We started out our trip on Tuesday the 18th but had to turn back because of the hurricane force winds Monterrey-Hurricane Force Winds. Well, we did get out of town the next day and here was our plan (keep in mind, we aren't retired yet so time is valuable):
1) get some rest and relaxation
2) plan a route
3) don't plan the stops
We decided that three was a good thing. When we got tired, usually around 2-3 p.m. we would start looking for a place and of course, we usually boondock.
We took the Saltillo route headind down the 57. Some call it uneventful and I am one of those, but it does have its beauty. Our goal for the first day was to get to Queretaro as I had worked there many times but never took the time to be a tourist. Unfortunately, we did not have a depart time from Monterrey and we said, "who cares". We drove until we got to a place called "Ejido Peotillos, San Luis Potosi (SLP). Nothing there but a gas station and convenience store. However, next to the gas station is a restaurant (comedor) in construction with a wonderful driveway that leads to the back where the parking lot is. We saw no one, checked the bags of cement and it was obvious that construction had stopped. We asked at the Pemex and they said we could stay no problem. It was also obvious that no one goes there, no trash, no clothes, nothing.
We fixed dinner, watched a movie and purchased gas on the way out the next morning. We found the infamous RV Trailer Park and Hotel just as it says on "OnTheRoadIn" webpage, 15 kms North of Queretaro. Good for me I do know my way around most of Queretaro and had passed it many times. Not a task even for the challenged. We checked in, 100 pesos a night and took off for some sightseeing.
As you pass it on your left you do have to go ahead and turn around. Not a problem though. They claim to have 100 sites and they do. But it is mostly grassy area, electric, water and sewage but I guess I don't understand why a little maintenance wouldn't help (now you know why I boondock, I am constant complainer . There is a swimming pool, restaurant and Pemex.
Our luck ran both ways. It was Holy Thursday and Good Friday so lots of things were going on. On the other hand, Good Friday found all the museum closed or closing early. We did as much as we could and loved it.
After Thursday night mass, things really got crazy and we found the streets flooded with food stands, fairs, and tours:
Waling tours called Las Leyendas de Queretaro in English and Spanish 1.5 hours long. Tourist information booths abound and they speak English. Tours can be found at these booths with times and cost.
As Good Friday found most things closed, we went back into town and took photos heading out at check out time (1p.m.).
We continued south to San Juan Del Rio and headed East on Hwy 45. BTW, we didn't stop in SJR, but it is a really nice town. I highly recommend a day there while in Queretaro.
My previous research says that there is a national park in Hidalgo called Los Marmoles. It is supposed to have abandoned infrastruture including an rv park. There are three possible entrances but I could never find out which one it was. We took the route North from Hwy 45 to Hwy 85. What a trip. Highway 85 is the original highway from Laredo to Mexico City. Whoever thought that one up even puzzles this GringoMexicano. We drove all afternoon straight up to 10,000 feet. We stopped along the way and people finally told us that the park is a preserve but to there knowledge our route had no rv park. We came upon our destination, Zamipán. It was off the track so we continued on. La Incarnación is a small town in Hidalgo hidden 5 kms down in the canyon. The road is gravel/dirt. We were told by a dump truck coming out we would love the place and could turn around. First off, we broke our 3 year old cardinal rule of no "gravel". Second, we trusted this guy. We started down, got to the town and it was pretty neat but scary. The road ends in a funnel shape. I had to back up 400 meters, spinning tires, etc. but we found a spot. Scary because everyone has the blackest hair and whitest skin I have ever seen and I felt like if the sun went down I wanted to be in the trailer. Turns out, it is an abandoned iron mine and foundry.
End of the road:
Foundry:
Purchased used and transferred from Ohio:
Not for big rigs but you can park at the entrance from the highway and take a taxi or drive in your toad. Safe place.
Spent the weekend in Tamazunchale. Another jewel. We camped out along the river that runs through town. We found along the river, a balneario that let us spend the weekend for 70 pesos a night. Cool nights, hot days and peace and quiet.
Rancho El Huasteco (balneario)
Main Plaza Tamazuchale
Buying fresh coffee:
The camping area and the rancho are located off the main highway. As you come through town, take the turn at the only light in the city. This is right before the bridge:
(a hobby of mine is to scare people crossing the road, as seen by the woman running in front of me )
When we left Tamazunchale it was raining lightly. It made for a great driving day, no sun in the windshield, cool outside.
We came to Xilitla which most of you know from Jonna and Harvest is a garden in the jungle created by James Edward, an eccentric art collector. It is styled after Dalí and made out of concrete. Very interesting with tours available in English. We came across a guy named Jim Kelly who left the states many years ago who lives outside of Real de Catorce and dedicates himself to exploring the Huasteca and making great DVDs. We had coffee and a picture:
There is a campground here in front of the entrance to the gardens. They also rent TeePees. It was too muddy and we felt our rig with TV might get stuck.
We headed out and ran across Aquismón. Aquismón is now deemed one of the Pueblo Magicos. We just happened to drive the 8 kms off the highway and found a real paradise. This place is home to the Huasteco.
They have a beautiful little town with the traditional square:
Fifteen minutes from there, via a very good two-lane road
is a hot spring that feeds into a river. The water is crystal clear, warm and the area one of the cleanest we have ever come upon. They have what I have mentioned before, a "recreativo" where you can grill, camp and enjoy the water. There is no charge.
