This being our first Spring it has been a treat watching the variety of plant blooms. They seem long lived and attract birds (hummingbirds) and the bees.
The giant saguaro off our back porch is putting out flowers on both limbs and central trunk.
Mexican Palo Verde with bright yellow blooms. Tip of an Ocotillo. These plants look dead late in the year but bloom dark green leaves directly from their branches (hiding their thorns) and put out a cluster of red trumpet flowers..the hummingbirds love them. Brucito spotted this critter searching for a way out. Gila Monster....many tell us we were lucky to see this venomous lizard. Woolly seeds from blooming creosote bush Cape Honeysuckle came back to life to attract the hummingbirds.
The last two visitors of the season were two of my little sister's children: Sean and Ethan, who came out at separate times. Sean, 19 y/o, was a blast with his college-learned political innocence and highly creative non-fiction story telling. We took him to Colossal Caves, the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum and a 2 mile desert hike. For those who know Sean, hiking is something he does not usually request but with the accessibility (out our back door) he was game. The highlight for Sean was taking him to Tucson Studios. Sean is a film buff and seeing where the old westerns were made was a treat. We enjoyed it immensely.
Bruce and Sean awaiting the "Can-Can Girls" at Tucson Studios. Sean with local Western Actors.
A week later his earthy, philosophical and musical brother Ethan (16 y/o) comes out. Lucky for me Ethan wanted to earn some dough and doesn't mind doing manual labor (I think it's the Mexican in him). He and I laid out a modified "flagstone patio"...we call it a "Patty-io" which turned out better than I imagined. He became familiar with a caliche bar (a 25# iron bar used to break up tightly compacted rock and buried calcium carbonate layers) and helped plant some low-water plants, move rocks, hauled dirt and gravel. He also entertained us with performing a couple of balladeer songs at "open mic night" at the Sky Bar on 4th Ave (every town has one).
Ethan poses with rare Crested Saguaro on McCain Loop.
They both seemed to enjoy the house with it's charm and the uniqueness of Tucson. Bruce and I agreed to make this an annual visit for both of them.
Before and after of back patio.
Meanwhile, the rehab work continues. I've been landscaping the north and east side in addition to my hand at veggie gardening. I've spent hours learning all about xeriscaping: choice of plants, water/rain harvesting needs, sun, soil quality, etc.....and days doing the prep and planting...all fun work.
Veggie garden on east side, beets and carrots should be ready for harvest early May. North side of house looking east...lots of dirt moving and rock work. Bruce took on a major project of installing an evaporative cooler in prep for the summer.....he was quoted 2400USDs by a local air conditioning business but could not fathom paying that amount when the unit cost on 800 USDs. While Ethan (someone with muscles) was here he bought the unit and had Ethan help him with put it on the roof. He then requested a quote for the ducting (evaporative cooler to be hooked into the heat pump ducting) and was given a price of 375USDs by a small business minded Mexicans but he felt he could do it cheaper....and yes he could..he's saving 150 bucks.....but after 5 days of work (hard work)..he reluctantly admits.."I should have hired the Mexicans". For me, it would be a no brainer...I would like an 18" deep hole dug (4x8 ft) on the west side (sun-beaten side) in rocky hard and sandy loam.....$50 USDs will get the job done by an expert Mexican and I'd gladly pay! But then again, there is nothing more satisfying than giving yourself a challenge (if you have the time) and accomplishing something you wouldn't normally do. So kudos to you Brucie! Your determination to "do-it-yourself" amazes me.
Bruce bought a 4x8ft thick gauged sheet of galvanized metal, a strip of flashing and ordered these specialized vents online, cut it with a jig saw and modified this connecting duct work for our newly purchased swamp cooler.
We've had several visitors out since the end January: my sister from Boulder, CO; the Gildenhar's from Tacoma, WA, Bruce's Mom and Steppin Daddy from Cedar Hill, TX and a nephew from Cape Coral, Florida. It's been a lot of fun visiting with our friends and family and sharing our desert home. We've gone to all local tourist attractions, sometimes more than once: Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum (being our #1), the Tucson Botanical Gardens, Tohono Chul Park, San Xavier del Bac, and the International Wildlife Museum...the first and last ones being within a 5 miles from our home.
My sister gave me her expensive old mountain and road bikes so I can enjoy the more physical activities (other than tennis) that Tucson is suited for. She's exposed me to another sport I'm thoroughly enjoying: road cycling. Our first time out was 14 miles, our second was an advanced 30 miler and I have since ridden this path every Friday and shortened the path time. There's something about being on the road that makes your body feel good and your mind clear. Bruce even bought a road bike to join me. Just out our door we have easy access to some of the best road biking on the edge of Tucson.
