Fabulous dinner on the Riverwalk with SR & family, Jimmex & SO, Schizzman, WhiskeySmith, and me. SR's laptop with photos and videos of Mexico adventures was the perfect dessert.
I only rode the Goldwing when Sheryl was with me. We did a lot of camping in the US and Canada pulling a cargo trailer and using a tent. The camper was bought after an unbelievably wet Northwet tour. We only got to use it four nights before Sheryl died! But, we had big plans!
Donnie, that breaks my heart to read about your wife's death. All that I can say is that seeing things like that reinforces my desire to get out and enjoy life while we can.
Thanks! We rode all over the USA and Canada on that Goldwing. It has over 241,000 miles. We also rode all over Mexico on the R1100GS. Hey Shizzman, we rode Hawaii on a Harley!
I was thinking in somthing more like this : Wish I had make it last night but my place was flooding this rain just doesn't stop bet you guys had a good time Saludos
+1 Great to see everybody over an excellent dinner. Especially good to see Whiskeysmith healed up from his biff in Mexico last October.
While Los Tejanos were burping and paying the tab, some of us were sleeping and dreaming of... A fine clear day with air and vistas so pure and crisp. I left early, haven't had a good solo ride in a little while, El Pico was giving it up again, but she shut things down at around 9:30am but skipping breakfast in Cordoba meant I was able to head up half way through the Cumbres and then the old road the rest of the way. The milpa is looking like a good crop. The telescope on the sister peak was very easy to see. This one is for Trice, it was the best I could do for a close up shot, if you look carefully you can see a crane they are using beside the telescope. Next pic is for Donny, he's been through the ringer lately, I wished he had been following me on this road. Donny, when I got around the corner I could see a colorful little cathedral and I was thinking of your daughter and hoping she could see this particular site some day, with 20/20 vision. I said a little prayer for her, Donny. This is a particularly interesting view, and yes, that is El Popo in the distance, I had never seen it that clear from this particular location. I hope it is a sign for clear vision, Donny! I decided to do an upgrade at the old Hacienda de Santa Ines and got the new version of Windows installed...about 16 of them. The next shot sums up the Independence Day weekend so far... Hasta pronto, cabrones!
This one is for Trice, it was the best I could do for a close up shot, if you look carefully you can see a crane they are using beside the telescope. Hey Mike, how you could you NOT dedicate that one to me? I was actually asked to project manage the original erection of that telescope. It was a cast-iron bitch to get the crane up there. I turned the job down as I was due back in New York, and back I went on October 3rd 2001...straight to the clean-up at ground zero.
Hi Mike! Thanks for the picture and the kind words. I too, look forward to the day that she sees again! I have said and will continue to say many prayers. I'm sure Sheryl is as well! Donnie
17 bodies found in w. Mexico. Yikes. http://news.yahoo.com/police-17-bodies-dumped-road-western-mexico-173120313.html
Here is the trick. Don't go where the violence is. Sonora is quiet, Baja is quiet, lots of places are quiet. Lots of violence in PHX, NOLA, DC and St. Louis. Lots of in Chicago. but if you know the neighborhoods to avoid you are fine. Same here in Mexico. Personally, I'm more nervous in PHX than in Hermosillo - except for the drivers and it's a close call. Tucson mostly feels OK.
While I fundamentally agree with Jimmex' comment and Trice's reply I have been thinking about this for days. Medical care should not be political, unfortunately it is. Access to good and affordable medical care is a "safety" issue for all of us who live in North America whether it is Canada, The Good Ole' US, or Mexico. When we are seeing increased cases of tuberculosis in the hospitals of our major urban areas in the Southwest and these cases are coming from Mexico and Central America it is a "safety" issue for all of us. These are the folks who clean our houses, serve our food, and provide all kinds of "personal" services. Their children, who have also been exposed, go to school with our children. They seek the same economic opportunities. So does this go on "Is Mexico Safe"? Mebbe? The subject will only be de-politicized when we all demand that it be.The best functioning health care systems in our country seem to be some of the better run HMOs. This is essentially "socialized medicine" in that everyone pays a monthly fee and has coverage and access commensurate with their fee level, but if you need an emergency heart bypass you will get it. This is a gross oversimplification but is generally true. I was in such a system for twenty years and it really worked and the system grew and prospered. In the meantime I saw the "private" medical system get totally out of control. Having a clerk at a huge health insurance company that is only interested in the bottom line make your health decisions for you is little different from having a clerk in a government agency do it. The big difference is that we have absolutely no oversight over the private company and its predatory practices. I happen to be of the opinion that adventure motorcycle riding is a political, revolutionary, and liberalizing act by its very nature. I see it in pages all over this site from people with whom I might not agree in polite conversation but whose back I would definitely have in a bar fight and know that I could expect the same. Trice, as retired USAF you have always had and will continue to have excellent health care, it isn't so easy for the rest of us out here. BTW: thanks for your service.
