Today was the final day of our trip. To be honest it was not very eventful. We left our hotel around 8:30 am to began our drive up to the border. We were on a strict schedule to make it to El Paso in time for some of our traveler’s flights at 5:00 pm. The drive from Cuauhtémoc to the border isn’t too long, and when you’re in good company it goes even faster. We even stopped at our favorite quesadilla stand one last time for some lunch and last minute shopping.

Around 2 pm we made it to the border, and it was much faster to get across this time around. At the border we said goodbye to Frank, Sandy, Wendy and Jackson as they headed their separate ways. The rest of us traveled through El Paso and to the airport. By 3:30 we were able to get Jill, Aidan, David and Adam to their gates with plenty of time. It was sad to say goodbye to everyone as they headed into the airport.

After the airport we headed to Las Cruces to drop Elli off at her dorm so that she could get her car and drive it home. My dad forced me to go with her, so we got to drive home together. Meanwhile Jeff, Angelo, Brenda and Crystal made their way up back to Los Lunas and Albuquerque in Clifford.

It’s now around 10:00 and we are all back home safely. We overall had one of the best trips we think we have ever had, with only a few inconveniences along the way. We had an awesome group this year, and everyone did an awesome job! We want to give a special shout out to Olive Branch Christian School, Corrales International School, the guests and staff at La Reforma, all the breweries who sold our limited edition fundraiser beer, all of our friends and family that donated, and all of the people who donated their time to go out and make this happen. We really could not do any of this without you, and we are forever grateful! We hope you enjoyed these updates, and all the pictures from our trip, and stay tuned for a recap video from Wendy that is in the process of being edited. We will see you next year when we do this all again!

-The Aljaba Travelers

Today our group got to sleep in a little, and we were able to have some sightseeing time before we began our drive back to the border. But first, Lupe had something very important that she wanted to show us. A large plot of land in Creel that isn’t too far away from the current orphanage had been purchased so that a new orphanage could be built. The current orphanage is a series of very old and rundown buildings, and they are in desperate need of an upgrade. A brand new three story building is set to start construction next year, and hopefully should be completed soon.

We couldn’t be more excited for Lupe and her kids, and we can’t wait to see what the new building looks like!

After getting to see the exciting new project, we got back into Clifford and headed to the Copper Canyon for some zip lining, food and shopping. The canyon isn’t too far from Creel, so the drive wasn’t bad. Once we parked, a bus shuttled us up the mountain to the main activity area where we got to do some sight seeing.

There were also some booths selling souvenirs including the famous baskets that everyone who donates asks for, as well as some funny knock off toys that we all got a laugh out of.

There was also a cool glass floor overlooking the canyon that people could walk over if they dared too.

One of the most popular attractions at the Copper Canyon is the zip lining. The main zip line here is actually one of the longest in the world, and it takes a lot of nerve to ride. Five out of the fourteen travelers this year decided to accept the challenge. Many of us have done the zip line over the years, and decided that once was enough. As someone who is not a fan of heights, I did the zip line once years ago, and do not want to do it ever again.

Elli, Jill, Jeff and Aidan have all done the zip line before, some even multiple times. Brenda was the only person who had not done it out of these five.

The rest of our group took the tram to the other side of the canyon. Even thought it was slightly less scary than the zip lines, it still is very unsettling for someone who does not like heights.

Once we all arrived at the other side of the canyon, we got to do some more souvenir shopping, and some beautiful sightseeing. We also got to see a stray goat which was very exciting for us.

After our small adventure, we all took the tram back as a group, and headed over to the nearby train station for some lunch. This particular train station sells the best gorditas in the world (according to Jeff) and are a must have every time we come visit. A gordita is a thick tortillas that is cut open and stuffed with all types of delicious fillings. There are multiple different meats, cheeses and vegetables that can be put inside, and my personal favorite is the nepalés (cactus) filling. We all ordered our food and got to sit back and relax a little as we ate our lunch.

Of course we weren’t alone while eating. We attracted a lot of company that were just too cute to ignore.

After lunch, it was time to head back to our van, and start our drive back home. We only put in a few hours today and will be driving most of the way back tomorrow. It took us about 4 hours to get to the city of Cuauhtémoc, where we would stay at a hotel for the night. Jeff booked us in a very nice hotel called The Apple Inn. Before turning in, we all decided to get a quick dinner at a restaurant close by called Troll. They specialized in boneless wings, burgers and beer. We spent some time eating and having a deep conversation of how much this trip means to us.

That’s about all we did today. Now we’re going to go get some rest before taking on the very long drive straight back home. We are glad we can have a day like this to show the new people in our group the beautiful scenery that Chihuahua and the Copper Canyon have to offer. It is always fun to be a tourist for a little bit while we are here!