The desert gardening is still in progress as we've planted a blood and navel orange tree, the pomagranate tree is doing well and we've added a fig and avocado tree as well as started some container gardening. I have not had to water much as the rain seems to come once every 5 -8 days at this time. I'm learning more about xeriscaping, plants, propagation, soil and planting in the desert as I try to spruce up the landscape....keeping in mind to make things low maintenance.....minimal effort, maximum results. The only thing we've been able to harvest is the cilantro for our guacamole....more to come in April..I hope.
Our twiggy pomagranate behind the blood orange and WA navel to the right....in their infant stage.
Now that the house is livable that's exactly what we've been doing...living. Not working so hard and enjoying the Sonoran Desert and Tucson. We've hiked the trail out our back door that takes us to spectacular views throughout Tucson Mountain Park. We also found that we're 10 minutes from central downtown and 15 minutes from a strip of local restaurants and shops near the university. Plus, one of the best places to buy produce is in a Mexican influenced area minutes away and a small farmers market nearby. Over the past week some wet and windy weather has moved in and we've been deluged with rain....a treat in the desert. Our rain barrels fill rapidly and we were glad to see that there is no standing water in the atrium. I've spent the last two weeks repaving and improving the atrium and it's beginning to look like a restaurant......I guess I'll add the tiki torches and Bruce can serenade our visitors with his guitar. We bought a couple of bird feeders and I started an herb garden on the east side. This is in addition to the wine barrel halves we bought to try my hand at vegetable gardening. Next, adding some desert plants to our east and NW side (xeriscaping) to attract more birds....fortunately after they're planted it will be low maintenance. Chasing the javalina from our yard...these guys are brave and pesky.
Our first visitor of 2010 was my long lost friend Shannon. She came out for 5 days....during the time of the rain. At night the wind howled so strongly it caused the windows to whistle....she slept right through it. The wind force and angle blew rain into our master bedroom window driving rain inside pouring on the floor....this window and the wall under it will be removed to make way for a french door to a balcony facing west to the Mountain Park. Snow on the Catalina Mountains after the rain clouds moved through.
We've continued to buy our furniture and tools on Craigslist and have had great success as long as we're patient. There are very few things we buy new..including clothing. This town is loaded with consignment and resale stores. The house is now well set and we're both equally content and found its a lot of fun starting over....especially with a project like this.
The last bit of exterior painting.
Preparing to animal proof the ramada in the chicken coop.
Below is a daily average cost for our trip. Gas was VERY high in Canada(never under $5/gallon and as high as $6.40 is the Yukon) and somewhat high in Alaska(around $4). Gas has since come down. Also the ferries were pretty expensive in Canada so I have broke out the average without including the ferries. Gas in Mexico is controlled by the state so it really didn't change during the speculator-induced $140 a barrel oil fiasco(IMO).
Also we van-camped in Canada and Alaska 90% of the time and that cost very little. In Mexico we stayed in hotels 99% of the time( it's so cheap).
The average daily costs below include everything, ie. food, lodging, gas and entertainment but do not include the medical costs for my rotator cuff problema ( which was super cheap).
Alaska and Canada: 50 days $168.52/day or $115.00 w/o ferries
In a nutshell it's not really that tough. We actually find it interesting and challenging. We had read all of the horror stories on the internet and heard from friends and family about the dangers of driving through Mexico but when we actually did it were pleasantly surprised. Actually expecting the worse probably helped us ease into trip. One of the stressful parts of driving in Mexico is our own fault...having a tall, low ground-clearanced, full-sized camper van. Mexican city streets are narrow...especially the interior, colonial cities. We literally had to pull in the outside mirrors to squeeze through narrow streets in Guanajuato. Mexicans double park as a matter of routine and our wide van can seem like it won't fit but always does. I love the van but if I had it to do over again I would have brought a smaller vehicle since we most always stay in Mexican hotels which are very reasonable. But, if the Mexican bus drivers can maneuver those huge autobuses through the colonial cities then so can we.
Another thing is the Mexican traffic laws appear to be merely suggestions. People roll through stop signs while looking both ways. Speed limits, when posted, are always exceeded, even in construction zones. The backs of pickups are full of people to the point of overflowing. Sometimes you see cars take a right turn on red and sometimes not.
I would not suggest driving at night. Too many road hazards that you may not be able to see soon enough and too many animals tied up, grazing near the road.
Here's what to expect:
The Roads - Mexico has a wide variety of roads. The cuotas are the toll highways and are definitely the easiest, safest, fastest and best-maintained roads to travel although you miss much of the beautiful scenery and villages provided by the free roads ("carreteras libres"). The cuotas are somewhat expensive also but well worth it. We take the cuotas whenever possible but since we sometimes take the "road less traveled" we more often are on the carretras libres and we have no problems with them and enjoy them.
