DAY 3-(Continued)-LAREDO, TX TO Huachichil, MEX-4-16-17

This is where I left off if you were originally following my blog. I apologize for being unable to keep you posted real time. I am now filling in everything "after the fact"!

Our Day 3 destination was near Saltillo, Mexico. Today was my first great surprise of the trip. It may sound stupid to you as you read this, much of what I say and do might for that matter, but I had not done any research into the geography of where we were going. I had this expectation of driving a 1000 miles across the desert floor through Mexico. That misconception was put to rest on Day 3!
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My memory tells me that about 100 miles into Mexico we started climbing in altitude. By the time we reached Saltillo we were at about 6,000 feet above sea level. I'm not sure of how many miles it really was but I'm pretty sure for the next 1,000-1,500 miles we stayed between 5,500-9,500 feet above sea level. What a beautiful gift from God to me. This literally proved to be the best motorcycle riding of my life. It is going to be very difficult to top!

Our "true" destination for the day was Rancho La Paloma (Dove Ranch) in Huachichil, Mexico. I am certain I will screw up some of the following "facts" but will do my best from memory. Rancho La Paloma is run by Mike and Christie Starling. The ranch was started by Mike's parents more than 40 years ago. They were missionaries to Mexico. The ranch is utilized mainly (I think) by church groups throughout Mexico. They come to camp and stay in the cabins for about a week at a time. 

Mike actually grew up at the camp. This is where he and Christie met as teenagers. Well, the camp had fallen into disrepair in recent times. Mike and Christie felt called to come back and to revitalize it for Christian outreach. They have already made some nice upgrades but it has a long way to go. They are working right now to raise funds for many basic things - like roofs that don't leak. They are missionaries too so money is always a challenge. You can contact me if you would like to reach Mike and Christie and help their cause.

​(Hover over or click on the pictures to see captions. I didn't caption all but many.)