Back in U. S. of A.

Our journey for today. From San Carlos, MX to Amado, AZ.  288 miles. We left San Carlos at 7:00 and got to Amado around 2:30 - 7 1/2 hours. Not all of it spent driving.

 Before I start on the trip I wanted to share this with you. It is 1966 Dodge motorhome. It pulled into San Carlos yesterday. Mom, Dad and three kids. The bumper is a storage area. 

Last night we went out to dinner at this restaurant in San Carlos with our friends Joe and Carol. Very good meal. 

 Leaving this morning at 7:00. The sun hadn't been up very long. 

For the most part the road was good. Lots of construction going on. Lots of detours from one side of the highway to the other. Most of the transitions were really smooth. 

 But the two lanes are kind of narrow - no room for error. No shoulders either. 

 Back to the other side. 

 Many, many road paving machines. Some laying concrete some putting down asphalt. Lots of money being spent by the country on the highways. 

 The Palo Verdes were in bloom. Lots and lots of color along the highway. This is one part of the highway that still needs work. 

 By 8:30 we were starting to go through Hermosillo. It only took us till 9:00 to get to the to the other side of town. 

 The first toll booth of the day on the north side of Hermosillo. A total of three toll booths to the tune of 22 US dollars. 

 Hate driving through this smelly sticky stuff. Didn't last too long though. 

Just a look at the highway ahead. See the asphalt on the left lane. 

Getting closer to a military check point. Lots of trucks backed up and waiting. Glad we could go in a different lane. 

And here we are at the check point. Did we get stopped. Of course. Every year we do. And every year something different happens. We were waved over to the shelter on the right. See the 5th wheel there?

This time two young soldiers came in. They shined their flashlights into corners and opened cupboards and drawers. I don't think they knew what they were supposed to be looking for. I did hear them say that the coach was bonita - pretty. Why thank you. Then they spent quite a bit of time looking at all the souvenir hat pins we've collected. Finally their supervisor came in with some paperwork for Bill to fill out. And he hurried them out. We were only stopped for 10 minutes. Looking in front of us. Soldiers training.  

And the last Mexican check point. We actually didn't have to stop here. In fact we didn't even see anyone. But it is kind of a maze to go through. 

 Could they make this any narrower? Just about scraped the mirrors getting through. 

 Turning in our paperwork took a while. The Jeep was quick but this year we wanted to turn in the permit for the Alfa. It would expire before the end of the year. The problem was we only had the sticker that went on the window, not the paperwork. No idea what happened to it in the last ten years. So we had to go across the street so the clerk could look up the original paper work. No problem she printed out what we needed to take to the Aduana to get the final okay. Problem was - it was noon and the Aduana officer had gone to get something to eat. When he came back it only took a few minutes to get everything ready. Then we had to go back across the street get in the Alfa and make a U-turn across the highway and go back through the area where they take the paper work. We were there a little over an hour. But the actual paperwork only took a few minutes. Lunch took longer. 
And the last toll booth. 185 pesos - a little over 10 dollars. 

 Getting close to the US border. 

 We drove right up to the BUS lane. A couple of minutes later a border guard came over took our passports and took down the chain so we could pass through. In less than five minutes another guard came inside to check for plants and food. Within 15 minutes we were done and on our way. Fastest we've ever gotten through. 

On the way to the interstate we were held up because of a truck accident. Took about 10 minutes to get through the intersection. Then we stopped for diesel in Rio Rico at the Pilot. $2.09 a gallon. 
Then up the road to the RV park where for the first time ever we had made a reservation. We wanted a particular site at it has good 50 amp service, no trees and is a pull through. Oh they made a mistake it wouldn't be empty until tomorrow. They specifically told me when I called them the site would be empty today so we stayed one day longer in San Carlos. AARRGG! 
So we ended up in the RV park right next door. We'll be staying here at least until Monday.Then went out to a late lunch at the Cow Palace. 
Got to watch NASCAR qualifying - wish I hadn't. Kyle's car is a piece of crap. He will be starting 24th!
And that's it for today.