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Upcoming Chihuahua Roadtrip

Started by US 41, October 22, 2015, 11:53:11 AM

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US 41

Well I will be going to Chihuahua finally. I'm either going the week before Thanksgiving or in January (I haven't decided yet). What I have decided is the route I will take (I guess). It should be known that in July I only intended on driving from Sault Ste Marie to Niagara Falls. Well I ended up in Ottawa which added 600 miles to the trip. So there you go. Anyways I've divided the trip into different parts below (too many route changes for Google Maps).
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Terre Haute - Presidio= https://goo.gl/maps/REEo4g3GTP62
This part of the trip is 1354 miles long and takes approximately 22 hours. (It will take me 2 days). I'm taking OK 66 and US 81 in Oklahoma to save around $13 in tolls. I'll be the first to admit that I'm a cheapskate. I'm looking forward to driving on TX 17 and US 67 for sure. I-20 west of Odessa has a speed limit of 80 so that should also be fun.

Mexico (Presidio - Chihuahua - Presidio)=  https://goo.gl/maps/H5EbQkwgGjq
The third day will be the part I'm looking forward to and is the reason I'm going. I'm going to wake up in Presidio, get my Mexican auto insurance, and cross the border. When I get to the other side I'll learn about how to successfully import my car and get a tourist card. Hopefully they have the free tourist cards, since I will only be there for the day. I know the basics. I need my drivers license, passport, title, vehicle registration, insurance, a tourist card, and 2 copies of each (1 for them and 1 for me). Oh and I will also need $350 cash to pay for the TIP. $300 of it will be given back when I cancel the TIP when I leave Mexico later in the afternoon. Okay this hoopla isn't the part I'm looking forward to.  :D
   The trip is 293 miles and will take me about 8 hours to do. I plan on stopping a lot and getting lots of pictures. The stops I know of that I'll be making are at the Peguis Canyon and at the Coyame Caverns. The cavern tour lasts an hour and is only 50 Pesos ($3.15 USD). That's pretty cheap IMO. MX 16 is pretty crooked and runs through a deserty mountain range. According to what I have read this area is one of the safest areas along the US Mexico border, on the Mexican side of course. The maximum speed limit on MX 16 is 80 km/h (50 mph). So it will definitely be a day trip.
   I will return to Presidio by the end of the day. I might make it to Marfa or Alpine, I'm not really sure.

Day 4 (Presidio - New Braunfels)= https://goo.gl/maps/nzJFBQwQyDn
I plan on making it to New Braunfels, TX. A friend of mine from Terre Haute just recently moved there, so I'm going to visit with him. I'm taking US 90 rather than I-10. US 90 looks more interesting and there's just something about taking 2 lane highways in deserts.

Day 5=
Probably spend the day in New Braunfels.

Day 6 and 7 (New Braunfels - Terre Haute)= https://goo.gl/maps/BFsvai1WVML2
The last part is the return trip. It is 1031 miles and takes 17 hours to complete. I'll be able to add Arkansas to the list of states I've been to.
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Overall the trip will be 3152 miles long and will take me 6-7 days to complete. Chihuahua and Arkansas will both be added to the list of North American states I've been to.


Visited States and Provinces:
USA (48)= All of Lower 48
Canada (5)= NB, NS, ON, PEI, QC
Mexico (9)= BCN, BCS, CHIH, COAH, DGO, NL, SON, SIN, TAM


US 41

For those that are interested it's now official. I will be doing this trip from November 15th through the 21st. Definitely looking forward to an exciting trip.
Visited States and Provinces:
USA (48)= All of Lower 48
Canada (5)= NB, NS, ON, PEI, QC
Mexico (9)= BCN, BCS, CHIH, COAH, DGO, NL, SON, SIN, TAM


US 41

#3
Quote from: MancoMtz on November 07, 2015, 08:55:01 AM
While you're in Mexico, why not take a drive a little farther west along MX 16 to the Basaseachi waterfall? I've never been there but from what I've seen it's definitely worth checking out:

https://www.google.com/maps/@28.1691991,-108.208935,3a,75y,322.47h,71.63t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1s-tW2_n4axnEE%2FVHV15BS6uwI%2FAAAAAAAAFIU%2Fgwvh_aNOZTo!2e4!3e11!6s%2F%2Flh6.googleusercontent.com%2F-tW2_n4axnEE%2FVHV15BS6uwI%2FAAAAAAAAFIU%2Fgwvh_aNOZTo%2Fw203-h101-n-k-no%2F!7i8000!8i4000?hl=en-US

Here's the route:

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Presidio/Cascada+Basaseachic/@28.6994698,-106.7608913,8.75z/data=!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x86ee7b0e757531e5:0xa725987f3bbd374b!2m2!1d-104.3721465!2d29.5607383!1m5!1m1!1s0x0:0xeb3ee7513825315!2m2!1d-108.2127288!2d28.17454?hl=en-US

Thanks for the info! I'll definitely have to consider going a little farther west when I go. Unfortunately I'm not too sure if I'll have enough time to go see it this time as I'm only taking 7 days off of work (unpaid vacation) and since I want to drive to New Braunfles, TX, to see a friend of mine. However if everything goes as planned I'll be going back to Chihuahua next year on my way to Mazatlan. I really want to drive on the new Autopista Durango - Mazatlan. I'm fairly new at my job, so I don't want to take too much time off of work yet. Thanks again for the info.

