My Journey

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Thanks and yea I found those vendors to be quite a bit of fun.....



I woke up to see what would turn out to be my last sunrise and sunset of the salt waters of Mexico. The last morning didn't disappoint one bit.....





For the past several days I'd been dealing with anther flat tire on the Jeep, although this one was rather slow. But I decided to get an early start and have it repaired in Ensenada. I found a guy along Mex 1 that fixed it right away for $3. It had 2 holes and a nail which hadn't quite penetrated the tire.....



Now the plan for the day was a morning in Ensenada and then head north. Another cruise ship had docked and the city was full of tourists.....



Lots of beautiful boats docked at the port.....



After a cup of coffee and some nice walking, we returned to the camper to find this knucklehead parked illegally in front of me. It was just enough to keep from leaving, so we walked into town and hung out for a little longer.....



We returned an hour later and thankfully he was gone. Then we were back on Mex 1, but not for long as we exited onto Mex 3 towards Tecate and wine country. Our Turkish neighbors told us about a hot spring and waterfall along that road, so that was our destination for the night. The dirt road in was fairly challenging for the rig with 4 river crossings and one small, yet steep, incline.....



I spent more than an hour trying to dislodge this guy's Toyota from a large boulder that wedged it's way into his undercarriage.....



These guys insisted on trying to drag it (against my advice I'll add) across the boulder which was doing a bit of additional damage.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

I finally had to dislodge the Jeep for the final quarter mile of road, as it just got too rough to tow any longer.....



We were surprised once we got to the camping area at the number of people that were there. I guess everyone loves a waterfall and hot springs, plus it was a Friday night. Before the night was over the Jeep pulled 2 more vehicles out of the river crossings. Fortunately we found time to hike to the falls and soak in the hot springs. Neither was really all that nice but it was a nice change from the city. The waterfall was nearly dry.....



It was a picturesque 1.4 mile hike to the hot springs.....







While most of my experiences in Mexico in campgrounds were good, wild camping is always the best.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

In the morning I decided to drive the Jeep out to the point where the road wasn't so bad, then walk back to get the truck.....



At this point the mountains are not near so steep, the valleys are broad and mostly flat, so there's vineyards on both sides of the road.....





The plan was to start early, drive into Tecate and spend the day checking out the town, as I'd heard it was a nice place. But things changed rather quickly when I entered Tecate. I had just pulled up to a red light when I glanced out my window to witness a guy on the sidewalk kicking a dog so savagely I could hardly believe my eyes. It was totally unprovoked, the dog was as startled as I was. The dog flew across the walk, then the guy walked over and stomped on its hind quarters. The light turned green and I drove off. I've loved every aspect of Mexico except for the way animals are treated. It's been an almost daily challenge for me. I can't even count the number of dead dogs, mistreated dogs, and honestly, other animals as well. So, at that point I decided it was time to go. After an 80 minute wait at the border, we crossed into the U.S.A. I got searched and was nailed for bringing oranges, eggs, and soil (it's all over the truck & Jeep). I was let through with a mild warning less my oranges and eggs...





I wish I hadn't left under the circumstances that I did, I wasn't quite ready to go. I was thinking of returning to San Felipe on the Sea of Cortez but that'll have to wait now. We spent that night in California.....

 

[bigskypylot]

I would have lost it watching that guy beat that dog. Would probably have ended up in the local jail or prison lol

 

[Overdrive]

^x2. What a sad situation down there.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

The whole animal thing really sucked for me. It just seems like animals aren't given a fair shake in life there.....

Anyhow, we landed that first night in the Calexico/ El Centro/ Holtville area of Southern California and we've been here for 3 nights now. There's been several highlights to hanging out here so far. The first one was meeting up with Melanie, the woman who's daughter adopted Mex (the puppy that I rescued), and her family.....



I swung by the PETCO my first night in town and we agreed to meet at her mother's house the following day. I was kinda of surprised at how excited I was to see Mex again. But then again, obviously I enjoy dogs and I was with her for a month before giving her up.....



We met at grandma's house, so there were 3 generations of dog lovers there. I don't think that Mex could have landed in a better place. Grandma has a huge ceramic dog statue on her front porch, and I saw another one on her patio. Beteeen grandma, Melanie, and Melanie's daughter, they had 4 rescue dogs at the house. One was a one year old black Golden Retriever puppy that Mex absolutely loved and they played non stop.....



