Sayulita, Mexican Pacific coast, Wednesday, 1st - 2nd September

Out first evening in Sayulita was the last evening for two members of the group and we went out for a farewell meal to say goodbye and happy travelling to Sigi and Lisa who are leaving us in Sayulita. After the meal we went to Don Parco's, a night club off the main square and probably just as well that none of my night photos other than of the meal came out other than black, out of focus smeary smudges. 

Farewell Sigi and Lisa and we all wish you happy and safe travelling.

 The restaurant in the cold light of the morning.

 The next day we had a free day to do as we wish. For some it was to catch up on laundry and for Steve it was to get his hair cut and he had some very specific requirements. Therefore Paola went as well to try to translate his specific request...her neck was on the line if it didn't work out well but alls well that ends well. Before and after shots.

 Plus one of Steve posing for the camera on the beach.

Steve, Paola and I hired a couple of parasols and spent the day on the beach. We watched as surfers rode the large waves coming in from the Pacific and as paddle boarders tried to stay upright. We were joined at different times by Gabi, David, Faye, Colin, Seb and Tracey.

 L to R Steve, Paola and David.

 Besides the surfers and the swimmers we were joined by some wildlife such as these pelicans. I tried so many times to get a shot of them diving into the sea to catch fish but never got a good shot.

We also got land based wildlife such as the inevitable pigeon patrolling the beach plus a more interesting local bird.

After spending all day on the beach even in the shade of a parasol with some swimming plus applying sun screen I am red in paces and I bet it will hurt in the morning!

Mexican border via Guaymas and Mazatlan to Sayulita Sunday 30th Aug to 1st Sept

We crossed the border from USA to Mexico early in the morning. Leaving USA was no problem but getting into Mexico was a slow process. Several guards came over and viewed the problem of processing a bus and sixteen people and walked away.

They were waiting for a sniffer dog so we hung around until the dog and handler arrived and proceeded to sniff the seats, the bags, the luggage etc. At last we were through but we also lost an hour with the changing the clocks to Mexican time.

 It was a long hot drive to Guaymas with temperatures reaching 39C with the scenery much like Arizona that we had just left. Where water was availavle for irrigation there was agriculture  but otherwise it was desert scrub.

 So a dip in the sea and a splash in the camp site pool were welcome.

It was another early start, made worse as progress was slow as the first 100kms plus was road works and diversions so another long drive day to get to Mazatlan. This is a popular resort on the Pacific coast but we arrived too late to do more than shop, cook supper and swim in the pool, pictured here in the morning.

Next morning it was a shorter drive day and things went well until Tepic but after that the road through the mountains to the  coast was full of bends and steep gradients. There was more rainfall here and scenery had changed again to green fields and woods. However the terrain was uneven so we took longer than expected but we got to Sayulita mid afternoon but still too hot to do anything other than to check out the beach and wander back through the plaza.

Saguaro National Park Saturday 29^th August

It had been a steamy night and several of us had slept without the fly and it was still a pleasant temperature at dawn.

We drove down the road and entered Saguaro National Park. There was a presentation by a ranger to tell us all about the cacti and thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining it was too. Then it was a drive through the saguaro forest and a short walk to take photos of the various cacti. It was too hot for anything more than a short walk.

A general view and some close ups of particular specimens.

We were warneed to watch out for wildlife, scorpions, the black ones are not poisonous but the straw coloured ones are deadly. Snakes with pointy ends are non poisonous but usually move away fast. The fatter ones are rattle snakes and  are slower and are more likely to stop if they can not escape fast enough and will then attack. The bite is painful and poisonous. Anti venom bite injections need to be administered quickly and are not always available....so look where you walk!

Some more general photos.

Next it was a drive down to Nogales on the USA – Mexican border to Patagonia State Park with its lake. Several of the girls went straight to the lake for a swim. The camp site is out of town but popular with tourists and locals especially as it was a long weekend. As it is located on the border so ideal for an early morning crossing tomorrow.

Flagstaff, Arizona, Friday 28th August

We were up early for a long drive day, up for a breakfast at 6am and we left the Grand Canyon National Park before 7am which musy have been an achievement in iaelf.. We drove across the plateau through a thinly forested area at an elevation of over 8,000 feet.

We drove straight through Flagstaff out towards Winslow. There is a meteor crater in the desert that wasn’t on our schedule. We are all scared of Zoe so I got the short straw to research the crater location, entry costs, opening times etc whilst in Vegas and I emailed her to add it to the schedule. It was put to the vote as a small detour and by a thin margin it got added to the schedule.

The crater is the largest in the world located between Flagstaff and Winslow. There is a slight rise out of the plain but when you get to the rim there is a 550 foot deep circular hole. It is about 10,000 years old and was originally 700 feet deep but sandstorms and rain are gradually filling it in. The museum is interestng and has a selection of exhibits such as the Apollo test module.

Panoramic picture of the crater, curtsey of David.

L to R Sigi, Paola, David and me.

The bottom of the crater.

The land surrounding the crater is just flat and featureless.

 A view of the side of the rim.

 The bottom of the crater.

We returned to Flagstaff so that the cook group could do some shopping and for all of us to look around the older part of the city. Whilst we were doing this Betsy was undergoing her Department of Transport certification similar to a British MOT. Seb had been working on her for several days and she passed so we could continue our trip.

We got back on the truck for the long drive down to Phoenix.

Long drive days can be monotonous but you make yourself as comfortable as possible, read a book, sleep or put your feet up.

For a bit of light relieve we played volleyball in the back of the bus with a beach ball, with Steve pictured holding the ball.

We got our first sight of giant cacti, Saguaro, silent g and only two syllables, growing wild in the desert at the side of the road.

Phoenix is a major centre and capital of the state. The roads were five lanes wide and we were driving during the Friday evening rush hour but the High Occupancy Vehicle or HOV lane reserved for vehicles with two or more people was virtually empty and we passed loads of traffic.

Our camp site was Lost Dutchman National Park, next to Lost Dutchman Goldmine plus several other gold mines. I would have loved to visit them but our schedule was already stretched to fit in the meteor crater and the next day we were due to visit another national park and camp at a camp ground boasting a lake in which to swim and considering the high temperatures, this was a greater priority than yet another hole in the ground.

The name comes from a story about a German immigrant, Jacob Waltz, Dutch being the English for Deutsch who was found dead in the desert with saddle bags full of gold suggesting that he had a mine somewhere in the Superstitious Mountains but had kept it's location a secret from everyone else. There are several variations of the story and several mining companies have sought to rediscover this rich gold mine but with various degrees of success.

There was a great sun set and a great moon rise although my camera didn’t do justice to the reality but Paola got some good photos.

 Whilst the sun set in the west, the moon was coming up behind the hill to the east.