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Taking advantage of a natural lull in work over Christmas Lance and I escaped for a few days of rest and relaxation to Puerto Peñasco, Mexico—Rocky Point as gringos call it (though if translated properly it would be Rocky Port). In an a effort to “get away from it all” we left our cats in the RV, our RV hooked-up in its spot, packed a suitcase and drove down. Rocky Point, located on the northeast end of the Mar de Cortés (Gulf of California or Sea of Cortez) is just about a three hour drive from Tucson.

Our route took us on State Route 86 west through the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation, the second largest one in the country (after the Navajo Reservation, also in Arizona). We drove past the large gleaming white telescopes of the Kitt Peak National Observatory that occupy the top ridges of the Quinlan/Baboquivari Mountains. On land leased from the tribe the observatory at Kitt Peak is the largest cluster of astronomical instruments in the world with over twenty-three telescopes. The tribe closely monitors the observatory since certain activities are prohibited in those mountains which the Tohono consider to be the sacred home of their creator I’itoi.

SR 86 ends at the tiny, tiny town of Why where it “Ts” into SR 85. Though it is tempting to imagine that the town’s name derived from the asking of “Why would anyone live there?” the story of the name has to do with the two highways. Originally the two roads met in a Y junction, so the early residents petitioned to have their community named after the intersection. Since the law required names to have at least three letters the current spelling was adopted.

At Why we turned south on SR 85 which meandered through a lush desert landscape on its way to the U.S./Mexico border. As we neared Mexico the tall columnar Saguaro cactuses were joined by multi-branched Organ Pipe ones. Lance and I made a pledge to allow for time to explore the nearby Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument on our return trip. It wasn’t long before we pulled into the last gas station on the U.S. side at Lukeville where we filled up our tank before crossing into Mexico.

Instead of being stopped and questioned about our destination we were ignored by the Policia carrying machine guns (or some other type of military issue firepower). Which was fine with us, the less we had to interact with Mexican officials the less chance we had of something going wrong—corruption and bribery are still rampant in the country despite attempts by the government to clean it up. Once on Mexican Federal Highway 8 we followed all the speed limit signs, even the ridiculously slow ones, much to the chagrin of the travelers behind us.

Here I must digress a bit to express some disappointment in the outcome of the Gadsden Purchase of 1854. In 1853 Lieutenant James Gadsden, a Yale graduate and military man, was sent to Mexico by President Franklin Pierce to buy land. As the U.S. Minister to Mexico, Gadsden was to negotiate a deal with Mexican President Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón. Gadsden had authorization to spend up to $50 million dollars for land that would have included most of the northern states of Mexico and all of Baja California. Just imagine—Arizona would have been the perfect state with every life zone from sea level to alpine!

Though Santa Anna’s government desperately needed money he refused to sell Baja or relinquish Mexican control of a land route to the peninsula. In late 1853 Gadsden and Santa Anna finally agreed to $15 million for 38,000 square miles of desert west of the Rio Grande and south of the Gila River. The deal was not yet official since the U.S. Congress had yet to ratify the treaty and Congress was not exactly getting along. In the run up to the outbreak of the Civil War adding acreage to the country threatened the precarious balance of slave states to non-slave states. Neither side wished for the other to gain more voting power or influence. After much wrangling Congress finally ratified the altered treaty in April of 1854, cutting the land purchase to 29,000 square miles and reducing the bill by $5 million.

So, Arizona missed out on oceanfront property (thanks for nuthin’ Santa Anna). As I was researching this I discovered that we do have an odd reason to thank Santa Anna—chewing gum. In 1869 Santa Anna was living in New York, lodging at the home of Thomas Adams, after being exiled from Mexico for the last time. While there Santa Anna introduced Adams to chicle, sap from the tropical Manilkara chicle tree. Santa Anna arranged for delivery of a ton of chicle for Adams who experimented with it as a substitute for rubber. After a year of failed results Adams did what Santa Anna so often did, he popped some in his mouth. Soon Adams was marketing his brand of gum, adding flavor, and the rest, as they say is history.

