Mexico RV Caravan Travel Day - Guachochi to Parral

On Tuesday, we did another driving day. We originally had two nights penciled in for Guachochi, but we're trying to get back on schedule due to the rain we had in Creel last week. However, if we do this trip again, we need to schedule more time at both Copper Canyon and Guachochi. There is a lot to see there, including another section of the canyon at Guachochi that not many people visit.

We set off at 9:00am, once again under clear blue skies.

We woke up to a nice sunrise...

A nice way to start the day.

The road out is a little rough!

We create quite a spectacle where ever we go. This part of Mexico isn't used to seeing a group of RV's, especially on some of the roads we travel. People stare, and wave. We even see people who pull over to take photos of us! Everyone is friendly and helpful.

It didn't take long to get some views.

Our route took us up to around 8,600'.

That's our road down there.

Hey, you're going the wrong way!

They were actually coming up to a switchback heading down the hill.

Quite a few apple orchards.

Speaking of apples, we had pulled into the little village of Baquiriachi in the middle of nowhere to take a short rest break. The area we stopped at was right in the middle of the village, and a few people came out to see us. An old beat up pickup truck pulled in, and an old fellow asked in very broken English where we were from. He then welcomed us to Mexico, with a big grin!

A couple of other ladies came over to speak to us as well. Again, they welcomed us to Mexico with big smiles. Then, the one lady mentioned that they grow a lot of apples here... and she says "oh, let me get you a bag"! She gave Roger and Mona a huge bag of apples that were shared among the group! She refused to take any money for them.

We pulled over for lunch at one point, and I usually walk around Sherman and look underneath before we take off again just to make sure everything is okay. This time, the left rear tire looked a little low. I felt inside to the inner tire on the same side, and it wad totally flat! All the weight was being supported by the outer tire. No idea how long it had been like that, and I did not notice any difference in driving.

Bob carries a big 120V compressor in their rig so we got it out and pumped up the tire. Sure enough, you could hear the hissing and I crawled underneath to see where it was coming from. There was small Y shaped cut in between the treads. Fortunately, I carry a plug kit and we had it quickly repaired.

Fixing Sherman's tire.

Hats for sale.

More scenery.

We pulled into the city of Parral (pop 110,000) at about 2:20pm, only a few minutes past our plan due to the tire problem. 

Parral is worth a visit, but there are no good RV parking options. We pulled into the baseball stadium parking lot, but it was in an industrial area and not very level. Good enough for a break though. Sue and Roy offered the use of their small class B van to go search out better options. I hopped in with Sue and the two of us left Roy and the rest of the group to wait for us.

One of the places we checked out was the Sams Club/Walmart complex. They have a big parking lot and it was half empty. But what a circus it was trying to get someone to approve us to be able to park there for a couple of nights. Eventually, they got the private security company to approve us, but only if we parked off in the corner during the day, but moved close to the overnight security guard's booth at around 11:00pm when all the shoppers were gone! Not convenient at all, so we didn't go there.

When Ruth and I were here five years ago, we stayed in the parking lot of an old Howard Johnson hotel. Sure enough, they allowed us to park here again. It's not ideal, but it will do so that we can visit the city.

We then went back to the group, and we had probably been gone an hour and a half. I'm sure they were starting to wonder what happened to us! We still had to stop at a big Soriana to do some stocking up, and the sun was setting as we pulled into the hotel parking lot. I don't like cutting things that close!

But, it all worked out. 

Today, we are off to see the city of Parral... another place in Mexico that not many people visit.

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