noise to help block it.  Additionally Dan put ear plugs in while he gave me his noise cancelling headphones. That was fun trying to sleep in those.  Who am I kidding, I didn’t get to sleep until after it stopped at 2 a.m.  I honestly don’t know how people can stay in that park for the whole winter season as every weekend Friday, Saturday and sometimes Sunday this happens.  We’ve made a note for next time to make sure we only stay there mid week and not over or close to any weekends.  We also learned through FaceBook groups of another place some RV’s stay.  It’s called Hotel Playa de Cortez near Guaymas.  It’s a hotel with some RV spots and it is on the beach and apparently very quiet.  We may just check it out either next time or on the way home.

Obligatory shot of a gorgeous sunset behind the extinct Tetakawi volcano. 
Fun fact:  I just learned that the pointy volcanic mountain is apparently known by the locals as “teta de cabra” meaning goats tits 😂 

On Saturday morning we’d head out in the direction of Los Mochis where we’d be only a couple more nights away from our final destination of Lo de Marcos.

Hermosillo, Sonora to San Carlos, Sonora

Start Time - 8:00 a.m.

Temp at start - 17ºC (63ºF)
End Time - 10:00 a.m. 

Total # tolls = 0

Temp at end - 29ºC (84ºF) 

Total driven - 78 miles

Accommodation cost (2 nights) - $1144 ($78 Cdn)

Fuel - no fill needed

Day 9 - Crossing into Mexico!

 

Heffay snuggling up with HeyZeus 💕 

Wednesday Oct 26.  Day 9 of travel would take us across our second border and into Mexico.  We started the day a bit earlier, hitting the road at just after 8 a.m.  Temps were nice at 16 ºC (60ºF).    Leaving this early would get us to the border around 11 a.m.  You never really know how long it is going to take you at the border and then at the Banjerito a few kilometers from the border where you get your Tourist Visa (FMM) and your Temporary Import Permit (TIP) for the truck.   Last year we didn’t make it to the Banjerito until sundown and so we overnighted in the their parking lot, but we didn’t want to have to do that again this time.  Ideally we wanted to get to the Fas Gas truck stop near Guaymas before sundown.

Right on schedule, we were at the US side of the Mariposa Truck border crossing by 10:30 a.m.  It is an odd crossing, there are many buildings and lots of signage which makes you think there is somewhere you are going to have to stop to talk to someone.  What you don’t realize is that all those buildings are actually on the US side.  The actual crossing to Mexico isn’t until you weave your way through that section - about another 10 minute drive.  AND there is a toll booth BEFORE you get to the actual border Customs station ($200 pesos or approx $14 Cdn).  Make sure you have pesos as that is all they take - welcome to Mexico 🇲🇽 😝 .  You need to pay really good attention to the signs both on the side/above the road as well as painted on the road itself (for example “RV lane”).  

The winding road and maze leaving the US and entering Mexico.  
Customs building (Aduana Nogales) is to the right in the street view image & near the blue arrow on the map 
*click on picture to enlarge

We made it to the Aduana Nogales (Nogales Customs) by 10:40 and by 10:45 we were on our way.  It was a very easy crossing.  Of course the customs agents all speak Spanish to you and we just look blindly at them trying to figure out what they are saying.  We hand them our passports and the agent asks Dan to open his driver side door.  Of course, you can’t see anything from that angle. The RV is on a Freightliner chassis so it sits very high up.  He only asked us where we were going and then came around to the side door of the RV and asked us to open it.  As soon as he saw Heffay though, his eyes widened and I could tell he was unsure and maybe even afraid.  He asked me in Spanish if Heffay would bite him (el muerde).  Dan was holding him back, and Heffay wasn’t growling or barking but the agent could tell how strong he was.  I could see he wanted to come up into the RV, but after we saw Heffay he changed his mind, backed down the stairs and told us to be on our way.  Not such a bad thing 😊 As we started to pull away a Marine came up to Dan’s window and started to speak in Spanish to us.  Of course, we couldn’t figure out what he was saying (and even if we could we always pretend we don’t 😉).  The Marine decided to just forget about whatever he was asking us about and waved us on.  We were happy we weren’t asked to unhook the truck and drive it through on it’s own.  There have been some people who have had to do that last year and this year.  Maybe that is what the Marine was trying to ask us to do, lol!  We were through the official checkpoints within five minutes and headed on our way to the Banjerito. 

Highway 15D
The buildings & huge parking lot where you get your FMM and TIP (left hand side)
*click to enlarge any picture

We arrived at the Banjerito at 11 a.m. but unfortunately for us, a tour bus made it there just before we arrived.  The line up for the Tourist Visa (FMM) took the longest as we waited for groups from the bus tour to get their FMM.  There was only one Mexican working in the FMM office making it a good hour and a half wait.  Thankfully, with the RV we have our house on wheels so while Dan kept our position in line I had time to go and make us a sandwich for lunch.  

After receiving our FMM and getting the full 180 days without issue, we headed to the Banjerito to get our Temporary Import Permit for the truck.  That was pretty quick as we came prepared with originals and copies of the truck insurance and Dan’s passport.  After paying $1276 pesos ($87Cdn) and $9261 pesos ($633 Cdn) for our FMM’s and TIP respectively, we were back on the road by 1:10 p.m. **Note to self for next time….remember to bring reading glasses when we go to get our FMM and TIP.  It’s getting harder and harder to read that fine print - lol!

Entering Santa Ana
I liked the sign “have a good trip”.  The trucker on the other side of the highway wasn’t having such a good trip though. Yikes! 😳 

Given how long it had taken us at the Banjerito, we knew we wouldn’t make it all the way to Guaymas so our destination for the evening stop became somewhere near Hermosillo.  I looked to the iOverlander app to see what options were available.  

Pemex south of Hermosillo
*Click any picture to enlarge

By shortly after 5 pm we stopped at a Pemex just outside of Hermosillo where we could fill up and spend the night in a gated secure compound for $50 pesos($3.40 Cdn)  But boy what a 🤬 show it was!  To get to the diesel truck pumps you had to drive around the back of a building where you would come out facing the highway.  The only problem was that the station was jam packed with big rigs, many of which were towing double trailers full of new cars.  And they were blocking the way behind the building.  When we finally made our way to the pumps, only two of the four were open and the trucks in front of us, those carrying the new vehicles, seemed to have stopped not only for fuel but also to have their engine washed…all while sitting at the pumps!  It had already been a long day, it was a scorching 38 ºC and our patience was waring thin.  We were stuck behind them, no way to back out or go around.  

After some time had passed and things still weren’t moving Dan asked me to get out and go see if the attendants could tell us what was going on.  About four men were standing on the other side of the pumps just chit chatting.  When I asked them how much longer it would take they motioned us to one of the “closed” pumps and opened it up for us.  I hate to think how long we’d have sat there….sheesh!  

After filling we made our way to the back fenced lot.  And, of course, as we were facing the highway to fuel the rig and there was a divide in the highway that couldn’t be crossed we had to pull out and then turn the wrong way into oncoming traffic to get back into the lot (see above picture).  We weren’t the only ones doing that.  And, it is Mexico so just about anything goes (so long as a cop doesn’t happen to see us tourists pulling Mexican driving stunts ha ha!). I think that station was just a really poor design, especially when it’s super busy!   

The overnight parking lot was great, clean, level and well lit with high fences surrounding it and of course an onsite security guard.  It also had a large dirt lot that was completely fenced in the very back and only had a couple trucks in it.  It was a great place to let Heffay off leash to run around, something he hadn’t had a chance to do since leaving our back yard at home.  Once we got set up for the evening we cracked open some Bailey’s to help settle our nerves.  Boy did that taste good!  We’re not drinkers by any stretch of the imagination, but sometimes a little can help take the edge off of a stressful day 😉. It also helped me feel a bit better as I still had a horrid head and chest cold.  I sounded like a walrus!  

It was a surprisingly quiet overnight.  No trucks running their engines or generators and no road noise either even though we were relatively close to the highway.  Even HoseHey seemed to have settled in and wasn’t crying (that is until 3 a.m. 😢). Poor guy really didn’t handle overnight stops very well.  All said, I’m not sure we’d stop there again unless we forfeited filling up and just went straight back into the lot. 

