bazarnam - Caravans

We Did It...Because Nobody Said We Couldn't!

More than fourteen years ago, we sat at Playa de Oro RV Park in Puerto Penasco watching the sunset and contemplating life. We had a nine year old son, Ben; a six year old daughter, Bethany; and a baby boy, Braden. We loved this beach. How could we make our trips to the beach a tax write-off? That was the question. Somehow, an idea sprang into one of our heads. We would bring RVs to the beach…what a brainstorm! ...At the time we thought this to be a novel idea.

However, upon researching the RV life, we soon realized that RV-ers travel in “caravans”. There were many professional companies in operation offering caravans to Alaska, South America, many destinations in the USA and, of course, to Mexico. I requested brochures from every company and studied them in detail; it didn’t seem like any offered trips to Puerto Penasco since it was only an hour across the border. So, we titled our caravan trip “Introduction to Mexico”  and we set up a five day itinerary.

We named our company Penasco RV Club. And started on our six year adventure.  The caravan business was a seasonal occupation (snowbird season) and this worked well for us as we had to attend to our other ongoing business. We had previously bought a 1946 Spartan trailer for $500. It was a silver trailer with the faded lettering that read NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHIC UNIT on the door. We had since gutted and remodeled it. It was stored at the RV Park and would be perfect for our business. So, we had a name, a trailer and a plan!  Soon we owned a 5 acre property in Ajo and moved closer to the border. The property would serve as a “dry-dock” RV launch point for our trips to Mexico. 

Our first trip consisted of just two retired couples. No trip was ever cancelled because not enough people signed up. Sometimes, our trips had a few couples and sometimes we had a dozen or more RVs traveling in the caravan. Our largest trip was for a private club and consisted of about 70 people! On each trip, we prepared and served a meet-and-greet cowboy dinner, a continental breakfast on the morning of departure and a sunset happy hour at the beach on our first evening. 

Our clients seemed to enjoy our family approach as the kids were often temporary “grandchildren replacements” to homesick grandparents! Ben and Bethany learned a few traditional Folklorico dances and I made them costumes. They also became junior tour guides as they became familiar with museums, aquariums and other points of interest. Braden was just a baby when we started and about six when we closed the business. So he was just plain cute most of the time; and the other times, we would quietly disappear from the group and head for the beach!    

Soon our clients were asking us to introduce new trips. We worked one summer to get the old ‘46 Spartan roadworthy again! Often as we took off, we would joke that only the chassis frame would come along leaving the trailer on the road behind us. We were traveling to Kino Bay, San Carlos and Guaymas. We even introduced our “Mexico Autentico” trip which included back roads and out of the way towns. We dry dock camped every few nights and this allowed us to stay in some fun places! We camped in the main square of Caborca and at a Waterpark in downtown Hermosillo.  

Then we discovered the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation and RV Show each snowbird season and we became vendors! February found us talking - until we literally went hoarse - to thousands of RV-ers, hocking our caravan trips. And each year, I would wander around the show looking at what the competition had to offer in their glossy full-color brochures (especially the trips). Then, one year as we sat at our booth, a couple came up to us and asked if we offered a trip to the Copper Canyon. We looked at each other and Russ said “aahh…yes”. We told them it would be about a certain amount, about a certain number of days and generally in the month of October. The man said, “Write that on a piece of paper and we will give you a deposit.”  Wow! We sold our first trip just like that!  

That spring we developed an itinerary and promoted the trip to our clients. In August we mapped out every mile of the road on a crazy fast trip to Los Mochis. We found our way though the city to the train station. Got ourselves on the train and soon met up with Carlos and Isaac, our tour guides for the area. And two months later, we returned with a full caravan of RV-ers and the trip was a great success as we all fell in love with the area on what we termed “the trip of a lifetime”!

