Across the Border, just a minute away

A few weeks ago C. and I went to Niagara Falls. It struck me, as we stared out across the falls and over to the American side, that the US-Canada border is fairly nondescript. Though I've never been to Niagara Falls, New York I imagine it is just an extension of Niagara Falls, Ontario; the same language, fast food joints, flashing signs, tacky motels and extra large casinos - all with the falls as a dramatic backdrop.

Two years ago, S. and I drove through El Paso, Texas en route to Los Angeles. My eyes were glued to the views of Ciudad Juarez, hilly and cramped, across the Rio Grande. There was no mistaking that Ciudad Juarez belonged to a different country. It was striking how different it was, and how the Rio Grande - not very wide in diameter - could have such distinct cities on each side of its banks. We could see lots of people, running or milling around in front of houses that had tin roofs, and looked more like shacks. El Paso looked more American - typical apartment buildings, familiar gas stations, nothing out of the ordinary.

I had a different border experience, however, out in the middle of nowhere. Last June, J. and I went to Big Bend National Park in West Texas, which is located on the border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Coahuila. Under bright blue skies and air thick with heat and adventure, we ventured to the banks of the Rio Grande. Big Bend is never that crowded, and was even less so that day, and so J. and I had the shores of the river, and by extension the whole border, to ourselves. It felt a bit like the wild west, like we were on the frontier and were about to make some great discovery, even though the landscape looked nearly identical on the other side. I had to keep reminding myself "That's Mexico!" In a sense it was similar to the two Niagara Falls in that there were no noticeable differences. I waded into the water (warm, brown, silty, and surprisingly soft on my feet) and though I didn't go far, I can't say I wasn't tempted by the idea of wading and/or swimming to the other side. It would have been so easy to cross that mysterious, invisible line (so mysterious, and invisible who even knows exactly where it is...) and seek my fortune on Mexican soil....