In January 2008 we were the Tail Gunners for an Adventure Caravans trip to the Copper Canyon and the west coast of Mexico.

Our first get together at De Anza Trails RV Park in Amado, AZ

Guaymas (formally: Heroico Puerto Guaymas de Zaragoza) is a port city and a municipality in the Mexican state of Sonora.  It stands on a small bay on the Gulf of California, near the mouth of the Río Yaqui, south of state capital Hermosillo and north of Ciudad Obregón. It serves as the administrative centre for the surrounding municipality of the same name, and for the neighborhood San Carlos Nuevo Guaymas, Sonora. Guaymas reported a population of 101,507 in the 2005 census, while its municipality had 134,153.
The surrounding municipality has an area of 12,206.18 km² and is one of the largest in the state. Besides the municipal seat the settlements are: Bahía San Carlos, Pueblo Vícam, San Ignacio Río Muerto, Pótam, Bahía de Los Lobos and Ortíz.
Guaymas is the second-largest port on Mexico's Pacific Coast (after Manzanillo). It is one of the major shrimp producing cities of northern Mexico and was formerly a major oyster producer, although pollution and overfishing have depleted its stocks greatly.

We had a great dinner, visited the Pearl farm and had a wonderful happy hour with a pot luck.

Coordinates: 
27°1′N 108°56′W / 27.017, -108.933
Country    Mexico
State - Sonora
Municipality - Álamos
Founded - Late 17th century
Government  - Mayor
Population 2005 – 6,132
Time zone  MST

After an Overnight stop in Los Mochis we continue on our way into the Copper Canyon. All our rigs were secured and we had staff there to take care of our pets.

The Copper Canyon (Spanish: Barranca del Cobre)

What we refer to as "Copper Canyon" is really a series of six canyons which drain the western side of the Sierra Tarahumara. The entire Copper Canyon region comprises almost a third of the state of Chihuahua, which is Mexico's largest state. The principal canyon is Urique Canyon, which is the one which is traversed by the Chihuahua al Pacifico Railroad , known by the nickname “Chepe.” It is both an important transportation system for locals and a draw for tourists.
Eventually, all of the rivers which formed the Copper Canyons merge into the Rio Fuerte which continues across the adjacent state of Sinaloa, emerging near the City of Los Mochis on the Sea of Cortez.
The overall canyon system is larger and portions are deeper than the Grand Canyon in the neighboring United States although the Grand Canyon is larger than any of the individual canyons
Mexico established the Parque Nacional Barranca del Cobre (Copper Canyon National Park) to showcase this remote area.
The canyon is the traditional home of the Taramumara also known as Raramuri.
Among the villages located in or on the Copper Canyon are:
Creel, atop the canyon and, at 8000 feet altitude, marking the highest point on the ChePe railroad route.
Batopilas, a town on the Batopilas River at the bottom of a canyon; first established by the Spanish around 1632 to mine silver
Divisidero is situated between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean watersheds on the ChePe railroad route. It is a key vista point with amazing views down into three of the canyons (del Cobre, Urique, Tararecua).

Our next stop was Divisidero where we stayed at a hotel overlooking the canyon. The view was fantastic.

Country  - Mexico
State - Sinaloa
Municipality - Mazatlán
Government- Mayor Area Municipality - 3,068.5 km² (1,184.75 sq mi)
Population (2005) - 352,471

Mazatlán (ma zat lan) is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa; the surrounding municipio (municipality) for which the city serves as the municipal seat is also called Mazatlán. It is located at [show location on an interactive map] 23°13′N, 106°25′W on the Pacific coast, just across from the southernmost tip of the Baja California peninsula.
Mazatlán is a Nahuatl word meaning "place of the deer." The city was founded in the 1820s. By the mid-1800s a large group of immigrants had arrived from Germany. These new citizens developed Mazatlán into a thriving commercial seaport, importing equipment for the nearby gold and silver mines. It served as the capital of Sinaloa from 1859 to 1873. They also influenced the music, banda, which is an alteration of Bavarian folk music.

