Border Road Rally Raid

We hit the border road again as planned and were surprised to see how many trees and grass there were in this area. Not to mention nice curvy dirt roads for sliding the bikes around:


The flats turned into rolling hills with trees dotting them. Grassy fields stretched out as far as you could see. It really looked like northern Colorado or Wyoming around here. Not what you would expect from southern AZ:


Here the barrier was made of old railroad iron, and is set up to prevent vehicle incursions:


We wandered through this landscape for miles then the road stopped, and we could see another Int'l Boundary Monument on top of a hill:



To the north I spotted what could be a trail leading us through the brush:

But it crossed through a nasty looking marsh filled with black water. We decided to roll back east a little bit and finid a road taking us north to our next waypoint, Duquesne Rd.

Upon hitting Duquesne Rd, Bullitman noticed a road sign saying 'Patagonia'. Isn't that on the tip of South America?


My front tire was looking low so I check the air:

Turned out to be my imagination. That slime was doing an awesome job, despite was Bullitman thinks of it.

My tires held air and they don't have slim in them, so it cant be slime that kept the air in. Perhaps if I would have put slime in the crank case though...

that's a bummer you can't, don't or are scared to visit Mexico.
it's an amazing country filled with over the top nice people, awesome food & culture and natural sights.
the bad apples on the border screw up most people's perspective what the rest of the country is.
farther south the country is ALOT nicer looking than the barren desert border area.

Maybe it is his employer who doesn't allow him to visit.

did you visit Patagonia, AZ? It's a cool little mtn. oasis town in the AZ desert. gotta love those AZ sky island mtns.

i know the border patrol does not allow that. he said that in his post.
he sounds like he's afraid to be w/o a gun too. that's a personal issue.
it's still a bummer what's he missing out on and that was my point.

I agree that Mexico is a great place with marvelous people. Too bad that there are safety concerns in certain areas.

agreed.
anytime i'm crossing in via bike or car it's all about getting through the border area as fast as possible and a few hours south that day. it did not use to be like that in the past. i've visited and partied in Tijuana and Juarez many years ago. It was a blast. Nowadays i like the Nogales (mariposa) truck crossing as it's fast and easy and you're on a 4 lane toll road fast & asap. Then the customs stop 21km in is very easy to deal with. We like to visit San Carlos and soak in some beach time. Last year I was living in Sayulita (Puerto Vallarta) & Guanajuato and not once did we have any safety issues.

i do comprehend the psychology that rugged exposure has to go through every day and the not so nice people coming at him.
that has to make it hard for someone to then go purposely visit that area. in the end most people in the world are good.

i love his concept of riding the southern edge. it has to be one of the first times done.

You've pretty much hit the bullseye. We are not forbidden to go there, but highly advised not to.
The bounty is up to almost $500k now.

No, we didn't make it there. Might have to check it out on another trip though.

In for a Terrra trip Lovely sights... Especially when you have snow behind the windows

Love the thread guys...

If you want to tour a country that has mind blowing sights... No Borders.... Lovely friendly folk who don't carry guns.... Come to Australia....

You will have to learn to ride on the left side of the road (Right side if you ask me)... , there are some nasty nibblers though... Tourist eating Crocodiles, 7of the Worlds 10 most deadly snakes, Red Back (Black Widow) Spiders and some other critters like Dingoes, scorpions, drop bears and boogeymen....

But aside from that.... It's a hoot to boot....

You might have the Grand Canyon- which is the biggest canyon in the world- but even many locals here don't realise the 2nd largest canyon in the world is right here in sunny Qld. See- no-one remembers who won 2nd do they?.... an

Australia would be awesome. One day I will make it down there.

I believe Copper Canyon in Mexico is larger than the Grand Canyon... not sure how one goes about measuring a canyon though. Total volume? Depth? Length?

Yes there are several ways to define "largest"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canyon#Largest_canyons
and yes Copper Canyon has a greater volume than the Grand Canyon.

that canyon in OZ sound cool too!

Oops, my bad... I should have checked my facts first...
Nah, lets not let facts get in the way of a good yarn...
Back to the Border Run eh? :wink

We got on Duquesne Rd and hit the little village of Lochiel, AZ. It looks abandoned for the most part and didn't see another soul.

Not sure if anyone still lives here or not.

On the north side of Lochiel we stumbled upon a large monument:

This marks the spot Marcos de Niza entered this valley in the 1500's, being the first European into what is now the United States. More info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcos_de_Niza

We carried on from here taking Duquesne Rd through some more tight, windy dirt roads going through the mountains. It was great hauling ass through this section, sliding around corners and kicking up dust.

Duquesne Rd:


Some of the hilly terrain through Duquesne Rd:


Looking towards Nogales:

Good RR.

me too. The Husky and some cool looking trails. What's not to like ?

btw.. the more miles I get on my TR the more I like her. An all around great bike.

Are you a PA? I didn't know they prevent you guys from traveling south. Many of my classmates went down there for instant immersion classes before our oral boards and many of my coworkers still visit family and vacation down there. Two of my colleagues were ambushed down there last year while working. One was killed and one survived and I still rode down there by myself. I just don't tell people what I really do for work. I never felt threatened or in danger. Use common sense and you'll see that most of the people down there are very friendly. It's sad because some of my coworkers who ride bikes feel the same way as you and are really missing out on some great adventure riding.

Ya. What class were you?

They don't forbid us from going there, but its frowned upon. I used to go to Mexico all the time growing up and into my 20's. I would go to Rocky Point every year, and Juarez/Palomas every few months. But I see on a daily basis what goes on down there and its just not worth it.