Crossing the Border at Tecate

It’s a little nerve racking crossing the border in a car. We’re transporting a bunch of stuff in the back of the Jeep and all I can picture is having to unload the whole shebang at some kind of inspection. We proceed with caution. Nobody stops us, nobody looks at us, Mike doesn’t even put on the breaks. A few moments later we’re in Tecate, Mexico.

Aren’t we supposed to get a tourist visa? OK, yes. We park the Jeep on a side street and try to figure out how the tourist visa thing works. We end up walking back thru a one-way gate and follow the yellow brick road which is actually giant yellow arrows. We’re not in Kansas anymore and we’re defiantly not the first gringo’s wandering around trying to get a visa. We end up in the emigration office, no line, no one else there. The officer looks at our passport and has us fill out the usual form. It presently costs $ 23 USD for the visa. If you are traveling by plane this is included in your ticket. For those of us in a car (or on foot), we are directed to “the bank” next door to leave the money and get a receipt. The bank looks like a place to buy carnival tickets and does not look open. But sure enough here comes a pretty girl with pretty red lipstick. She takes our money and disappears. She eventually comes back with an official looking receipt, we go back to the emigration office, stamp, stamp, stamp and we are on our way. I’m pretty sure Tecate beer is named after the town and the town is not named after the beer.

What an idea! When we were traveling thru the desert in very far south California we could actually picture the Camel efforts once instituted by the US Army.  In 1856-7 The United States Army imported 68 camels and 10 drivers to transport supplies from Texas to California.  The transport system worked well west from Albuquerque on  Route 66. Of course there was no Route 66, but these guys were blazing the trail.  Unfortunately the army abandoned the experiment three years later because Congress laughed at them. The camels were sold to circuses and released on the desert. This sounds very rude to me. They roamed for the next 30 years. Hi Jolly the last of the camel drivers died in the desert near Quartzsite, Arizona in 1902. His tomb and memorial stand in Quartzsite beside 1-8.

The Desert View Tower and Boulder Park has a long history dating back to 1923. It was built as a monument to the pioneers who first traveled thru this area. It is now the last functioning roadside  attraction on the San Diego to Yuma corridor. The road itself has a long history. Mike and I love roadside attractions, and this one is on a very old road.

This is a picture of John and his dog Sneakers. He is the grandson of the present owner. Along with a few other folks, he runs the tower. He takes your $ 6.50 admission and will tell you a little about his family, the history of the tower and his favorite spots in the boulder field. The tower is an amazing little place; a museum, a holder of family secrets, gift shop and book store. The newly added circular room with fireplace (1950) features an enlarged photo of a very pretty woman with her hair in pigtails. This is John’s grandmother. He told me “she was one of the finest persons to ever walk the earth”. You gotta love a guy like him, really. After a tour of the tower

we moved on to the boulder field. At first I thought I was wasn’t going to like any transformation of the natural landscape, but in the end, I loved this folk art masterpiece created by Merle Ratcliff. He was an unemployed engineer in 1933 who sculpted all this crazy stuff, threw on a little paint and boom. I loved it.

I give Michael full credit for finding this place. We stayed at the Jucumba Hot Springs Spa and Resort. Jucumba Springs is a tiny town located on Old Highway 80. You need to exit at the In-Ko-Pah exit going up the hill from Ocitillo. We passed the Desert Tower and Boulder fields, then UFO guy who drives around in a golf cart with a flying saucer welded to the top, and then we followed the fence that separates the US from Mexico. This whole area falls in the “hard to describe territory”. By the time we rolled out of there 2 days later we had met half the town, spent an afternoon at the Desert Tower and boulder field, and had several “Shining” moments exploring the burnt ruins of the first hot springs hotel. We rinsed off the trail dust in the natural hot spring pool and tub and at times were the only guests. Our room was recently re-decorated, nice furniture, linens, all the trimmings, we had a private patio. This makes it sound kind of fancy but it was not. The outside gardens needed a little work, but there is a great restaurant and bar that pulls a small local and passing thru crowd in the evening. All very entertaining. A very comfortable place to spend a couple of days.

