THEATER OF THE MINDS DANCE DAYS AT ETCHOJOA

The European musical festive in Alamos has passed rich medieval rites, song and dance but then as Lent waned and Easter approached the Indigenous  Village people on the Tres Rio region mixed their ancestral ways pre christian.  The hybrid is a feast for the eyes and tells tales that capture the Theater on the mind

DOING MEXICAN DUCK HUNT

George and Delores have been duck hunting Sonora for over 50 years and they still enjoyed the others company. Their retriever had just pass on so I was invited to join them on the Sonoran/Sinaola border for a day of duck hunting Mexican style. It was  like shooting ducks in a barrel.  We drover down the night before Ellen and I and spent the night drinking Mexican beers and margaritas. Morning came too soon and I was off with George in his modified Suburban, two long time birds boys and Delores the Driver  and Tess the Super Dog kenneled in the back. 

I had no idea what to expect as my previous Mexican Duck hunts were all in the tidewater near Culican.  Today they were no waders, airboats, just Ruger Red Labels Over and Under and plenty of lead shells.

We drove until we reach large wheat fields on off in the distance I saw swarms of ducks circling, landing and returning to the irrigation canals to sip water.  We would shoot them as they came into the canals to sip before returning to the fields.  The first group came in over us and the 87 year old George took a double.

Before I could react the birds boys were running down to cross the canal not seeing the super dogs hit the water to retrieve the double.  Tess had a clean water mark but the second birds was a cripple, her favorite and she was off behing the huge berm scouring the knee high wheat fields for the cripple.  Five minutes later she breached the 10 high berm with her prize and she delivered to hand.  The bird boys were truly amazed at black Labrador finding the wounded bird.

This action continued all morning until Tess had managed to bring to hand 26 Mexican Mallards without a loss. We called it quits and return to town waiting for the birds boys to return with our plucked ducks.  We had bought several Caymus Cabs from a friend to pair with the roasted mallards and life was good.

DOVE AND PIDGEON SHOOTING IN SOUTH SONORA MEXICO

Three Acosta brothers in Alamos run a world class shooting operation that is better than England and Argentina and I should know. Shooting s sxs Pedro Arrizabalga 28 bore is a gentleman sport and most guys who do so are here to reap the bounty of Sierra Madre Occidental foothills. Since teen age years in Tucson dove hunts have been high on the list beginning with days reloading Winchester AA,  tuning up the dogs and oiling the shotguns. Back home doves quickly cooked over an open flame  wrapped in bacon taste served with wild rice and walnuts and summer stringed beans were devoured by my six brothers.

In Alamos there are a dedicate group of American dove shooters that take this sport rather seriously sometimes shooting over ten boxes daily. There is a cadre of high school buddies that can out shoot any one I ever shot with in England and Canada.  They were reared in California Central Valley where doves were as thick as flies and pass shooting was as fine as it gets.

The earliest action are morning doves who begin their flights from Mesquite roosts to the grain fields.  Their pointed tails enables them to wheel and deal making for instinctive shoot sometimes holding the gun at 45 degree angles. Experience trap and skeet shooter can not handle these shot until the thirds day as the birds are unpredictable in their flight patterns.  They save their ammo for the white wings that come in later.  Their tails like pigeon are rectangular and fly in a truer patter making lead easier to follow through.  The action can be unparalleled

THE THREE RIVER VALLEYS OF MAYO, YAQUI INDIANS and TROGANS

Where was Don Juan Matus these days. I think I see him everywhere. Now that Carlos Castaneda had moved on, his stories  left an indelible impression upon us with tales of the "Yaqui ways of Knowledge."  It made Mexico even more appealing to us Old Hipster spinning tales of mystery and magic that makes Mexico so special.

With the border delay,  Ellen and I decided to spend the evening in Hermosillo, the capital of Sonora have a shower and nice dinner and because it was her keystone birthday. We parked our rig and took a taxi to a night club filled with emerging urbane Millennium gens. After several Bohemias, Ellen and I  shared a dish of well presented Chile Rellenos, and a sea bass from the coast. We watched the street life go by at table side and stopped on the way back for an ice cream so famous in Mexico because they use cane, not sugar beet or corn Fructose .  Even bought the driver a cone and he was delight at our goodwill ambassadorial gestures.  It was back to the hotel where Ellen slept soundly while I had to cope with Mexican TV soaps to get me off my sugar high and put me down.


Alamos is a very unique village nested in the foothills above Navajoa  near the Chihuahua-Sinaloa borders. The mines sent Silver fortunes to China and Spain  and today the restored  architectural relics of a 17th century a Spanish period captures the traveler thirst for beauty and culture. The Musica festival each February in Alamos brings world class opera and symphonies for a week long festival. Seldom can one pass shoot doves and and attend a Russian Soprano singing Verdi within the same day

DOWN SOUTH OF THE BORDER WITH DOGS, DOVES AND THE DEVIL.

Arizona late morning doves hunts are about warm winter campfires and exceptional pass shooting.  By this time each year there are no more "gentleman's" doves left.  All the white wings depart for climates in Sinaloa and Sonora.  This year it's colder than normal and with very few grain crops to draw the morning doves so we do our remote office thing via wireless Verizon air-cards and think of Alamos and warm days, excellent beers, a constant festival and dove hunting.

Mexico seems as good a place to winter, work and play. There we can do the remote office for "Big Data" needs with wifi Telcel stik and a booster and thanks to Carlos Slim. Beside half of America is scared of Mexico listening to media making even better for us elbow-room seekers. As usually, this year I would drive the comfortable cozy Lance camper upon my 1 Ton dually Fords and trailED my customized enclosed 6x12 Mirage with a KLR 650cc motorbike  and Can Am 450 quad.

Mexico changes their permits and visa yearly. I tried to impress upon Ellen the original paper work from car, trailer, motorcycles to ATV were needed.  After a quick visit with our daughter Cate who winters in Tucson we cross to Nogales minus our double barrel English hammer guns and high end side by sides. "The devils lives in the details" and were halted at the permitting office.  The young boy would not issue permits for the truck and motorbike because we DID NOT have the original title.  I was furious but Ellen always more calm was not going to give up and decided to confront the Mexican bureaucracy. She located a women who was senior to the young man and explained that she had copy of the original registration .  She had empathy and OK ed the permit.  She went to another window to a more experienced man and all was in order.  We were off after three hours only drove to Guaymas instead of Alamos