We were amazed at how mountainous the interior of Mexico is. The average altitude for the entire country is over 4,000 feet. Mexican road builders have to be very skilled to build the twisting and turning carreteras libres through the mountains. Driving in the states of Oaxaca and Chiapas are especially beautiful. The shoulders on the mountain roads can be non-existent though soon you will become accustomed driving on them.
Road construction is an ongoing task in Mexico. There is construction on most every highway we travel. However we were delayed very few times. The Mexicans haven't let the trial attorneys mandate their everyday life. They just use common sense when traveling through construction zones. Wow, what a novel idea.
We did run into some roads with potholes and other obstructions but in general the roads were in great shape.
Topes, Topes, Topes! - In the US we call them speed bumps. In Mexico they are everywhere and I mean everywhere. Some are marked well in advance, some are marked at exactly their location only and many are unmarked. Every small village has them on their highway. Some are small (we call them topecitas), some are huge (tope grandes), some are gently sloping and some are steep. Some are in the city and some are in the middle of nowhere. But one thing is for sure, you are always on the look out for them. Our low ground-clearance van sometimes scrapes the top of the tope if I go over them too quickly. When I come to almost a complete stop then ease over it then there is no problem. It would not be pretty to hit one going very fast. Am I adding to the internet horror stories? In the US we have speed zones where you may or may not actually slow down but in Mexico, with topes, you have no choice. You either slow down or find your entire undercarriage laying in the street behind you. You will soon learn to be on the watch for these and they will not pose any problems.
Mexican Drivers - In a word, aggressive...but also courteous. You have to be somewhat aggressive right along with them to get where you are going. In several thousands of miles driving in Mexico we have seen only 2 accidents...both minor. That is amazing when you see how the Mexicans drive. Many streets and highways have no dividing lines and the cars will be 3 or 4 cars abreast when you'd swear it is only a 2-lane street. They will pass on curves or hilltops or narrow streets. They will pass on the highways when they are coming directly at you assuming that you will pull on to the shoulder and let them continue. We soon learned to do the same thing. It’s bizarre to have a slower car in front of you pull to the shoulder to let you pass then, passing down the center of the highway, the car coming at you pulls to his shoulder to let you squeeze through. All at 55 mph. It looks nuts but it works. No 4 lane highways for the Mexicans just pass down the middle of the road.
Mexicans are a very hard-working people and they have places to go. There are many taxis and buses in Mexico and they all seem to be full and in a hurry to their destinations. These drivers really know how to drive and they are very courteous also. Many, many times they see that we are unfamiliar with the circumstances and they stop to let us slowly pass on our way. Very courteous people all around.
Highway and Street Signs – The Mexicans aren’t real conscientious about putting up a sign everywhere it’s needed. The towns don’t have street signs on poles (the buses would only knock them down when they jump the curb to turn the tight corners on the narrow streets) but are painted on the side of buildings at the corner. Also look for a painted arrow indicating a one-way street, which is often not there or faded, so be sure to look for the direction of the inevitable parked cars that line the streets. The painted arrows are usually on the side of corner buildings and if the arrow is painted red then the other driver has the right of way otherwise you have the right of way. Sometimes both arrows are black and you just ease your way through the interesection. Several times we have ended up the wrong way on a one-way street only to have the Mexicans patiently wait for us to get turned around.
In general highways are pretty well marked but you still have to be on your toes because once you make a bad decision on which route to take it could be many miles until you find out your on the wrong road. This happened to us near Mitla in Oaxaca state and it took us quite a while to get back to the turn off we should have taken.
Maps - Where the hell are we? There are several good roads maps of Mexico. The one we like best is actually an atlas, the Guia Roji Mexico Tourist Atlas. It has a lot of information in it. We also have the Garmin Mexico MapSource program on our laptop that also interfaces with our laptop GPS.
Sometimes we have to use all of them together to determine where we need to go.
Auto Insurance – Insurance in Mexico is a must have. They check it at the border when you enter. We got top of the line insurance from GMAC’s Mexican partner at a cost of about $350 USD for 6 months coverage. A year of coverage was another $100 or so. Be sure your policy includes legal assistance for your defense if you are involved in an accident. It was all done online in a few minutes with a credit card.
In Belize you pay for insurance at the border by the week. Its part of the entry process. Ours cost $14.50 USD per week.
Guatemala?…well we haven’t figured that out yet and are traveling “naked” at the moment.
Mexican Palo Verde with bright yellow blooms.
Brucito spotted this critter searching for a way out. Gila Monster....many tell us we were lucky to see this venomous lizard.
Woolly seeds from blooming creosote bush
Cape Honeysuckle came back to life to attract the hummingbirds.
Bruce, his Mom and Step-Padre Mike
My sis, Cynthia.....love you woman!
My literary friend Janet....a woman of infinite wisdom and words.
