On The Road (without Punky)

beach camp Chacalaca Mexico

another of those amazing sunsets

coastline south of Acapulco Mexico

Rosie, our roadside tarantula

camp near Puerto Escondido, Mexico

On the Road (without Punky)

Well, we’ve had 10 days or so to deal with our loss and figure you would still want to hear from us on the blog, so here we are again. We are currently south of Huatulco which is way south of Acapulco. Have found a cool beach to chill on for the day. Actually quit riding by noon today for the first day. Have been putting long hours in the saddle (and sometimes not very many kilometers). Some of the interesting things we have seen:

-2 tarantulas crossing the road ( beautiful with black and reddish brown coloring – maybe rosy tarantulas?)

-lots of squished snakes of various sizes

-lots of road kill – everything from horses to dogs to iguanas to skunks

- some amazing sunsets

- humpback whales somewhere north of Acapulco

- felt an earthquake shake the ground under our tent for a few seconds one night

- got bit like crazy by no-seeums in San Blas – they have only now a week later quit itching

- met our relatives, Stan, Mary, Dick, Cathy, Bob & Ethel in Chalaca and spent an extra day camping and visiting with them – very nice!!!

- beaches and coconut trees to die for

- the coastline where the totugas come to lay their eggs and millions of turtle eggs and even a big dead turtle (70 lbs)

- Puerto Escondido – one of the nicest gringo towns we have seen so far

I have got to say something about the road carnage down here! The roads are covered with o-possum patties, rat raisins, snake smoothies, iguana pancakes, squished skunk, dog rugs and of course big fat cows, donkeys, the odd horse mule and virtually anything that can and does move! Obviously you need to be a night driver (rider) to be a Mexican road hunter as our daylight stints show very little (other than the odd tarantula or iguana to gun down).

Now we should talk topes (large chunks of various hard substances put in the middle of the road to slow down Mexican grand-prix racers. On the back roads these things pop with annoying frequency and although no problem on a MC semis and old junkers slow down to a standstill, causing huge delays in making any progress. We have found topes come in three types: 1) The nice “ski jump” topes that you can slam into at full speed with little trouble 2) The “ball buster” topes that you hit, your load slams you in your ass and drives you into the fuel tank and 3) the “non-existent” (sign only) topes which work amazing well for the first time through traveler like us! So like the good Mexican said: wanna play topes roulette…don’t slow down and take your chances!

Lets yap garbage. The signs say No Tirar Basura (which I believe means dump your garbage or pay a fine) but actually means “no dumping garbage”. A drive through the country shows that Mexicans do not understand their own language and I had to laugh when we went through km’s of solid garbage and hit the town of Los Mesas! (Los Messses…..get it) All kidding aside something needs to be done and it appears that the use of fire is a good way of getting rid of the roadside litter as we have seen lots of good blazes in our travels.

Until next time SALUD!

Tribute to Punky

Punky was run over by a car on the morning of February 15th, and though he is no longer with us, his memory will live on forever in our hearts and souls. We are now missing the 3rd partner in our adventure and it has left a big hole. In the few short weeks that Punky was riding with us, he brought smiles and laughter to everyone he met along the way.

We now know why God gave us a little friend like Punky...to show Lori and I what unconditional love is. Having the life leave those beautiful, joyous eyes while I held him has been the hardest thing that I have ever done in my life. Yes, Punky is gone but only in body as his soul will live on with us and although I will always shed a tear for what would have been, what we had brings nothing but joy and happiness to my heart. And yes Punky I will make sure that Mom and I take good care of ourselves as you have shown us how precious life is.

I just want to say a few words about what I thought Punky believed this trip was all about. I know he loved being on the bike as every morning we would load up camp and hit the road and he would bark and bark for about an hour at everything and sometimes nothing! After that he would settle down and perhaps sleep until he heard (or felt) the bike slow down which usually meant a break or a village, both of which were a special treat.

Although it sounds strange Punky did more than pull his weight on this trip. Everytime we hit a police or military check all we got were lots of laughs and photos and questions about the bonito perro. In Batapilos I remember an old crippled man motioned us over and the smile on his face when he petted Punky was something to behold! In the three weeks we were on the road I guarantee that there wasn't a pom around that got photographed as much as Punky! People would pull out cameras, phone/cameras when I passed them and the smiles on peoples faces in the villages we rode through was something to marvel at. No doubt about it...people loved the Punkster!

So please join us and lift a brew (or a dozen) to the greatest adventure pom that we knew! Lori and I have dedicated this trip to our missing partner as his soul and spirit rides with us all the way!

