San Miguel de Satevo Mission, the "Lost Cathedral" of Barranca de Batopilas
Journey One: Arizona to Satevo Mission |
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| Date | 10/8-11/2004 | |
| Trail Time | 2 days to Creel, 1 day to Batopilas and Satevo | |
| Location | Crossing the border at Naco, MEX to Casas Grandes, Chihuahua and on to Creel and the Sierra Tarahumara | |
| Mapping / GPS / Waypoint File | Please contact for trip planning information to this wonderful area. This type of adventure should only undertaken by the well prepared and informed... |
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Trail Rating: 2 (1-5 scale) |
2 The route from the border to Satevo Mission is all passable by a high clearance 2wd vehicle with good tires. |
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| Attendees | Scott and Stephanie Brady- 2004 Toyota Tacoma |
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| Trip Planning | Sierra Madre Planning Document and resource list: Coming Soon! | |
Summary: This expedition led us nearly 2000 miles from Arizona, through the Sierra Madre from East to West all the way to the coast of the Sea of Cortez. While in the canyon system, we spend six days and 270 miles on unimproved dirt tracks using over 130 liters (34 gallons) of fuel. We ranged in altitude from nearly 8,000 feet to below 1,000 crossing three of the major barrancas.
Crossing the Border:
Bisbee Arizona is a fantastic little place, with narrow streets and classic buildings set against steep mountains harkening back to a time of profit and success, though not gleaned from the hands of tourists, but from the blistered hands of hardy men, mining the nearby hills for copper. Our expedition team was already feeling unusual in our unique vehicles, laden for the journey ahead, passing Subaru's and Honda's and attracting glares from their occupants. I am sure they were thinking "what is Expeditions West, and where are they going?", if they only knew.
Bisbee Junction Road led us south towards Bisbee junction and to the sleepy border crossing at Naco. Crossing an international border is always an exciting thing for me, creating a sense of the adventure really beginning. But, this feeling is always short lived as the hours required standing in line, filling out this or that document, paying this fee and that duty. There is a strategic advantage to crossing at Naco, as everything is convenient and within walking distance of the Banjercito (bank). Soon we had our tourist visas and vehicle permits and were driving south towards MEX 2.
While on MEX 2, we settled into an 80 KPH pace and cruised along, enjoying the great scenery of this very healthy Sonoran desert. We were en route to Janos, Chihuahua, where our intended track left MEX 2 and started south on CHI 10 beginning our climb into the Sierra San Joaquin. The road conditions degraded further as we transitioned to CHI 28 at San Buenaventura heading towards Nuevo Casas Grandes, the hub of Paquime history.
Nuevo Casas Grandes, Mexico: We stayed the night at a nice RV park called Los Metate's, which can be seen on the east side of the main road into town. The RV park is run by Tito Parada, who speaks excellent english and was a wonderful host. There are 20 level camping sites, many with full hook ups for RV's. We drove into town to pick up freshly prepared Carne Asada from the local butcher. I cannot think of many things better than a good Mexican meal before going to sleep in a tent, tossing about through the night in anticipation of the days of adventure to come! |
 The Mission at Casas Grandes |
 Warrior Mount, Paquime Ruins |
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We woke early, and traveled south to Paquime and the Museum of Northern Cultures. These expansive prehispanic ruins were occupied heavily from 900 to 1300 AD, inhabited by thousands of artisans, farmers and traders. Parrots and their feathers were major trade commodities and several structures within the ruins were designed to house and protect them. It would be easy to spend an entire day in this area, but we had a canyon to find... |
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Special Thanks to Adventure Mexican Insurance for their generous support of this expedition