We finally made it out of the mountains and back onto fairly flat road. We rejoiced for about 5 minutes, then we were stopped at another road block. We weren't expecting this one. We slowed as we drove over the vibradores. There was a semi truck to our right. An agent crossed in front of us holding what looked like a very large motorized flame thrower. Huh? He revved it up. It began spewing a huge cloud of smoke. The agent fogged the entire semi trailer and axles with something acrid and choking. I immediately rolled up all the windows and turned off the A/C.

We woke up, threw on clothes, brushed our teeth, loaded the dogs, and beat feet out of the Villa Posado. When we opened the garage door, a door on the far side of the garage popped open, so I guess that's how they know you're gone and it's time to come clean the room.

We got up at 7:00 am, got dressed, and loaded the car. That took forever. We were finally on the road at 10:45. If we could just skip the unloading and loading of the car, we could spend 5 more hours each day on the road, enjoy more stops, or get a heck of a lot more sleep.

A series of crises kept delaying our departure, but we finally made it on the road at 2:30 pm. Two people, two dogs, and a ton of stuff in (and on) a Ford Explorer – Mazatlan or Bust!

We screwed up our courage and went to Dallas today. We battled Kamikaze drivers, choking smog, and a growing sense of surreality, but for once no one was murdered while we were there, and we made it out alive. Alive, but without visas.