Hello again,
I have to admit that I have fallen behind on my Blog.
Suzie and I were sooooo busy visiting various places that I just couldn't keep up.
We are now back in Florida and are still busy every day but I am going to try to get you caught up on what happened between Mexico and here, so ........ here we go!
After we crossed the border back into the U.S. we spent some time visiting with family in Southern California.
Then it was time to start heading home to Marathon, Florida.
This year, we decided that we were starting our eastbound trip late enough in the spring that we would try to take a northerly route if the weather stayed warm enough and dry enough that we could avoid snow.
We started the journey with a couple of nights in Las Vegas. We always find interesting things to see there.
Then we started out traveling northbound on Interstate 15 into Utah. We love the drive through the interesting rock formations in the Utah desert.
The trip took us to Interstate 70 where we turned eastbound toward Colorado.
When we got to Grand Junction, Colorado, we spent 2 nights.
We arrived the day before we had reservations to visit the Yampah Hot Springs and Vapor Caves in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.
We have made many visits to the Yampah Spa located at the Yampah Hot Springs and have always enjoyed it so we were really looking forward to our visit.
We were not disappointed.
Yampah Spa is located right next to the Colorado River and is a very old facility that is built right into the side of the Rocky Mountains in Glenwood Springs.
Once inside, you get signed in for your massage and then head off to the locker rooms to change into your bathing suit.
Then you walk down some steps that lead you into an underground vapor cave that goes back into the mountain. It is so hot and steamy that we couldn't take our camera in without steaming it to death so we got some internet pictures to help explain.
The pictures show a well lit cave but the actual cave is very dark and mysterious. There are several short tunnels that lead to small cavelike rooms. In each room are several large slabs of smooth marble that are arranged so that you can sit or lie on them. The entire atmosphere is very hot and steamy and the stone benches are the same hot temperature as the air.
When you lie on the bench, you can feel the heat start to soak into your aching muscles and can feel the tension of the day just melt away.
We can usually stay in the cave for 10-15 minutes before we are so sweaty and hot that we have to take a break. You walk back upstairs and go out to a small patio where the cool mountain air quickly takes the heat away.
After a few minutes of cooling down, we head back into the cave for round 2. We usually take 3-4 trips down into the cave with cool downs in between and then it is time for a quick shower before our massages.
After the shower, you put on the bathrobe they provide and then we usually spend about 1/2 hour before the massage lying in the comfortably warm solarium.
They have very pleasant "spa" music tinkling in the background which mixes nicely with the splashing sounds of the fountain in the solarium which quickly lulls you into semi-consciousness.
Just about the time you are about to fall completely asleep, the nice lady calls your name and takes you to your private massage room. The individual rooms are warm and dark and as soon as you are comfortably arranged on the massage table, the lady comes back in and provides the best massage either one of us has ever had.
We think the effect is probably enhanced by the time spent in the vapor cave and solarium but the cumulative effect is amazing and we always leave the spa wishing that we lived close enough to make this a weekly event.
Next to the spa is the Glenwood Hot Springs Pool and Hotel which is the world's largest outdoor mineral pool.
We have never been in town long enough to visit the pool, but it is gigantic and is on our list of places to visit on a future trip.
Across the street from the pool is the Hotel Colorado. It is fun to walk through this historic old hotel.
Another interesting place to visit is the old Linwood Cemetery. It is located on a hillside above town and is a nice hike from a parking lot.
This is a beautiful, old cemetery where Doc Holliday is buried.
It is believed that Doc Holliday spent his last days in Glenwood Springs because he was suffering from Tuberculosis and thought the vapor caves might help his condition.
After enjoying our visit in Grand Junction and Glenwood Springs, it was time to continue eastbound.
The trip over the Rocky Mountains is always spectacular and this time was no exception. We encountered a short stretch where we were being snowed upon but it didn't stick to the roadway and added to the beauty of the drive.
Driving beside the Colorado River is just a beautiful sight.
The engineering and sheer determination that they used to place the roadway over the Rockies was amazing.
