last pictures

the last of the pictures are up on facebook. take a look. they are worth it

Final Word

Well the trip of a thousand miles has finally come to an end, the last three days since Sunday have had to be the hardest ones of all it seemed. After leaving Yuma on Monday morning, I drove to the San Luis firehall hoping to find Jorge, and Peter. I talked to the fire chief and he said he would have his secretary try and locate them on the Mexican side, she later said that they were on the way over the border. Later a police Tahoe showed up with both Jorge and a guy named Henry who delivers fire trucks and ambulances to small towns in Mexico.

Henry does it the legit way by paying the import tax and then drives accross, and the town that receives these trucks pay just the import tax, he was going to let us try and piggy back in the line with his trucks but we needed permission from the people he knew. The Assistant Administrator finally gave the OK but the U.S side for exporting was closed so we couldn't go until the morning. He said that they had a check point along the highway where they would check our papers, if we didn't have the papers they would then seize the truck. I went back accross the U.S border to where the truck was and the other guys stayed in Mexico. So that night I stayed in San Luis fire hall, and they were really good there.

Tuesday I parked the truck and met up with Henry who was already on the U.S side and eventually Jorge showed up with his son, who then went to get the import paper work done for our truck and just pay the thousand dollars. I stayed on the U.S side and waited, and finally at noon they showed up and we were good to go. U.S customs checked over my truck and said no problem,  there they cleared off my bond and we went to the Mexican side and after them searching the truck they let us go, we drove to the firehall in Mexico took some pictures and we parted ways, with Henry.

Jorge and his son stayed with me and we  went and I followed in the truck with Jorge. His son drove the car and we drove the long trip to the mission,  and finally got in at Midnight. I slept at the Kos's place, got up at 6 am and showered had a quick coffee went to Sala at 8 then took both the fire trucks out and parked them side by side and the girl from the office took pictures of me and Jorge standing by the truck. They clapped and asked me to stand up in Sala and said thank you. I then gave the Administrator the bill of Sale the legal documents and they took some pictures of that, and loaded my stuff up in Peter Kozaks car and left the mission at about 10 30. then drove to San Diego. Another secondary search later I found myself in the LaQuinta in hotel. Its cloudy and a bit cool but its such a relief to be here. the border crossing and check points on the roads with guys with machine guns is a bit unnerving.

That is the last email from dad. He made it home safely thankfully. What a journey it was. Thank you to everyone who was supporting this trip in prayer or otherwise. I don't think it would have gone as smoothly, if at all, if it weren't for people like you and of course for God watching over us. I was glad to be a part of this journey and I don't think I will ever forget it. I am thankful that the truck made it mostly in one piece (minus one good tarp) and I hope it is a blessing to those at and around the Mission. I will have some final pictures posted later tonight after work.

From Missouri and Edmonton

Pics

More facebook pics posted...follow the link

Delivery

Dad called this morning from the mission in Mexico. They made it to the mission late last night after some delays at the border and having to pay the 1000.00 fee/fine/bribe whatever it was. After a close encounter with a drunk californian driver, they made it to the Mission. Today Dad will head back to San Diego to catch a flight back home. An official final post will follow with more details and some pictures. Stay Tuned.

Update from San Luis

Well Dad is on the American side of San Luis still waiting for word on crossing over tomorrow. The bond has been stamped however the truck is still on the American side. He spent the day in Mexico trying to figure out how to get the truck through without paying what seems like a required 1000.00 dollars. Jorge is going to see if he can talk to some people in Mexicali who may let him pass through. Things are a little sketchy but please pray that things go well tomorrow. It is hard not to be on the trip in this hard part of the section, but I pray that all will go well tomorrow.

Home bittersweet home

It is a little weird to be posting on the blog from home, but i must continue the journey as it is not quite completed. Dad emailed me the update of where he is now and how things went today.

I had coffee after you left with the crew for about 20 minutues then they showed me the quickest and easiest way out. I went the I-10 east to the 162 turnoff, then to a town called Maricora, then turned there to highway 238 and followed it towards Yuma, I stopped at a rest stop to take a couple of pictures with my camera, not sure if they turned out, it was a long hot drive,  I got to Yuma about noon and fueled the truck  and had Subway eat fresh for Lunch.




I used the phone to phone around to see if I could get a hold of Jorge or Pete Kozak but no luck. , so I asked a trucker if the bond department in San luis was open on Sunday and he said NO, So i phoned this Paul Evancho from the Yuma fire department and he met me at the Loves truck stop, and took me to Firehall 6 in Yuma. WOW just beautiful, just like in Phoenix, Iam a block away from the turn off to go straight into San Luis tommorrow. The captain here his son in law works for the U.S government border crosssing there so he said how to get the bond stamped, i knew that but he said to call him if i had any problems,



So iam in Yuma for tonight and will hopefully meet up with Jorge and Pete in the morning in San Luis. I had a choice between, a really nice hall but no supper, or a lousy hall but a meal, I picked the nice hall and forget the meal, I still have a couple bottles of water and some all sort candies I can eat.

From Yuma AZ

Phoenix again

Tonight I said goodbye to Fire 505. It was a little nostalgic to sit in the truck one last time. It was of course parked in the bay here at Station 16 and not cruising down a desolate Arizona desert. I sat in the driver seat and a weeks worth of memories flooded back to me at once. The sadness and nostalgia that I felt were not for the truck itself, though there is a small sentimental tug I feel when I see the truck. It covered a lot of miles and it is sort of like saying goodbye to an old friend. The sadness doesn't come because I am sitting in the truck for the last time, it comes because of the company had in the truck. Dad and I covered a lot of miles, and shared a lot of stories. The truck was simply a context for that to be carried out. Our time spent together was invaluable. Though our goal ultimately revolves around the truck itself, the journey was one of importance as well. I think I came to realize that although the journey and destination are important, the company you share along the way can make all the difference. Keep good company and the miles will pass swiftly. Keep patience, and remember to charge the GPS at night Dad.

From Phoenix AZ

Good night Fire 505.