Yes, fans, we are in the mountains, after all!

So, does this type color convey a change in the weather? Oh, yeah!

This would be the view from the parking lot by our unit, the morning after the cold front went through. Overcast, temps in the low 40's. Good day for us to do some laundry! I had the furnace on in the RV last nite, even tho we were in the timeshare. Don't need any frozen pipes. 

Now, we are in a winter wonderland! Fortunately, the ground is above freezing, so it's melting off the roads as it falls. However, Flagstaff got more than a foot of snow, and that's where we are headed on Sunday! Hope they have it cleared before we get there...

Just before the end of the day, we got a peek of the sun. Ya can't get any better than this!

into the Vortex at Sedona

Sedona is one of the most beautiful natural cathedrals in the world. The whole area is one grand vista after another. Takes my breath away every time I come.

The combination of natural erosion and the red sandstone creates grandeur matched only by the trees and cacti who make this their home.

Forgive me if I overwhelm you with pictures, I just can't help myself!

Really, I am only posting one tenth of the ones I took!

 Nancy takes a minute to check out the local flora.

The Indians, and their cousins in Mexico, harvest this prickly pear, scrape off the spines, and cook it. Here in Sedona, you can order "prickly pear fries" instead of french fries! We had the pleasure of visiting with one of our guests from the Baja 36 day Fantasy RV Tour we just finished, they had reserved a week at the same timeshare where we were staying.

Not too shabby, eh? Just below the BBQ area, there is a pool and hot tub. FYI, this is Sedona Summit. Nice. So, after 4 days of this beautiful weather, 70's, mostly sunny, great hiking weather, along comes a cold front. Check my next post!

Back in the saddle again...

Back in one of our favorite places in the whole world... San Clemente! We lived here for 15 years or so, and always enjoy a return visit. Nancy has a dear friend here, and we have LOTS of favorite restaurants to go to... one of those is on the pier. This time, we got to double our fun because Travelin' Fran of Canadian Maritimes fame came over from Jojoba Hills to join us!

The restaurant is on the far right, at the beginning of the pier. It was warm enough to sit outside, and we had a leisurely late lunch. Bliss.

After a great week, we packed it up, and were ready to head for a timeshare we'd reserved in Sedona, AZ. Oops! Started to pull in the livingroom slide, and guess what? The cable broke. We tried to push it in, but now it's jammed, and sticks out about 6". Fortunately, I can still see around the edge in the mirror. Called our trusty service dep't at Byerly's RV in Eureka, MO, and had them order a cable. Guess we'll be driving 1850 miles with a slide out!!!!

To Tecate, and back into the USA!

Off we drove, leaving Ensenada behind, ripping thru the mud puddles in town and back to Mex 1 North. We turned off north of town on Mex 3 toward Tecate. We drove through the Guadalupe Valley, prime wine country, and past half a dozen wineries. Sadly, we didn't stop...boo hoo. Had to run for the border! We arrived about noon, and after waiting in line for about 45 minutes, we finally made it to the front. The border guys took our honeycomb cactus driftwood, because there is now a treaty between the US and Mexico declaring this variety endangered. Too bad, it looks cool, and we couldn't figure out why keeping a dried piece of driftwood would endanger the live Cholla cactus plants...

Here's what the live ones look like:

Also took an apple, which still had the sticker on it from the US grocery store. Go figure. Didn't look for drugs, guns, or illegals. Our money well spent, eh? But, we didn't care! We're back in the US of A, and happy to be here. Tonight, a welcome home steak dinner at Pinnacle Peak's, then we're done! Whoopee! It was a great trip, many new friends, and we'd love to do it again next year!

What now? a week on the beach in San Clemente, then a week in a timeshare in Sedona. After that, who knows? We'll keep you posted!