We started our morning around 7 am. We needed to be extra early to the food distribution this year because we had to meet a guide who needed to lead us through the mountain. We ate a quick breakfast at our hotel of eggs, beans, potatoes, tortillas and pan dulces before we hit the road. Usually we buy and pack the food ourselves for the distribution, but the kids at Creel went ahead and did it for us before we started our trip.

The drive up the mountain was very long and very bumpy. Most of the road is not paved, but Clifford somehow made it through. We arrived at a clearing with a few old buildings. People were slowly starting to arrive around the same time we did. A handful of kids from Creel wanted to come with us and help pass everything out. As people arrived, we passed out sports balls, stuffed animals, candy and jackets. Before we did the rest of the food distribution, some pastors that met us there gave a quick Sunday sermon and worship session.

While the songs were in Spanish, most of the sermon was in the native Tarahumara language. It was very cool for all of our travelers to be able to experience a new language. Both language are spoken in these areas, and a lot of the kids are fluent in both.

After the sermon, we began distributing food out to all the people who came. We ended up having even more food than we needed, so some people even got extra bags to take home.

It was a very successful food drive yet again, and we were glad to be able to provide at least a weeks worth of groceries for families in need. It always warms our hearts when the kids want to go out and volunteer their time to the food distribution, and we always have a large crowd of them wanting to go. Even thought these kids don’t have much, they always want to give to those less fortunate.

Afterwards, we headed back down the mountain on bumpy roads and back to the orphanage for some lunch, and so we could spend some time playing with the kids. Lupe, the director of the orphanage in Creel, made us some delicious enchiladas, mole, beans and rice.

We played some volleyball with the kids with a new net and ball that we brought, and played with all the new toys the kids received yesterday. By around 2 we were starting to feel tired from the days events, and made a quick stop to our hotel to freshen up and take a quick power nap. Soon enough though we were refreshed and ready for the rest of our fun activities planned for the day!

Our first fun activity was the annual Bingo game. We have asked the kids many times what their favorite part of us coming is, and we always expect them to say the Christmas presents. But no, the Bingo game is their all time favorite part. So of course we have to go all out for them.

A lot of the kids are really young here, and they sometimes don’t know all their numbers yet. So, each table will have at least two of us checking all cards every time a new number is called out to make sure no kid missed anything.

Soon enough all the kids were getting Bingos and claiming their prizes. One by one, we check all the winner’s cards before they can pick a prize, and soon enough all the kid’s tables were stacked with prizes. After a long two hours, the game finally came to an end, and all the kids ran back to their dorms to play while we cleaned and set the room up for movie night!

The movie for this year was Frozen II. The first Frozen was a big hit, so we knew we had to show the kids this one. There is no movie theater in Creel, so the kids don’t have access to all the new popular movies that come out.

We use a projector to show the movies since they don’t have a tv big enough for everyone to see. We popped some fresh palomitas (popcorn) and passed it out to all the kids. The kids also got extra glow sticks and mini flashlights for the movie. This had to be one of the most popular movies we have shown yet, and the kids could not stop laughing everytime Olaf was on screen. He was definitely a fan favorite for the kids, and me too.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end. After the movie, we had to say our last goodbyes as this was our final day with the kids. We all lined up and got final hugs, handshakes and fist bumps as the they made their way to bed. They can always get a bit upset when it’s time for us to leave, and we are just as sad. These kids have a special place in our hearts, and we have formed close relationships with many of them. We love making them happy and spoiling them, and this is the reason we come back year after year.

We want to thank everyone again who donated to our trip, and I hope you all know just how much happiness you gave to these kids. We couldn’t do any of this without you, and we are very appreciative.

We are very thankful that we could make our trip this year, and can’t wait to come back next year and see all the kids. Today was a very fun and eventful day, and we need some sleep to power up for a little sight seeing tomorrow before we start driving back up North. Goodnight!

After a hectic night, we had a much calmer morning at La Junta. We ate breakfast with the kids, did more fun activities and played with all the new toys. We got out some board games that we brought for the kids, rocket balloons, bubble guns, and lots of play-doh.

We also got to meet some of the animals that live on property including dogs, cats, sheep and chickens.

Around noon we had to start our journey to Creel, so we sadly had to say goodbye to everyone until next year.

It is about a two hour drive from La Junta to Creel. We had to wind through the narrow mountain roads in our big van to get there. It’s a good thing my dad is good at navigating these areas. Soon enough we pulled into Creel, and into the orphanage!

We went ahead and unloaded our trailer before eating some lunch with all the kids.

All of us were eager to start the days activities, but we really needed to freshen up first. Before we drove down the street to check in to our hotel, we got some fun spinning top activities going for the kids to keep them occupied.

After making sure the kids had some fun things to do, we drove over to our hotel, Margarita’s. Everyone finally got to take a warm shower, and freshen up a bit before tonight’s exciting activities.

