SD to TJ to Los Mochis to Creel.

I´m writing from the small mountain city of Creel, in the estado de Chihuahua, deep in the heart of mainland Mexico at the moment. It´s very cold outside, but it´s at the top of the Barrancas del Cobre (Copper Canyon), accessible only by the Ferrocarril Chihuahua a Pacifico. It´s a 3 days journey from CA.

I rode a 22 hr bus to Los Mochis (the turtles) about 6 days ago, spent a night there, then took the train to Creel. The Copper Canyon is supposed to ¨put the Grand Canyon to shame.¨ But, I didn´t think much of it; probably because my sister and I explored Zion National Park a month ago, with similar canyons as here.

This trip is adventurous and fun, but it´s not about the adventure. It´s about getting away from my life in SD, and looking at my problems and daily life from an outside perspective. I´m here to be alone with God, the read his word thoroughly, and think. Man, I´ve had so much alone time to think during this trip. I think about my friendships with classmates, girls, how to be a better student, future direction, and especially about knowing God more and more.

But I´ve also had quite a few adventures already, including a long hike to hot springs 3 days ago, and a 10 km hike to a really really dumb ¨elephant rock,¨which is definitely a tourist trap. 2 days ago, I sat next to Lake Arereko with 2 new German friends and just hung out all afternoon. I met a nice Christian father and son traveling team that invited me to their house in Montana for skiing in 1.5 weeks. A few nights ago, a mariachi guitar player gave me his guitar to play worship songs in front of the hostel... along with puff the magic dragon.

I´m leaving this remote town of Creel today for the beach city of La Paz. I´ve been in Creel for 5 days now because my costs are $8 for a nice bed, and $5 for food per days. Daily costs can be lower than $20 if I stop eating my expensive bistek (steak) for $9 each.