Tamuín became our next unplanned stop. The only thing I knew about this hidden jewel was that Cemex has a plant there. When we arrived we parked in the plaza and went to the Presidencia. They happened to have a tourist office. The gave us a map and told us that there were ruins nearby. We asked a taxi (this is a very good tip) if he could show us places to stay that were safe. They have La Playa, which is along the river. Very nice but no shade, the ruins but they said it was federal property and we couldn't spend the night. So we decided to stay at the square. I guess the taxi driver tipped off someone as the PTA president came immediately upon hearing we were teachers and insisted we park at the school providing electric and water. We opted for the water as we were low and used our Honda 2000 during the afternoon heat.
Palace
Sacrifical Alter
It is interesting to find the smaller ruins. The "mean" guy who said we couldn't park over night began giving us a tour when we returned. As he talked we thought, "wow, this guy has really been trained". That was until he started talking about the excavation and pulled out some blueprints of the place, and a photo. He was in the photo. The head arquiologist who started the excavation in 1980. What a treat that was. (be nice to people, you never know who they might be )
Well, to wrap this up, the ten days were great and on the way home we stopped at the Presa Vicente Guerrero (Big Bass). Fishermen were selling fresh fish and the cactus were in bloom. (I swear, these are the last pictures). On our way out of here the next day, we decided to pay the "Presidencia" a visit to find out the history of our favorite boondocking site. Long story short, Viejo Padilla used to be the capitol of Tamaulipas. Also, Iturbide was executed here.
Church built in 1745
Horned Toad (?)
Just as a reminder, Viejo Padilla was flooded and the town moved to Nuevo Padilla. The waters settled and the church, school and town square along with some of the houses foundations, remained. These are level spots and you are permitted to park anywhere. They people from the city office were so happy that someone was interested in their past. We made an agreement to work with them on the restoration.
The end. For more info on how to get there, what to see there, or anything else, send me a PM.
Moderator's edit: Reduced the width of the pictures so as not to exceed the forum's recommended maximum of 640 pixels.
I am having some internet problems so I will continue tomorrow.
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Great pics and wonderful post. Please keep it up, perhaps you will help convince some of the great unwashed that rural Mexico is a safe and "must see" RV destination. Or perhaps we do not want that to happen!
Ketch,Bill & Cappy
Cougar 291RLS, Ford F250 Super duty,
2wd,cab,short box, Triton V10
Sounds like you had a great time and going off the beaten path is always fun. We have been doing the "other than touristy" stuff for years and have discovered so many odd things and wonderful sights that it's hard to give up!
If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?
As always your trips and pics sound like so much fun!! Maybe you could lead caravans !! Yesterday's USA today has a huge article on the aerospace industry in Queretaro. Aerenova, Cessna, Beechcraft, Bombardier and Safran all have plants in that area with more to come. If that article is correct look for this area to really boom.
Oh yeah!! The article is true. They call it " The firts aerospace corridor" in Mexico. Bombardier is already here. If you know the area, the plant is on the way to Tequisquiapan just next to the new airport that now has very cheap flights from Monterey to Queretaro. The area is growing too fast. We arrived here 10 years ago and it is a very nice city to live in. Wonderful weather all year and still a quiet city.
qtla9111 I'm glad you enjoyed my city. There's still too much to see. I know the Parador Azteca is not pretty but it is very close to the city. I think Queretaro won the third place as "best cities to live in Mexico". Aguascalientes was the first and I don't remember the second. It really is very pretty and one of the cleanest you'll see in Mexico.
HELLO FROM MEXICO!! TENT CAMPED FOR 10 YEARS; BOUGHT A USED POP UP IN 2004 AND IMPORTED TO MEXICO. SOLD IT IN 2006 AND BOUGHT A 2006 HYBRID AND IMPORTED IT TO MEXICO AGAIN!! FAMILY OF 4 VIEJO(40), CHULA(36),DAUGHTER (16),SON(9)
Queretaro is booming. In just the last year and a half I was surprised at all the new construction, factories, housing. It is really amazing. It appears that Queretanos really take pride in their city. Everyone is very tourist oriented, helpful and like all Mexicans, very friendly.
About 15 years ago we had a great lunch in the then new fancy bus terminal. Couldn't believe it, the food was GREAT. We then took the bus up into the mountains to Tequisquiapan---a popular weekend spot for Mexicans.
It was during the week so it was not crowded and quite nice. We found a great little outdoor cafe for our comida corrida. I did not have my dictionary, I knew less Spanish than now, so I could not totally understand the special on the menu board. I understood onions, beef, and most items. But after John got to eat two meals and I left hungrey, I never forgot what the word higado meant---I hate liver!---but that is how we learn. Just the mention of Queretaro makes me think about liver and onions.
Chris, what is that town like now? I imagine it is far more built up now and maybe more touristy??? We really liked both Queretaro and Tequisquiapan at that time.
Your pictures are great as are the places you choose to visit.
ketchadream wrote: Great pics and wonderful post. Please keep it up, perhaps you will help convince some of the great unwashed that rural Mexico is a safe and "must see" RV destination. Or perhaps we do not want that to happen!
That's the beauty of rural Mexico. Finding small towns and the nice people. We have never had an unpleasant experience. As any good boondocker, you begin to develop a sixth sense about places. We have found only one place that we didn't fell welcome over the last 7 years and we just turned around and left.
I posted the rest of the trip report and pics in the OP.
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. There is a swimming pool, restaurant and Pemex.
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