Through the mountains and on to our next stop!

The group really enjoyed our stay with Chris and Juan at Campestre Monte Sur. But, it was time to move on! So yesterday we headed out right on time with our 9:00am departure towards Matehuala.

The day started off overcast, and looking towards the mountain range that we had to cross, we could not see the tops of the mountains which were up in the clouds.

Which is too bad, because it's such a beautiful area. Hardly any RVs ever go up through this range because the general consensus is that you should stick to major roads and if there is a choice you should always take the toll roads. But, we are experienced in most routes, and we know which toll roads to take and which ones to avoid. Besides, toll roads in Mexico are very pricey.

So, we took the group on a scenic, but curvy road up into the mountains...

Here is our road looking towards the mountains.

Yep, it's definitely going to be cloudy up there!

The road takes us from about 1,400 ft at Montemorelos up through the Sierra Madre Oriental Mountain Range where the road tops out at about 5,800 ft.

Ruth and I have done this road 3 times before this.

Gorgeous scenery.

Some of our group behind us.

Guaranteed we are the first RV caravan to ever come through here!

Before we reached the town of Iturbide, we were in the clouds.

Yep, a twisty windy road!

Speed... 18 km/h (11 mph).

But, once we passed through the top... we saw blue sky on the other side!

The clouds are disappearing!

And all of a sudden it turned into a beautiful day!

Really pretty area.

Scenery along the way.

More scenery.

Stopped for a lunch break at 12:30pm.

Then, we had no choice but to get on the MEX 57 highway. This is a major 4 lane highway route between Mexico City and Monterrey so there is lots of trucking traffic. 

Parts of the highway are concrete, and when the concrete starts to go bad, they try and patch it with tarmac which just crumbles after time. So it's pretty rough in places, and we didn't enjoy the game of "dodge the pothole"!

Sometimes it's better to drive on the shoulder!

Lots of Joshua trees.

Hazy view towards the mountains where Real de Catorce is located.

We arrived at the Las Palmas Midway Inn and RV Park at about 2:15pm. It is always our goal to arrive at our destination before 2:00pm. This allows lots of daylight hours to fix any problems that might arise.

Normally when Ruth and I come though Matehuala, we stay across the road at the Oasis Hotel because it;s cheaper. But with a group, we have to stay at the Las Palmas. It's much nicer here anyhow... the Oasis is a little run down.

Current pricing here at the Las Palmas is 364 pesos ($18 USD, $24 CAD) per rig per night. 

Water, sewer, and 15 amp electric at each site.

And a nice clean washroom building with hot showers.

(These photos were taken this morning... it's a bit overcast!)

The hotel area.

Playground and swimming pool.

Today is a free day and I think we're all headed into el centro... the downtown area. Ruth and I also have to do some reseach on our day trip to Real de Catorce tomorrow.

Yesterday's drive, 270 kms (167 miles).

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