A rare sight, the boys lying together.  
I’m sure HeyZeus is trying to comfort HoseHey 💕 

It was on this evening that we decided on our next journey to/from Mexico we’ll extend the trip out a bit longer so we have more days of rest for us and for the animals.  On our way home we’ll try driving for two days and stopping for two nights.  That should reduce some of the mental and physical strain on us and our furry beasts. 

The next day the plan was to make our way to Los Mochis, following that we’d head to Mazatlan and then our last day of driving would get us to our final destination - Lo de Marcos. Thankfully we’d kept all our leftover pesos (approx $3500 p) from our trip home last spring. They’d come in handy and would cover almost all the tolls we’d hit to get to our final destination.  

Eloy, NV to Hermosillo, Sonora

Start Time - 8:15 a.m.

Temp at start - 16ºC (60ºF)
End Time - 5:15 p.m.

Total # tolls = 4

Total cost for tolls = 200 + 79 + 241 + 144 = $669 pesos ($46 Cdn)

Temp at end - 38ºC (101ºF) 🥵 

Total driven - 304 miles

Accommodation cost - $50 pesos ($3.40 Cdn)

Fuel - $3807 Pesos ($259 Cdn) - 41 gallons @ $24.56 pesos/liter ($1.69 Cdn/litre)

Day 8 - Vegas almost into Mexico

Just after 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday Oct 24 we left Sam’s Town KOA in Las Vegas to continue our journey south.  It was a cool morning for Vegas, temps only at 16 ºC (61ºF).  The day would take us around Phoenix with a final destination set for somewhere near or in Eloy, Arizona

The day was fairly uneventful until our GPS stopped working.  We were in the midst of rush hour traffic going around Phoenix when it happened.  Traffic was so busy we almost didn’t realize the GPS had conked out.  Thankfully I noticed just before we started to head right into the heart of Phoenix…gheesh!  It was a mystery to us what had happened. First we thought the power adapter had disconnected, but no.  Then we thought maybe the cord, but no, it turned on the GPS when we plugged it in directly (not through the magnet windshield mount).  It was then we realized it must be the magnetic windshield mount that the power cord plugs into.  That was a relief as we were initially worried the GPS itself may have died.  It would be well out of warranty and had cost a fair chunk of change when we bought it a few years  ago.  We’d have to wait until we got settled in Mexico to order a replacement mount through Amazon. Thankfully, we could continue using Google maps on the cellphone.

We made it to our destination of Eloy, AZ shortly after 5 pm.  After filling up with fuel we parked for the night in a large gravel lot on the backside of the huge TA Travel Center truck stop. It was nice and quiet with a gorgeous view of the sunset.

*Click on any picture to make it bigger

HeyZeus getting a quick walk before the sun sets and darkness falls

Amazing Arizona sunsets!

From our stop for the night we were only 120 miles (193 km) or roughly 1 hour 50 min from the Mariposa border crossing in Nogales, AZ.  This meant we needed to purchase our Mexican auto insurance for the RV and Truck as we’d be crossing the next day.  Because we purchased it last year and nothing had changed in terms of our vehicles, it was super easy.  Essentially the Lewis & Lewis site just let us renew the policy from last year.  All we had to do was select the new six month time frame we needed coverage for.  Surprisingly, within a month of purchasing the insurance online, Lewis & Lewis credited us back almost $400 on our Mastercard.  They did that last year as well.  I’m not sure the reason why, perhaps the online calculator is reviewed and adjusted by a person after the purchase is made. As expected, the price of the insurance had gone up a little from last year.  We also increased the liability to the maximum of $1 million which accounted for about $300 Cdn of the $475 total increase from the cost last year.  In total we paid approx $2250 Cdn for six months of insurance for both vehicles.  It’s pricey but thankfully we get a significant rebate from ICBC when we return to British Columbia that offsets this expense.

Some cuddle time with dad.  Heffay is getting SO big!  
He’s approx 120 lbs in this picture at just under  a year and a half old ❤️ 

We all had a very peaceful night’s sleep, far away from the highway traffic noise.  The next morning, we’d be crossing into Mexico!!