Vincente Guerrero, then on to Ensenada

The Posada Don Diego RV Park is in Vincente Guerrero, about 20 KM north of San Quintin, on the Pacific Ocean side of Baja. Nice sized campsites, quiet, with water and electric. Sewer is iffy. Great restaurant. Owned by an interesting lady who is an American expatriate of 30 years. We had a long drive from Bahia De Los Angeles, took nearly 8 hours, so all were ready to relax and unwind over a cervesa. 

Tomorrow, back to Estero Beach, Ensenada. We stayed here on our way down, and it's a nice quiet spot on the Ensenada Bay, secure, with full hookups. Hooray! Everyone gets a shower! 

Had our goodbye to Mexico dinner here, Margaritas for all. We've eaten a bazillion fish tacos, tried lots of cervesa, and had lots of beach time. But, before we go, we have a tour of Ensenada. First, we found a wash crew to clean our filthy rigs, covered with dust from our drive. Nancy and I negotiated a wash and wax of the Montaj and the car, both for $350. That's pesos, guys, so about $28. While they washed, we toured. First, to the Convention Center. This was originally a casino, from the '30s. Beautiful. Abandoned for years in the 60's, it is now restored.

On the way to the casino, we pass Ensenada's Mexican flag, which is on a 250' pole. The flag measures 25 meters by 50 meters!

The ceilings of the casino were painted by an artist called Martinez, who is nicknamed the Michelangelo of Ensenada, as he painted for 18 months on his back.

The building was full of beautiful woodwork and tile work. It is now used for festivals, meetings, and Quinceanera parties. Next, on to downtown where we spent some time doing our last minute shopping...

Then we stopped by the panaderia for some more sweet breads, and headed for La Bufadora. That's a blow hole where the wave action and tide action causes a spout of water spray to go high in the air. Interesting, but it was a chilly day and we were glad to get into the restaurant there for a hot meal.

By the time we returned to Estero Beach RV Park, it was raining and blowing. This is the same storm that is going thru the midwest right now (Feb 23) and it was a cold wet blow that raised whitecaps on the bay. At sunset, it looked like it was going to clear up.

But, we were premature thinking it was gonna clear up the next day. In this case, red sky at night was not a precursor to a sunny day tomorrow. We had heavy rain all night, and the wind rocked the coach. By dawn, the rain had stopped but the streets were muddy and our wash job was wasted. 

Bahia de Los Angeles

This is the part of traveling in Baja that I like the best. Here we are, on the beach. No phone service, no electricity, no water or sewer. Just us and the beach. We walked down the beach to dinner at a local restaurant. Lobster. Delicious! Met an American expatriate who's lived and prospected here for 30 years, and bought his book. He's in his 90's, but sharp, and a real character! Here he is, autographing his book for Michel.

Some of our group went out a jeep trail to Mission Borja. The road was so rough it took over 3 hours to go 20 miles! We had to turn back before getting there, as we were preparing quesadillas for dinner, but those who went loved it.

Guerrero Negro, and Grey Whales!

This visit is the highlight of the trip, at least for most of us. Back to our cramped campground in Guerrero Negro, for two days. The first morning, we have a date with a panga to go visit the whales! Seeing whales at a distance, as one does in Dana Point, is a totally different deal than this! Here in a huge shallow lagoon, there are more than a thousand grey whales. They swim here every winter to mate, and to give birth to their calves. The mommies bring their weeks old babies right up to the boats, and introduce them to humans. It's amazing. Virtually everyone on our tour got the opportunity to touch a baby whale!

This has to be on your "bucket list", if u don't believe me, ask anyone who's done it!
Next day, we took a tour of the government run salt mine operation. They produce 5% of the world's salt, and much of the road salt used in the US is mined here... you can thank Baja for the rust on your car!

The orange Dart carrier you see here carries 120 tons of salt in each of three carts. They have 6 Darts running back and forth from the salt fields to the refining plant, so one comes to unload about every 5 minutes with another 360 tons of salt! Had dinner at the Malarrimo Hotel adjoining the campground. Next, dry camping on the beach at Bahia de Los Angeles!