From Creel to Zacatecas

It’s October 20th, and we are in Zacatecas, an interesting city full of harsh contrasts. Thus, we made it about 600 miles in three days; not too good, is it? We are now about two weeks slower than we anticipated, but we are enjoying the journey.
The drive has been very scenic: from canyons and curves to cactus, corn fields, and wild flowers. On Saturday, we camped in Canutillo right at the hacienda of Francisco “Pancho” Villa, now a museum. Canutillo is a backwater, and people here live a simple life, and they are very friendly and hospitable.
Just as friendly were the people at our next free campsite, a sports complex in the town of Sain Alto. For some reason, this town is much more affluent than Canutillo, and it has several schools. We visited the Benito Juarez Technical High School and talked to three of their classes about our trip.
Now we’re parked at the fancy Hotel El Bosque in Zacatecas immediately above some dismal slums. Thus, tonight we’re paying for a perfect wifi connection up on this hill of the “haves” overlooking a valley of “have-nots.” This very colonial town does have a lot of charm and a lot of traffic, creating a mix which makes it difficult to decide if you love it or hate it.
Zacatecas also is a cross-roads for us, and we’re deciding tonight which way we’ll proceed from here. Stay tuned but don’t hold your breath; it may be a few days before we check in again.
Children: Who was Pancho Villa?