Las Vegas, NV to Eloy, AZ

Start Time - 10:20 a.m.

Temp at start - 16ºC (61ºF)
End Time - 5:10 p.m.

Total driven - 347.5 miles

Fuel - $237 US ($321 Cdn) 42.25 gallons @ $5.59/g US

Lewis & Lewis Mexican auto insurance for 6 months - $1649 for RV and $603 for Truck (in Cdn $ and after the rebate)

Day 5 - 7 Snowbirds in a Snowstorm!

 Sat Oct 22 through Mon Oct 24, 2022

Heffay sees snow for the first time.  “I like it mom!”

On Saturday morning we woke up to blustery conditions in Wells, Nevada.  We got a good nights rest, even though the winds were howling hard.  Wind warnings were in effect with gusts expected up to 75 km/hr.  With those conditions we decided to pull in our slides so as not to damage the awning toppers that cover them.  Thankfully our RV still has plenty of room inside  to move around and to sleep comfortably even with the slides in.  That has always been a requirement for us when buying RVs.  

Our overnight spot at the truck stop in Wells, NV

We started the morning off with a short walk for Heffay.  His reaction when I opened the door and he saw snow on the steps was priceless.  He was completely confused as he had never seen snow before.  Once he got outside, he absolutely loved it!  I can’t say I felt the same.  All I had was a light rain jacket over my sweatshirt and the wind seemed to whip right through it.  

HoseHey checking out the weather conditions.  “What the heck is this mom?”

We decided we’d stay put for another day while we waited for this storm to pass.  Conditions were not ideal with strong winds and temps hovering at the freezing point, snow and windchills close to the minus teens Celsius.  Having lived in winter climates before, we knew enough that those conditions were prime for black ice on the roads.  Something you never want to hit let alone while driving such a boxy vehicle down the road.  Many truckers in the truck stop we were at were staying put too so that tells you how bad it was.  

Brrr!

After making bacon and eggs for breakfast we decided to check the forecast again.  Temps were not going to rise much and the winds were going to continue.  That got us thinking about our water lines, our lithium batteries, our DEF fluid and our furnace. All those things were susceptible to the cold temps.  Water lines could freeze, our lithium batteries won’t take a charge below zero, the boxes of DEF fluid we bought could freeze rendering them useless and our furnace ran off the onboard propane which we had filled with butane last time we were in Mexico.  Mexico doesn’t have propane.  The difference being that butane’s boiling point is -2ºC meaning it will be difficult or impossible for it to produce gas vapour in cold temperatures.  Propane on the other hand has a boiling point of -42ºC meaning it will continue to vaporize and turn to gas in colder climates.  

With all this in mind, the idea of having a site where we could plug in sounded more appealing than boon docking in a parking lot.  Thankfully there are a couple of RV parks in Wells.  We decided to stay at Mountain Shadows RV park which was only five minutes from where we were parked.  It was also about $10 cheaper than the other RV park called Angel Lake RV park.  I got online and booked us a spot then we headed over.  It was the coldest I’ve been in a long time, but within a few minutes of set up we were plugged in and warming everything up.  Thankfully they had a site available that was big enough that we didn’t have to unhook the truck.  That was a bonus.  It was a low key day and I got the opportunity to take some cool shots of the snowy conditions on the surrounding mountains even though I froze my butt off getting them!

Our spot at Mountain Shadows RV park, Wells Nevada

View looking North from the park

View looking South from the park

Overall, it was a good stop but if we had to stay overnight again in Wells I think I’d check out the Angel Lake RV park.  I’m wondering if where we stayed at Mountain Shadows RV park was cheaper because they are right near the train tracks.  We heard train horns all night long which didn’t make for a very good nights rest.

Although temps were to stay cold into the coming days the wind warnings were removed the next morning which is when we headed out.  I couldn’t imagine staying there in that cold wind any longer than we absolutely had to.  Early Sunday Oct 23 we hit the road with cold temps but sunny skies and most importantly dry roads.  Oh, and as an extra bonus…I was officially SICK, ugh.  I had been feeling something coming on and sure enough, it hit full force Sunday morning, yippee!

