Meet this year's Mexico RV Caravan group!

Woke up this morning to a spectacular sunrise. I went out to take a couple of photos, but they really don't do it justice.

We had some hot drinks and breakfast, but it wasn't long before we had to get to work. I replaced one of the roof air vent covers, and then there was a steady list of things I had to get done.

Also replaced the kitchen faucet, and one of the baggage door catches. Repaired one of the exhaust clamps. Emptied the holding tanks and filled the fresh water tank. Managed to get one side of Sherman cleaned of the build up of grime from sitting in the hot Texas sun for five months. Installed the new bike cover.

Sunrise in the RV Park.

I walked down to the main road to get a better view of the sunrise.

While I was doing my jobs, Ruth had her fair share of things to do as well. She washed the curtains and the front dash cover and deep cleaned all of the dash area and interior front windows. She was also busy cooking because we were doing a pot luck dinner after our happy hour meeting.

I went around and confirmed that everybody's radio was working properly. Then I also went around and took everybody's photo with their rig. On that note, why don't we introduce you to this year's group! 

Including us, we have seven returning people, and we have seven new people! A little different demographics this year in that we have more Americans than Canadians. Last year it was the other way around.

I'm going to introduce the people in the group in the order in which we are traveling. We put a fair bit of thought and logic into the group order, and when we travel, we travel in this order at all times.

Denise, Bob, and their pup Scarlett.

Bob, Denise, and Scarlett were with us on last year's trip. They are in the number 2 spot because they are the tallest rig. We have a flag on the back of our rig that is the exact height of their rig. This way, they can judge by the flag if they are too tall for where we are going. And of course if the tallest rig can make it, everybody behind them can make it too. They are driving Sunny, a 26' Itasca Sunstar.

Roy and Sue.

Roy and Sue were also with us last year and they put up with being in spot number eight for the entire trip. It's not necessarily a bad thing being in the last spot, but they deserve to be moved up to spot number three this season! They are from Ohio and they spend a lot of time traveling in their 2002 Roadtrek Class B Van.

Garth and his 2002 Trek motorhome.

Garth is a single traveler from California. He was also on last year's trip. He was in spot four last year so it only made sense to put him in spot four again this year! Garth is just an all round nice guy and we are so pleased that he is back with us again for this year's adventure. He keeps his own travel blog at Wandering with Serenity

There's not a huge benefit to being in the front four spots and it's only by coincidence that our returning travelers occupy those spots. If someone new had been taller, they would have occupied the number two spot. And sure, sometimes there is a benefit to being closer to the leaders so that you don't get lost, but nobody on any of our trips has ever got lost! Occasionally there is a benefit to someone arriving at a campground first and being able to choose a better site than the rest, but we actively monitor that so that everybody is treated fairly. But at most places that we stay, there is no benefit to arriving first.

Owenita and Aron.

Aron and Owenita are from Nova Scotia, Canada! We're totally happy to have a couple of eastern Canadians with us! They were actually referred to us by Paula and Jerry, long time Mexico RV friends who we have met up with quite a few times over the years. We've put Aron and Owenita in the number five spot because they have a more powerful 15 watt radio and being in the middle of the pack means they can relay messages to those further behind if we get separated.

Jim and his 1999 Minnie Winnie.

Jim is another single traveler. He's currently from Washington state and is a retired National Park ranger. One summer during his younger days, Jim led 18 rafting trips through the Grand Canyon! Jim's got a great sense of humor and we are confident that he's going to be a big asset to the trip.

Larry and Martha.

Larry and Martha are from Wisconsin. They're driving a 2005 Winnebago Aspect that they only bought this year. Larry is a retired physician, and Martha does a lot of knitting! Martha is also writing a blog for the trip, so it will be interesting for you to get her perspective on things. Make sure you check in at Winnie Wanders Away Larry and Martha have done a few long distance tandem cycling trips!

Roger and Mona with their 1997 Trek diesel.

Roger and Mona volunteered to bring up the rear. She has some Spanish skills, so that could come in handy in the last position. Roger is a retired electrical engineer, and Mona only just retired from her job as a parole officer. Mona is a long distance runner and has done the rim to rim Grand Canyon run!

And there you have it! We will be traveling with these people for the next four and a half months, so now you can place some names to some faces (and their rigs!).

We are hitting the road bright and early Sunday morning, headed for the city of Chihuahua, Mexico. Next blog post will be from there, providing everything happens as it is planned!

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