Mex's wounds have healed remarkably well and Melanie says that she has no physiological issues. But what struck me the most about Mex was how soft and silky her coat was. All I experienced with her was a rough coat that always was tainted with the faint smell of tar or oil.....



I couldn't tell if she remembered me or not, and really, it probably doesn't matter either way. That wasn't the best chapter of Mex's life I guess. But she's a beautiful pup.....it was hard to leave her.....



The other thing worth mentioning was heading out to Holtville, camping on BLM land, and relaxing at the hot springs.....



The area in the picture above is actually a cold water lake / oasis adjacent to the hot springs. The BLM has built a concrete pool with a fountain to contain the hot water. We met this guy from Ontario, Canada that has been coming here for 13 consecutive winters now, and he volunteers to keep the pool clean. That's a power washer in the trailer attached to his motorcycle and he'd just emptied the pool and cleaned it (again) prior to our arrival. I couldn't have been more pleased. It was fantastic.....



The hot shower.....well.....

 

[unkamonkey]

I was going to ask about Mex but you got that covered. Thanks.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Unkamonkey.....thanks.....Mex's life is an amazing story and unfortunately a rare one I think. Melanie said that her story was published in a PETCO newspaper of some sort but that it's only circulated with staff. The vet that treats her added her to his Facebook page. Maybe someday all this will matter......

Mexico was a fantastic country to visit and I'll be anxious to return. I'm thinking I'm ready to tackle the mainland on my next trip, and possibly further south. My truck is approaching 230,000 miles so that will be an issue for me. Right now I'm in Southern California and it's too hot for me to enjoy life in a camper so I'm driving north. I spent yesterday on Interstates 10 & 15, almost passing through L.A. I spent last night in the mountains where it was a bit cooler and today it's further north.....

I saw this in Mexico and saved it for later.....

 

[GregSplett]

I had a family from Mexico for neighbors for a few years.They were good people.They lost their house when the bubble collapsed.They had a german shepherd and a Chihuahua.They never let them in the house and were very frugal in feeding them.My wife runs a small dog grooming buisness out of our garage.When they lost the house we ended up with the two dogs.We kept the sheppard and found a home for the little one.You can still see signs that the german was ruled with a heavy hand six seven years later.

 

[unkamonkey]

It matters now Jerry. It makes you feel better and you should be able to get in any sort of heaven when it's your time. The choice of a heaven is up to you if you believe in that sort of stuff.
As long as there are real dogs there, I'll be happy.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Hey Greg I kinda laughed at the last part of your post as I would also have found "the little one" a new home.

Unkamonkey.....well I don't know about all the heaven stuff but if there is one I hope that I get put into a heaven that is dogs only.....

I'm continuing to make my way north. I've been needing to make a stop in a big city so yesterday I chose Las Vegas. I got my business done and was back on the road a few hours later.....



We made a few more stops as we drove up Interstate 15.....



With the help of iOverlander once again, we found ourselves a spot in the desert where we got some desert hiking in.....





Viewed some great evening skies.....







And settled down for the night.....

 

[bigskypylot]

Great photos, Jerry! All Dogs go to heaven. Not sure about cats lol

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Thanks Bigskypylot.....

Up quite early this morning as there's some fairly significant winds blowing the camper around but the good news is that I'm catching the nearly full moon setting in the mountains. What a beautiful sight.....

I started yesterday with another hike in the desert mountains. It seems like it's the right time of the year to pass through this area as the desert flowers are just beginning to bloom. For a guy like me, that rarely spends time in the desert, it's somewhat of a surprise to see how wonderful they are.....









Then it was more driving on Interstate 15 north. I passed through Nevada, then Arizona, and finally called it a day in southern Utah. We spent the evening / night in a Wildlife Management Area not too far off the interstate.....





It was perfect.....

 

[georgia5623]

great pictures, keep it up! Mex looks great and healthy! You should be proud of yourself!!

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Thanks.....



This will be my last post for awhile I guess. I've been on the road for 4 months, and 10 of the past 12 months, so I'm ready to rest again. We're all tired.....