Heffay, ready to hit the road 😊 

Pretty scenery with snow covered mountains as we drove out of Wells

By all accounts, the roads and the weather was looking good.  But, that didn’t last too long as we made our way south toward Ely, NV which is at a higher elevation.

Looking somewhat ominous up ahead…

I had a chance to take a few video clips as we progressed through this area.  At the top of the mountain when the conditions were the worst temps dropped to -2ºC (28ºF) and we were met with a mix of snow, sleet and rain.  It was definitely nail biting at times, but we made it safe and sound.  Here’s a short video clip to give you a sense of what it was like to drive through.  Let’s hope we never have to repeat that again!

Once through this stretch, we set course to get as close to Las Vegas as we could and gradually temperatures started to warm up.  By 4:30 we had made it to Loves Truck stop just north of Las Vegas.  We filled up our diesel and set out to find a quiet spot in the busy truck stop to overnight.  After moving the RV three different times and realizing it was not going to be a peaceful place to stop, we decided to head into Vegas to stay at the KOA we stayed at in the spring.  And, rather than just pushing on the next morning we decided we’d take a couple nights rest to recuperate and finish stocking up on dog food and food goods.   They had a spot available for us, but we were lucky as they were almost completely full! 

It was cooler than “normal” in Vegas with highs of only 18 ºC but, having been where we’d just been that felt wonderful.  I wasn’t about to complain one bit!

Our site for two nights at Sam’s Town KOA in Las Vegas

It was a good rest, although on Monday morning I realized our electric water heater wasn’t working.  Thankfully we were able to get a mobile RV tech to come and fix it that day.  Unfortunately though, our warranty had run out earlier this year and so the full $1200 Cdn bill hit us pretty hard.  Isn’t that always the way though?  Something expensive like that happens within months of the warranty running out.  On a positive note, by the time we left Vegas I had started to feel a bit better.  My ears were no longer plugged and my throat wasn’t as sore as it had been.  I’d keep crunching on the chewable vitamin C I picked up in Costco though, to hopefully keep it at bay.

On Tuesday we’d set out on the road again to continue our journey south.

Wells, NV to Las Vegas, NV

Start Time - 9:30 a.m.

Temp at start - 0ºC (32ºF)
End Time - 5:30 p.m.

Temp at end - 16ºC (60ºF)

Total driven - 348 miles

Accommodation cost - $42.81 Cdn for 1 night in Wells, NV + $199 for 2 nights in Las Vegas

Fuel - $250 US ($341 Cdn) - 44 gallons @ 5.67/gal

Miscellaneous - Repair water heater $1240 Cdn ($904 US)

Day 3 & 4 Crossing Oregon, into Idaho and Nevada

 Oct 20 & 21, 2022

After a night of virtually no sleep thanks to the trucker beside us running his engine all night and HoseHey howling his displeasure, we hit the road just before 9:30 with temps a comfortable 15ºC (60ºF).  This day our goal was to get close to Nampa, ID where we would make some stops to stock up on dog food and a few Costco items.  Overall it was an uneventful day where we just clocked miles and got within 45 minutes of Nampa, ID.

HeyZeus loves the RV!

It was on this day that we activated one of our day passes with Solis for unlimited 4G WiFi.  Although I’d bought a US SIM card for our phone that was capable of tethering, it only allowed speeds of 3G while tethered.  It’s crazy how fast we’ve come accustomed to 4G and 5G speeds.  Dropping down to 3G felt like being on dial up.  Thankfully I had 7 unlimited day passes left from the year prior.  Day passes are $9 US for 24 hours and they never run out. And, during certain times of the year like Black Friday and Christmas they often have deals that get you up to 40% off the day pass prices.  I’m not sure if I’d bother with a US SIM card next year.  Instead I think we’ll stick with the Solis day passes and keep my Mexican TelCel plan active which gives 2.5G of data and unlimited US, Canada and Mex calling for only $10/month.   

We stopped for the night at the picturesque Snake River View Rest Stop in Idaho at 5:30 p.m.  We were hopeful for a better sleep than the night before, even if this rest stop was very close to the highway.

Snake River View Rest Stop, ID

We managed to clock an impressive 317 miles.  Needless to say we were quite tired and ready for a good sleep.

