Choices

To be or not to be. That is the question. Whether it is nobler to be pulling your alternate transportation with your motorhome or have your transportation pull your home. In short have a Class A or fiver. Class C and D are not included in this dissertation.

It's a choice we all have to make sooner or later. Some move from one class MH to the other. The fiver allows the occupants to leave home behind and visit the surrounding country side and/or get supplies. But they can't cook a meal while sitting in their truck or make a quick and easy run to the bathroom from that truck to their home on wheels.

The Class Aers can do the above, cook meals, more easily, comfortably and safely carry more people. But you need to carry that tow behind you. Of course another advantage is that one is not limited to a truck for their alternate transportation. You can haul any type you want and you also have options on the manner in which that vehicle is hauled.

Choices, choices, choices. And when the choice is made it is based on the desires and needs of the buyers. Ain't it great to have so much to choose from?

Can't get lost

When one travels the roads of America they are going somewhere by design or by happenstance. Either way to avoid getting lost one should always have some form of guidance. We have a built in compass on our rig. Of course there are maps and we depend on the truckers map first. Then there are state maps one can get at any information station when they enter a state. One should take a look at all the functions they can find in that state for the time period they will be there.

We back that up with The Next Exit, a must have. We've also discovered that it's nice to have Wal-Mart's book to get directions to these hidden gems of provisions and rest. And then to top all of the above off we have Microsoft's Streets and Maps and the TrailerLife Campground Finder. Hook them up to your GPS and there is no way one can get lost.

Ha! I've used all of these and have been lost more times than I can recall. They are accurate. The co-pilot, wife or me, are not always that good. One can be in the wrong lane of traffic and can't get into the correct lane and whoops, we're going the wrong way. Down narrow roads where a U turn is impossible - - -but you do it some how. Or being told by Alice, that's what we call our direction finder, to make a turn on a one way street - - - the wrong way.

You make some nice discoveries this way and some of them you would rather not make. Especially the ones on narrow muddy roads or hills that were built for mountain goats or paved roads that turn to dirt roads that turn into paths.

That's why my final back up is our biz card which says, We're Lost and We really Don't Care

Waiting to come back home

You've seen some of Agodonis MX, now look at the lines getting out. You must remember that the check is for your protection. Of course I doubt that any terrorist will be walking through the gate. Many folks feel it's by design to discourage people from going over to get medication. When you are on a limited income you don't mind waiting in line to save money. The people in the line are jovial. They speak with each other, tell stories and tall tails, exchange information and knowledge and are willing to help one learn how to deal and get around in Mexico. It's a great group of people to stand in line with.



The top picture is where we first got into the line. For a perspective look in the center top and you will see a tall tree. That tree is about half way to the final curve in the line

To the left you see that tree again on the right side of the picture as we move along. Now remember these people are not crossing the border just for their looks. They are doing it to get a Chiropractic treatment for $30.00. To get a set of tri-focals for less than $200 and that includes examination. To get, meds of course, and even though some of them might be generic they are as much as 80% off stateside prices. They are here to get a new set of denturs, while the wait for less than $200. In this experience I learned there are a lot of people that do not have health benefits and it is mostly not their fault. I've seen a part of the 40 million.





We reached the tree, and the restroom, and the benches and the shade. To many it is a welcomed spot. The sun takes no mercey on you down here and a hat can be your best friend. That and a cold bottle of water.


We are still not at the end of the line. As you look at the center point of the picture you can just see the turning point. Another 25 yards after that and you will be in the trailer with as many as three Border Patrol members checking your bag and passport and then passing you through.

After making that journey and walking back to the parking lot I looked back to see where the line was now. It is longer than it was when we got in it. Much longer. They are now going up the hill and along with them climbs the rising temperture of the day. And there are more coming every second. No that is not the tree on your right. From this vantage point you can't even see it.

Part II

Remember part one? I don't. That's the problem with having so much time between post and also having such a short memory. It's also one of the problems when you do this on an air card and all the advertisement ain't true. There are coners of this country that microwaves don't reach and if they do they, like us, are just passing through.

Anyway back to Algodonis MX. The tourist trap if you look at it that way but it is also a medical center. Pharamacias all over the place. Dentist, Glasses, Chiropractors. You name it, They've got it. And they have a bunch. For those who are on Medicare and need to pay for their own medical needs it's a bargain and a well needed bargain at that. Of course the hub bub with our politicans is they can't guarantee the safety of the medicines but so what. They can't gurantee the saftey of those bought in the US. All they can be guarantee is the over pricing of our drugs.

Of course there is more to Algodinis that the med end of it. There is also inexpensive liquor and over expensive trinkits. Gold jewlery abounds. Real Rolex watches, cheap. Yea right. Hats, ponchos, clothing, rugs and on and on and on. Unlike Tiajuana, MX we didn't have to say no to a bunch of annoying children begging in the streets. but you did have to say no to a bunch of vendors peddeling their wears on the sidewalk.

The sidewalks are covered with tarps from the store front to the street. All along the street side are tables loaded with things to be bought by tourist. You wonder where they get all the stuff. I was looking for Mexican artifacts made in China. Didn't find any though. Not wanting to use flash I didn't take pictures of these areas. And then sometimes one gets so caught up in the sights they forget to take the picture all together.

Does that sound like I disliked it? Well I didn't. It gives one a different perspective of how another part of the world has to survive. I think on my next trip, and I will go again, I'll squat in a spot and focus on photos. Catching the moment and the beauty. The folks north of the border are welcome in Mexico. After all we do provide an income for many of them. Guns are not allowed across the border. A little different from being able to carry a gun in Arizona as long as it is visible. Cars yield to predestrians. Try that in New York or Philly.

On leaving the town we joined into a line of people who had to go through American customs. A long line of people. A long, long line of people. It took us an hour and a half to get through and that was without any interuptions in the flow. It's just a slow process. When we got through I looked back at the line and it was longer than when we started. It is my understanding that you come as early as possible and leave early. Get your stuff and get out before the line gets long.

I-95 to Yuma

For us as vendors Quartzsite has been a disaster. But we are not alone. There is the old saying in merchandising of location, location, location. It still holds true. But one must add to that the economy, the economy, the economy and a bunch of other factors that have to be considered. Of course among the top of the list is product. We have discovered that we have a product that people like but may not understand, want or need at this particular function. We discovered that we have to improve on our display and marketing abilities. At our age it's a job. But if Col. Sanders could do it why not me.




That's the most positive part of the trip. Discovery. I had the opportunity to take a trip to Mexico to a tourist trap called called Algodones. It was a short trip, about 84 miles one way, with another vendor and I didn't want to spend his day sight seeing for me. His main purpose was medication. One of hundreds of people who cross that border ever day to get medicine cheaper. There was some that I could have picked up for myself but when I did the quick calculations it was not cheaper for me.




I now realize how many people do not have health insurance and some form of prescription package. These people have to pay for their medications out of pocket and the older one gets the more meds the doctors seem to ply on them. It's a finanical burden that steals from the supposed golden years. The pharmacy legislated government prescription package is not a relief for the lower income and many of the retirees. But you don't know that until you are part of it or see it.




I spent the journey traveling south on US 95 looking out the window like an excited child. Watching the desert fly by with all its empty beauty. Cacti of different type dotting the carpet of sand and rocks. Hills that are made by nature. Hill that have ben made by mankind as they reaped the wealth under the ground. A wealth of metal and minerals that are still being mined today.




When we left Rice Ranch and turned onto 95 I noticed both sides of the highway packed with RVs. This was the beginning of the crowd of buyers all of us were expecting. We belived there would be more than 100,000 people attending the big show. All of a sudden the crowd of units stopped. Back to open BLM land. Every now and then there were small conclaves of RVs. Circled like the old conostoga wagons as groups of friends meet at one spot to enjoy the company and stories of others. They too come from all over but mostly the North West. The snowbirds who aren't into skiing. It is estimated the turn out this year was down 40 to 60 percent.




There are no towns along this highway until you reach Yuma but the desert springs up some weird sights. Midway there is a store with fast food gas and some provisions. Replinish some minor necessities for your RV. Futher down the road is a VFW camp sight. It's was loaded with RVs. My guess is that a lot of veterans spend time there. Since we didn't stop there isn't much more that I can tell you about it.




As the journey continued it was back to the sights of the open desert. I noticed areas where there were dried up rivers of water. I think they call them washes. Along the road are signs that say don't drive when the road is flooded. And these floods came fast during the rainy season. We came upon the Yuma Proving Grounds. A huge military complex for big weapons. Same old beautiful desert until you reach the end of the grounds. Then it burst into a surprising mass of greenery. The first was an orange grove then came garden crops of lettuce, brussel sprouts, and other leafy vegies that are grown here during the winter. It's too hot during the summer to grow them.


The water comes from wells and the famous Colorado River that has turned into a stream about fifty feet wide where we crossed. Not your usual picture of the Mighty Colorado. The green remains as we pass Yuma AZ on the way to the border via I-8. Along that highway there are RVs parked helter skelter on outcroups of the highway. Free camping in most cases. Some of it is on Native American territory and there may be fees applied. But it's cheap.




Onward ever onward until we reach the border. Well the parking lot before the border but I'll leave that for Part II of the story.