Guatemala to Alaska and Back

[richsuz]

Originally Posted by GuateRider

Just got off the bike in Bisbee, Arizona

Put the pesos away and get the credit card out! It won't be cheap no more!

[TK-LA]

Originally Posted by GuateRider

Just got off the bike in Bisbee, Arizona

Will you be hitting Southern California?

If so, hit me up. I know a ton of great roads for you to hit as you meander northwards.

EDIT: I also know of a ton of FREE camping spots in southern and mid california.

[cyberdos]

Originally Posted by richsuz

Put the pesos away and get the credit card out! It won't be cheap no more!

Truth.

How many days will you be there? Any sort of route plans?

[westerlywinds]

Hello I found your report I read straight through.Very nice photos. I had to locate Real de Catorce by map .I have been to Creel and the Cascada only with water running strong.I recognized some of your photos My in-laws live in Chiuahua Chua. we've been that far south a couple of times.I'm subscribed I know some places in Colo and Utah Oregon.Keep riding and writing

[nailit2em]

WELCOME TO THE USA!!!!!

[GuateRider]

Originally Posted by fastlane1

Great RR! When/IF you pass through Vancouver, BC I have a great workshop with some bikes to keep your bike company and a room for you! Keep on rolling

Thank you for your offer ! We are planing to come through your neighborhood on our way back down south ; I will get in touch with you when we are getting closer

Originally Posted by MikeMike

Que te vaya bien, amigos! Ahora vas a ser en las manos del tio Sam.

Gracias ! Hopefully Uncle Sam will be kind to us

Originally Posted by voyer

Thank you for the great report! The pictures and the journey make me jealous. One day!

Glad you like it; every day could be that day...

[GuateRider]

Originally Posted by richsuz

Put the pesos away and get the credit card out! It won't be cheap no more!

The pesos are gone , nothing left to put away . Let's see how far the credit card will take us ... we'll get camping gear and stove, that should help

Originally Posted by cyberdos

Truth.

How many days will you be there? Any sort of route plans?

I might wait for Ed to return to Bisbee; so far no routeplan . Need to buy a map tomorrow and work on that

[GuateRider]

Originally Posted by TK-LA

Will you be hitting Southern California?

If so, hit me up. I know a ton of great roads for you to hit as you meander northwards.

EDIT: I also know of a ton of FREE camping spots in southern and mid california.

We will hit California on our way back down south; I will the come back to your offer, thx !!

Originally Posted by westerlywinds

Hello I found your report I read straight through.Very nice photos. I had to locate Real de Catorce by map .I have been to Creel and the Cascada only with water running strong.I recognized some of your photos My in-laws live in Chiuahua Chua. we've been that far south a couple of times.I'm subscribed I know some places in Colo and Utah Oregon.Keep riding and writing

Chihuahua is great and the cascada with water must be really great. I will get back to you about those places once we get a bit further up north, thx !!

Originally Posted by nailit2em

WELCOME TO THE USA!!!!!

Thank you , Shawn !!

[Supergringo]

As you have probably gathered, there is a lot of camping available in the USA. In many years of camping, I have never had a problem with safety issues or theft. Plus, it is definitely much cheaper than the hotel options available here.

A lot of the available camping will be on publicly owned campgrounds, where you will certainly be asked to pay a fee. Usually these campgrounds will have some sort of restroom facility and water. Sometimes they will have coin operated showers, but don't count on it.

Aside from these pay options, there is a lot of government owned land in the western part of the US. Often this is called BLM land (bureau of land management) - federal government. Generally, you can camp where ever you like on BLM land, for free. Near popular vacation areas and resorts there may be some rules, but this will usually be posted with "no camping" signs. So, if you see wide open spaces in the Western US that aren't fenced off and are not productive agricultural areas there is a good chance its BLM land. Drive a bit away from the main roads and find a quiet spot. With a motorcycle and stealth camping, you really have a lot of options in the Western US.

