After five weeks and 4,000 miles on the road, I thought it would be fun to not only report on Mazatlan, but also to check in on how we are doing and what this vagabond life is like on a daily basis.

We seem to find ourselves settling into two very different travel modes, each with its own pros, cons, routines and idiosyncrasies. The first is when we are in more urban environments and unable to camp. There have been a few overnights in hotel parking lots, but most of these times we have opted for motels and hotels. So far these stays have landed on the heels of camping in the wilderness for days on end, so I have to admit the biggest blessing that comes with renting a room is a shower! Since leaving home, water temperatures have ranged from cold, to tepid, to truly hot, and our longest shower-free stint has been six days. By contrast, hot water and good pressure is the very lap of luxury.

As Ned told you in our last blog, we ended up in Mazatlan after roughing it in the Copper Canyon. Oddly, we stayed six nights. Normally we would have been gnashing our teeth to keep moving, to get out of the city and onto back roads, but there is something so different about having an open-ended trip. I think this was when it hit us that we didn