40 Day and 40 Nights of Wandering is Over: Back in the USA!

N 32*46.530 W 115* 34.228 With some sadness, we’ve left Mexico. Our last night at San Pedro Martir/Meling Ranch was pleasant. We ate dinner in the ranch dining hall by the fire and were in bed by 9:30. It was very cold, 26 degrees outside and 37 degrees in the Chalet when we woke up the next morning, but with sunny blue skies that soon warmed the air. We broke camp and headed for the border. Following 5 hours of driving, it took about an hour to clear U.S. Customs with a thorough inspection of the car and camper that resulted only in the confiscation of some turkey sandwich meat. Re-crossing into Mexico on foot to turn in our Tourist Cards at Immigration, then back on foot through U.S. Customs took another 30 minutes. That process seems unnecessarily complicated. We felt some relief to be back on a U.S. highway that has wide lanes, shoulders, and good sight distances, but still we’re missing the warmth and amiability of Baja, the relaxed pace of life, and food and friendliness of its’ people. We drove to El Centro, CA just north of the Mexican border, and about 50 miles west of the Arizona border to spend our night in an urban RV park with full hook-ups, a laundry room and internet. Now all our batteries are re-charged, clothes are clean, and we will grocery shop this morning, then head for Arizona. Our friend Hobie Denny from Olalla has mapped out several nice campgrounds and hikes in Arizona, then we expect to arrive at his winter casita in the Saguaro National Forest outside Tucson on Tuesday. We’ll connect with Cathryn’s parents and all 3 of the kids by cell phone by the end of today. We hear the weather back home continues with a bit of snow and hail, so we remain happy to be in sunny Arizona for the next 10 days. (It' 47 degrees here in El Centro at 7 AM, cool compared to Bahia de Los Angeles.