Those six years of travel in taught our family so many things. The kids developed unbelievable patience and “people skills”. We learned to be organized. Not to panic when things went wrong, but to be flexible and adapt quickly. We learned about cultures and peoples and histories which could never fully be appreciated simply by reading a textbook. Yet even more than that was the majestic beauty that we discovered in and the love of Travel and of Mexico that continues to haunt each of us!  

A Piece of Advertising Literature

Caravans To Puerto Penasco

2009-05-13

Manny's Beach Club.jpg
Manny's Beach Club.jpg 2009-05-12

Margaritas and Shrimp Cocktail at Happy Hour.jpg
Margaritas and Shrimp Cocktail at Happy Hour.jpg 2009-05-12

Russ and Naomi getting a TIP!.jpg
Russ and Naomi getting a TIP!.jpg 2009-05-13

Russ and Naomi in the sunset.jpg
Russ and Naomi in the sunset.jpg 2009-05-13

Schoolwork on the Road.jpg
Schoolwork on the Road.jpg 2009-05-13

Happy Hour at Playa de Oro RV Park.jpg
Happy Hour at Playa de Oro RV Park.jpg 2009-05-12

Cowboy Dinner at Ajo property.jpg
Cowboy Dinner at Ajo property.jpg 2009-05-12

Kids dancing.jpg
Kids dancing.jpg 2009-05-13

Penasco boats.jpg
Penasco boats.jpg 2009-05-12

Penasco Happy Hour on the Beach.jpg
Penasco Happy Hour on the Beach.jpg 2009-05-12

Penasco Harbor.jpg
Penasco Harbor.jpg 2009-05-12

Russ at Penasco Happy Hour.jpg
Russ at Penasco Happy Hour.jpg 2009-05-12

Russ Cooking for a group.jpg
Russ Cooking for a group.jpg 2009-05-13

Continental Breakfast on our Ajo Property.jpg
Continental Breakfast on our Ajo Property.jpg 2009-05-12

Caravan with Dolphin RV.jpg
Caravan with Dolphin RV.jpg 2009-05-12

Braden worried about the dog....jpg
Braden worried about the dog....jpg 2009-05-12

Onto Kino Bay, San Carlos and Guaymas

2009-05-13

Arriving by Ponga.jpg
Arriving by Ponga.jpg 2009-05-12

Boat in Kino Bay.jpg
Boat in Kino Bay.jpg 2009-05-12

Cactus and Rocks near San Carlos.jpg
Cactus and Rocks near San Carlos.jpg 2009-05-12

Crab traps at Kino Bay.jpg
Crab traps at Kino Bay.jpg 2009-05-12

Departing for Las Barajitas.jpg
Departing for Las Barajitas.jpg 2009-05-12

Desert Mission.jpg
Desert Mission.jpg 2009-05-12

Dinner at San Carlos Grill.jpg
Dinner at San Carlos Grill.jpg 2009-05-12

Dinner in Kino Bay.jpg
Dinner in Kino Bay.jpg 2009-05-12

Fishermen at Kino Bay.jpg
Fishermen at Kino Bay.jpg 2009-05-13

Flowers on the road to Alamos.jpg
Flowers on the road to Alamos.jpg 2009-05-12

Group at San Carlos Grill.jpg
Group at San Carlos Grill.jpg 2009-05-12

Hiking group in Las Barajitas.jpg
Hiking group in Las Barajitas.jpg 2009-05-12

Kids in the Sunset.jpg
Kids in the Sunset.jpg 2009-05-13

Kina Bay.jpg
Kina Bay.jpg 2009-05-13

La Manga ourtside of San Carlos.jpg
La Manga ourtside of San Carlos.jpg 2009-05-12

