The Road to the Border

We woke up in Fort Stockton Texas and quickly made our way east toward San Antonio.

Friendly Driving
As we drove deeper into the heart of Texas, we discovered something interesting. People in Texas actually DO drive friendly.

We saw this again and again. For instance, if I got close to the tailgate of the car in front of me, the car would move over to the right shoulder and encourage me to pass. Practically sending me on my way with milk and cookies. We even saw large trucks and semis behaving in this manner.

I however was determined not to drive friendly. I was still chafing from the scathing message on Texas's welcome sign.

Vultures
Cutting through Texas brought about some interesting scenery. One time our GPS directed us to short-cut through some very desolate roads. I was getting more and more worried since it was 100 degrees outside and we had a car full of stuff. We would go long durations of time without seeing another car. Just us and the desert.

It was somewhere down one of these lonely roads that we saw a bunch of vultures hungrily hanging out near the side of the road. There may be a few settings where seeing a bunch of vultures actually lifts your spirits. But, in fact, I can't think of any. Maybe the zoo.

Oil Country
This was also oil country. Big rigs, big trucks, pipelines, and oil wells. Sometimes we would pass interesting oil-related equipment. Sometimes they were on fire.

San Antonio
We drove further east than we needed to because we wanted to stop in San Antonio. Not to sight-see or explore, but to meet someone who was a keeper of vital information.

This individual had spent 10 years in Mexico and is now living in Texas. He knows the roads, he knows the border, and we can learn a lot from him. Using a map, he carefully explained the route. We listened attentively. We wrote things down, took notes, and tried to remember every word.

We spent about an hour with him. It was a very important hour. After all, we know very little Spanish and will be making a 17-hour drive through Mexico by ourselves.

We were soon driving away from San Antonio, driving down the final stretch of US road. We were nearing the border town. It was getting dark.

Border Town
We arrived at the border town late and were having trouble finding a hotel. The streets were filled with cars, people, and border patrol vehicles. We finally found one hotel with one room left. We were relieved to have found a room.

It was only after we paid that we really took a good look at this hotel. That was our mistake. As we walked down the hall, the hallway carpet had many stains. We arrived at our room and noticed similar wear and tear. Then I remember the large sign near where we parked our car warning that the hotel was not responsible for auto theft. And all our possessions will sit outside this border town hotel for the night...

Worry
That night was a night of sober thoughts. In the morning we will cross the Mexico border and drive 17 hours through Mexico by ourselves. Northern Mexico is said to be full of problems.

Tomorrow morning we will try to cross the border with our car full of stuff. What will happen at the border? Will anyone know English? Is there anything that we are taking that we shouldn't? We are not really sure...

Will our car be safe at this hotel all night? Will we have problems at the border? Will the car get a flat tire in Northern Mexico? We would have to take all our possessions out of the trunk to reach the spare. That will certainly attract attention. Will we get lost? Take the wrong road? What is it like to drive in Mexico? Especially when the signs are in Spanish. 17 hours is a lot of hours for something to go wrong.

But we've done everything we could. The car was inspected and had some maintenance done in New Mexico. I got the tires checked out at a Costco in San Antonio. We've been coached on the drive through Mexico. We think we know the route. We are certainly not the first non-Spanish speaking travelers to drive it. We've done our homework, right?

What I would give to be sleeping in a 40-foot dog tonight, or to know I'll be rafting the Colorado tomorrow, or to be exploring the deserts of Moab, or sitting in a restaurant eating the flavorful foods of New Mexico. Give me the security of some deep cavern of Carlsbad USA. I'd even welcome Logan Utah at this point. Well...maybe.

But tomorrow is only a blank page of worry and uncertainty. Tomorrow we attempt to leave the United States and drive across the border into Mexico. And now it is time to turn the lights out, to stop looking at this stained, aging hotel room, to stop hearing the noise and activity of the night around us, to stop thinking about how the few possessions we own are sitting outside near a sign warning about auto theft....

....and try to get some sleep in this troubled Texas border town.