Border Patrol

I like to explore. A few weeks ago, I went to the west end of town, where there are a whole bunch of farms. I knew the Colorado River would be out there, separating Yuma from Mexico, and I wanted to see what it looked like. This is what it looked like. I was on the levee, looking into the canal, the river, and Mexico. I was surprised. Driving through El Paso a little over a year ago, you can't see the Rio Grande anywhere because of the huge security fences. Driving to San Diego, you can see similar (though not as big) fences not far from the road. Here, there is nothing. Just the river.

After I had a good look, I got in my car and drove back to town. After two minutes of driving, there were sirens behind me. Crap. Was I speeding? No. It turned out to be a Border Patrol officer. He had seen my car near the border, and had seen someone standing on the levee. So, he needed to check my trunk and see my ID to make sure I was legal, and that I wasn't bringing anyone illegal over. He asked if I was a US citizen, and how I became one.

I've stopped at Border Patrol checkpoints many times since I've been in Yuma. This was the first time I had ever been pulled over though. Yuma's kind of a weird place. I can't decide how I feel about it yet. It's not my favorite place, but I can't say that I hate it. This blog is just about my experiences while I'm living in this Border Town.