Ten fun facts about Sonora: What you should really know.

I frequently see questions online from people seeking information about Mexico for school papers or whatever. I thought I would contribute some facts about Sonora. First, according to Encyclopedia.com:

• Sonora is the second largest state in Mexico with an area of 70,484 square miles.


• Hermosillo is the capital.


• Sonora is the most heavily irrigated state in Mexico.


• Sonora is a leading national producer of cotton and wheat.


• Cattle raising and fishing are important industries.

Of course, you're going to want to pepper your paper with some fun facts as well if you're really going for a good grade. Here are 10 fun facts I've gleaned from personal experience or observation while traveling in Sonora.

Fact 1: A drunk, American retiree will fall on his face in Puerto Penasco as easily as a drunk, American college kid.

Fact 2: If you're really hungry and stop in desperation at a dirt-floored, roadside restaurant outside of Hermosillo (where your daughter refuses to eat) and order a watery shrimp cocktail, you will pay. Dearly.

Fact 3: The boulders you just avoided in the road, thus saving your front-end as you were coming around a curve outside of Magdalena, did not roll down from the hillside as it would appear. They were placed there intentionally by the local road crew as a safety warning about the roadwork ahead.

Fact 4: There are exactly seven Coronas, four margaritas, three tequila shots and one late-night beef taco in a Rocky Point hangover.

Fact 5: Contrary to what the nice man says, the bright-yellow plastic turtle that you are eyeing in the Nogales market was not hand painted by his uncle in Guaymas.

Fact 6: Per the bright-yellow plastic turtle in Fact 5; contrary to what the nice man says it is not "almost free."

Fact 7: The intoxicated woman who jumped up from her table at a crowded Manny's Beach Club and frantically yelled "There's a whale! There's a whale!" is actually pointing at two kids snorkeling.

Fact 8: After drinking exactly four cervezas on the balcony of your condo, you will have figured out how to quit your job, move to San Carlos and make a living picking up seashells.

Fact 9: You may find out the hard way that the smiling woman sitting in front of the PEMEX bathroom with a roll of toilet paper is not insane, but is actually your friend. For a peso or two.

Fact 10: Sixty-three percent of U.S. citizens become 37 percent stupider when they cross the border. Particularly, but not always, during Spring Break in Puerto Penasco.

That's all for now. Good luck on your paper. Or whatever.

Pets in Mexico: How do you say “woof” in Spanish?

Okay so we haven't taken our dog into Mexico because, frankly, she's psychotic. (Oh, sorry, she has “socialization issues.”) She's a mid-sized mutt and enjoys nothing more than defending her territory while boasting how she has the upper hand in the human/canine relationship.

Dessy waits patiently for her owners to deliver another souvenir.

So while we're busy chasing sticks thrown into the Gulf of California surf, our hunk of shedding bark is lounging with her playmates at The Sabino Canyon Pet Resort. Some dogs have it better than others.

Most of the people I meet who bring their dogs to Mexico own a little forearm-sized ball of yapping fur. They can hold these creatures in one hand, and easily pack them -- out of harm's way -- in an RV or travel kennel.

Okay, so I'm not an expert on bringing your pets into Mexico. But I did do some sniffing around and ran across a Web site, Gringo Dog Travels, which lists some hotels that accept pets in Mexico. It was updated in July and could be handy information if you're planning on taking Fifi along for her much-deserved vacation. You should probably verify that the hotel still accepts pets before you go.

What about crossing the border, you say? According to the U.S. Embassy in Mexico:

“You will need a certificate of health for the pet issued by a certified veterinarian issued within fifteen days of departure. You also need a valid certificate of vaccination showing that your pet has had all its vaccinations within fifteen days of departure.

It would be best to call Mexican government offices directly for complete information. Contact the nearest Mexican Consulate in the United States, or the “Dirección General de Inspeccion Fitozoosanitaria” in Mexico City, Tel. 011-52-55-5571-3124 Fax 011-52-55-5784-3231.”

Bringing your pets back into the U.S. is another matter. The U.S. Customs Service has an online brochure which provides the details for bringing dogs, cats and other animals into the U.S. Take a look here:

Pets and Wildlife: Licensing and Health Requirements.

Well good luck and chow -- er, I mean "ciao" -- for now.

Finding a personal gem in Nogales.

We went camping this past weekend at Patagonia Lake State Park near the Mexican border. It wasn't hard to talk ourselves into popping over to Nogales, Sonora for a few hours on Sunday at Sr. Amigo.

Sr. Amigo:
1. After the border turnstile, turn right, walk down Internacional Street to Benito Juarez.

2. Left on Benito Juarez to Campillo. Cross Benito Juarez then cross Campillo (careful!) and walk along Campillo until you can turn left up an alley (before you get to Avenida Obregon) lined with vendors.

3. Run the gauntlet to Sr. Amigo which is on your right.

Have a drink, watch the show.

