When I was visiting the WINs I heard about a group of WINs caravanning down to Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, Mexico, (often called Rocky Point by Arizonans) right after the WIN rally. To make a long story short, I decided to go with them. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time, and I decided this was a great opportunity. So I joined the WINs, and joined the caravan! It turned out there were 33 rigs heading down. We all met up at the Wal-Mart in San Luis (just south of Yuma), and left from there in three groups. We all had to get Mexican liability insurance on our vehicles in San Luis (required by Mexico) and many of us picked up some things at the Wal-Mart. I was in the last group, of five rigs, that left from San Luis. We crossed the border at San Luis without incident; most of us weren't even stopped. Our trip was in the "no-hassle zone" in Mexico, where they make things as easy for tourists as possible. Our route from San Luis to Puerto Peñasco took us 200 miles through the Sonoran Desert, about 5 1/2 hours driving time, arriving on Sandy Beach at night. I was really glad to be right behind our trip leader, who knew where he was going!! We parked right on the beach ($5 per night, no hook-ups).The next morning I awoke to find myself parked on white sands, next to the blue, blue waters of the Sea of Cortez. The first order of business was getting the three rigs un-stuck that had gotten stuck in the sand. :-) Some parts of the beach are hard and okay to drive on; some are not. I knew I was in Mexico when a man and his young burro came by [above], picking up aluminum cans. Once the word went out that a large group of RVs were parked at Sandy Beach, we had a constant stream of vendors coming by.
The seafood vendor did a brisk business. Several days I purchased fresh shrimp from Manuel, and one day I purchased chocolate clams. (They don't taste chocolate; their shells are chocolate-colored.) The shrimp were huge; the shrimp that they call "large", we would call "jumbo". I bought the biggest shrimp I've ever purchased while I was there. A couple of the WINs went kayaking in the bay first thing. 
Since this is wintertime in the desert, generally the mornings are cool, but the afternoons are sunny and warm. I was surprised to find out that this part of the Sonoran desert averages only two inches of rain per year. That's dry!! And you could tell, as there was little vegetation away from the few washes. (The desert around Phoenix gets about 18 inches per year.)The next day we went shopping at "Shacks Fifth Avenue", one of the local tourist markets. There were few shoppers besides our group.
I've heard it said that Arizonans consider Rocky Point to be the Arizona coastline! However, WINs who had been there in previous years said the number of shoppers was much fewer this year, due, I'm sure, to all the publicity about the drug violence in Mexico. The townspeople, who are always poor by American standards, are really having a tough time with the decrease in American tourist business. We all went to a good Mexican restaurant for lunch. La Casa is situated at the top of a hill for an unbeatable view of the bay and the wharf area. We sat outside on the patio, under the sun, while mariachis serenaded us, and most of us drank margaritas and danced. The WINs know how to have a good time!! :-) 
We went to a local ice cream shop for dessert, where a couple of young vendors did their best to sell us their trinkets. 
Another highlight of that day was walking the beach that evening at low tide, watching all the shorebirds, the California brown pelicans, the gulls, the fishermen, the gorgeous sunset.
I saw a man with a probe catching octopi that were hiding in the rocks. I'd never seen that before. I don't know whether he was going to eat them or sell them; he didn't speak English. 
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