Our View Of Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico…

We depart Nogales, Arizona this morning. We spent an enjoyable three nights here parked at the VFW Post #2066.

The VFW Post itself is an unusual building. Located on a small hill, perhaps 200 feet higher than the main drag of Grand Avenue also known at Interstate Highway Business Route 19. The area is all of a rolling-hills mode. It affords a nice view of the surrounding areas…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view...

Being up higher and back away from the Grand Avenue traffic has also made it a very quiet stay. Also on this hill is a cell phone tower, so we’ve had a great cell phone and Internet signal while here. Mary and I have speculated that most likely the unusual building was originally a restaurant. This is the view from our dining room window…

The VFW Post was kind enough to provide us with an electrical hookup which is always nice to have. Here’s a Google Earth view showing our location of just one mile from the Mexico Border which is clearly identifiable in this image…

The motorhome is facing in a southerly direction. A through-the-windshield view allowed us to see across the border into Mexico…

And at night-time afforded us this view…

The weather has been sunny with daytime temperatures in the low 70′s with a nice breeze and nighttime temperatures in the 40′s. All in all, it’s been a very enjoyable stay.

Yesterday was laundry and do odds and ends kind of day. This morning, after a scheduled oil change and lube job for the motorhome, we’ll head to Lake Patagonia Arizona State Park about 20 mile distant for a planned two-day stay. Both Lake Patagonia and our next planned destination after that are kind of out in the toolies, so if you don’t hear from us for a few days…not to worry.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

MY FIFTH BORDER CROSSING

Thanks to Arizona Ranger, Ed Suckley, I had my fifth border crossing. We had heard horrible tales about how dangerous this crossing was and Jim was reluctant to go there with  the recent drug wars and problems. Ed put him at ease and assured us that a tourist  crossing into Nogales, Sonora, Mexico for an afternoon was as safe  as in Nogales, AZ, US. He even recommended a nice restaurant. Ed had a Boston accent and I got a kick out of listening to he and Jim reminisce about familiar experiences back in Massachusetts. And Ed’s story of how he came to be an Arizona Ranger after living pretty much all of his life on the East Coast? He was still kind of stunned it seemed that he and his wife had made an enormous change in their lives, were warned about living in an “awful” place like Nogales, and they both love it.

Ed’s partner, Ernesto, explained to me how the Rangers work and how much they enjoy this volunteer job.  The rangers were formed in 1901 to combat cattle rustling and wild lawlessness. They did such a good job, they were abolished in 1909. This small museum in the Old County Courthouse is where they preside.

Today, the rangers, reformed into a volunteer group in 1957, still carry colts like those the old-timers used. Between 1901 and 1909, the official rangers only numbered 26 men,  a grizzly bunch who preferred to go about their business operating as cowpokes. Her is a description of them from a newspaper article in 1942:

A colorful part of the old west is now a colorful part of the new west. The current rangers are a legal law enforcement assistant organization. Ernesto explained that their volunteer services probably save the State of Arizona a million dollars a year. When they are not called upon to help the Border Patrol, the Sheriff’s Department or other law agencies, they hold two major fund-raisers that raise money for charities that benefit children.  They are deputized and legal law enforcement assistance.  There is a lot of history in this little room. They have a website at with several short links at :   
http://www.azrangers.us/

 

We left the Courthouse and stopped in to the Pimeria Alta Historical Society Museum. The building is chock full of good stuff. A large collection of wonderful old black and white photos. All volunteer run, no charge, they ask for (and need) a donation. The highlight here was the docent who explained how the local Indian lands stretch across the border but she now has to have a passport to enter her native lands on the other side of a fence. It was quite an education to learn that the names applied to Indian peoples, such as Pima, Yaqui, and others I didn’t retain, all mean nothing or nothingness. When invaders arrive in your land, you tell them nothing. Eventually, they are working on getting their true Indian tribal names changed.

Herman “Ace” Lawson, a Nogales resident, was a Tuskegee Airman and wrote a book about his experiences. He was scheduled to speak at the Museum but we left before he arrived, headed for the border.

This is the only crossing I’ve made where you can actually see Mexico and the fence that divides residents that used to move freely between cities as neighbors. It serves its purpose of keeping aliens from crossing but also keeps animals that one time used territory in both countries from crossing. It seems offensive to me, like the Berlin wall.  I haven’t read the link about this fence but Jim has a link to it in his blog.