One of our favorite pastimes is sipping beers while watching gringos run the vendor gauntlet.

"Hey come see my shop."

"Lowest prices in town."

"If I don't have what you're looking for, I'll steal it for you."

Julie nodded at an exasperated man, hunched over with shopping bags in both arms, who was trying to keep pace with a gray-haired woman. The woman seemed to ignore him as she pointed her head this way and that.

"That man looks like all he wants is a drink," Julie said.

A few minutes later he plopped heavily down at the table behind us.

"Can't find my wife," he moaned. "She went into that shop and disappeared."

He ordered a beer, drained it in five minutes, gathered his bags and trudged off.

Years ago, Julie and I burned out on shopping in Mexico and vowed to stop buying anything that we couldn't immediately put down our throats. We haven't always been successful at this, and as the afternoon shadows crept over our table I slipped on our vows once again.

A man, who was so quiet that I didn't even hear him approach our table, held a rectangle in front of me. I was transfixed. It was a small painting of two snow-capped mountains which I immediately recognized.

Last fall, I went on a trekking/mountaineering trip with two friends to Pico de Orizaba, the highest peak in Mexico. This giant volcano plumps up on the eastern edge of the state of Puebla. To the west are the second and third highest peaks in Mexico: Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl. These were the two peaks in the painting.

Pico de Orizaba rises above the cornfields of Puebla.

Those three massive volcanoes border the Valley of Puebla, a high rolling landscape of agriculture and history where pyramids of cornstalks line fields once traversed by Spaniards on their way to conquer Mexico. When I was there, the air was like a blue, hazy coating.

Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl from the slopes of Orizaba.

And what stopped me in mid-swish, what made me abandon (temporarily) my Dos Equis, was that the artist had captured the color and light exactly as I remembered. He had captured the air.

Ruben Huerta's painting captures the air.

The quiet man was the artist: Ruben Huerta. He is originally from Mexico City where he received mentoring from a famous painter whose name I did not catch. He showed me newspaper clippings of articles about himself and his brother, another landscape painter. He had traveled to the frontera to make money, but complained that people here did not appreciate art. Mexico is full of talented artists with nowhere to go.

I immediately bought the painting. He had one other that showed the teepee-like cornstalk stacks so prevalent in the Valley of Puebla, but I had to have the first one.

Sure I broke our no-shopping vows, but sometimes a little gem appears in an unlikely place and you just react. Now to find a place to hang it. Hmmm.

Road trip! Mexico gas prices still lower than U.S.

The good people at the Discover Baja Travel Club posted recent Mexico gasoline prices observed in El Rosario, Baja. According to their research the price for Magna, the equivalent to regular unleaded, is about $2.83 per gallon. That's U.S. dollars, not pesos.

How does this compare to the U.S. border states? According to the American Automobile Association's Daily Fuel Gage Report, the average price for regular unleaded as of September 8, 2008 is:

Arizona: $3.57 per gallon

California: $3.86 per gallon

New Mexico: $3.69 per gallon

Texas: $3.52 per gallon

Many U.S. residents who live close to the border are capitalizing on the lower prices by popping over to Mexico and filling up their tanks. However U.S. Customs has said that if you go to Mexico solely to purchase fuel, it must be declared when crossing back into the states and is subject to importation requirements.

As you may or may not know the gasoline industry in Mexico is controlled by the government and PEMEX, which is an acronym for Petróleos Mexicanos, is the nationalized petroleum company. Thus prices are standardized across the country.

Unless you find yourself on a remote backcountry road running on "E." (Why are you about to be stranded this way? Is it because you overheard a conversation in a Tucson bar talking about a mythic beach south of Kino Bay? Is it because you listened to a helpful, but misguided, local who told you "Oh, it's not that far" when you asked directions?) Then, if you're lucky, you might find a grizzled ranchero who drives to town once a week to fill up a barrel for just such an emergency. At this point you should be aware that his price per liter will not conform to state regulations.

What is that? A Sonoran icon.

As you cruise into Hermosillo from the north on Mexican Highway 15, you'll pass a dynamic silhouette of a figure sprouting horns.

What was that?

Could it be a version of that classic southwest cliché Kokopelli, smoothed out a bit to give it a regional spin?

A sign promoting the next lucha libre event in town?

Well, "no" and "no." What you've just passed, while worrying about missing the turnoff for San Carlos, is a representation of a Yaqui Deer Dancer.

The Yaqui are a Native American people who originally inhabited the Rio Yaqui valley and surrounding regions in Sonora. The Yaqui today still perform the Deer Dance ritual during ceremonies throughout the year, particularly during Easter.

According to Muriel Thayer Painter's guide "A Yaqui Easter," the dance originated as part of "hunting rituals held on the night before a deer hunt. It is believed that these dances and songs persuaded the deer to give himself up to the hunter."

Sonora has adopted the Deer Dancer as its state symbol, and you'll see him on the state flag and elsewhere.

So now you know.

Learn more about the Yaqui people here.