I’m not tired of the mountains, buzz cut mesas or lunar landscapes of New Mexico. However you may be sick of seeing my many photos snapped out the Jeep window. So to ease the tension I’m going to take you to Hatch, New Mexico. Something’s going on in Hatch that I can’t exactly put my finger on. You’ve heard of Hatch, New Mexico; that’s where all the great chilies are grown, dried, canned and made into amazing editables. Ten years ago when Mike, Matt and I were on our trailer trip we stopped in Hatch. I called the Hatch factory and asked when we could go on a tour. They about laughed me off the phone. No one gets to go on a tour. They don’t have them. So we entertained ourselves in other ways buying chili’s at the local shops and hanging chili rasta’s allover our trailer. Today Mike and I entertained ourselves with a photo safari. I think you will understand why I say something is going on in Hatch that I can’t exactly put my finger on. These pictures were taken within ½ mile radius.

And then on to Arizona

The mountains are beautiful as we clip down I-25. Denver –Colorado Springs – Pueblo – Walsenburg – Trinidad.  All interesting in their very own way. The scenery gets open and rustic and makes you happy that Colorado is your home.

I have never been to Walsenburg or Trinidad. Both seem to be towns that development forgot. Grand old red brick structures, and I don’t get the feeling anyone has spent millions revitalizing. Has anyone ever heard of the Ludlow Massacre? A Bloody moment in our history. In April of 1914 the Colorado National Guard joined by the Fuel and Iron Company Guards, attached a tent colony of striking coal miners and their families. In that particular massacre 24 persons were killed. The miners retaliated in the following days destroying mine property throughout the 40 miles between Walsenburg and Trinidad. The death toll was between 69 to 200. Ludlow is now a National Historic Landmark and ghost town.

Next we hit Raton Pass which is beautiful. There is a small one gas-station- town of Raton, New Mexico where we stop for gas and I get to take this great picture of the Mesas Vista Motel. Unfortunately the cool sign outlasted the not so cool hotel. It looked a little dusty but they do accept personal checks.

Onto the Santa Fe Trail. We see signs warning of crossing deer, bear, elk and antelope but we only see the antelope. Not to ignore the avian population we also see prairie falcons, ret tail hawks, vultures, and one big eagle sitting in a tree waiting for road kill.

As the mountains give way to Mesas we pass the Fire and Ice Ranch which seems to go on forever. I would like to drive around the Fire and Ice Ranch, it would take a while for anyone to find you in that wonderful wilderness.

I’m not sure where Michael stashes all this great history or where he acquired it, but our next lesson is The Battle of Glorieta Pass which was a decisive battle of the New Mexico Campaign in 1862 during the American Civil War. The Union army which was made up mostly of Colorado Volunteer Militia prevented the Confederate army from marching north to the Rockies and occupying the west by burning their supply wagons. The Battle of Glorieta Pass is marked right outside the city of Santa Fe at the Pecos National Historic Place.

Santa Fe has leaked out of its terra cotta pot and become an adobe sprawl. The lovely square, art galleries, and way hip restaurants are all accessible from 5 exits off the highway.

Albuquerque is a giant big sister, but for us it served as an easy off, easy on, hotel and dinner stop. No complaints.

The car is packed, I am in it. Michael is behind the wheel. We’re off on a road trip to the Mexican Baja.  The distance from Fort Collins to the San Jose del Cabo is around 2,200 miles. We have chosen to go directly south through Colorful Colorado, then into New Mexico, the land of enchantment. Arizona, and California. We will cross the boarder in Tecate. The Mexican Baja is separated into 2 states, Northern Sur and Southern Sur.

Driving affords curtail luxuries. Not having to plan every square inch of my suitcase is one of them. Wow, we can fill the whole Jeep! This was a great thought until our pile took on the proportions of Mt Everest and then grew into a living organism (like on the Sci-Fi channel). It transformed itself into boxes and bags that marched out the newly shoveled path to THE JEEP.  It was another square inch packing puzzle, same problem, different venue.

8:30 am and we are on the road.  So much for the 5 am theory. We left Matt in charge of the Fort and hit the highway. Colorado  is a colorful state. With the Rockies on the right we were treated to clear views of snow covered peaks. I never get sick of the Rockies, they are beautiful from every angle.

Franky’s Fare, Huahine

Franky turned out to be a dog. He had his butt parked on the patio ready to welcome us. We rented Franky’s Place for 8 days via Air B+B, this was my first actual experience renting via Air B+B and it could not have turned out any better in any way. Franky’s Place is owned by Smith and Jocelyn Lemaire. It’s people like them who are setting the bar for Air B+B. Great people, great house, great location. The house is traditional Tahitian, in a Tahitian neighborhood. Smith and Jocelyn have taken great pains to provide human comforts. The home is fully screened, with a well-appointed kitchen (meaning it really does have everything needed to cook and serve a nice meal), a hot and cold H2O beverage dispenser (a true luxury), a large clean bath with functioning hot water, comfortable living room with a TV for movies, upstairs bedroom with comfortable a bed and large open window to look at the stars.

