A week in Phoenix. We're refreshed, motorcycle maintenance is complete, supplies replenished and we're about to head south again.Nothing too exciting happened this week, unless you consider a knife fight exciting. It was just an easygoing week taking care of last minute business before leaving the country.

We have changed the oil and swapped out the street shoes on the bike for some hiking boots(Metzler Tourance tires). I took the opportunity to change out the seal on the clutch actuation rod and make a small wiring change in an effort to coax my Garmin to work a little more reliably. Other than that, a quick trip to the car wash and hopefully I can get another trouble free 3,000 miles from the bike.
We have been staying with my old friend Jeremy, his girlfriend Kim and their 2 yr. old daughter Lucy. They have truly been great hosts and Lucy is just so sweet. Some of the mildest "terrible twos" I've ever seen. I haven't seen one screaming fit yet.

We did have a little shopping for odds and ends to take care of while we were here. We had an interesting time at the map store. Seconds after entering the store I heard yelling and a car alarm go off. I walked back outside to make sure it wasn't Jeremy's car that was being molested and there they were. A man and a woman arguing and flailing wildly at each other roughly five feet from the door and the car. It took a split second before I realized that they both had a knife! An immediate about-face and I was back inside the store and the shopkeeper is there poking her head out, watching the whole affair. Of course, I told her to shut the damn door and lock it. Explaining why we didn't want that spilling into the shop. She was not too bright. It ended just as quick as it started and the cops were just pulling up as we were leaving. Fortunately, no blood was spilled.

It's been a good week but we're hitting the road tomorrow and I'm glad to get back on the road. We'll camp tomorrow night at a small lake just 17 miles NW of Nogales on the U.S. side and then attempt our first border crossing first thing in the morning Wednesday.
Our first stop in Mexico is San Carlos, Sonora. We were able find a host on Couchsurfing.com and they seem to be real find. San Carlos is on the coast of the Sea of Cortez about 4 1/2 hour drive into Mexico, straight south of Nogales.

I've been preparing for this border crossing for some time now and I feel pretty confident about it; however, I am still anxious about it and just want it to be over.

Mexico here we come!

With Lucy, Jeremy, Barney and Chester.

Picture of Bahia San Carlos.