IN MEMORY 
Russ Black 1961-2023

This website is now just an Archive. 
Enjoy looking at a couple of decades of my Memories.  

Thank you.
Naomi

💔

FUN THINGS TO DO

Peñasco Recreation is a local business operated by Russ and Naomi Black. 

They began visiting here about 34 years ago and then operated a small RV Caravan business 

for about 8 years introducing many people to northern Mexico during the 1990’s. 

Now, as full-time residents since 2007, 

they both continue to promote the area as a fantastic tourist destination 

and an enjoyable place to call home.

Their business card is simply titled ‘Fun Things To Do’ 

with a short list of websites where details can be found. 

Here are a few of their ongoing projects and a preview of what will be new for 2018!

  

Mermaid’s Market is a local arts and craft outdoor market. It is going into its 10th year; starting up on Saturday, October 16tht and will continue through the winter season each first and third Saturday of the month (through the first week of April). The artists are called ‘mermaids’ and there are a half a dozen or so who create the core group for the market. These are joined by other guest vendors and artists, so the market continues to be ever-changing. The market has a beer/drink garden called the Mermaid’s Lounge and many locals have discovered it to be a favorite spot to grab a drink and shop, people-watch, listen to some music and meet up with friends.   

Find all the dates and more at: www.mermaidsmarket.com

RussBus Van Tours are all conducted by Russ. The local city tour will introduce you to Rocky Point from the viewpoint of a local who has been introducing visitors to the Sea of Cortez for over 25 years. Penasco Recreation Tours are rated “Excellent” on Trip Advisor. 

A first-time visitor said, “We had never been to this area before. It was the best money we spent…

He provided local stories, jokes, recommendations, and of course the amazing sight-seeing…

We took the tour a day and half after we arrived. Best thing we could have done. 

After the Russ' tour we knew the layout of the town, how to get to certain places…

and knew where to go to enjoy an incredible sunset dinner.”

Even regular visitors enjoy the trip, as Mario stated on Trip Advisor, “Russ was awesome. 

He was very knowledgeable about the area and he seems to love what he does. I have been to Puerto Penasco many times and he showed us so much that we have been missing out on!”   

The RussBus Tours also include some RoadTrips! 

These are custom designed for small groups. You may have a group of 6 friends who 

would all like to travel to a "bucket list" spot. Perhaps, a visit to Alamos, 

Guaymas and San Carlos, or Baja's Wine country, Whale watching in Baja Sur, 

the Copper Canyon or other destinations.  A custom trip will be created especially for your group. 

Off the Beach Workshop & Studio is a tiny workshop with a Boutique setting located in an out-of-the-way neighborhood. This is Naomi’s studio with a display of unique gifts, jewelry, clothing and what she calls ‘eclectica’. You can also create your own seashell-themed craft project at the Ocean Treasure Workshop! This little Studio is open on Fridays only from 10 am to 5 pm. Other visits can easily be scheduled by a phone call or email.  

Find contact information at:  www.mexiconaomi.blogspot.com

The (Friday) SeaShell Museum has become a fun attraction for families and other visitors.  
This small museum space includes interactive and informative displays for all ages.   

Learn more: www.seashellmuseum.com

Exploring a bit of Baja Ca. December 2016

What an adventure!

At the end of 2016 we decided to do some additional exploring in Baja California.  We have been to a few of these places before but we got to see some amazing new stuff too!  We traveled backwards to our usual routine. It is crazy how things look so different in the reverse order.  OK here's a quick rundown of what we did, pictures to follow in order of events, I hope you enjoy!

1. Puerto Peñasco to El Golfo de Santa Clara
2. Santa Clara to Jose B Sanchez (agricultural fields)
3. Jose B Sanchez to San Felipe (gas stop)
4. San Felipe to Gonzaga Bay (overnight stop at Alfonsinas)
5. Gonzaga Bay overland (the dirt spine of Baja) to Laguna Chapala (longer than expected stop)
6. Laguna Chapala to  Rosario through Cataviña (amazing country here)
7. Roasario to San Quintin
8. San Quintin to Ensenada
9. Ensenada to Ojos Negros
10. Ojos Negros to San Felipe
11. San Felipe to Puerto Peñasco

