Not every day goes according to plan!

When we travel by motorhome, we think it's best to have a plan to arrive at your destination by 2:00pm. That way, there is lots of daylight hours left in case your plan doesn't go according to plan! And if everything does go well, you've got a few afternoon hours to just relax and enjoy yourself.

Well yesterday was one of those days that didn't go according to plan.

We had a few chores to take care of, so we didn't leave the RV park in Matehuala until 10:00am. That should have still got us to our destination by 2:30pm... so not bad. 

Our plan was to take the back road to San Luis Potosi instead of the busy main trucking highway. We did the back route with one of the RV caravans that we led, and it's a much quieter road. Of course it's much slower as well. Then we would take the southern bypass around the city itself, and then get back on the main highway until the turnoff to the town of Mineral De Pozos where we would spend the night so that we could explore the town first thing in the morning.

The drive started off great.

The village of Villa De Guadalupe has such a grand entrance for such a tiny place.

Do you see any traffic?

Igor was quite happy to toodle along at 80 km/h (50 mph).

Lots of Joshua trees.

Oh! Here comes a motorcycle!

Scenery along the way.

Just before the town of Charcas we had to stop for a train.

It was a long train, and I think the people ahead of us had been waiting a while.

The town of Charcas.

After Charcas the scenery is pretty.

We were already a bit behind schedule as we entered Ahualulco at 1:10pm.

But then things went downhill.

It took us 40 minutes to do 14 kms in the dust.

It seemed like it was never going to end. Dusty and bumpy... just crawling along. Then when we got onto the southern bypass in the big city of San Luis Potosi, traffic was quite heavy and it was slow going.

Traffic coming into San Luis Potosi.

And, we still hadn't had lunch yet! We pulled into a big gas station and found somewhere in the shade to take a break, have something to eat, and make a new plan. 

I found a spot just outside the city that was listed on the iOverlander app. Second choice was a hotel parking lot that has allowed vans to park overnight in their lot for free. Third choice was a secured Pemex on the main highway.

We always prefer and out of the way off the highway spot, so we went there first. There was an accident on the side road getting there that delayed us another half an hour! Then we got up to the turn off to head up to the dam where there is a small lake, and the road was in terrible condition. Almost to the point of needing a 4x4. 

I decided to walk in to see if it was worth it. And, I forgot my phone in the van, so couldn't even take a photo for you. It was okay, but really nothing special. And Igor could have done it, but it would have meant a half hour drive to do about one km!

Part of the road we had to do to get up there.

It got worse further on.

And, the sun was starting to go down. We had driven by the hotel parking option, and it didn't look ideal. But we had had enough, so sometimes you just have to bite the bullet. So we found a spot there, and went inside to ask if it was okay. The young guy behind the counter hesitated, and then shook his head and said "I don't think so...", but he was still humming and hawing. I managed to talk him into it, but I wouldn't recommend the place and will leave a pertinent review on iOverlander.

The first beer went down really well.

Ruth made a nice supper of pork chops, mashed potato and veggies.

We always play Yahtzee during dinner!

Early start this morning to get to Mineral De Pozos.

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Record low deal on the Furbo Pet Treat Dog Camera.

And in Canada...

Record low deal on the Apple Watch Series 9.