Halloween in February? What's this? There were orange plastic jack-o-lanterns on top of pylons down the middle of the highway, and trick or treaters dressed up as soldiers with realistic looking rifles! Nope, just another military checkpoint that Harley talked his way through, my remaining guns still secure. There were wires leading to all the jackolanterns, so I guess they were even lit up at night. How do you spell innovation? Other military checkpoints had cans of oil set alight along the road in lieu of flares or other lights. The Mexicans are experts at recycling as evidenced by the copious quantities of well, everything along the roadsides. It is all laid out there for inspection and possible re-use. For example, I was looking for a small piece of board - just the right size to keep my valuables from bouncing out of the space between the camper and the box. All over the states where things are rather sterile (southern California being a bit of an exception), I had to resort to a wild piece of deadfall to do the job. Once in Mexico, however, things were looking up. I spotted a kid kicking the ideal piece of board down the sidewalk in San Felipe. When he abandoned it, I pounced and it has been doing the job ever since. I am now looking for just the right type of rubber tire perhaps to use in mounting my satellite dish on the camper's jack. I think they recycle aluminum cans down here now, as I think I have seen people out in the ditches actually picking them up. Unfortunately, there is never any place to pull over when I spot someone who I would like to donate my can supply to.
Still northbound :-(
Checked out a big flea market this afternoon in Bufadora - just south of Ensenada on the Pacific coast. Found a very scenic campsite high on a rocky bluff overlooking the water. The proximity to California is obvious, for better or worse. More upscale businesses are evident, as are signs not en espanol. And I think that there are at least as many vehicles with California plates as there are Mexican. Maybe that is because it is a weekend? And I think that most of the upscale houses along the coast are likely owned by the Californians?

Saw some hovels today would not really qualify as shacks. There is some pretty sad poverty in a lot of areas down here. Some of the ones I saw today have bits of ragged plastic covering a few sticks for a 'roof', and flattened cardboard boxes for walls. Better places have an assortment of boards and scrap plywood and chunks of tin for walls and roofs. Moving up the scale further are an amazing assortment of ancient travel trailers and campers on blocks, some without windows or doors. Some of these fine units look like they were from the 50's or 60's, and have not moved since.