Day 9 – Side Trip to the Border

With an extra day before our reservation at Lake Brownwood State Park for the eclipse, we debated where to go. Pat suggested a side trip down to Del Rio and/or Eagle Pass at the US-Mexican border which had been in the news of late. After looking over our maps, we decided to just go take a look at it.

(Our apologies, this blog is longer than our normal ones, but it was a very interesting excursion)

We drove down Hwy 277 through relatively flat terrain. There was scrub brush and cactus for miles and miles. When news reporters talk about illegal immigrants disappearing into the brush, we could easily see how that could be. Someone could be just feet away from the edge of the road and not be seen.

The two-lane road was a good road with regular passing lanes. The further south we went the sparser the traffic became. It was kind of eerie and we wondered at times if we should be heading down there.  “Was this really a good idea?” However, curiosity kept us going.

About thirty miles from Del Rio, we came down a slope and could see something in the road in front of us.  When we got closer there was a notice to slow for a check point for the north bound traffic. “What? A check point in the US?” The southbound traffic drove through, but there were numerous cameras and sensors set up alongside the highway. Northbound traffic was stopped by Border Patrol and there were other law enforcement personnel there as well.  How Strange!

As we got closer to Del Rio, the terrain opened up and flattened out. A few miles from town, we began to see farms and houses. And then we were in town. Wow, it was big! There was a Walmart and every kind of fast-food business you could think of. Since it was lunch time, we looked for an authentic Mexican Food restaurant. We drove about half way through town before one was spotted. 

While eating a delicious meal, we discussed our impressions of Del Rio. We had expected a much, much smaller town. Also, we were somewhat surprised that people were just going about their lives. Families were out for lunch, road workers were maintaining the streets, and cars were zipping around.

After lunch, we headed further south on Hwy 277 to Eagle Pass which has also been in the news frequently. This road generally follows the Rio Grande River and it too, was sparsely populated. However, once we entered Eagle Pass, we found yet another city with lots of fast-food establishments along with chain stores like Walmart and Home Depot. 

One difference from Del Rio was that the main road going into Eagle Pass had some very large and fancy homes.

Our plan had been to walk the historic Main Street and check out some small shops, but once we saw how busy and narrow that street was, we opted to go a different route. Before we knew it, there was the park that has the border wall.

We could see the bridge over the Rio Grande between Mexico and the US. It was a nice covered bridge, presumably, to shade people who were waiting at the border crossing. Below the bridge was the park that until recently had been a processing center for illegal aliens. We could see the containers and razor wire that Governor Abbot had installed to reduce the illegal immigration. There were also national guardsmen manning the gate in the border fence.

Pat said he’d take a picture if I wanted to go stand by the wall. I said, “No way, those guys have rifles!”

As we slowly drove along the street, we saw a Border Patrol truck pulling out one of their air boats.

While it was interesting to see these things, it was also kind of freaky.

Back in the main part of town, there was the typical hustle and bustle of a community. People were going about their lives seemingly without regard to the issues at the border.

Our little excursion had come to an end, so we turned northward and headed to our next camp. A few miles out of Eagle Pass, we came to a check point. Outbound vehicles had to stop. There was a border patrol officer who looked at our camper and stated, “You don’t have anyone back there?”

Of course, we shook our heads and said, “No, sir”,

The officer waved us through and we thanked him for his service to the country.

Once we weree settled into camp, we reflected on what we observed during our side trip to “... take a look”. Seeing the area for ourselves, gave us some background and insight that we hadn’t had before. Although it was a bit unnerving at times, we were very glad we had taken this excursion.