Mar 31, 2011
Lukeville US Customs!
I am sending this from a ‘borrowed’ internet connection somewhere in the town of Quartzite, Arizona. We spent yesterday shopping in Yuma and last night & tonight will be on the BLM lands @ Mile 112 on HWY 95.
So to continue my last post, after turning in our Mexican paperwork, we fueled up in Sonoyta and then arrived at the US border about 4:25PM. There are a few structural changes but nothing significant. A huge sign directs all RV’s to use Lane #1, which is the one on the extreme right, next to the Customs building. The other lanes are under construction so at present this is the only one open and there were 2 vehicles ahead of us. Something seemed to be going on with the pickup truck first in line.
There were four guards checking it out and then another officer brought out a small camera that he inserted into the fuel tank and looked though the other end. Obviously nothing was hidden as the fellow soon took off. When it was our turn, after the preliminary questions (where are you from, where are you going, how long have you been gone, how far south did you go) we were asked to pull forward to an exact spot. We believe they were checking our tow car on a sensor parallel to the guard booth. A different officer then asked us to pull quite forward to an area he directed us to and asked us to shut the engine. Then he said “we’ll start with your pets…” and the questions just kept on and on with him writing down certain responses. He very carefully checked each dogs International Travel Document & their rabies certificates. Then he asked about meat, poultry, fruit, vegetables, seeds, etc. He did not ask about eggs, dog food, alcohol or tobacco or the amount of purchases we had made. After the questions he advised that he would now be coming aboard to check things!! I believe that this might be where our friends Susan & Joseph got into a bit of trouble. If what he finds inside your rig is not what your previous answer was, you might be fined. So once again Susan & Joseph thanks for heads up. He only checked the fridge and freezer. He was very thorough and found an avocado of which I had taken the pit out and put into a plastic bag. No more avocados, the skins now might carry some disease. Basically no meat or poultry, fish is still alright; no fruit of any type; no vegetables either, except he left me my onions & carrots. He also carefully checked the freezer and had to read the ingredients of my soy products before allowing them to be kept. We were finally on our way about 20 minutes later. He was very official and reserved but extremely polite. I have to say this was the most we have been checked coming out of Mexico.
As we drove towards Ajo, where we would spend the night, I began to notice the number of Border Patrol vehicles traveling south. They seemed to be one after the other so I began to keep track. Within a 32 mile stretch I counted 34 vehicles, all within a 25 minute period of time!! Colin & I began to speculate how much this was costing Americans, how it affected their taxes. Shortly we saw a fenced parking/office area, obviously for the Border Patrol, I hesitate to guess how many more vehicles were there, probably close to 50, perhaps more. This was just for this area of Arizona, and I’m certain that Nogales, Mexicali, Tijuana, etc. will all have their own ‘stations’. What about the other US states bordering Mexico? Is Mexico really so dangerous?
We were stopped at a routine Border Patrol check where we were sniffed by a dog. As we left I asked the fellow why so many vehicles and border agents….he said and this is an exact quote, “To keep our country safe”!
Safe from what? Am I over reacting??
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Safe…. from them losing there jobs! Hey brain washing comes in all shapes and sizes..eh?
Glad you are ….safe!!! tehe
Amen, Mary! (And I’m an American-not brainwashed!)
We didn’t have very many problems crossing back. They didn’t ask about Whiskey’s papers and they took our frozen pork chops, a sausage and my sandwich meat and I think that was all. Mind you I did give eggs, veggies and fruit to Chris and Juan before we left that morning. I think more than anything there are lots of border patrol to stop the illegal Mexicans from entering the USA. Glad there were no major issues.
Kevin and Ruth
I used to hate seeing all those Border Patrol guys sitting around in their $45,000 vehicles at the side of the road…or three or four of them “jawing” on a side road. Not to mention what they are all getting paid by the month. So stupid and it does NOTHING but diminish the tax coffers, but then the U.S. has always been good at that. Hope the trip continues smoothly, and we will see you next year, for sure.
[…] March 29th, from Mexico at the Sonoyta/Lukeville border and a fellow ahead of us was having his fuel tank scoped by the border guards? Well according to the following article (sent to me by a friend) there was […]