    

    Long straight highways heading into San Felipe Baja

    
    

    

    The beach at Gonzaga bay outside of the only hotel there

    

    Our chef at Alfonsinas preparing our food

    
    
    
    

    

    Morning coffee at Gonzaga

    

    From Gonzaga to the Pacific ocean via dirt

    From Gonzaga bay we decided to traverse the backbone of the Baja via a dirt road that takes you from the sea of Cortes' to the Pacific ocean side of the Baja.  It is only about 30 miles of dirt road but it takes about 2 1/2 hours to complete the journey.  The road is being paved right now and should be complete in a few years, many bridges need to be built as you will see in the following pics.
    
    

    

    Many bridges being built

    
    

    

    Tons of construction going on here.

    
    
    
    
    
    

Puerto Peñasco to Guadalajara, to Tlaquepaque, to Tequila and onto Chapala

Wow what a trip we just had.

Naomi and I and two of our close friends decided to scout out central Mexico, it was their first time and for us it has been a while since we were there.

We started our exploration by taking the morning (not so) express bus from Peñasco to Hermosillo the State capital of Sonora.  We stayed the night in a fabulous hotel that was just over the top quality for not very much money.  The next morning saw us getting on a plane at the unbelievably early hour of 5:30. Our plane had a name, it was Jose'.

In a short 2.5 hours we were touching down in the beautiful city of Guadalajara in the state of Jalisco.  It is a huge city with about 8 million or so inhabitants.

We hired a taxi at the airport and about 20 minutes later found ourselves in Tlaquepaque, a sort of artistic suburb of Guadalajara.  We walked and shopped and looked and tasted everything as we went along.  I even tried a beer made from Agave cactus, it was sweet and I rather liked it.  

The boutique hotel we stayed in that night was very centrally located to restaurants and entertainment so we were able to explore the town on foot. Visit this place when you get a chance, you will fall in love with it.

The next day we were off to Tequila Jalisco.  Our plan was to take a taxi to the Central bus station and use public transportation to get there.  It is about 2 hours away from downtown Guadalajara, our plans changed when we told our taxi driver what our plans were.  He said "I can take you there"  I had no idea how much a taxi ride for two hours would be, I thought it would be outrageous but this guy took 4 of us 2 hours to Tequila for 800 pesos (about 44.00 usd) That was amazing.

A few words on the magical place known as Tequila......when we go there we want to stay in a little hotel right on the main plaza.  We do this because every Friday and Saturday night there is something festive happening in the plaza.  On normal quiet days it is so  nice to have a cup of coffee or your favorite Tequila sitting in the plaza watching as the little village wakes up.

Tequila is a very pretty, proud place!

The town of Tequila is kind of like a work of art that lives.  Walking down the alleys and side streets you find so many interesting things.  Maybe you want a shlocky tourist gift?  Maybe you want serious art?  Maybe you just want to taste food and drink?  It's all here and in no particular order.  We have had simple pleasures here as well as other experiences while visiting this place.

Jose Cuervo does a special bottle each year

On a tour of the Jose Cuervo plant I discovered something I never knew before. When Cuervo makes their top of the line Tequila (Reserva de la familia) the entire plant is reworked for a whole week.  All of the processes to make Tequila change for this one bottle.  Once it is made it rest in oak barrels for up to 5 years.  If you have a chance to try Reserva de La Familia you will get a sense of the quality and pride that goes into each bottle, you will also spend some money, it is rare and it is not cheap.  It is worth every peso though.

The land around the town of Tequila is rich.  Agaves are everywhere of course. But so is corn.  Lately, because of similar processes, lots of whiskey is being made in this little town, this is a new thing from the last time we were here.

   

When you go to Tequila be sure to take every tour that you can.  It is not expensive and you will learn so much.  Below is a picture of a guy demonstrating how each plant needs to be harvested.  There are no machines that can do this work.  These plants are 8-12 years old before they are ready.  The piña or center of the plant is what is needed for the production of the drink, each piña  has enough juice in it for 6-8 liters of product the rest is used as fertilizer or padding or........

Lovely - lovely Tequila.  The smell in the air, the way it wakes up in the morning, the amazing food culture that has begun, all of this makes Tequila a place you need to visit.

