A Long Ride

We crossed the border at Ojinaga into Presidio, Texas. On the ride through the last 50 miles of Mexico, we lingered, taking extra photos and sighing. Mexico is great, and it was hard to leave. Presidio isn't bad, but immediately we missed Mexico. Where are all the people? Who turned the colors off? What's this white bread and sugar? You call these tortillas?

The next morning we rode along the Rio Grande into Big Bend National Park. The first few miles were about what I expected: high desert, which is always beautiful, but not much out there. Then the mountains came into view, and I understood immediately why it's a national park.



Inside the Chisos Mountain Basin might be the most beautiful place I've ever seen in my life. There are all the desert plants: cacti, yucca, creosote and ocotillo, plus typical mountain trees like Douglas fir, Aspen and Cypress, all set in a bowl-shaped mountain range.

We were stopped at four or five Border Patrol checkpoints on the roads in from the border. They're all very polite, but extremely thorough, checking with mirrors under cars and looking through car interiors. A few days earlier I had been talking to Cesar from Guaymas about his travels on "el otro lado" (the U.S., literally "the other side") so the checkpoints were a chance to talk to a Border Patrolman doing all he can to keep guys like Cesar out.