It happened that the railroad companies ran out of flatlands in the mid 19th century in their drive to build a US transcontinental railroad. So they did the obvious and spent ten millions of public money and got the government to buy an extra chunk of Mexico below the Rocky Mountain range.
The Mexican American War ended as we know in 1848 with the cession of a vast tract of territory, half of Mexico in those days, to the United States all for fifteen million dollars. If you park your van on public lands most places west of the Mississippi today thank the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo for the privilege.
If you drive to Rocky Point today, after passing border formalities in Lukeville, across the sixty miles of Mexican territory separating Arizona from beachfront property on the Sea of Cortez you can wonder why the US Ambassador to Mexico in 1853, James Gadsden, an enthusiastic supporter of slavery, didn’t push for just a bit more land from Mexico…
But there it is, the border these days is fixed and enthusiastic politicians looking to carve up a few more pieces of Mexico for the US are all dead and gone. There were efforts to buy the Baja Peninsula which came to nothing. I can only imagine what US know how and entrepreneurial drive would have done to the splendid wilderness that is the peninsula today. Rocky Point is a case in point.
Last winter we drove to the border at Lukeville through Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument but did not cross the border. The road south was peppered with signs to Rocky Point. This is a popular destination and Sunday evening we saw massive lines of cars many without front license plates driving north. Mexican cars all have two license plates to make identification of Arizona vehicles easier!
We drove nine hours from a truck stop near San Carlos to Puerto Peñasco on our final leg to get Layne her tooth implants in Los Algodones on the border with California. We followed the main roads something like this:
The idea was to hang out one more time on the beach and have a final swim. We weren’t expecting massive winds and large waves with temperatures struggling to reach 80 degrees! Rusty refused to walk the beach wretched dog so I got no closer than an ocean glimpse!
I think our experience rescuing little Squirt and living with a second dog for two weeks, followed by some hard core long drives across Mexico has rather worn all of us out a bit. We are familiar with this area and we knew it was going to be a long desert drive but the reality wore us down.
Hot tea and a hot shower to start the morning after a night in a truck stop outside Guaymas.
Highway 15 to Hermosillo fast efficient and dull.
And the occasional toll booth.
Looking for work closer to the border or possibly across the line.
A military check point. They waved us through.
Trucks and Mexican automobiles got searched. Gringos are privileged apparently. Where are you coming from? San Carlos. Where are you going to? Arizona. We fit the retiree stereotype…
A dog walk break in Santa Ana. We’ve slept here on our way to the border. Nogales is ninety minutes north of here.
On and on. We stayed a little below the speed limit and kept close to 60 mph. You never know what’s around the corner on Mexican highways.
After Hermosillo we turned left and went west through Caborca a busy grimy industrial town in the desert. We remember it fondly as our first nights stop in Mexico aboard GANNET2 in a rainy December night in 2021 at an ARCO truck stop.
Sonoyta greeted us with an endless freight train across our path as we panted to arrive and get this drive finished. Our usual rule is no more than four hours driving on Google maps but we have to make miles to get Layne’s new teeth implants.
In Mexico every irritation is an opportunity do in our enforced idleness we bought flour tortillas from a vendor. I forgot to immortalize the transaction so I made a picture in my side mirror of their endless Sunday walk to make a few dollars.
Rocky Point advertises itself as fun by the sea and we shuddered as we approached this town that we had heard so much about and none of it necessarily to our taste.
The land not purchased by Ambassador Gadsden for the United States:
To make it easier for Americans to visit most tourist related Mexicans here speak English, and the dollar is widely accepted, albeit at a terrible rate of exchange! In addition the Mexican government has exempted foreign vehicles from the requirement to obtain a Temporary Import Permit. It costs fifty bucks and requires a $400 deposit all handled by credit card and you get the deposit back after you leave Mexico. In Baja and northern Sonora there is a “hassle free zone” where you don’t need the import permit.
We went further south obviously so we have ours and we will drop off the TIP when we leave Mexico to get our refund. Everyone has to get a Tourist Card but a lot of Arizonans don’t bother which automatically puts them in the wrong if they have an encounter with police or vehicle insurance companies. You can buy car insurance online so coming to Mexico is really very easy. Your phone works as it does at home too.
Bilingual signage:
Layne found the cheapest campground for us, somewhat down-at-heel but with all facilities.
We met an Arizonan who keeps a permanent trailer here and comes down from time to time to spend time at the beach. Tucson is four hours away.
Someone obviously wishes the Gadsden purchase stretched a little further south!
Low season.
It was a long day getting here.
The manager offered us our pick of spots!
Security wall:
Ambiguous gender signage in the bathrooms. This means men apparently for the showers. Hot water! Toilet paper! Toilets with seats!
Rates in dollars and language is English:
This is a functioning power outlet. Yes I know… and luckily I have my grounding pole but it works, for now. The sewer dump is the white cap in the background.
There you have it, relaxed camping on the beach. I keep Rusty on a leash as there are Americans here and you know how fussy they are! But we are here for just the one night then onwards again.
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