Addition: I do plan on spending an hour or two in Ciudad Chihuahua exploring the city and getting lunch etc. I already have 2,120 MXN (approximately $125 USD) to spend in Mexico. According to SCT it will only cost 465 MXN ($28 USD) in gas to go from Ojinaga to Cd. Chihuahua and back. The caves in Coyame cost 50 MXN for an hour tour. I can already tell 2,120 MXN will buy a lot especially since I won't be in tourist areas. That leaves me with about $95 to spend on whatever I want. Plus I'll have plenty of American dollars on me I can exchange if it's necessary. I plan on paying for my Temporary Import Permit and the deposit with cash in US Dollars. The tourist card should be free since I'll only be in Mexico for about 8-9 hours, which is definitely less than 7 days the requirement to get a free card.
Visited States and Provinces:
USA (48)= All of Lower 48
Canada (5)= NB, NS, ON, PEI, QC
Mexico (9)= BCN, BCS, CHIH, COAH, DGO, NL, SON, SIN, TAM

RaulMtz

Np. I can assure you that you will love the Mazatlan Durango highway. I got to ride the the first 40 km section where all the bridges and tunnels are on a bike (it's all downhill from 9000 ft to 4500 ft) before it opened. Probably one of the best experiences I've ever had  :D .

What do you need a Tourist Card for? Before I moved to Mexico and got my Mexican citizenship, I would go to Mexico as a US citizen without any permit for a month without any problem.

vdeane

Don't Amercians need a tourist card (and vehicle import permit) to travel more than 15 km past the border?
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

corco

Quote from: vdeane on November 09, 2015, 05:32:29 PM
Don't Amercians need a tourist card (and vehicle import permit) to travel more than 15 km past the border?

Depends on where- the entire Baja California peninsula and most of the state of Sonora are exempt from that requirement. Not sure if states further east have similar exemptions.

I think if you arrive by air the tourist card regime is different too- somebody else maybe can speak more to that.

US 41

#7
Chihuahua has no such exemptions. I have to have a TIP and FMM if I want to drive farther than this checkpoint (see link below). There are several reports that this checkpoint no longer exists. It is still the free zone / interior line however and you do need a TIP and FMM to legally drive past this point. https://www.google.com/maps/@29.51189,-104.771799,3a,66.8y,16.58h,89.95t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sjY-mPBmowJfdxMhUnJQIIQ!2e0

I also asked a Banjercito employee by email if I needed my title or if my vehicle registration was sufficient. Here was the response. They actually gave me the whole explanation. So for anyone that is thinking about going to Mexico here is all you need to know. I think I am just going to leave my title at home and use my vehicle registration. I did make a couple of copies of my title however just in case.

QuoteGood morning,

We appreciate you contacting us. Regarding your email we would like to inform you of the following; in order to apply for a temporary import permit you must present the document that proves your legal residency in the US or Canada (Passport, Passport card or resident alien) as well as the title or registration of the vehicle in your name.

The cost of the permit is of aprox 51.04 USD and the warranty deposit is of 200, 300 or 400 USD depending on the year of your vehicle.

We would also like to mention that you can apply for the permit at Banjercito offices on the border or those located within Mexican consulates in select cities throughout the US. OR for your convenience online at: https://www.banjercito.com.mx/registroVehiculos/

Should you have any further questions, comments or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us.

The good news is that in a week I will no longer have to wonder how this process works for the rest of my life. I'll know what exactly to expect when I drive into Mexico.
Visited States and Provinces:
USA (48)= All of Lower 48
Canada (5)= NB, NS, ON, PEI, QC
Mexico (9)= BCN, BCS, CHIH, COAH, DGO, NL, SON, SIN, TAM

RaulMtz

Ahhh yeah, you were talking about the permit for the car. Yeah you have to get that one when bringing a US or Canadian car to Mexico farther than the free zone. I thought you were talking about a permit for you as a tourist/person.

US 41

#9
I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't a little nervous about driving from Ojinaga to Chihuahua. My family and everyone keeps telling me that if I'm not killed by the cartel I will certainly be kidnapped, robbed, bribed, or arrested because I'm an American. I'm not very fluent in Spanish and I am obviously not hispanic. The desert scenery and the canyon along the route is something I really want to see however and I might as well drive all the way to the capital just to say I've been. All in all I will only be in the country 6-7 hours. I will only be there while the sun is up. I will be gone by night. I guess you could call me stupid or brave. Based on what I have read the part of Chihuahua I will be driving in is the one of the safest areas along the US-Mexico border. Honestly if I thought something would happen I wouldn't be going in the first place. Plus you only live once. I don't want to regret not going one day. Kphoger (drives to Parras every year) and jbte (lives in Zacatecas) both sent me PM's saying my route looked good. My family and friends have never drove to Mexico, so I think I will take my advice from people that have drove there themselves. It's safe to say that I'm looking forward to a great trip.