The front porch looks out on to a beautiful kept lawn and garden. The variety of flowers, plants and fruit bearing trees is impressive. There is an outside shower situated among Smitty’s many injured surf boards turned landscaping.

And not to be left out; there are 2 functioning bicycles to cruise the short distance to town where there is one of the largest grocery stores in French Polynesia, banks, post office, shops, cafes, snack shops, roulettes and the fore mentioned Huahine Yacht Club. The public beach which is a short hop from the Yacht Club  also has killer views, white sand, turquoise water and plenty of room to spread your towel.

So all in all if you are looking to experience a genuine piece of Polynesia, sign up with Franky’s Huahine Fare. You won’t be disappointed. (Unless you’re looking for an expensive hermetically sealed environment with club sandwich room service, and a place where “nobody knows your name”.)

Arriving in Huahine, and the Hawaiki Nui Va’a Canoe Race, Society Islands

We bounced into Fare, Huahine in Smith Lemaire’s pick- up truck. Mike and I had just flown in from Raiatea and sure enough Smitty was at the airport looking for 2 gringo’s from the U.S. (As I’ve mentioned before we’re kind of hard to miss no matter what local accessories we’ve acquired.) Town was pretty crazy because the Hawaiki Nui Va’a canoe race was to launch in one day. Teams had gathered with their entourages from all over French Polynesia.

The annual event often draws teams from far reaches of the South Pacific but this year the weather was slated as unpredictable and the competition was stacking up between the closer- in islands. There were lots of professional teams in lots of fancy outrigger canoes. The local Huahine team who does not have a big name sponsor was described as an underdog and in the past has placed well. They became our favorite.

Back in the pick-up truck Smitty swings by the Huahine Yacht Club to see if his wife Jocelyn was there. She was holding down a table with her circle of friends, visitors, surfers, dancers and locals. (We fit the visitor’s category.) It didn’t take us long to discover Smith is a known surfer in these parts as well as Hawaii. Jocelyn an equally attractive counterpart from Canada/California/Hawaii. Proud of their island, home, and community they welcomed us.

After a Hinano at the Yacht Club we set out on foot into festival territory. The place was packed with team booths, vendors, sponsors and others taking advantage of the crowd and selling T-Shirts, fruit, ice cream, coco fresco, flowers, shell necklaces and walk away dinners. As my friend Gail would say; all kinds of shopping opportunities. The undercurrent of paddlers everywhere; gave the scene strength and the promise of excitement to come.

As it started to rain Smitty and Jocelyn quickly led us to a most excellent roulette where we sat on tiny plastic stools under a white tarp and dined on lime chicken and chow-mane. It was delicious. Following the feast we proceeded to Frankie’s Place.

I’m not going to pretend to know a lot about canoe races. I used to canoe on the Connecticut River with the girl scouts, I don’t think that counts in the racing category.  Mike and I had never seen an outrigger canoe until our honeymoon.  That’s when we got in and headed to the closest motu. In lesser marriages this may have led to divorce but we managed to turn around well before the motu and ask for a ride in the motor boat.

This past month we were fortunate to be visiting Huahine on  the first weekend of November where the first leg of the Hawaiki Nui Va’a 2015 outrigger canoe race begins it’s first leg. This race is deeply rooted in Polynesian culture and was the 24th consecutive year, pulling teams from all over the South Pacific.  It’s a 3 day race; Huahine to Raiatea-44.5 Kilometers, Raiatea to Tahaa – 26 K and Tahaa to Bora Bora 58.2 K. Most of the teams paddle a Matahina Va’a which is an all purpose outrigger for ocean crossings. Ocean crossing is the key word, this in not an easy race. We saw them “dash to the pass” at 60 strokes per minute then crash thru the waves in the cut. It was very exciting.

So now I’m back to the part I’m not claiming to be an expert but for those who are interested check this link out! Hawaiki Nui Va’a 2015

Final results: 1st overall: EDT, 2nd overall: Shell, 3rd overall: OPT (these are th post office guys)