Around 6:30 pm we headed back to the orphanage to start preparing for Christmas. Once again we went through all the presents and made sure all the kids had them. We only had one casualty this year and accidentally left one present back at the hotel. Luckily it was a quick drive to go and retrieve it. It wouldn’t be a proper trip without something going wrong. Soon enough though we had all the presents lined up and ready for the kids.

One by one we called all the kids up to get their presents. Once again, everyone has to wait until everyone else has their gift to open them.

We had yet again another successful Christmas as the kids ripped open their gifts and laughter filled the room. So much was going on at once, and everyone was busy helping the kids open their toys and showing them how things worked. We were putting in batteries, opening boxes and charging up remote control cars. It didn’t take too long for all the kids to one by one start to retreat back to their dorms so that they could have more space to play. While they did that we all helped pick up wrapping paper and trash, and sweep up the floor. It was a very fun and eventful night!

After finishing cleaning up, and eating some fresh tamales and tres leches cake, we headed back to our hotel. Turns out today was a holiday celebrating the Virgin of Guadalupe. So we were greeted by music, food, dancing and a big parade outside of our hotel. We stayed and watched for a few minutes, but due to the almost freezing temperatures we decided to turn in for the night.

Thank you all who contributed donations to the orphanage here in Creel! We couldn’t do these things without you all, and you made a lot of kids very happy! Come back tomorrow for updates on our biggest food distribution ever, a bingo tournament and movie night!

We woke up around 7:00 this morning so that we could all get on the road by 8:00. The drive from our hotel to the border is short, but that didn’t stop us from getting donuts and coffee for the ride.

We were greeted with unusually long lines at the Santa Teresa border, and after 2 and a half hours we finally got through. Usually the line is much shorter, but today there were lots of travelers coming across the border.

We have a tradition on these trips to stop at our favorite quesadilla stand about an hour from the border. We ordered a stack of fresh asadero cheese quesadillas and a plate full of chapulines (grasshoppers).

After a delicious lunch, we got back on the
road to head to out first exciting stop at the
orphanage in La Junta. We knew we were
running a bit late due to the hold up at the
border, so we tried to get there as fast as
possible. After hours of naps, trivia games, a
few bathroom/snack breaks and karaoke we
finally arrived around 7:00 pm.

We ate a quick dinner with all the kids consisting of pizza, spaghetti and lots of soda before starting to get all the presents ready. While we carefully checked to make sure each kid had their present, the other half of the group entertained the kids with bubbles, balloon animals, glow sticks and candy.

Finally the moment arrived, and one by one we handed each kid their gift! They had to wait until everyone had their present before opening them.

Excitement filled the room as all the kids
opened their presents! All of us were rushing
around helping everyone get toys out of boxes,
and explaining how some toys worked. It was
a lot of fun and a lot of work! Kids were
playing with dolls, remote control cars,
scooters, sports balls, crafts, nerf guns and so
much more! You could see so much happiness
on each kids face as they opened up their gifts,
and played with their new toys! Soon enough
all the kids retreated off to go play with all
their new things, and we started cleaning up
the giant pile of wrapping paper, plastic and
boxes. It was an extremely fun and eventful
night for sure!

After hours of fun, it was finally time to turn in for the night. We all got to have sleepovers with the kids, and got invited to stay in their dormitories.

We had yet another extremely successful Christmas here at La Junta. Thank you so much to everyone who donated and bought presents for these kids. Stay tuned for more Christmas fun tomorrow when we head over to the orphanage in Creel!

Today marks the first day of our 2021 trip down to Mexico. My dad (Jeff) and I (Suzi) started our day early this morning doing last minute preparation and finishing loading the trailer. We made one more last minute trip to Walmart and replaced the battery for Clifford the Big Red Van since it decided to die overnight.

Around noon we drove over to La Reforma to meet up with some of this year’s Aljaba Travelers. Wendy, Sandy, Frank, Jackson, Brenda, and Crystal met up with us for some delicious tacos before loading up in our vehicles and starting the first part of our drive.

First we drove to Los Lunas to pick up Angelo, and then down to NMSU in Las Cruces to pick up Elli. From there we headed to El Paso to check into our hotel for the night.

We had to pick up the last 4 travelers at the airport, so a few of us went out for a late dinner while we waited for their flights to arrive.

After picking up Jill, Aidan, David and Adam we headed back to the hotel for some La Reforma beer, homemade cookies and a meet and greet. Just as a quick note, all travelers this year had to be fully vaccinated, and many of us received our third booster shots too. We are lucky that we can have a more normal trip this year, and we want to stay on the safe side.

Now we’re all going to bed to rest up for a long day of traveling tomorrow. We have to get up early and start driving to the border! More updates of what we are up to will be posted tomorrow!