Also, please note that on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, it may become very difficult to find open spots at the pay campsites, especially in popular destinations. Since I don't plan ahead well, my strategy for this problem is to drive around the campground, look for interesting people that aren't too crowded in their spot and ask if I can join them. It helps to be carrying some beer :)

Enjoy!

[GuateRider]

Originally Posted by Supergringo

Also, please note that on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, it may become very difficult to find open spots at the pay campsites, especially in popular destinations. Since I don't plan ahead well, my strategy for this problem is to drive around the campground, look for interesting people that aren't too crowded in their spot and ask if I can join them. It helps to be carrying some beer :)

Enjoy!

Thanks for the advice , I will keep it in mind

[GuateRider]

Coffee place in the last town in Mexico where we spent a night

[Carl Stark]

Just found your thread. We are enjoying reading about your travels. We have travelled south of our border 3 times and have enjoyed the hospitality that the people south of the border provided us. We have completed Prudhoe Bay to Ushuaia in our new retired life. Hopefully you will travel through Sheridan Wyoming (just east of Yellowstone Park) and will plan to stay with us. We have garage, motorcycle lift and tools if you need to do maintainence or repairs.
Hope to be able to be the gracious hosts that many in Central and South America were to us!
Carl and Jonnie
PS... Hi Mario, Often think about that wonderful day at the Air Show in San Salvador! Say hi to Carlos!

[GuateRider]

Originally Posted by Carl Stark

Just found your thread. We are enjoying reading about your travels. We have travelled south of our border 3 times and have enjoyed the hospitality that the people south of the border provided us. We have completed Prudhoe Bay to Ushuaia in our new retired life. Hopefully you will travel through Sheridan Wyoming (just east of Yellowstone Park) and will plan to stay with us. We have garage, motorcycle lift and tools if you need to do maintainence or repairs.
Hope to be able to be the gracious hosts that many in Central and South America were to us!
Carl and Jonnie
PS... Hi Mario, Often think about that wonderful day at the Air Show in San Salvador! Say hi to Carlos!

Hola Carl and Jonnie , thank you for your kind invitation . Yellowstone is definitely on our (no)plan
I just finally bought a road map of the US, actually helps a lot to get a better idea of where everything is and how to get there . We will let you know when we are getting closer to your neighborhood.
BTW, Mario is riding in the Austrian Alps right now

[GuateRider]

We left Nueva Casas Grandes early in the morning and for a long time the ride was pretty boring,no curves , no mountains , not even hills.





The we got into some mountains and even cooled down a little bit





Pretty close before Agua Prieta we saw a huge line of trucks and of course we passed them all





And there we saw what caused the big line , an army checkpoint . Here they checked every single vehicle





A few miles down the road there was an other checkpoint , Migracion this time





And there we were , at the border . But all we wanted to do here in Agua Prieta was to cancel our TVIP and then go on to Naco , a much smaller border with no waiting lines. Canceling the TVIP and getting my money back didn’t take more then 5 minutes. We parked right behind the Banjercito





From there it took us 20 minutes to get to Naco , we had a little chat with the guy from Migracion about Guatemala and we were out of Mexico. It took us 3 month and 10 000 KM to cross this country , and we enjoyed every single day and KM





On the US side of the border everything was pretty easy as well , a little chat with the custom agent about bikes and we were in the US.
The short ride to Naco gave me an idea about how different it will be to ride in the US, 25 speed limit signs in a 15 mile stretch…and everybody takes them seriously…
But after a little while we arrived well in Bisbee

[Dblarrow]

Hola Julio, Really nice to read a ride report going backwards from the typical north to south.

If you end up coming north through Montana and hitting up Glacier Park - great ride, Going to the Sun road (often to much construction though) you have an open invitation to my place; have a spare bedroom and shower. Just a day notice and its yours. Only condition, you gotta stop by prior the the 4th of July as mine and my daughters trip to Alaska starts then.

Blessings and safe travels, Chris