GPM
12-21-2008, 04:43 PM
Took a little ride this morning southwest from Phoenix. Headed down to Gila Bend and from there south toward the Mexican border. You can usually count on seeing a very strong Border Patrol presence the closer you get to the border. Riding south on US 85 they had a checkpoint set up complete with drug sniffing dogs. Since they were only stopping north bound vehicles I cruised on through.
At about 40 miles north of the border I headed east toward Tucson. About six or eight miles down the road I started taking Indian roads back toward the northeast. One of the benefits of having a GPS is the roads it can find. I rode about 40 miles on Indian Highway 34 till it ended at Indian Highway 15. Heading north I came upon another Border Patrol checkpoint. Since I was northbound I was stopped at this one.
Living in Arizona for awhile, I'm sure like anywhere else, you get used to the odd named towns. So much so that you don't really give them much thought.
As I pulled to a stop there was a young Border Patrol agent on my left and 4 or 5 more standing along the right side of the road. The exchange went like this:
Agent: Where you headed today?
Me: Chandler
Agent: Are you a US citizen?
Me: Yes
Agent: Where are you coming from?
(now this is where it got interesting)
Me: Why
Suddenly the agent got a very stern look on his face and took a step back. Being a relatively bright guy I soon realized that my response left a bit to be desired. So, I began to explain, "I rode from Gila Bend down through Ajo, AZ, to Why, AZ and up through the reservation to here."
Glancing over at the other agents standing on my right I saw they were laughing their asses off. The young agent on my left finally smiled and said 'Thank you, have a nice day' and waved me through.
At about 40 miles north of the border I headed east toward Tucson. About six or eight miles down the road I started taking Indian roads back toward the northeast. One of the benefits of having a GPS is the roads it can find. I rode about 40 miles on Indian Highway 34 till it ended at Indian Highway 15. Heading north I came upon another Border Patrol checkpoint. Since I was northbound I was stopped at this one.
Living in Arizona for awhile, I'm sure like anywhere else, you get used to the odd named towns. So much so that you don't really give them much thought.
As I pulled to a stop there was a young Border Patrol agent on my left and 4 or 5 more standing along the right side of the road. The exchange went like this:
Agent: Where you headed today?
Me: Chandler
Agent: Are you a US citizen?
Me: Yes
Agent: Where are you coming from?
(now this is where it got interesting)
Me: Why
Suddenly the agent got a very stern look on his face and took a step back. Being a relatively bright guy I soon realized that my response left a bit to be desired. So, I began to explain, "I rode from Gila Bend down through Ajo, AZ, to Why, AZ and up through the reservation to here."
Glancing over at the other agents standing on my right I saw they were laughing their asses off. The young agent on my left finally smiled and said 'Thank you, have a nice day' and waved me through.