We walked through the gates. I’ve crossed at Tijuana, San Luis, Algodones, Las Palomas and now Nogales.

Normally,  we eat at a hole in the wall “joint” when we’ve visited Mexico, so this was quite a change.  The beautiful lobby of the Hotel Fray Marcos De Niza.

The food was good and economical, and the comfort was more like home. But, we kind of missed the charm of  the hole in the wall “joints”.

Nogales, Sonora is a much more “westernized”  city; obviously more affluent. The town is huge and is the major port for truck shipping into the U.S.

We stopped and looked into this 122 year old church.

A beautiful stained glass window.

And yes, the boulevards were modern, but we still found those junky alleys with all that fascinating “stuff” I like to see.  I love doing it, but never buy since we have so little room to carry anything in the motor home.

 

 

A fun day.

Dos Nogales

Dos in Spanish means two.

Yesterday Mary and I drove the Bronco about one mile from our parking spot at the VFW Post #2066 in Nogales, Arizona to the border with Mexico. In old town Nogales, Arizona we visited the old court house, an Arizona Ranger archive room and a museum. We then walked across the border into Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. There we went to the fanciest hotel in the city and had a great inexpensive meal. Afterwards we wandered around the curio shops that cater to the tourists. We were in that Nogales about two hours before crossing back into the United States.

Nogales, Arizona has a population of about 22,000. Nogales, Sonora, Mexico has a population of about 220,000. Nogales in Spanish means “walnuts”. This area was so named because of the many black walnut trees that were in this area many years ago.

To read all about Nogales, Arizona, click this link…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nogales,_Arizona

To read all about Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, click this link…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nogales,_Sonora

Here are some photos that I took…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view...

The old court house lobby in Nogales, Arizona…

Inside of the old court house, the Arizona Rangers maintain a small archive. One of the Rangers as seen in the below photo grew up in Lynnfield, Massachusetts…just a few miles from where I lived in Revere from ages 10 to 18…

The Primera Alta Historical Society Museum had the two old city jail cells…

Preparing to cross into Mexico we could see a portion of the fence that separates the United States and Mexico which is on the right in the below photo. To read about this highly controversial fence, click this link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico_%E2%80%93_United_States_barrier

Here’s where you enter Mexico…

which deposits you on this pleasant plaza…

We ate lunch at the Fray Marcos de Niza Hotel because it was highly recommended by the Arizona Ranger. This is the hotel lobby…

This was our view during lunch…

After lunch we wandered around the local curio shops…

To see the other 48 photos that I took, click this link…

https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273/DosNogalesTwoNogales

It was another enjoyable day. The visit into Mexico was somewhat disappointing for me as it is such a large city. Nothing like my past experiences during my Mexico and Central America trip in 2004. No old world flavor is left in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico….at least near the border

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

Tumacacori National Historic Park, Arizona

Yesterday Mary and I visited Tumacacori National Historic Park. It’s located 50 miles south of Tucson and 19 miles north of Nogales, Arizona.

The mission here shows no sign of restoration.

Click this link to see the official website…

http://www.nps.gov/tuma/index.htm

Here are some photos that I took…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

To see the other 48 photos that I took, click this link…

https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273/TumacacoriNationalHistoricParkArizona

After our visit we continued on tho the parking lot of VFW Post #2066 in Nogales, Arizona where we have a planned weekend visit and departing on Monday morning..

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

La Fiesta de los Vaqueros, Tucson Arizona…

is otherwise known as Arizona’s Celebration of the Cowboy and also known as the Tucson Rodeo. We drove the about seven miles from our RV parking spot to get to the rodeo grounds.

Click this link to see the official website…

http://www.tucsonrodeo.com/

In the morning we went to the parade. With more than 200 entries, the Tucson Rodeo Parade claims the title of the World’s longest non-motorized parade.

Here’s their link about the parade…

http://www.tucsonrodeo.com/historyparade.html

In the afternoon, we went to the rodeo. Here are some photos that I took…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

To see the other 48 photos that I took, click this link…

https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273/TucsonRodeo2012

Last night was our final here at Moose Lodge #1964 ten miles south of Tucson, Arizona. We spent an enjoyable 1.5 hours saying good-bye to about a dozen of our newly made friends.

Today we will depart Tucson and head south to Nogales, Arizona.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust