2nd Trip into Mexico

When Kristin and I returned to the States, we loaded the bikes into the trailer and drove them from El Paso to Charlotte. Our return flight to Boise had us staying in San Antonio for two days, and my older brother Ryan wanted to try out kayaking. So, we rented kayaks from the Power Olympic Outdoor Center (POOC) in San Marcos, and took him and his new wife Heather for a day on the San Marcos River. Surprisingly, this spring-fed river was very clean and clear, and has a nice play park in it. Hopefully, we will get Ryan and Heather hooked on paddling and get to do more of it with them! The crazy thing, though, was that Ben and Michelle Kvanli, owners of the POOC, are slalom racers and therefore knew of the Longs, the Bells, Kent Ford, and all our other friends from that realm. We got to talking with the Kvanlis and learned that they were short-staffed for an upcoming weekend trip to Mexico… and they invited us to join them! This weekend trip was heading to the Cd. Valles area of Mexico, a region we had read about but not had enough time to explore. We jumped on the opportunity, changing our flight and hastily organizing the camping equipment we would need. This second trip to Mexico got off to a rough start, as one of the clients, an Army doctor, was late getting off work… his excuse–the President of the United States was visiting his hospital that afternoon! After that, we had another rough go at the border in Laredo. There were slight problems with the registrations for the trailer and second vehicle, which forced us to stay overnight in Laredo. Once the DMV opened in the morning, though, we had smooth sailing… until just outside Monterrey, where Kristin was pulled over by a Mexican transit police officer for speeding. Fortunately, Ben explained that we were very good leaders, hoping to bring business to the region, and that he didn’t want our experience marred by a speeding ticket. The transit officer accepted this reasoning, and Kristin escaped what would’ve been her first ever speeding ticket. The basecamp for the weekend was on the Rio Valles, near the famous Cascadas Micos. This series of drops is one of the most unique stretches of water we have ever been down. You drop a ridiculous 380 feet or so per mile, but the runnable stretch is only 1/4 mile long. There are six drops in total, all super clean, with giant collection pools. Most have slides that set you up PERFECTLY. The water is a tourqouise color, a result of the limestone formations of the canyon. And, besides the waterfall run, there is a short, fun Class III stretch, with the same beautiful water and collection pools. The wonderful thing about Micos is that beginners or experts can truly enjoy it. The next day of paddling took the group to the Rio Tampaon. I actually ran shuttle this day, but Kristin says the run is a really fun, big water, Class III stretch. At one point, the entire river disappears below ground, at the Puente de Dios. That day, we also visited the Cascada Tamul, a huge 360+ waterfall–the Rio Gallinas dumping into the Rio Santa Maria to form the Tampaon. This was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, and relatively unspoiled by human development. I was lucky to get in a dawn run down the Micos with Ben on our last day. As we paddled down the warm water, with the sun rising ahead of us, I felt extremely grateful for this second opportunity to come to Mexico. I also considered the cold weather I’d be heading to in Boise, and grew excited for our upcoming expedition to Chile in January/February. All in all, the expedition to Mexico was a huge success. Writing this from Boise, ID, I am even more resolved to grow Alzar into a full, year-round school. We know that students of all ages can benefit from the international exposures, from the challenges of outdoor adventure.

Back in the States

After a last night in Mexico in the small town of Sabinas, we crossed the border at Piedras Negras/Eagle’s Pass easily and concluded our three-week expedition in Mexico. It was a little sad to cross the Rio Grande and know that we would not be seeing Mexico for at least a year.

We drove up the US side of the border to the town of Del Rio, then began heading north. Southwestern Texas seemed as remote (if not more so) than most of Mexico, and Kristin came very close to running out of gas as there was one stretch where we did not see a gas station for 117 miles. We met up with I-10 at Ft. Stockton, and stayed the night at an Econolodge for $70. We lamented the fact that hotels only cost us about $20 a night during our stay in Mexico.

The next morning, we needed to complete our drive to El Paso to pick up Dr. Chewning’s truck and the trailer. We loaded up the bikes, only to discover that Kristin’s bike would not start. We tried and tried until we wore the battery down. We tried for a while to jump the bike off the battery of the hotel clerk’s Suburban, but realized that while we wasted time trying to get the bike started, one of us could be 1/3 of the way to El Paso. Ultimately, we decided that Kristin would stay with her bike in Ft. Stockton while I went for the truck. This worked out smoothly, as we needed to pass through the town on our way to San Antonio anyway.

We felt very fortunate that the one day that we really had problems getting the bike started was the one day it really didn’t matter. I think we could’ve fiddled with the bike for a while and gotten it to go, but western I-10 did not seem like a stretch Kristin would truly regret not getting to ride.

Once we had the bikes loaded into the trailer, we set off to complete their voyage to North Carolina. Riding in the comfort of the truck seemed easy after all the hours of intense focus on the motorcycles. You didn’t need your right hand on the throttle constantly. You could adjust your sitting position without affecting the balance of the vehicle. THERE WAS MUSIC! AND BOOKS ON TAPE!

This was an incredible trip, made possible by Dr. Chewning, Rob Gould, Motodiscovery, the Boise High Key Club, and other sponsors. We have definitely fallen in love with Mexico, and look forward enthusiastically to the day that we will take students there to share its wonders.