We did 320 kms (200 miles), part of it through the mountains where we climbed from 375 meters (1,230 ft) to 1,900 meters (6,200 ft). It was a bit slow going, but lots of nice mountain scenery.
Sherman performed flawlessy...we think he likes driving in the mountains.
No lines, and a few potholes.
Most of the time, the road was in not bad shape. But, you always have to be extra cautious in some sectiosn like in the pic above. Supposedly three lanes wide, but no lines and a lot of potholes. The key is to slow down and take it easy.
No passing?
As I said it was overcast, and heading towards the mountains you wouldn't have even known they were there except for a break in the clouds. In the pic above you can just barely make out one of the mountains behind the clouds.
Mountains.
Heading higher.
We made it to the top and a noticeably pleasant change in temperature. It had been really hot and muggy in Monterrey area and now we're in fresher feeling air. The temperature in the motorhome had dropped from 26C (79F) to 20C (68F). Nice!
Nice scenery near the top.
Goats!
We made it to the intersection of highway 57. This is the main north south route that goes from Nogales at the U.S. border all the way down to Mexico City. It's a busy trucking route, but we had no choice but to drive some of it to get to our destination.
Vehicles backed up for miles!
When we got to the intersection there was some kind of police inspection going on. Fortunately, it was mostly affecting traffic going in the opposite direction and where we entered the highway we weren't stopped at all. But that line of crawling traffic going the other way lasted for about 10 kms (6 miles)!
Entering the state of San Luis Potosi.
Trucking accident along the way.
We pulled in to our destination at the town of Matehuala at just before 2:00pm. Our goal is always to have a plan to arrive at 2:00pm at the latest so that if you have any problems along the way you've got some daylight hours left to fix them.
This is our third time in Matehuala. We were here in March of 2009, and November of 2010.
There are two "official" possibilities for RV parking here. One of them is a nice hotel, the Las Palmas Midway Inn. The other is not so nice...the Oasis. We've stayed at the Oasis both times previously, and we stayed there again. Despite the fact that it's run down, we pay only 150 pesos ($12.30 CAD) for the night with no hookups. And, she gave us a passcode for the internet coming from the owners house.
Sherman, parked up at the Oasis hotel. GPS 23.671682, -100.631090
We checked our old blog posts and the price hasn't changed...it's been 150 pesos since we were here six years ago. Having said that, I wouldn't pay any more than that.
We decided to go for a walk and see if any other RV'ers were in town and staying at Las Palmas.
You can't miss the Las Palmas..it's a big place.
GPS 23.66081, -100.63556
The RV parking at the Las Palmas is simply a big gravel parking lot. We didn't ask this time, but last time we were there they wanted 280 pesos ($23.00 CAD) per night.
There was one motorhome towing a car, with Quebec plates. We didn't see anybody around though.
They had a small Walmart store here just down the road from the Las Palmas. Turns out it's been renovated and expanded and now it's a big Walmart.
Now it's a Walmart SuperCenter. Still with a very small parking lot though.
Back at the Oasis. It's really gone downhill with no maintenance or upkeep at all.
The entrance has some height restrictions, but Sherman fits no problem.
Turns out that this hurricane Patricia was a non event for us. We had a rainy night, but no different than any other rainstorm. It seems to be pretty much finshed now, and we're going to head further south to the town of Guadalcázar, where Chris and Juan have stayed before. They said it's a friendly little town and they let RV'ers park around the central plaza. It's less than two hours from here, so just a short drive today!
Yesterday's drive, 320 kms (200 miles).
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Any plans to swing through Tequisquiapan, Tioga George's former haunt?
ReplyDeleteWe just drove around Tequisquiapan early this morning but we just don't have the time at the moment to go into town and explore it. We really love the area so we will be back in January or February so hopefully we can do it then.
DeleteGlad you are safe and sound! Happy trails!
ReplyDeleteThanks Karyn!
DeleteReally glad you didn't see any bad weather, seems the hurricane as a whole was much less damaging than predicted, thank goodness for all those on the coast.
ReplyDeleteYes, we were lucky to have missed it. It sounds like it wasn't as bad as they thought it would be but it still sounds like some areas took a pounding.
Deletelucky you that the storm was a non-event... hopefully uneventful travels are still ahead...
ReplyDeleteWell it seemed to be a non-event in our area but I think some areas still got hit hard, luckily it hit the coast in less populated areas.
DeleteNice that Patricia did not effect you. Looks like a nice secure place for the night.
ReplyDeleteWe got a bit of rain but that was it, thank goodness.
DeleteI am glad that you are fine. I was worried. In 2013 and twice in 2014 I was in Matehuala at the Las Palmas Hotel Campground. I paid all three times Peso 306 + 19 % tax = Peso 364. Then this was US-Dollar 28.30. I think that's too much even though you can use the pool.
ReplyDeleteYep, I was telling Kevin that I thought it would be quite a bit more than what it used to be. The only service we would have used would have been the dump station so I am happy to have just paid our 150 pesos for our dump of a place without a dump station.
DeleteHave you tried airport camping in México?
ReplyDeleteYes, sort of! I think only one or possibly two are even used. One was the first year in the Baja, the second was an old runway that wasn't used anymore in front of a military post on the coast at Maruata south of Manzanillo and the last time was just in January at the Copper Canyon, not sure that, that runway is ever used anymore either.
DeleteReally glad we found your blog. You are so interesting and informative. I have learned so much from you post. We are also newbies to the RV community. We bought our MH this past April and are really looking forward to putting some miles on it. I really want to travel to Mexico as well, just have to do a little convincing of my wife. I've read what you all have said about what others say about how unsafe it is to travel to Mexico and you are most assuredly talking about my family and friends. I tell them I have been studying and reading a lot about Mexico since buying our MH and I would feel perfectly safe driving down south. With or without their approval, we will soon be ready to travel south. I have learned so much from you and I will continue to follow your blog and learn as much as I can.
ReplyDeleteWe are both retired from the state of Texas and in our mid-fifties, so it is time for us to seek out new adventures. Thanks once again for updating your travels and giving the rest of us the courage to do new and adventurous things.
Darle and Pam.
Thanks for taking the time to leave us a comment. I sure hope that our blog can be an inspiration to you. If you what to convince your wife let her read our blog and see all the wonderful places we have been, the incredible people we have met and the delicious food we have eaten and then maybe she might be convinced. ;-) If you can find someone else to travel with for your first time it helps to make you feel more at ease, this is what we did. Keep on studying and reading up on blogs and people who have traveled here, it is the best way to get informed and be ready. Good luck to you both. If you have any questions that we may be able to answer don't hesitate to send us an email, which is located in the right hand column at the top.
DeleteUnfortunately, most people like to "beat feet" across the border and miss so much of beautiful northern Mexico for unreasonable or irrational fears. It's wonderful scenery filled with lots of small towns, friendly people with desert and mountain views. The road you took from our house to Linares over to Hwy 57 is just incredible.
ReplyDeleteWe agree with you Chris, there is so much to see in northern Mexico and we proved that in January of this year as well as on our way down this past week. We can't wait to so some more exploring in January and February in the San Luis Potosi area especially. You need to do the drive we did yesterday in the Sierra Gorda mountain area if you haven't already done it, it was spectacular!
DeleteI am so glad the hurricane didn't interfere with your travels. I enjoy your blog.
ReplyDeleteThank you Jan, we are happy it didn't interfere as well. :-)
DeleteThank you Dinah, I hope you will find us helpful. It is a fun lifestyle and the nice thing about it, is that you can tailor it to fit the way you want to live in it. :-)
ReplyDelete