Outside Yakima, WA to Snake River View Rest Stop, ID

Start Time - 9:25 a.m.

Temp at start - 15ºC (60ºF)
End Time - 5:35 p.m. (But we gained an hour due to a time change)

Temp at end - 23ºC (73ºF)

Total driven - 317 miles

Accommodation cost - $0

Fuel - $231 US ($319 Cdn) - 42 gallons @ 5.479/gal

Day 4, October 21, 2022

We got on the road at 9:00 a.m. with our first stop marked in Nampa, ID where there was a Costco conveniently located next to a box store mall that had a Petco where we could get Heffay’s Acana dog food.  Unfortunately, our Vet in Canada suspects Heffay has food allergies and so while we’ve been home we’d been working him through different kinds of food.  By the time we’d left I had him stable on a single ingredient lamb based formula made by Acana, a Canadian dog food producer.  Unfortunately, Petco’s in Mexico don’t carry it.  Thankfully, it is a common brand sold throughout the US. 

He’d been on this formula for just 3 weeks at the time we left Canada, so it was still unclear whether this would be the solution as it takes a good 3 weeks to see results.  It has been a stressful process.  Seeing him struggle with scratching himself raw, various scabs and sores and ear infections.  Being so late to get my blogs done, I can tell you as I write this now in mid November that the food seems to be working well.  No scratched open sores, but still scratching here and there.  Now I’m wondering if he’s got an environmental allergy, perhaps to grass?  Who knows.  But it is much better than it had been.

While in Costco we stocked up on bottled water and a few provisions including vitamin C as I had started to get a sore throat the night before.  I was surprised as many of their prices were similar if not more than in Canada so with the conversion it was much more expensive than in Cda.  

While in there, Dan stumbled upon a bag of 150 halloween size chocolate bars.  Just like a kid he looks at me with wide eyes and asks coyly “can we get this?” LOL!  The reason for the ask was because he knew we’d stocked up on chocolate bars before we left, to ensure we had a good variety while down here given the selection was limited last year.  Of course I said “yes dear” 😊  MAN!  I wish we had bought more than one bag. I hadn’t taken the time to read what the bag included, but of course in addition to some regular brands like M&M, Twix, Snickers it had American chocolate bars in it that we can’t get in Canada.  They were SO good!  Next year we’ll have to grab a couple bags to throw in the freezer.

Here’s a picture of the actual bag.  I had to laugh though, when I searched for an image on google this came up available to buy from Mercadolibre in Mexico for the low low price of $949 pesos or $65 Cdn! Yeah, that’s a hard no. 😲  

An interesting fact about Nampa and this part of Idaho, it has a unique smell.  Yep, you read right…the air smells well…like urine.  Dan first thought we had a leak of our Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) which is made from urea and water.  When a fellow RV’er in the Petco parking lot saw him walking around checking our rig and smelling the air he shared with him a bit of history from the area.  It wasn’t urea he was smelling, it was sugar beets.  Apparently in WWII there was a shortage of sugar and local farmers came together to make sugar out of sugar beets which have a very pungent smell when they are being processed. We had seen many trucks hauling these, and now we knew why.  I don’t think I could get used to that smell though, wow! 

We finished our very long day stopping in Wells Nevada at the Petro Travel Centre.  Winds were brutal, but we found a spot at the end of the parking lot away from other trucks and sheltered somewhat from the wind. It was a very nice stop with a fully paved lot and even a nice small dog park where Heffay met some fellow travellers from BC who too were headed for Lo de Marcos for the winter.  It was shaping up to be a nice quiet night, until we looked at the forecast.  Snowbirds are supposed to miss the snow right?  Well…not so for us unfortunately but more on that in my next post.

Snake River View Rest Stop, ID to Wells, NV

Start Time - 9:00 a.m.

Temp at start - 8ºC (47ºF)
End Time - 4:30 p.m. (We lost the hour we gained the day prior an hour)

Temp at end - 19ºC (66ºF)

Total driven - 392 miles

Accommodation cost - $0

Fuel - $300 US ($414 Cdn) - 55 gallons @ 5.45/gal