Saying Goodbye, and Crossing into the USA
April 18, 2008.
Today is the day we are finally ready to start our adventure across the Americas. We said all of our goodbyes to friends and family, and were off by 8am. We filled up our gas and propane tanks, checked the air pressure, and did one last overall inspection of vehicle. We had planned on doing all this the night before, and we actually had a pre trip checklist, but somehow with our very hectic work and planning schedule, we got behind on a lot of things. We crossed the USA border, which gave us our first problem. Years ago Moreno had overstayed his 6 month allowance without a visa. This never was a problem until this fateful day. Our assigned agent wanted us to go back to Moreno’s mum’s to get documentation supporting his ties and equities in Canada. With a little pleading, he showed us mercy and let us into the land of the free. Then we drove towards a high school in Washington. Moreno had been selling spare Westy parts to add to our travel fund, and we were going to the school to drop of a spare transmission. We drove down the I-5, and found no suitable areas to stay for the night. We did see many RV parks, which were advertised as “camping” but they were asking $20+, which was a little steep considering we didn’t need to use any of the parks facilities. Once we turned onto Hwy 101, the scenery improved immensely, especially as we drove along the Oregon coast. Moreno made a bonehead move at a Fred Meyers. He went into the back of the van for something and left the hatch wide open in a dark area for an hour while we were shopping and eating. Luckily nothing was taken. We can’t be making that mistake again. We parked for free in a state park in Oregon; we came in late and left early, not totally legitimate, but no harm done either. Note: We were informed that many Wal-Mart stores would let you stay overnight in their parking lots, however, this may no longer be permitted in many states in the USA. It’s best to check with a customer service agent inside the store as at the very least they might be able to provide you with some stealth camping possibilities.
Redwood National Park
The problem with camping in the USA is that they charge so much to do it. We had troubles finding any areas to “stealth” camp, and gave up when we came to the stunning Redwoods National Park in California. We didn’t stay in the park but, found a nice rest stop and spent the night.
Sacramento, CA
We drove to Sacramento to go visit Ashley's uncle Ronnie and his lovely wife. They were very hospitable to us and they even insisted we take their bed.
San Francisco, CA
We got back on the 101, and drove to San Francisco. It was an amazing feeling driving over the golden gate bridge for the first time, worth the $5 charge. We loved San Francisco! Later we drove to Sunnyvale, and met Sra. Maria, and old family friend of Moreno's. She’s 90 and quick as a wick, she recognized him immediately, even after not seeing him for more than 10 years. We continued down the 101 to LA, saw a traffic accident within 2 minutes of entering the city, and got stuck in a 4 hour traffic jam! We headed towards Palm Springs, and passed hundreds of windmills dotting the hillsides. We spent the night at a rest stop in the valley just outside of Palm Spings, and we experienced some of the strongest winds we had ever felt.
Joshua Tree National Park, CA
With cartoon-like trees, and flinstone-like boulders, Joshua Tree was a hit with us. The entry fee was a little steep at $20, plus an additional $20 for vehicle camping per night. The drive through the park was stunning. We will surely be back here someday.
Tucson and Nogales
In Tucson Arizona, we spent the day getting things done before heading to Mexico. We had a busy day in the heat. We got our Ipod fixed and made a stop at several army surplus stores to stock up on everything from water bottles to pepper spray. Later that afternoon we drove to a rest stop near the outskirts of Nogales, a chaotic border town in southern Arizona. Moreno worked on our fridge, which was running poorly, but was unable to get it running before sunset. We ate and tried to sleep but, sleep was hard to come by. All night long we were awakened to the sound of loud hispanic ranchero music blasting from other cars in the rest stop. We heard feet scurrying around us at all hours of the night. When we got up in the morning to use the washroom we were pleasantly surprised to find our little van intact. No slashed tires, no stolen jerry cans. The Mexicans, legals or not, had left us alone. That was a relief.
Nogales Arizona, what a truly authentic Mexican experience! There were few english radio stations and most of the people who worked in the town's stores including the Wal-Mart spoke little or no english. We camped at the Walmart that night which was much quieter than the previous night. There was no guard around to ask if this would be ok, so we tried our luck and weren’t kicked out. In the morning we got our Mexican auto insurance from a Sanborns broker, for $276 for 6 months, which we were told was cheaper than getting 2 months worth. Then we were on our way to Mexico.
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