(To be continued...........)

I thought I would write about the whole trip in one piece but it turns out I need to break it up - next up......Historic Guadalajara!  Stay tuned.

Listen to the song!

My favorite wine.....is Tequila! Michael Franti

What's On Your Bucket List?

What's on Your Bucket List?  

  

Below you will find a quick photo tour of some of the destinations 

that you & a group of your friends could visit this season. 

All of these destinations are available to you in personalized RussBus van tours.

So, "Let's Go Do Something!" 


San Carlos and Kino Bay in Sonora


or...


Baja's Wine Country - the Guadalupe Valley


or...


Historic Colonial Town of Alamos with its Spanish Roots

or...


San Felipe - just across the Sea of Cortez


or...


Guerrero Negro Whale Watching in the Pacific of Baja Sur 

 Details for our planned February 2016 at: 

http://www.penascorecreation.com/p/blog-page_9.html

So. . .What IS on Your Bucket List?

Gather a small group of friends (between 6 and 12)
and talk with us!  

"Let's Go Do Something!"  

mexicoruss@gmail.com

 

mexiconaomi@gmail.com

Or, stay local and visit the Gran Pinacate 

JUMP IN THE RUSSBUS FOR A DAY TRIP. 

Mexico's Copper Canyon Revisited!

It was over 15 years ago we took our last trip to the famed Copper Canyon of Mexico!

This year we had a group of 16 resident of Puerto Peñasco Sonora Mexico ask us to guide them on this magical tour.  They would be flying in from their summer homes in the USA to the little town of Los Mochis Sinaloa.  It seems simple but even getting to the starting point was a challenge after AeroMexico changed all of its routing at the last minute, forcing all of us to connect through Mexico City (way down there).  We were up to the challenge because the adventure to the canyons is so worth it.  Besides they say "getting there is half the fun"  So some of us landed in Los Mochis on Monday and a few landed on Tuesday morning.  Then we were off on a bus to the silver town of El Fuerte (the fort).

This is a beautiful very old town of about 60,000 people in the mountains east and North of Los Mochis.  It has a strong history and historical significance to not only Mexico but the United States as well.

We stayed here one night after touring the town and meeting some of the locals, it was a great day!

The next morning we were up had a cup of coffee and headed to the train station at El Fuerte, we decided to skip breakfast and enjoy the first class restaurant car the the train (El Chepe) offers.

El Fuerte, a colonial silver mining town with a rich history

Train to Bahuachivo/Cerocahui

The trains are modern, the food was great!  It is a great way to travel to these remote places

So after a few hours we were arriving in the train station at Bahuachivo.  We then boarded local transportation for the 30 minute ride going towards the Indian village of Cerocahui, we stayed at a lodge outside of the town but only a few minutes away.  It is called Paraiaso del Oso because behind the lodge is a rock shaped like Yogi the bear and Oso is Spanish for bear. It is a fantastically relaxing place to spend the afternoon - evening and morning.  We used this as the home base for our explorations into town and to the edge of the cliffs a few hours away.

Yogi is in the middle of the screen

We spent some time exploring and I have so many great photos of this area but space only allows for a few.

The little town behind us is Cerocahui

La Posada - Mansion Tarahumara

After our wonderful stay in Cerocahui we boarded the train to go further up into the canyon-lands.  Next stop was the Mansion Tarahumara, a older hotel which was built out of stone quarried from this area.  New rooms were added a few years ago so you can wake up to the sun coming up over the canyon.  When you step out onto your balcony the edge of the canyon is right below you.  It is breathtaking!

The food at the Mansion was out of this world

Don't fall over this balcony

Partial view from my room of the 60 person Gondola

A little Tarahumara cutie

Outside of a cave dwelling, this is their fresh water supply from a natural spring.

That thin line is for the zip liners

Lots of pine needle baskets to choose from

Side by side ziplines

Our hotel from the Gondola, it is on the left and is white

final group pick on the edge!

In summary on this part of the trip......It is raw, it is exciting, the scenery is like none you have ever experienced in one place, the food was incredible, the people inviting and warm...do this trip!

Next time I will write about our continuing journey from the lumber town of Creel to Chihuahua city, the fun continues!