As we got into the higher elevations, the weather changed and the temperature dropped.
It is a long, steep climb to the top of the mountain before you start to drop down the eastern slope into Denver.
You don't actually get to the top of the mountains because they dug a huge tunnel through the mountain before you actually crest the top.
As you can see from the sign, the tunnel is very high.
Once through the tunnel, it is all downhill to Denver.
When we arrived at Denver, we got off of Interstate 70 and took Interstate 76 up to Interstate 80 where we continued eastbound to North Platte, Nebraska.
At North Platte, we set up camp in a nice RV park and then went exploring.
Suzie had read about an interesting attraction on our Roadside America App. so we headed for the west end of town to visit the Golden Spike Tower and Visitor Center.
This visitor center is built next to the Union Pacific "Bailey Yard".
Bailey Yard is the world's largest train yard. It covers 2,850 acres and every day Bailey Yard handles 10,000 railroad cars. 3,000 of those cars are sorted to make sure the cargo reaches it's final destination.
This internet picture gives a good view of the action.
The yard is almost completely automated and each of the cars is sorted and routed onto the correct track to build complete trains that then head off to the correct destination.
The cars are automatically routed onto the correct track after going over a "Hump" which is a small hill just before a bunch of switches that are computer controlled to shift each car from the main track to a siding where they build up the trains that move on to their final destination.
This diagram shows how the humps route the cars to one of many tracks.
We also visited Buffalo Bills ranch but we were there too late to take the tour.
We did visit a touristy junk store where Suzie bought some post cards.
They had lots of interesting displays including this 2 headed calf.
They had a very educational T-shirt.
I can't write any more right now because it is hot outside and time to go ride on the jet skis. I will write more soon.
Get out there and see something and please send pictures.
Tom & Suzie
After exploring all around the end of the Baja peninsula and Los Cabos, it was time to start heading North.
Since there is only one paved road that travels the entire length of Baja California, the trip was just the reverse of the trip we covered in the previous blogs . . . . . . . . except that everything looked different going the other way.
The views and vistas as we drove around each curve looked completely different and we found ourselves taking just as many pictures going northbound as we did southbound.
This chapter will mostly be photos of the interesting and amazing sights we saw as we headed back to the U.S.
After we left San Jose Del Cabo, we were able to take a different road back to La Paz.
On that road, we came across a visitor center located at the Tropic of Cancer.
The Tropic of Cancer is the most northerly circle of latitude at which the sun can be directly overhead. This occurs on the Summer Solstice which occurs every June, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun to its maximum extent. This is the longest day of the year.
We continued North to La Paz where we spent the night. We decided to try a different hotel and found another hotel with a funny name.
"One Hotel" was located about a block from "H Blue Hotel" where we stayed on our trip southbound and was also about $50.00 per night.
Check in was again very fast and easy because of our on line Hotels.com booking.
We were surprised when we got to our room. It looked just like the pictures on the internet.
The surprise was that the room was VERY small. We had become used to rooms that were quite large and this room was so small that Suzie and I couldn't pass each other at the end of the bed without crashing into each other or the wall.
I know, you are probably thinking that the collisions were probably more a factor of all of the meals that we didn't miss during our trip, but you have to believe that this room was SMALL!
It was like the rest of the rooms we experienced while in Mexico. It was very neat and clean.
The view out the window showed how large the western part of the city of La Paz is.
We arrived in La Paz early enough in the day to go up to the roof and enjoy the warm, sunny afternoon at the pool.
The pool was small, like the room, and was cold so we just enjoyed the warm sunshine.
The next day we were on our way Northbound again. We were again struck by how remote everything was just as soon as you drive out of the big city.
We would be driving along remote, desolate desert and then suddenly come across a small oasis that popped up next to a spring.
This home was hidden among a large grove of palms and dense vegetation and looks very old, but well maintained.
You can see that the desert moves right up to the lush area where the water begins. 
Every so often we would pass through a small town or village. The main highway was frequently the only paved road in town.
Except for the dust, the towns were neat and clean and colorful.
