Passports

Some countries won't accept passports that are valid for less than six months. You might want to check.

Go to your local Costco and get your picture taken or you can do it at a AAA office. Get the paperwork from the post office fill it out and send everything in. Took me 3 weeks from Bellingham

Are you feeling lucky today?

Just renew the passport NOW. Do not procrastinate. It takes weeks to get the new passport back, unless you are also feeling rich and want to use the expensive expedited method.

Officially RealID can only be used for domestic airline travel identification.

https://departsmart.org/what-is-real-id-and-will-it-affect-your-travel-plans/

Seems you can use an Realid with Western Hemisphere.

That's great, however you were on foot, and had a very recent record of having crossed the border.

It's one thing to do what you did, accidentally, and another to know that your passport will expire while you are out of the US with a vehicle. Just renew the passport.

This past winter I stayed in Weslsco, TX. I went over into Mexico on a number of occasions for dental work. One day I forgot my passport, all I had was a driver's license on me. I showed my license and said I was over there for dental work and had forgotten my passport. The guy looked on the computer and said yep I see you were just here yesterday. Have a good day. Didn't give me any flak whatsoever.

The Mexican Military has been asking to see a passport when entering and departing at Lukeville whenever they inspect. It's hit & miss although I don't think they have missed us in a couple of years. Mexican Customs/Immigration isn't stopping us near as much as they used to but the Military checkpoint is just another 100 feet down the road.

The new "smart" driver's license ID's aren't good for international travel.

What it really comes to is Renew your Passport! Yes, you can get back into the US, but it will be a major hassle, and probably will continue to be any time you try to reenter the US from any foreign country.

Just get your passport renewed now and take it with you. A drivers license that meets the new “Real Id” may suffice. Don’t procrastinate.