El Potrero Chico, Mexico 2022

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Trip start
December 25, 2022
El Potrero Chico, Mexico 2022 Traveler
Travel Day: Wichita to Monterrey, Mexico
December 25, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 50 °F
It's not often that we start a trip from Wichita, but here we go! Let's rewind a few days... We flew into Wichita to spend a few days celebrating Christmas. It was a struggle bus of a journey to Kansas -- Holden started the trip with a fever, then E one-upped him by barfing at the gate in STL. It was an exhausting travel day, which pretty well set the tone for our stay in ICT. We arrived in Wichita the night before Winter Storm Elliot blew in and dropped us all into the coldest and deepest freeze I've ever experienced. Wind chills were in the -20°s. Everett struggled with a gnarly cough all week, which has kept us all pretty weary.

Fortunately by the time Christmas rolled around, we were feeling decent and the Christmas spirit is always a mood lifter! We had a great holiday with my brother, his family and my Dad. This was the first Christmas without my mom, but we still found a lot of joy with each other.

Sunday finally rolled around and we packed up and headed to the airport. Because of the winter storm earlier in the week, flights were majorly disrupted. Our first flight was over an hour late and then we landed in time for a 7 hour layover at DFW (was supposed to be 2 hours). We killed time by riding the Skylink train A LOT and sitting wherever we could find space. Then the layover gods smiled on us and we stumbled onto the swankiest public airport lounge where we killed the last 2 hours of our layover.

We didn't arrive in Monterrey until after midnight and between waiting for customs, baggage and finding a ride, we didn't make it to the hotel until 2am. After a very long day, and an extraordinarly sketchy cab ride, we finally made it to the hotel.Read more
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El Potrero Chico, Mexico 2022 Traveler
Hidalgo: Day 1
December 26, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ 🌙 61 °F
Day 2 of our trip brought us much improved circumstances! Our Wonderful host, Alberto picked us up at the hotel in Monterrey and drove us to our Airbnb in Hidalgo where we'll spend the week. The boys got another taste of non-American driving as the 4 of us crowded into the backseat and my Dad rode shotgun. Alberto speedily weaved down the road in a way that would get us pulled over for a DUI in the US, but here it's, just the way of the road.

As we got further away from the smog of the city, the mountains became more clear and impressive. We pulled into town and our host swung by the police station to let us get some pesos from the ATM. We cracked up that the first stop was the police station, but agreed that it's a good place to keep the money machine.

Hidalgo has plenty of modern services but is definitely a more rural and poorer town. Dogs roam about and are camped out at the gates of homes. Some are probably more effective security systems than others.

After dropping our bags at our cheerfully yellow Airbnb, Alberto drove Nate and I to the grocery store and walked through the market with us to make sure we didn't make too many cultural faux pas.

After settling into our charming house and resting a bit, we walked the mile to El Potrero Chico (EPC). Alberto told us that the name means Little Valley. As climbing goes, the volume of routes and ease of access is incredible. Looking up at the mountains, the climbers looked like colorful ants.

On the walk back, we greeted our friends who had just arrived and Nate happily headed back up to EPC with the guys to scout routes. The boys played and I caught up with the everyone.

We ended the night with THE BEST chicken I've ever tasted at a little restaurant down the road called Leo's. The food was incredible and we all had a great time catching up. The boys also discovered SQUIRT soda and are now big fans of new things in Mexico.

We headed to bed early, happy with our first day and ready for what the week brings.Read more
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El Potrero Chico, Mexico 2022 Traveler
Hidalgo: Day 2
December 27, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F
Day 2 we went our separate ways. Nate and Everett headed up to EPC and Holden, Dad and I made our way back into town. Tuesday is a market day and I wanted to see what that was all about. Mostly it was like a flea market with lots of shoes, clothes, electronics & produce for sale. We didn't find anything worth trying to translate for, except the street corn. I was thrilled when I saw that and happily waited in line for some. On our way back Holden was not happy about another long walk. The traveling gods must have heard his despair. A truck pulled up with a local driver and a bunch of Americans and they asked if we could use a ride. So that's how Holden had his first hitchhiking experience! He was giddy about getting to ride in the bed of a truck for the first time.

While we were in town, Nate and Everett headed up to EPC to climb. They both seemed happy and pleased with what they found and were ready for more the next day.