The weather on the 17th (Tuesday) in Ojinaga: Cloudy, 0% chance of rain, high of 65 degrees (F). At least it won't rain.  :sombrero:
Visited States and Provinces:
USA (48)= All of Lower 48
Canada (5)= NB, NS, ON, PEI, QC
Mexico (9)= BCN, BCS, CHIH, COAH, DGO, NL, SON, SIN, TAM

corco

#10
A lot of that is fear-mongering.

1) If you were driving a 4x4 or a luxury car, you would be at increased risk. You drive what, a Neon? You'll be fine.

2) The cartel doesn't just target random Americans, especially non-Hispanic Americans  - if they started beheading every random American they saw, the US Military would have no choice to get more directly involved in what's going on down there, and the cartels certainly aren't interested in that happening. If somebody offers to sell you a bag of cocaine, kindly decline and get the fuck out of there, but otherwise don't worry. They've kept this operation afloat for about a decade now, and part of how they've done that is through caution. They're not interested in doing things that raise too much direct attention from the USA.

Use common sense, but I wouldn't be overly worried. Probably your worst case is you come up on an unauthorized checkpoint - in that case just do what they say. Most likely they'll realize you're not worth their time. They're not going to hurt you or steal your Dodge Neon. It's not worth it. You don't have anything they want and don't have the capacity to do anything negative to them, so there's no reward to fucking with you. The risk is that they raise the ire of the U.S. Government, which is a pretty big though unlikely risk. These guys are smart - they're not interested in low risk-no reward propositions.

US 41

#11
Quote from: corco on November 11, 2015, 03:09:27 PM
A lot of that is fear-mongering.

1) If you were driving a 4x4 or a luxury car, you would be at increased risk. You drive what, a Neon? You'll be fine.

2) The cartel doesn't just target random Americans, especially non-Hispanic Americans  - if they started beheading every random American they saw, the US Military would have no choice to get more directly involved in what's going on down there, and the cartels certainly aren't interested in that happening. If somebody offers to sell you a bag of cocaine, kindly decline and get the fuck out of there, but otherwise don't worry. They've kept this operation afloat for about a decade now, and part of how they've done that is through caution. They're not interested in doing things that raise too much direct attention from the USA.

Use common sense, but I wouldn't be overly worried. Probably your worst case is you come up on an unauthorized checkpoint - in that case just do what they say. Most likely they'll realize you're not worth their time. They're not going to hurt you or steal your Dodge Neon. It's not worth it. You don't have anything they want and don't have the capacity to do anything negative to them, so there's no reward to fucking with you. The risk is that they raise the ire of the U.S. Government, which is a pretty big though unlikely risk. These guys are smart - they're not interested in low risk-no reward propositions.

That is a very good point. Like I said above, if I actually thought anything would happen I wouldn't be going in the first place. I'm sure that hundreds, maybe thousands, make the trip from Ojinaga to Chihuahua (or vise versa) every day. I'm also pretty confident a few Americans make that trip every day, since it is so close to Texas. I've never read about an American getting killed or robbed on MX 16 southwest of Texas. Also the news has been pretty quiet (good) in the part of Chihuahua I'm going to for the past 2 months. The biggest news I've seen lately is that Pope Francis is going to visit the state in February. The Presidio, TX, city website even says that travel to Ojinaga and the Peguis Canyon is safe.
Visited States and Provinces:
USA (48)= All of Lower 48
Canada (5)= NB, NS, ON, PEI, QC
Mexico (9)= BCN, BCS, CHIH, COAH, DGO, NL, SON, SIN, TAM

US 41

I also wanted to add that I also have had several emails with "Mexico Mike" about this trip the past two days. He says I will be fine as long as I don't hang out anywhere too long, especially near the border. I only really plan on stopping at the Peguis Canyon overlook and maybe getting gas on the way back in Coyame (I dropped caving off the list). I think he might a little confused that I don't really plan on doing anything while I'm in Mexico. Only a road geek would understand the driving part being the vacation. :)
Visited States and Provinces:
USA (48)= All of Lower 48
Canada (5)= NB, NS, ON, PEI, QC
Mexico (9)= BCN, BCS, CHIH, COAH, DGO, NL, SON, SIN, TAM

kphoger

Quote from: US 41 on November 13, 2015, 12:45:10 AM
I also wanted to add that I also have had several emails with "Mexico Mike" about this trip the past two days. He says I will be fine as long as I don't hang out anywhere too long, especially near the border. I only really plan on stopping at the Peguis Canyon overlook and maybe getting gas on the way back in Coyame (I dropped caving off the list). I think he might a little confused that I don't really plan on doing anything while I'm in Mexico. Only a road geek would understand the driving part being the vacation. :)

Mexico Mike is a gold mine. Keep his contact info for future correspondence. I doubt you can find anyone who can give you a better handle on being an American in Mexico than him. If I ever ran into issues, he would be on my short list of people to call. And, though I've never paid for any of his services, I wouldn't hesitate to trust him with my business.
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