Midwest & More Road Trip Discussion (On the Road)

[Marybeth]

Oh carry out tomorrow. No need to rush into cooking. Unpack the car etc. I've enjoyed your blog and can't wait for your next adventures. Thanks for taking us along.

[YFlower]

Thanks so much for all the effort! As usual, it's been great to read your entries and to see the photos. It was especially nice for me to see places I'd been to decades ago and to learn about a few new ones that definitely seem worth trying to get to some day (like the Botanical Gardens in STL).

Hard to believe the 5+ weeks are gone. I'll really miss reading the blog every day and can't wait til the next trip. Thanks again!

[kayred]

I really enjoyed your trip, thank you again for taking us along. I am interested in the border stops you had. I didn't realize there were border stops without crossing the border - do you remember who the agent's were (ICE, State Police etc). Also were they in CA and AZ?? Thx. and welcome home!! Please start planning your next adventure soon you should def. be a travel writer.

[HostDave]

All of the immigration inspectors were Border Patrol agents. We couldn't drive more that a few miles in Arizona without seeing their trucks either on the road or watching from hilltops. Bill's cousin (where the party was) has illegals hiding on his property all the time...it is very dangerous to wander out at night. These aren't the old school guys trying to come into the country for work. It has shifted to drug dealers and the associated cartel. One of his neighbor's was killed after he turned in some drug dealings he observed on his property.

Anyway, we had to go through an inspection to get out of Tombstone, again on the way to the caverns near there, twice on the way into Calfornia. Also, there is a large permanent immigration inspection station north of where we live between San Diego and Orange County. Basically, if you live within 25 miles of the border, you're going to have to pass through an inspection to go farther north. I didn't know until we moved here that we are required by law to carry ID because we live within the "border zone". I've never had to actually talk to an agent at our inspection station though. They just stand there and wave you through, if it is open at all. The ones we went through on this trip were taken very seriously. Could be that there is some sort of alert that is making them more vigilant these days.

[kayred]

There has been an increase in violence in Mexico the past few weeks (including a car bomb used against Mexican Police in a border town). Most of the recent attacks are off the TX border but they do increase efforts all along the border as the we get these up turns. I was surprised to hear about stations in CA, not so surprised to hear about them in AZ. This is a scary time to live near the border and I don't think most people understand the side of the immigration story with the very violent offenders....Glad you are home and safe and I from your blog I can tell this didn't effect too much of your travels

[HostDave]

We didn't think much of it until we talked to Bill's cousin and a local woman in El Paso (the border fence was across the street there.) She said she would never go to Mexico again and she's lived in El Paso all her life. We just thought being closer to the border and sparsely populated that they always had a larger number of agents there. However, it was scary driving back to Tombstone late at night in the pitch black and seeing the border guards parked in the bushes every few miles. Then we noticed them rummaging in the dark in the bushes. At the party, the DJ was instructed not to play any Mexican music because in the past it has brought them out of hiding thinking it is a safe house. They don't seem to be too worried about it, but if it was me I'd have electric fences and lights all around! They've had people who were dumped in the desert by smugglers knock on their door begging for water in the middle of the night, too.

At the Border Patrol Museum, I asked about the current situation and I was told that the violence has doubled this year. Besides the drug cartels, there are other violent criminals crossing the border now. The assaults on border patrol agents this year alone is double what it was for the previous ten years combined. That's a huge increase. Also, the cartels are forcing innocent people to smuggle drugs across the border, then they either kill them or abandon them in the desert. They also give people maps of water and food, all of which are non-existent, so they die in the desert. It is a very ruthless business.

All of the roads leading out of San Diego county have border inspections, by the way. The main on is on I-5 in the middle of Camp Pendleton because there is no way around that area except on foot. There is another one east of us on I-15, and south on I-8. Basically any road that leads north/south here has a secondary inspection station. Although, like I said, I've never had to talk to the agents at the ones we routinely pass through. However, it could be that has changed recently.

[HostDave]

By the way, it appears that we barely made it home last night! I-8 was closed just a bit later in the day than when we passed due to a brush fire. It would have been a lengthy detour to take an alternate route.

[Marybeth]

Glad you made it home safely. It is s interesting to read about the Border Patrols in the various states. So sad for the people involved.

[HostDave]

Part 3, Branson to Amarillo, of the photo gallery has been posted.

Sorry it is taking so long to get the rest of the pictures up, but real life sometimes intervenes!

[HostDave]

The final batch of photos including Carlsbad Caverns is now available in the Photo Gallery.