Crossed the border yesterday...

And we are now back in the United States.

We had a good night's sleep in the parking lot at Garcia Caverns and we headed out at 8:00am. We had to make our way around Monterrey, and we took the very expensive cuota (toll road) to do it. Cost was 196 pesos ($10 USD, $13.50 CAD) to do the 20 km (13 mile) stretch. But, the road was in great shape and not much traffic. Worth it to avoid the Monterrey traffic.

Visit to Garcia Caverns

Yesterday, we headed from Saltillo to Garcia Caverns. Just a short drive of 83 kms (52 miles), but it involved a bit of bad roads going through the town of Garcia.

Ruth and I had been to Garcia Caverns our very first winter RV'ing in Mexico. At the time, we had camped out for the night in the parking lot at the base of the caverns. We figured we would be fine doing the same thing with the group, and we were.

We don't splurge very often

Yesterday morning, we took the group to central Saltillo. It's not the most exciting city, but the central area is still worth a visit in our opinion.

Some of us walked both ways, about 3 kms (1.8 miles) each way, and others took Uber.

Getting close to the border

Yesterday was the longest drive of our four month trip. We did 375 kms (232 miles) yesterday. Normally, that would be a super long day of driving in Mexico, but the route between Zacatecas and Saltillo has long straight stretches of 4 lane highway, so you are able to do most of it at highway speeds.

We set out at 8:00am with slightly overcast skies...

Well, our Mexico RV Caravan trip is winding down

Yesterday was a relax day. We never left the Hotel/RV Park. Puttered around, checked the tire pressure... had a nap... that kind of thing. We had been in need of a relax day, especially since today is a long travel day.

We only have three more nights in Mexico!

Finally made it to the mask museum!

I think this is our fifth visit to the city of Zacatecas. After the first one or two, we learned about the Rafael Coronel Mask Museum. It's located in a beautiful old Monastery that was built in the 1500's.

But every time we have gone to visit it, it has been closed!

Back to the scene of the crime...

The day started off saying goodbye to Wendy. She's headed to the border a couple of days early because her fridge went out and we think it needs a new board. Also, she's flying back to Canada and wanted to give herself a few extra days in Texas.

La Quemada Ruins, and arrived at Zacatecas

We headed out of the Las Fuentes Water Park at around 8:00am. An early start considering it was less than a three hour drive to Zacatecas. But, we wanted to make a detour to show the group the interesting La Quemada ruins site a little bit south of Zacatecas.

Ruth and I had been here before... back in March of 2009, almost exactly ten years ago to the day!

Splishin' and a splashin'!

What a fun day we had yesterday!

We had stayed overnight Thursday night at the Parque Acuatico Las Fuentes (Water Park) in the middle of nowhere near Colotlan, Jalisco, Mexico. And we planned on staying overnight Friday night as well to give ourselves a full day of Friday fun at the water park.

Terrible roads and fantastic scenery!... photos updated!

We set off at 8:00am from Etzatlan.

We had to head through the outskirts of the big city of Guadalajara in order to take our exit road heading north to Zacatecas. This was going to be a new route for Ruth and I, and of course the rest of the group as well... normally we would take the Mex 54 highway heading north through Aguascalientes... but this time, we were happy to try something new for us.

One of Mexico's amazing natural wonders...

Yesterday, we did a day trip to Piedras Bola... the Stone Balls. It's a little known natural phenomenon that apparently has only happened in two other places in the world.

And it's not easy to get to!

And then there were six

Our Mexico RV Caravan is getting smaller as Brian and Kathy headed to the beach this morning. They live in British Columbia and decided to take the shorter (for them) west coast route out of Mexico.

So now we are only six rigs and 10 people!

Yet another fantastic day in Mexico

Yesterday morning at 9:00am we set out with our hiking partners Bob and Denise, with a goal of getting to the overlook behind the town of Etzatlan. Ruth and I have done this walk before, and it winds through the valley with a steady uphill gain on a quiet dirt road.

Once again, it was a beautiful day with clear blue skies. High 28C (82F), low 9C (48F).

And now we are seven...

Our group of eight RVs in this Mexico RV Caravan is now down to seven. Sadly, we said goodbye to Garth (http://wanderingwserenity.blogspot.com/ ) as his sister came up to join him to the trip down to Puerto Vallarta to visit family.

Also, he lives in California, so it makes sense for him to head up the west coast to California instead of up to Laredo and then through Texas.

Tequila!

We are close to the famous town by the name of Tequila... only about 40 kms (25 miles) away. But we've decided not to take the group there. Ruth and I have been before, and we found it a bit touristy, and with touristy prices to go along with it.

So instead, we found a local distillery in the next town. And what a great choice that was!