Back to Mexico—as we neared our destination plant life dwindled until there were vast barren stretches of sand and jumbles of black rock. Rocky Point is a fairly accurate description of the area—it is a dry and desolate corner of the Sonoran Desert dotted with volcanic outcroppings and devoid of fresh water. Though archaeological evidence suggests that it was a popular spot with humans for close to twenty thousand years long-term settlements in the area were limited by the dearth of that life sustaining liquid. Various tribes harvested the bounty of the sea over the years, some even eked out a living. In 1698 the first European to venture to the region was a Jesuit priest by the name of Father Eusebio Kino. He not only made note of the indigenous population, calling them “The People of the Sand”, but also of the valuable copper, silver, and gold ore bodies and pearl beds in the general vicinity.

Missionaries played a crucial role in Spain’s governing policy of their vast territory called New Spain. The fathers were not only to convert the natives but to put them to work for the good of the kingdom. New Spain’s abundant resources were the envy of many and piracy was rampant. The Sea of Cortez became a favorite haunt of many pirates with the Puerto Peñasco area described as “Ye Likesly Spot ‘O Treachry & Villeanous Skum.” Other than piracy Puerto Peñasco was virtually ignored—few people lived there and not much happened until the early 1900s.

I read that Doroteo Arango Arámbula, more commonly known as Pancho Villa, traveled through Puerto Peñasco in the 1910s on his way to the Ajo Valley mining district. Villa was a cattle rustler, murderer, thief, revolutionary, suffragist, and Robin Hood all rolled up into one. Legend has it that he had a way of livening up a town, even a sleepy little fishing village. Though I can’t substantiate the claims, many of the towns in Arizona brag about the days when Pancho Villa came to visit. A long time resident of Superior, near Phoenix where we lived for a short time, confided in me that her relatives had not only supported Villa but they had even hosted him in their home when he came to raise money and gather recruits for his cause.

The next character to influence Rocky Point was no less charismatic though perhaps more of an outlaw, Al Capone. During Prohibition in the U.S. towns just south of the border experienced a boom since Mexico did not ban the sale of intoxicating spirits (or anything else, for that matter). Two enterprising associates of Capone, John Stone and Tom Childs recognized Puerto Peñasco’s potential—just 66 miles south of the U.S. border with a perfect port for shipping operations—and set about opening hotels replete with bars and gambling parlors. Stone was the first man to solve Peñasco’s biggest problem, lack of water. He had a well dug and the fresh water piped in.

Capone stayed in Peñasco on what could loosely be termed a working vacation—he was avoiding the U.S. government and arranging shipments of “firewater.” Stone soon ran into trouble with the Mexican government who kicked him out—though he didn’t go without a fight—he burned down his hotel and blew up the town’s only well. Undaunted Tom Childs built his own hotel with the help of Capone. Soon Peñasco was a popular resort destination for those seeking to escape the “prudeness” of the United States.

The bottom fell out of the resort business with the repeal of Prohibition in the United States and the bustling town relaxed into a small fishing village. In the late 1930s Peñasco was linked to the rest of Mexico by rail and in the early 1940s the port rose to importance as a military harbor. After the attacks on Pearl Harbor the U.S. struck a deal with Mexico allowing American use of the small port. The road we drove to reach Peñasco was built by the U.S. government to facilitate that movement of soldiers and weapons for its naval fleet. To this day, the U.S. still retains the right to use the highway when necessary.

After the military withdrew, Peñasco again suffered an economic slump until 1965, when the price of shrimp soared due to global demand. Peñasco soon rose to prominence as the heart of Mexico’s shrimping industry. The boom lasted roughly twenty years before the waters of the Sea of Cortez were “fished out.” By this time the town had become a popular tourist destination with hotels, resorts, RV parks, and restaurants. As with many towns that experience a sudden boom, the growth was poorly planned, and fancy resorts rise grandly next to economically depressed neighborhoods.

Though Peñasco has lofty plans for its future—including golf courses, a brand new dock to accommodate cruise ships, and more fancy resorts and condominiums—we like it not for its amenities but its nature. Walking the miles of sandy beaches, splashing in the tide pools and (when the temperatures allow) swimming in the ocean are our favorite activities down there. On past trips we were wowed by frolicking dolphins and feeding whales, this time we enjoyed seeing a variety of our feathered friends.

On our vacation we worked up a hunger wandering along the beaches which we satisfied by dining on fresh seafood washed down by margaritas (rocks, salt of course). After our final walk on the beach we happily realized that we were refreshed and ready for the next stage of this amazing journey we call life.

Photos: View our photographs from Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, Mexico.

Dates: We stayed in Puerto Peñasco from 12/24/09 to 12/28/09.