Las Barajitas Canyon.jpg
Las Barajitas Canyon.jpg 2009-05-12

Las Barajitas near San Carlos.jpg
Las Barajitas near San Carlos.jpg 2009-05-13

Lunch at Las Barajitas.jpg
Lunch at Las Barajitas.jpg 2009-05-12

Playa de Cortez entrance.jpg
Playa de Cortez entrance.jpg 2009-05-12

Playa de Cortez fountain.jpg
Playa de Cortez fountain.jpg 2009-05-12

Russ lost in thought and in the cactus.jpg
Russ lost in thought and in the cactus.jpg 2009-05-12

scan0031.jpg
scan0031.jpg 2009-05-12

South of Guaymas.jpg
South of Guaymas.jpg 2009-05-12

Dancing with Yaqui in Hermosillo Mercado.jpg
Dancing with Yaqui in Hermosillo Mercado.jpg 2009-05-13

Departing Kino Bay RV Park.jpg
Departing Kino Bay RV Park.jpg 2009-05-13

Copper Canyon Trips

2009-05-13

Alamos.jpg
Alamos.jpg 2009-05-12

Cabins in the Canyon.jpg
Cabins in the Canyon.jpg 2009-05-12

Cabins on the Road.jpg
Cabins on the Road.jpg 2009-05-13

Bus at Tarahumara House.jpg
Bus at Tarahumara House.jpg 2009-05-12

Broken down Mexican tour bus.jpg
Broken down Mexican tour bus.jpg 2009-05-13

Bethany and Braden at Mansion Tarahumara.jpg
Bethany and Braden at Mansion Tarahumara.jpg 2009-05-12

Cabins on the Road.jpg
Cabins on the Road.jpg 2009-05-13

copper canyon group picture.jpg
copper canyon group picture.jpg 2009-05-12

Copper Canyon train track.jpg
Copper Canyon train track.jpg 2009-05-12

Copper Canyon.jpg
Copper Canyon.jpg 2009-05-13

Group at the Copper Canyon overlook.jpg
Group at the Copper Canyon overlook.jpg 2009-05-13

Indians and Bus at Mushroom Rocks.jpg
Indians and Bus at Mushroom Rocks.jpg 2009-05-12

Indians at Mushroom Rocks.jpg
Indians at Mushroom Rocks.jpg 2009-05-12

Horses at Canyon edge.jpg
Horses at Canyon edge.jpg 2009-05-13

kids resting at Alamos.jpg
kids resting at Alamos.jpg 2009-05-13

Lining up for gasoline or diesel.jpg
Lining up for gasoline or diesel.jpg 2009-05-12

Mansion Tarahumara Dining Hall.jpg
Mansion Tarahumara Dining Hall.jpg 2009-05-12

River in the Copper Canyon area.jpg
River in the Copper Canyon area.jpg 2009-05-13

Tarahumara basket makers.jpg
Tarahumara basket makers.jpg 2009-05-12

tarahumara fence.jpg
tarahumara fence.jpg 2009-05-13

Tarahumara girl and train.jpg
Tarahumara girl and train.jpg 2009-05-12

tarahumara girls.jpg
tarahumara girls.jpg 2009-05-12

Tarahumara Log cabin and Corn fields.jpg
Tarahumara Log cabin and Corn fields.jpg 2009-05-13

Tarahumara Violin.jpg
Tarahumara Violin.jpg 2009-05-13

The kids in Nacapuli canyon.jpg
The kids in Nacapuli canyon.jpg 2009-05-13

Tour to Tarahumara cave r.jpg
Tour to Tarahumara cave r.jpg 2009-05-12

waiting for the train.jpg
waiting for the train.jpg 2009-05-13

Penasco RV Caravans

THE CARAVAN

If I can go in my RV and join the Caravan,

I’ll travel down to Mexico and see all that I can. 

I’ll drive beyond Sonoran hills - Just me and my RV.

And on and on and on and on until I reach the Sea.

If I can go in my RV, I’ll pack a little load

Of pots and pans and chairs and things and get on down the road. 

And when I get there on the beach, I just can’t sit inside,

So, I will stand upon the sand and watch the flowing tide. 

If I can go in my RV, I’ll see that desert beach,

And there I’ll search for shells and things  and keep a few of each.

If I can go in my RV, and join the Caravan

I’d love to see Old Mexico…Leave footprints in the sand! 

By Naomi Black  October, 1996

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