Mazatlán is the second-largest city in the state (after Culiacán) and Mexico's largest commercial port. It is also a popular tourist destination, its beaches lined with resort hotels. A car ferry plies its trade across the Gulf of California from Mazatlán to La Paz, Baja California Sur.

Until the early 19th century, Mazatlán was a humble collection of huts inhabited by indios whose major occupation was fishing, according to Abel Aubert du Petit-Thouars, a French explorer. In 1829 a Spanish banker named Machado arrived and established commercial relations with vessels coming to Mazatlán from far off places such as Chile, Peru, the United States, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. By 1836 the city had a population of between 4000 and 5000.
The city has seen some turbulent times. During the Mexican-American War(1846-48) the U.S. Army took the city and, in order to avoid the shelling of the city, the Mexican army abandoned it. Almost twenty years later, on the morning of November 13, 1864, a French man-of-war fired on the city twelve times but there were no casualties; Mazatlán then became part of the Mexican Empire under Maximilian (vestiges of French influence may still be found in the architecture of many buildings in Centro Historico). On November 13, 1866, the Mexican general Ramon Corona expelled the imperialists from Mazatlán.

On June 18, 1868, William H. Bridge, captain of HMS Chanticleer, blockaded the port and threatened to shell the city on June 22. The captain had taken umbrage after local Customs Authorities seized 23 ounces of gold from the paymaster of the ship. During the Mexican Revolution, Mazatlán had the dubious distinction of being the first city upon which aerial bombardment was practiced. A Federalist bi-plane dropped a satchel charge containing shrapnel on the city, resulting in fatalities.

During the Gold Rush, fortune hunters from the United States East Coast sailed from New York Harbor and other Atlantic ports to Mexican ports in the Gulf of Mexico. Debarking, the aspiring miners travelled overland for weeks to Mazatlán, where they would embark from the port to arrive in San Francisco in another four to five weeks.

Mazatlán's lighthouse (El Faro) began to shine by mid-1879. The lamp had been handcrafted in Paris, containing a big oil lamp with mirrors and a Fresnel lens to enhance the light. Since the light was static, in the distance it was often mistaken as a star. By 1905 this lamp was converted to a revolving lamp. Today, the 1000 watt bulb can be seen for 30 nautical miles (60 km). Near the lighthouse shore, famous "divers" (called this even by the Spanish speaking inhabitants of Mazatlán) perform daring jumps off high rocks into the Pacific Ocean for tips from onlooking tourists.
Angela Peralta (1845 - 1883), a Mexican opera diva famed throughout the world, died of Yellow Fever in Mazatlán shortly after her arrival in the port. Legend has it she sang one last aria from her hotel balcony overlooking the Plazuela Machado. Her memory is held dear by Mazatlécos to this day.

The City of Mazatlan has the dubious distinction of being the 2nd city in the world after Tripoli, Libya, to suffer aerial bombardment. During the Mexican revolution of 1910-17 General Venustiano Carranza (later president), intent on taking the city of Mazatlán, ordered a bi-plane to drop a crude bomb of nails and dynamite wrapped in leather on the target of Neveria Hill adjacent to the downtown area of Mazatlán. The bomb was indeed crude and the art of bombing cruder. The bomb landed not on target but on the city streets of Mazatlán, killing two citizens and wounding several others.
Mazatlán is also the hometown of Pedro Infante, one of the most popular actors and singers of the golden years of the Cinema of Mexico.

As the 21st Century begins, Centro Historico has been rediscovered by newcomers and locals alike, spurring a renaissance of restoration and entrepreneurial endeavors. Once fine homes that had fallen into literal ruin have been restored to their former glory and house families and boutique businesses. The city has assisted in upgrading infrastructure, such as improved water, sewer and electrical services.