We continued to see wild and domestic livestock wandering on the roadway and you really had to be careful on the curvy sections of road.
The construction zones continued to be interesting and challenging.
Don't worry because the towns were just close enough together that we didn't miss any meals.
We were amazed at how much we enjoyed going into the little street side cafes. We didn't have one disappointing meal or bad service. (We also ate everything they put in front of us and NEVER got sick or even uncomfortable if you don't count the occasional VERY hot salsa).
The views continued to be spectacular.
As we moved further North, we were suddenly reminded that it was still winter as we started to leave the warm, dry weather behind.
The cold cloudy weather didn't last too long and then the sun came back out, but the warm weather stayed behind us for the rest of the trip.
We kept being reminded why we were glad we were driving our car and not our great big motorhome.
We passed several RV caravans that are groups of RVs that travel together for security and the camaraderie that that type of trip can produce along with traveling with experienced wagon masters that know the route and all of the good places to stop along the way.
The caravans demonstrate just how narrow the roads really are.
The last night in Baja was spent in a very nice hotel in Santa Maria.
We stayed at the Hotel Mission Santa Maria, for about $57.00.
It was a very nice property with good heat and TV in the room along with free, fast internet.
There was a long, heavily treed roadway leading from the main highway to the hotel. The road passed miles of greenhouses that were employing hundreds of workers.
There were also miles of agriculture.
The lobby area was beautiful and our on line reservation was quickly handled by the nice, English speaking desk clerk.
Our room was very clean and large with a beautiful view of the beach.
In almost every room that we visited on this trip, we found something that wasn't "Just Right". This room was no exception.
There was a beautiful, clean bathroom in the room.
The "odd" part was the entrance to the shower. If you slide the shower door one way, the sink counter blocks the doorway to the shower.
If you slide the door the other way, the toilet was in the way. The contortions you had to make to avoid the obstacles while trying not to slide on the slick tile floors was a real challenge.
The next morning, we got an early start for the Tijuana border crossing.
We had one final military checkpoint to pass through but, again, they were very friendly and we were quickly passed through.
Going through Ensenada was too crowded with cars and people and we couldn't find a place to park and go for a walk so we pressed on through.
The road from Ensenada to Tijuana was a toll road and well worth the $9.00 cost.
Once we got to Tijuana, we were able to easily find the border crossing by following the excellent directions that were provided to us by the Baja Travel Club.
Without their excellent directions, the border would have been difficult to find because the signs are naturally mostly in Spanish and were difficult to read and follow.
We were able to find a smartphone app. that listed border crossing times and we used it to figure out what day of the week and time of day were statistically the fastest days to cross.
As we approached the border crossing, we were quickly bogged down in a huge traffic jam as everyone tried to squeeze into what they hoped would be the fastest of the many, many lanes.
In this internet picture, you can see the traffic backup going into Mexico on the right side of the photo and the traffic backup trying to leave Mexico on the left side of the picture.
As you come into the border zone, there is one last chance to buy some trinkets and there are vendors everywhere. As soon as one taps on your window and you shoo them away, another one takes their turn, thinking that the last guy just didn't have the right touch to get you to buy his "Junk".
The reason we feel like we can call it Junk is that one of the more creative sales pitches that we heard was "Hey, lady, why don't you buy some of my junk".
We didn't need any more trinkets so we pressed on toward the U.S. border inspection station. There is no Mexican "exit" inspection.
We were in line for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Getting close now!!!
At the border inspection booth a very friendly Border Patrol officer scanned our passports and sent us on our way with only about a 30 second delay.
We were back!!!
We had a great trip and a real adventure and we are already thinking about what we want to see and do the next time we visit Baja Mexico, because we hope there will be a next time very soon.
While we were driving in Mexico, we saw a great bumper sticker on a Volkswagen Camper Van, and we believe that it applies to us.
We will write the next chapter soon because you won't believe all of the neat things we saw once we got back into the United States.
We hope you can get out there soon and see some things.
Tom & Suzie
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