The New coastal Highway has now made it from the California Border to Puerto Libertad (with a few small holes) as it snakes down the beautiful mainland coast of the sea of Cortez. Sadly since July 1 2010 we Tucson travelers have had to take the long was to hook up to the road.Last June as I was headed South of the border crossing at Sasabe Arizona I was waved to the side by a geologist/Gold prospector friend.He told me "El Gilo" a gun man that now controled the route everyone wants to get drugs to the border and more importantly the Tohono Indian Reservation on the other side was getting ready for a fight North of Tubutama.I turned back and spent the next 4 hours getting to the beach at Santo Tomas where I've built a couple small "green' beach houses.Now taking the Lukeville crossing i just knew I was a wuss for turning back....nope sonetimes it's good to have friends.Mike tells the story of the gun battle that is slowing down the (for good and bad) booming tourist opportunity that is the Sonoran Coastal Highway here: http://www.fronterasdesk.org/...
https:/picasaweb.google.com/corvidsupply/TucsonsBeachAndTheDrugWar?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJO6zP30_KjuPQ&feat=directlink
shows why I like to get to this area safely and quickly,It combines miles of isolated beaches,great fishing,hiking through cactus forrests and great expanses of things that i like to eat.Grape,olive,asparugus and oranges to name a few.
Thanks to Tucson's only non crazy Republican public official, Mayor Bob Walkup we may finally be able to take the road again.A connected ranch owner with large holdings and big plans near Puerto Lobos told me last month while we was fishing for Roostertail off a sit-on-top kayak North of Puerto Lobos things were looking up.
https:picasaweb.google.com/100910113640564801579/TucsonsBeachAndTheDrugWar?authkey=Gv1sRgCJO6zP30_KjuPQ#5647400609361456898
He told me how impressed the Sonoran powers that be were with the Mayor's call to Tuconans to come to mexico.
http://azstarnet.com/...
After the visit things started to get better in Tubutama the real life clone of the town in Desperado. The men in suits want to get the road to the border finished.The State senate came to the town and passed a law that allows the locals to give athority to the State if say every cop in town has been killed!
http://www.borderlandbeat.com/...
lets hope this works out for everyone involved.I was in Puerto Libertad
https:/picasaweb.google.com/corvidsupply/PuertoLibertadSonoraMexico?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCOeQzo709tObrwE&feat=directlink
at the end point of the construction a while back and bought a beautiful Ironwood carving from an old Seri woman sitting by the pemex.We were the first sale of the day...maybe the week and she took the 20 bucks and quickly packed up and headed for the real world.All and all I'd rather live in hers too.