Hey Donnie, glad you liked the pic, hope the recovery is quick and complete! Mark, come on down anytime, if you get it right you will have a few days as clear as it was yesterday and, if he is around, the Mystery Rider might give you a cigar. Don't worry, his cigar routine is different from Clinton's! LOL!:eek1 CraneGuy, damn, I had no idea you were considering getting involved in that project. The road is pretty good up past Atzitzintla and (Santa Cruz) Texmaliquilla. I really, really like that area and usually approach it from either, like yesterday, half way up the Cumbres de Maltrata at the little Magueys cut off and then up to Atzitzintla or from Ciudad Serdan (via Guadalupe Victoria and the old 5 haciendas route via Santa Ines). I had posted a pic one time before on here that showed that old church on the left on the way to Texmaliquilla and the telescope in the background. Trice had thought it was a radar installation because it wasn't so clear in the photo. They have moved the security gate down a little bit from where you probably remember it, and it is a little bigger, however they have put some big rocks and sand piles around it so you cannot get around, maybe on a good dirtbike with knobbies you could bypass it but I don't think the folks working up there really want impromptu guests dropping by. I've got the phone number for making a tour appointment. By the way, a couple of interesting Canadian riders are supposed to be dropping through some time and one of the guys you will likely want to talk shop with. I'll try to get you a decent heads up for that one. Here is the other pic, I am sure you recognize the setting. I can take you to a place across the valley over into the other mountain ranges south of Orizaba (the sierra fria and the sierra negra etc...) and you can get a view directly across the valley to the telescope with Ciudad Mendoza in the bottom. It's the first route up to the other Atzompa not the one that is up from Acultzingo, this one is Soledad Atzompa, it's on the way to Xoxocotla and Tehuipango. Very good riding in that range. Here's the view of Citlalteptetl and her little sister "Sierra Negra" (but not to be confused with the other sierra negra near Xoxocotla) from the "Stairway to Heaven" route. It's odd, but the peak where the large millimeter telescope is located is not always listed on peaks of Mexico lists even though it is 4,640 metes high. It is also called: Cerra la Negra, Atlitzin, Istaktepetl, and Tliltepetl. And here's the pic with old church and the new telescope
A note on health care. Being Canadian, I know the Canadian system, particularly the Ontario system, fairly well. Like Bob Loblaw said, it is not free. In fact, it is a hidden cost to business and is not universally available, you have to qualify for it. Bob gives the BC viewpoint, which is for "British Columbia" and not the chronological designation, I think. LOL! It also sucks scissors for people unlucky enough to live in some rural areas and even some cities. The level and quality of care varies wildly, wait times are very long, and way too many cases are decided by bureaucracy than anything remotely resembling compassion. In Mexico, it is widely known that if you have to rely on the Seguro Social public health care here in Mexico, you will likely suffer infections, secondary illnesses, or you will die. Socialized medicine can work fairly well in countries with high taxation rates and low population rates. How it will work in the USA with 300 million citizens and another 30 million illegal aliens and with about half the population not paying income tax, is beyond my comprehension. The USA is not Sweden (a much healthier population overall and a very high tax rate) nor is it Spain (who are already in deep doo doo with unemployment amongst young people at about 30% and a simmering fiscal crisis). The British system looked wonderful in the Olympics opening ceremony where it was depicted as Florence Nightengale meets West End theatre, but the reality is something different. If you are poor and it is all you have, you will be forced to rely upon it. The best way to make socialized medicine work is to insist the politicians actually use the system for themselves and their families. Don't let them use any other private healthcare. How good is socialized medicine when, for example here in Mexico, the politicians have the right to their choice of PRIVATE healthcare paid for with taxpayer's money for themselves and their families guaranteed for them by law as a job perk? I've got a couple of really good stories about socialized medicine that easily rival the $100 band aid tales of woe regarding greedy private hospitals. Just a word of caution to our American brothers and sisters, be careful what you wish for! Oyster, we can discuss this some time over a beer or three, just don't hold my TB test against me, I always test positive.
Every year it amazes me. The oppressive heat and e humidity of the Sonoran Desert in monsoon season - early August to mid September breaks right around Dia de Independencia on Sept 16. This morning was fantastic, mid 60s, clear blue sky and no humidity. August is for riding in Colorado, September through June is for riding here in Sonora.