Copper Canyon Adventures

Hello to all my two legged friends up North. Its Punky checking in on how our three amigos trip is going. After leaving that nice beach full of friendly people Dad tied me into my traveling bag and we hit a very long, boring road that didn’t even have any good vultures or ravens to bark at. To top it off every stop we made had me sweating in my heavy Northern coat…going to have to do something about this problem. We went through a large Mexican city which was kind of scary with all those smoking and noisy trucks around us. By night we had a nice campsite and I did a little running around with Dad before crawling into my home (for the next year the tent). Early in the morning Dad showed me some scorpions…not very interesting and kind of slow after Dad dropped a rock on them.
Mom and Dad then decided I needed a bath in the Rio Yaqui so I was unceremoniously dumped in the river along with them…but he sure did feel good. The road to Creel almost had me sick because of all the corners but the coolest thing was that I got to chase a herd of cows down the road (and almost into mom). These Mexican cows don’t know what hit them when I take after them! We even found some snow…I loved it and for once I wasn’t to hot!
We stopped in at Basaseachic Falls which are supposed to be the tallest falls in Mexico but all I know is that I wasn’t going near the edge of them even if mom and dad wanted me in the pictures! We had a great camp near Creel at Lake Areareco but I sure wasn’t into the fire that mom and dad made in the pines! But the adventure was great and reminded me of home in Alexis Creek with all those big pine trees and lakes.
The next day we headed into some huge hole in the ground that Dad called the Copper Canyon. I don’t know anything about Canyons but this road was rough and shook me all up. But it was great because it was slow and there was lots to see with a lot of stops to run about and explore. We met up with some really cool motorcyclists from Colorado and for once I got my own bed to sleep in at a hotel. We walked around the town of Batapilos and I found lots of four-legged friends. The best thing is that any fast move or bark I made had them running…what power! Some cute girls played with me (eat that up Dylan) and I had just as much fun on the return trip. That night we camped way up in the mountains and there was ice everywhere when we woke up. I guess mom and dad froze because they shuffled me around all night and called me their “heater”…all in all it made for a very restless night. So I’m loving it here in good old Mexico…I had a problem with the people in the beginning (Dad called me a red-neck hound) but now I see that they are very kind and besides mom and dad are starting to look a little dark themselves! Over and out from your friend Punky!

Relaxing at Puerto Penasco, Mexico

Well, here I am relaxing on the beach after a couple of tough days. I’ve really had to pull my share of the weight lately. First, we crossed into Mexico and Dad hit the red light so got pulled over for an inspection. He had trouble setting the bike on the kickstand ( it is so top heavy that once he started unloading it, it nearly tipped over). Then Mom stalled her bike ( and we know by now that she can seldom start it with the kick starter so there she was) Well I knew that some diversionary tactics were necessary, so right away, I jumped off Dad’s bike and ran around jumping up on the border officials and running under parked cars and trying to make friends with the border drug sniffing dog. This made Mom step up to the plate and she got her bike started so that she could move it, park it and chase after me. By the time we were all finished, all the border people were laughing, and feeling so sorry for Dad they only looked in one of his many containers on the bike and just shook their heads. Sud America eh?

Then once again I had to provide some comic relief when we went through the first toll gate. Dad agreed to pay for Mom too and then he paid and the bar lifted up and we went through. Then Mom pulled up and not knowing that she had to wait for the bar to drop and then raise again, she started to go through and the bar dropped on her windshield and broke it in half. Lucky for us the police were right behind Mom and started the lights and siren. She pulled over and things weren’t looking too good. They weren’t speaking English but were making sounds like she was in big trouble for running the toll gate. I once again came to the rescue when Dad & I pulled up to help. Well, the police (there were 3 of them in the car) must have thought I was a movie star with my doggles on and they stopped harassing Mom and started laughing and taking pictures of me on the bike. All ended well when they realized that we were only crazy Canadians.

Punky does the Strip

Hi - Here I am live from Las Vegas. I thought being in a mine shaft or prison Mazda was uncomfortable but nothing prepared me for Lost Wages! Way to many (drunk) people and one person even screamed "no dogs on the strip"...can you imagine how that made me feel? But I did see one other 4-legged friend and I could tell he was as glad to see me as I was him. Can't see what the big fuss about this noisey place is and I recommend it as a no go if you're a dog! (especially cause they won't even let you play the slots). Next Stop Valley of Fire.....

Death Valley or Bust

Have had a great time here in Death Valley. What a place – long days of riding on the motorcycles with the wind in my face, and long nights of trying to sleep. Gets dark way to early here – around 5:00 so unless we get back to camp early, I don’t have much time for my favorite activity of chasing ravens. They are pretty smart – they approach in flocks of about 6 and while one distracts me and makes me chase it all over the campsite, the others dive in and eat my dog food. My parents pointed out the flaw in my strategy of chasing the low flying birds around the campsite, the rest were feasting on my dog food. I am convinced if I was slightly smaller and more sprightly pomeranian, I could get one of these black devils. I am having a heck of a time maintaining the perimeter.

Between getting bugs in my teeth and stickers in my paws we did a couple of good hikes. In one we went several hundred feet into an old mine shaft...I didn't need to be told to "heel" cause it scared me bad.

Mono Lake Tufas

Mom & Dad lost $40.00 in 5 minutes playing blackjack so no goodies for a day or so. Had to spend the night camping at Mono Lake instead of a no star motel in Reno. Losers! She was pretty cold overnight and mom and dad complained about kinked necks and no room in "hotel Mazda".

Warm 'n Windy

Hi everyone - This is me Punky displaying some of my typical Pomeranian attitude. I'm hoping this attitude will serve me well in my South American travels.......