Ericka B. Gray
EF1
Chase “Bustâ€, May 3, 2005
We started off in Fort Stockton, Tx in cold mist, murk and gloom, determined to see the sunshine and perhaps something resembling a thunderstorm. The only option appeared to be south to Big Bend. After a K-Bob’s fuel stop, we drove out of the stratus many miles later to find heat and sun in Terlingua. While driving along the Rio Grande river road, we watched some towers build over the mountains in Mexico. As we turned north towards Marfa, towers were building to our NW. One made a poor attempt to produce an anvil. Now, the real reason for this post is that if you are traveling with an alien (and we’re not talking Roswell, to quote Dean Cosgrove) like Ian (who’s British with a green card), be prepared! When you are required to stop at the Border Patrol Station approximately 50 miles north of the border on highway 67, you really, really should have your driver's license and be sure your "alien" chase partner is carrying his green card or passport. Otherwise, the penalty is up to 30 days in jail or $5,000 fine or both, according to the humorless Border Patrol Officer, after we were detained for an extended period of time. Fortunately, he took pity on our alien since Ian is English and not Mexican – and we had actually not even been in Mexico. He decided not to enforce this law but did emphasize that he could. If we had been in real chase mode, this would have been disasterous. Now we eagerly await the transition to spring in the next few days.
We started off in Fort Stockton, Tx in cold mist, murk and gloom, determined to see the sunshine and perhaps something resembling a thunderstorm. The only option appeared to be south to Big Bend. After a K-Bob’s fuel stop, we drove out of the stratus many miles later to find heat and sun in Terlingua. While driving along the Rio Grande river road, we watched some towers build over the mountains in Mexico. As we turned north towards Marfa, towers were building to our NW. One made a poor attempt to produce an anvil. Now, the real reason for this post is that if you are traveling with an alien (and we’re not talking Roswell, to quote Dean Cosgrove) like Ian (who’s British with a green card), be prepared! When you are required to stop at the Border Patrol Station approximately 50 miles north of the border on highway 67, you really, really should have your driver's license and be sure your "alien" chase partner is carrying his green card or passport. Otherwise, the penalty is up to 30 days in jail or $5,000 fine or both, according to the humorless Border Patrol Officer, after we were detained for an extended period of time. Fortunately, he took pity on our alien since Ian is English and not Mexican – and we had actually not even been in Mexico. He decided not to enforce this law but did emphasize that he could. If we had been in real chase mode, this would have been disasterous. Now we eagerly await the transition to spring in the next few days.
