Jennifer and I jointed a group of friends from Puerto Peñasco for a trip to Mexico's Copper Canyon in late March. Copper Canyon is just about as deep and wide as Arizona's Grand Canyon.

On our way to and from Copper Canyon, we stopped at the colonial town of El Fuerte, one of Mexico's Pueblos Mágicos (Magical Towns), founded in 1563 by the Spanish conquistador Francisco de Ibarra. That's over 40 years before the founding of Quebec. We stayed in the Posada Del Hidalgo, a magnificent hacienda, said to be where the Diego de la Vega alias '' El Zorro '' was born. If it was the birthplace of an El Zorro, it seems highly unlikely it would have been the legendary one. But they did put on a highly entertaining Zorro show, and the Posada was as enchanting as any hotel I have ever stayed at.

We boarded a train called El Chepe at El Fuente, and enjoyed a stunning ride up through Copper Canyon, eventually reaching the rim. We stayed for two nights at the Mirador Hotel, right on the rim edge, and hiked the upper slopes of the Canyon. We also visited several other destinations in the area, including the Valley of the Monks, the San Ignacio Mission, and the Tarahumara town of Creel. A stop at a Mission residential school in Cerocahui is featured in another gallery.