Connecting with the RV Caravan to Mexico

Nov. 3-4, 2006

We headed for Pancho Villa State Park in  Columbus, NM to start our RV caravan to Mexico.

Columbus, NM is where Pancho Villa invaded the United States in the early morning hours on March 19, 1916.  He attacked the small army base there and the town simultaneously. It was the only armed invasion of the United States since the War of 1812. The U.S. sent a large contingent of troops under the command of General Pershing to capture Pancho Villa. They never managed to capture him, although they captured many of his troops. This was the first use of motorized vehicles and airplanes by the U.S. Army in combat, and served as a learning experience for the army prior to joining World Way I in Europe. Pancho Villa State Park has a very nice museum describing the attack and the U.S. punitive expedition.
 

After connecting with the RV caravan outfit and getting our tourist visas and papers to take our vehicles into Mexico, we lined up for the RV caravan. There are 13 vehicles, plus the wagonmaster leading the caravan and the tailgunner bringing up the rear. Our Roadtrek is that small van part way up the line.

Our first night in Mexico was in Casas Grandes, where our campground was a field with no facilities. I guess that is why it our rigs are "self-contained".

That afternoon we toured the area; our first stop was the  ruins of Paquime, which was a flourishing Indian village from about 700 A.D. to about 1450 A.D.

After Paquime we went to the Mormon community of Colonia Juarez, and then on to a pottery demonstration by the Olivas family. They do the entire process by hand, including making their own clay and dyes from the soil and rocks in the area. Here, Mrs. Olivas is forming a vase. Her potter's wheel is a simple turntable made from old car parts and turned by hand.

Manuel Olivas is hand painting a vase without the assistance of any machinery. He must have a very steady hand, since the piece, which he painted while we watched, was very beautiful.

The potter had a drawing to give away a vase to some lucky person in our group; Ed was the winner of the drawing and got this vase.

Of course they led us to the showroom where we could buy their artwork; Diane and Nancy seem happy with their purchases.

One of the challenges of traveling in a foreign country is figuring out the currency; there is a tendency to think of it as 'monopoly money", but that is dangerous since it represents real value. Ed has just purchased an ice cream cone. He appears to be thinking, "Did they give me the right change?"

At dinner that night our entertainment was a local music group. Pat and Nancy are "assisting" the group with their "extensive" knowledge of, and "impressive" skill with, various musical instruments. It was truly a rendition of "Make a joyful noise ...". Tomorrow we head for Chihuahua.