Saturday - 3/16/02

We leave at 1pm as Colin had some school work to complete in the morning. Through occasional flurries and strong cross winds the trailer tracks fine all the way up to 75 - but 65-70 feels more relaxing. The new front hold down strap keeps coming loose but Colin comes up with a great idea using bungees and the problem is fixed for the duration of the trip. We arrive in Moab, Utah at about 5pm and decide to call it quits as we aren't in a hurry, rooms are plentiful and cheap here and there are many fun restaurants to choose from.

Sunday - 3/17/02

We depart Moab at 7am as a snowstorm is predicted throughout the area by sundown. We decide to outrun the storm and all day long it was right out the passenger side window trying to push through. Flagstaff looks like it may be hit, so we press on into the desert all the way to Tuscon as we got to phoenix at 1pm and seemed silly to stop just there.

We spent Sunday and Monday night at a Comfort Suites in Tuscon hooking up with my parents who are joining us down in Mexico. dining award goes to PF Chang's and two big thumbs down to Mimi's Cafe, two upscale franchise eateries we samped while in Tuscon.

We could have gone for Mexico on Monday - but this was all virgin territory towing boats and schlepping grandparents - so we padded the trip down with an extra day just in case.

Tuesday - 3/19/02

We departed Tuscon at 8am and hit the Nogales border on a nice quiet morning by 9:30. I don't know for sure what we were supposed to do there as were waved through the 2 confusing checkpoints.

When we got to KM21 - it is clear that a stop is in order. But like I say it was very sleepy. No lines or anything - so the photo schematic I found on some other site came in handy to find the immigration office first, then head to the importation office for the vehicles and finally on to inspection before being admitted. The charge total was $25 per person which we paid at the bank in San Carlos the next day. The border situation was very disorienting perhaps because we were virtually the only people there. Can't imagine what the Visa process would be like if there was a lot of people. A very small room with 2 very slow clerks. With special Sonora Only sticker affixed officaly to the windshield by our inspector we were through the crossing !

While wending our way through the KM21 process we saw a couple who had a Mac26 parked in the inspection area. We met Bob Ahlers of Albany, NY in the Migracion cue. They were headed to San Carlos and for two months on the SOC - Bravo!

The drive to San Carlos is uneventful with the road allowing 60 mph travel and only a couple of short stretches that were like bad ones in the US. The trucks are ferocious though and we gave them all forms of right-of-way. Total milage is almost exactly 250 miles from the border to downtown SC. The route through Hermisillo is well marked. We hear there is a Costco and Sams Club side by side there and will go there next time on the way down forgoing provisioning in the US. There is also "the worlds largest Walmart in Ciudad Obregon which is a pleasant drive from Guaymas. We got huge steaks and cheap tamales there !

A good concrete ramp at San Carlos Marina. And you can have it any way you want it - drive your own, we did - have a tractor put you in, which is not a bad idea - and for big ones, a crane. the nice thing about having a shallow draft is it was possible to launch or retireve in low or high tide. you can see the keel boat that will have to wait till evening when the tide is high. When you drive your own, there is a plethora of boat line handlers and folks with hoses eager to wash off the trailer and vehicle. We tipped them gratefully for the wonderful service. Make sure you buy your in and out ticket for the ramp at the Marina oficina - immediately to the right of this picture - before setting up for launching. Some times you wait in the oficina as the papers get filled out !

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