I last left off on the 26th of December, when we left Guerrero Negro -
Our original plan was to stay another night in Mexico, but we decided instead to start heading north while it appeared that the weather would be favorable north of Las Vegas. It's just as well that we did, as the place that we were considering staying at in Santo Tomas was right next to an area where Mex 1 was under construction. So it was mud and muck everywhere after the rains of the prior week.
Speaking of mud, on our way north we saw a parade of vehicles covered in mud. And these were vehicles that clearly were not intended for off road driving. We didn't know what to make of that until we hit that stretch of construction near Santo Thomas. There was a huge mud hole of undetermined depth, and everyone was skirting it as far to the outside as possible. When that stuff splashed up on you it was like an instant chocolate coating.
Going through Ensenada was a completely different experience this time around. The first time there was heavy fog, so we had no real idea what was around us. This time it was bright and sunny. But it still was just another big city. Though the one thing we wish we could have gotten a picture of was three flatbed semis moving a huge fishing net along the waterfront. The net was strung across all three trucks in a line, so it was easily 150 feet long, with huge yellow floats that were at least a few feet in diameter.
We headed north toward Tecate on Mex 3, where we had encountered miles of road construction in November. All of that had since been completed, with the exception of one 2 mile long stretch. The interesting thing was that there were lots of small rock slides on the newly opened sections, due to the recent rains.
The rains were another part of the reason that we opted to try to get back to the States a day earlier than planned. The rains had caused a lot of mud and sand to wash over parts of the road, and at times it was pretty soft. And there was the chance that parts of our planned route north could be impassable.
But we got to Tecate easily enough, only to find that the traffic to get across the border was even worse than it was the last time. This time we idled for two hours and forty five minutes before we finally made it across. Once there, we couldn't find a place to park, so we drove up to Potrero County Park (where we stayed on the way south), unhitched and returned to the border.
 |
| The line to cross the border... |
The wind was howling pretty good at Potrero. So much so that we had to take our galley tables down, which was a first for us. But they died down before we turned in for the evening.
The weather looked as though it was good for a relaxed pace back to Boise, so we stopped to get restocked at the Aldi store in El Centro. From there we headed to Buckskin Mountain State Park. I forget what we paid, but it was pretty pricey (around $30). But at least they had a well stocked book and DVD exchange, so we were able to get resupplied with entertainment.
 |
| Buckskin Mountain State Park.. |
From there we headed to Lake Mead National Recreation Area, in order to avoid driving through most of Las Vegas. We had planned to camp at Valley of Fire State Park, but it seems we got there moments after the last site with power had been occupied. It was too cold to want to stay a night without some cabin heat, so we pressed on, jumping on the interstate and eventually stopping at the RV Park at Casablanca Casino in Mesquite, NV ($25, power, water, cable, wi-fi, heated bathrooms, hot showers). It was forecast to be significantly colder from this point forward, so on a remote freeway exit north of town we stopped, drained our freshwater and graywater tanks, and winterized everything. With our galley mostly out of commission, we would be dining out for the remainder of the drive to Boise.
 |
| Coral sandstone at Lake Mead... |
We stayed on the freeway the rest of the way. The next stop was the KOA at Beaver, UT. I think we paid around $33. But at least it had a laundry and a pool table, so we were able get our clothes washed and to entertain ourselves for a while. The low temperature at night was 14 degrees, but we managed to stay warm (just barely) with our ceramic heater and heated mattress pad. And we left the light on in our galley, to keep our food from freezing.
 |
| Beaver KOA. |
From there we drove the final 350 miles to Boise, where we ended our 17 months on the road the same way it began, with our friends Jim and Patti Stevenson. We have been at their house since we arrived, and will be for about another week. That has been a huge boon to us, saving us from having to scramble to find a place to stay in the midst of the worst snow accumulations that we've ever seen in Boise (the worst in over 30 years according to local news). Our van does well in the snow, but it is low enough that it can easily get stuck in snow as deep as it was here when we first arrived. Thankfully, Jim and Patti were able to take us where we needed to go, and to help us get unstuck the few times that we tried to venture out on our own.
It is good that we left Mexico when we did. Gasoline prices became deregulated at the beginning of the year, and gas prices in much of Baja jumped about 60 cents a gallon. That sparked protests in several towns, resulting in several parts of Mex 1 being closed to traffic. I suspect in the big cities deregulation is less of an issue, as we saw lots of new gas stations being constructed. But there is far less competition in the rural areas, which is probably what caused the prices to spike in places.
Alea's knee replacement surgery is scheduled for January 24th. The Friday before that we plan to move into the Bond Street Hotel and Extended Stay. We will be there at least a month. What we do after that will depend upon how well Alea's recovery is coming along.
It's sounding as though this surgery should be easier than when she had her first knee done. For one thing, she has one good knee now, whereas back then her "good" knee was pretty marginal. Plus she is in great physical condition from our activities of the past 17 months. Another is that they've changed the anesthesia, so she'll have use of the new knee sooner than last time. They've also come up with a cocktail of NSAIDs to replace the narcotic pain relievers they previously used. So she should have less problems with nausea and constipation. Thus, we are hoping that everything will go much more smoothly than last time.
She should get discharged from the hospital on the 25th, as it looks as though she'll have an early surgery on the 24th.
