Last night in Brownsville

Earlier today, with the aid of google earth and street view, we decided on which of the two mediocre Pemex choices we have for overnighting tomorrow by Cuidad Victoria.  The second night Pemex is a secure, logical stop.  We will lose a rig the following day, as they split off to Aguascalietes, to visit with friends.  I had not been able to contact the third night stop at Parque Acuático Kikapu in Lagos de Moreno; despite trying eight different number combinations, I could not reach them by telephone.
I am not a dullard, this is the flow chart of which number combination to use when using a telephone in Mexico: (you can click on photos to see a larger version)

Luckily, a facebook message to our concierge at La Peñita resulted in he reaching them, and confirming that they had room for us Friday night.  The following night should see us in Roca Azul, in Jocotepec, Jalisco.  While we are in good wifi, I used street view to have a good look at puzzling intersections along the route.  We are spoiled in Canada, in that when two major roads intersect, you can, of course, turn left or right from any direction.  On Mexican roads, especially toll roads, quite often your choice is limited in that you can only turn one direction, and you may have to continue in that direction for 20 or more kilometres before you can hit a retorno and finally reverse to the direction originally desired.  Or, you may not be able to get there from here.

We had a caravan meeting tonight with the three couples accompanying us down the road into Mexico.  Among topics discussed and agreed on were route, travel speeds (95 Km), radio standards (LP1,2,3 &4) start times (8:30), pee breaks (as needed), lunch stops (maybe), gas stops (one rig has a shorter range than the rest), making sure the guy behind you sees which way you go at a corner, and all the other minutiae that either makes for a good caravan, or has you grinding your teeth and muttering all day long.  Three of the four couples have significant Mexican caravan experience, and the fourth has driven extensively in Mexico, albeit without an RV, so hopefully it will be a relatively drama free journey.  We are travelling relatively short days, which is a good thing as we find it difficult to average more than about 70 Km./hr even when travelling on cuota's (toll roads).

We're gassed up (sweet, cheap american gas - $2.15/gal.), hooked up (faithful CRV), fresh water full, grey and black tanks empty, and off we go for the 20 minute drive to the border, come morning.