We finished the evening at a local restaurant that served margaritas bigger than my head.Read more
TravelerV agreed with Holden on not enjoying the walking - until we had a beautiful ocean view to walk next to. 🙂
12/29/22Reply
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El Potrero Chico, Mexico 2022 Traveler
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Day 3: EPC
December 28, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ 🌙 70 °F
Tuesday we all headed up to EPC for a day of climbing. Holden was not interested in getting on the wall, so he and Papa hung out in a dry creek bed and threw a thousand rocks. I woke up feeling pretty rough from a poor sleep and with a constellation of canker sores in the back of my throat. Thankfully a good dose of ibuprofen and extra coffee from someone selling it on the side of the road helped perk me up. That and the 1.5 hr nap I took when we got back to the house that afternoon.

While Holden and I were not in the best of moods at the beginning, Everett & Nate were keen to get back at it, along with the rest of the crew. They climbed in an area called Moto and our group pretty well took over the section. It was fun watching the kids try new things and making it beyond their original comfort zones. Holden and Papa headed back to the house after watching E climb a time or two. Everett got a little stuck leading a 5.8 climb and learned a few good lessons about knowing his limits and when to let things go. Overall the kids did great and the adults got some good runs done in between.

Dinner was an absolute feast. We got tamales from a place our host recommended and cooked side dishes. Dan showed up at the house like the victor of an ultra marathon with 100 tamales in his backpack. Holden wanted none of them, but the rest of us sure did.

While we enjoyed the evening as a group, my Dad -- always a tamale hater -- headed back to Leo's. In true Terry Burr fashion, he wound up being befriended by the owner. Between Leo's basic English and Dad's translator app, they wound up having a great evening. Leo gave Dad a tour of his restaurant and he came home a full and happy man.Read more
Traveler It appears Owen has good taste. Is that an Argentina shirt I see?
12/29/22Reply
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El Potrero Chico, Mexico 2022 Traveler
Hidalgo: Day 4
December 29, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F
After a full day of climbing on Wednesday and a big climb on the horizon for Nate on Friday, Thursday was a rest day. We had a lazy morning then walked into town to restock on a few supplies. In town we ran into others from our crew and the kids made the most of the 1980s playground.

Once we made it back, the kids and I made some paintings while the guys scouted routes for their climb the next day.

We finished the night at another local restaurant called Checo. I chowed on some delicious chicken mole while Dad accidentally ordered the biggest beer I've ever seen. Now we know when something says GRANDE it means GRANDE.Read more
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Day 5: EPC
December 30, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ 🌙 66 °F
Friday was one of the big days Nate had been planning since someone first floated the idea of this trip. EPC is famous for its multi-pitch setups, which for a layman like me just means you can climb really high a bit more easily.

Nate and David left before I even woke up and hiked up to the base of a climb called Excalibur, a crazy tall pillar connected to a fin that branches off from the main mountain. Others in our group had done the climb the day before.

While the climb was challenging, Nate said the hardest part was the scrambled hike to get up to the base of the pillar. They hiked through lots of overgrowth and scree just to get to it the starting point. Compared to that hike, Nate said the climbing wasn't too tough.

The boys and I made our way up to the viewing area and looked for a loooong time before we could finally find them on the wall. We got to see them make it to the top and see a few arms waving from the distance.

The rest of the day was very uneventful. A lack of communication from the rest of the crew left us a bit in limbo and we basically just killed time at the house. We ended the day with tasty fajitas and margaritas and a few games at the house.Read more
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Day 6: EPC & El Arbolon
December 31, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ 🌙 68 °F
This day doubled as the last full day of our trip and New Years Eve! Dad and I began the day with a 5 mile roundtrip hike to El Arbolon, a tree that is thought to be at least 600 years old. Once we got through the canyon that makes up EPC, we were surprised to find such a verdant landscape. As we walked, we realized all this greenery was due to a mountain spring that provides water for the town. Things began to get more lush and shady as we drew closer to El Arbolon and crossed over a small creek. The tree itself has an enormous trunk and branches so thick they seem to defy gravity.

We headed back and eventually met up with the climbing crew. Nate had picked out a section called Wonderwall that had tons of routes for both kids & their grownups. It was fun getting to watch everyone take on new challenges.

We followed that up with tacos at Taco Locos and hung around until the rest of the crew left for their new accomodations. We went back to our house and enjoyed a few margaritas. We finished the evening with another delicious dinner at Leo's. Since it was NYE, they were prepping for a big party to ring in the new year. We enjoyed our dinner and left the partying to everyone else.

Our last day was pretty perfect. Grateful to get to explore these new environments and do it with friends and family.Read more
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Trip end
January 1, 2023