May 18 - Saltillo, Mexico - Pecos, Texas - 585 Miles

We're back in the good old U.S.A.!

We got the good highways we had hoped for, for about the last 300 miles out of Mexico.  Interesting terrain, fun riding, and fast roads with only a very few little villages.  This was the best mileage day we've had in all of  Mexico.

We did hit rain, and rode in light showers for maybe 50 miles.  Apparently a cold front had moved in to the northern part of Mexico and the southern part of Texas.  Our riding temperatures were delightful, from about 65 degrees F to just over 80 degrees F.

We left Mexico by the border town of Piedras Negras, and made sure at the immigration point that we got the motorcycles properly documented as going out of Mexico.  We made sure to get a receipt, and will keep it to take with us if we go to Mexico again.  While a Mexican border agent took the proper sticker and documents, we can only hope that it gets into their computer, so that we don't get a repeat of our frustration trying to get into Mexico two weeks ago.

We found out why the Mexico border procedures are so tough on motorcycles coming in and going out.  At the Honda dealer in Veracruz, while we were waiting, we talked to the manager and she told us that whereas my 2001 Gold Wing cost about $18,000 in the U.S., if she could get her hands on one she could sell it for about $28,000 in Mexico - an easy profit of $10,000 ($93,000 Pesos)!  Apparently there is a market among a very few wealthy motorcyclists, but Honda will not export Gold Wings to Mexico.  We assume that is because there is really no infrastructure for service of Gold Wings in Mexico.  So, the temptation is there for smuggling in hard-to-get motorcycles.

On the U.S. side, the border crossing is at Eagle Pass, Texas.  This is a good place to cross - much, much better than at Douglas, AZ and Agua Prieta, where we crossed going into Mexico.

After we had completed the documentation and crossing, we both said that if we go back it would be through this border crossing.

We had started early, and made such good progress in Mexico, coupled with an easy border crossing, that we just decided to keep riding to get closer for our final shot to home.  So, while the day wound up at 585 miles, it was a much easier day than a 200-mile day down in the southern part of Mexico.

Our travel in Mexico itself was about 3650 miles in 13 days!  So we're looking forward to getting home tomorrow, with our overall travel from Albuquerque and back expected to be about over 4800 miles in 16 days.

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