Along the Mexico border???

[vgrenonqc]

Hello,
We will be doing a big trip this summer. A portion of our road will pass along the Mexico border traveling from Houston to Las Cruces and Tucson and San Diego. Is there some road I should not take or some places I should not stop?
Thx
Vince

[KO]

I make the trip from Yuma AZ to Tampa FL at least 4 times per year. Sometimes in 40 ft RV sometimes in a car. I drive Baton Rouge to Ft. Stockton in a car in one day and if in RV I stop in Kerrville TX. Ft. Stockton would be my target if I were you coming from Houston.
Do fill up in Ft. Stockton as there is nothing until El Paso.
Interstates are safe - no worries. Cell Tower connecting to Mexico is a non-problem with Verizon anywhere along route.
Las Cruces NM has a really nice RV resort right off I-10 if you can make it that far.
Big thing to watch out for is fuel. Don't let it get to low as it can be some distance between stops.
Enjoy the trip.

[was_butnotnow]

vgrenonqc wrote:
Hello,
We will be doing a big trip this summer. A portion of our road will pass along the Mexico border traveling from Houston to Las Cruces and Tucson and San Diego. Is there some road I should not take or some places I should not stop?
Thx
Vince

Me thinks many thousands of people travel this same route every day. What we think people are going to jump out of the ditch on an interstate highway and attack us. These people if in the area are going to stay hidden.
My thought is the orig poster will never every try boondocking as it would be to dangerous.

[msgtord]

vgrenonqc wrote:
Hello,
We will be doing a big trip this summer. A portion of our road will pass along the Mexico border traveling from Houston to Las Cruces and Tucson and San Diego. Is there some road I should not take or some places I should not stop?
Thx
Vince

Don't worry about the "border issues". It's not as bad as you may hear. What you do need to know is this:

1. By pass San Antonio if you will be passing through during rush hour.

2. El Paso is at 5000 feet, so the temp can change pretty good after sundown. Nice place to stop and see some sights. Good food.

3. I have never had an issue through New Mexico. Usually a short drive for me, then on to Arizona.

4. Try to schedule your fuel stop before the Arizona border, as the fuel prices are high from the state line to Tucson. Tucson is at 2000 feet, but will be hot in the summer.

5. Remember that it will be over 100 degrees, sometimes as high as 115 in Gila Bend along Interstate 8 to Yuma. Make sure you have plenty of water and emergency equipment. Roadside Assistance can take 2 hours to reach you. If your a/c is not working, you can get hot in a hurry.

6. Fuel up in Yuma. Fuel prices are crazy in California.

7. After passing El Centro, Ca, you'll have a long 6% grade to pull up to Jacumba. Do not try this during the heat of the afternoon unless you are confident in your cooling system.

8. The rest of the drive is nice through the mountains.

Good luck on your trip, and post some pictures along the way.

[qtla9111]

We will be on Hwy 90 next week. One of our best drives with tons to see and do.

[2gypsies1]

vgrenonqc wrote:
So what would be the best place to stop for a night between Houston and Las Cruces?

Houston to Las Cruces, NM is 800 miles. At almost midway at 400 miles is a wonderful place to stop for the whole family. It has a nice campground. The cave tour is excellent! It's right along I-10 at Hwy 277, Sonora, TX

Caverns of Sonora, Texas

Also near I-10 and not as far as Sonora is South Llano River State Park at Junction, TX.

[wny_pat1]

Just recently ran US 90 from San Antonio to Del Rio, to Van Horn. Stayed at Langtry, and Marfa. No verizon signal most of the way. I hear the Consumer Cellular (AARP) uses all the various carriers towers and may be the best cell phone provider to have in Texas. Langtry Tx has a "self serve campground". 2 of the 5 spots appeared to be occupied by vacant units (the Bounder looked real bad). The 50 electric worked well, but we did not hook up to the water. Very quiet there. You see more Border Patrol on that road than any one else, and will go thru a permanent Bordor Partol check point. Not a lot of traffic on US 90. You will also get to see their large tethered radar blimp just west of Marfa. We spent two days parked at the Marfa lights observation area. Had no problems along the road anywhere and say nothing unusual to worry about. Spent over a week in the El Paso area and had not problems. El Paso had been rated safest city of its size in the US for the past 4 years. We also stayed one night at Mountain View RV park in Van Horn. Very nice campground ran by very nice folks.

One thing we found is that English is pretty much the second language in that area. Even found that with clerks in Walmart. Asked one where the Pet Depratment was, and she had no clue what I wanted! Depending on where you are from, you may find West Texas very differeent to what you may be use to!

Oh, Fabens got mentioned by someone before me. They forgot to tell you about the Cattleman's Steak House there. Highly recommend that you visit Cattleman's if you like steak. I got the little 1 and 1/2 pound T-bone. It was best steak I have ever had! And I have had some good ones. My DW does not eat red meat and got the grilled salmon, and declared it to be the best salmon she has ever had! It was well worth the "gamble"!!! Go, stay on the beaten path, do the Mission Trail in El Paso, stay out of dark scary places, and all will be okay.

[qtla9111]

Don't fool yourselves. It is the same thing on both sides of the border. I work on the Texas side on occasion from Brownsville to El Paso. Places like Roma, La Joya, Rio Grande City, Fabens, San Elizario have the same activity going on. You just aren't hearing about it. KRGV in the Rio Grande Valley does a fair job of reporting the goings on but they use different terminologies or say "the murder is under investigation" and you hear no more about it after that.

It would be foolish to believe that a border as porous as the U.S./Mexico border could separate crime or corruption when human and drug smuggling is common place.

[diazr2]

Balmorhea State Park is very nice off the beaten path but not too far off the path. Stayed there a couple of nights. Remember it's all desert so no trees and very flat. But very beautiful if you like desert. You can also stop and see Fort Davis very nice place to visit.

[The_Texan]

vgrenonqc wrote:
So what would be the best place to stop for a night between Houston and Las Cruces?

I would suggest somewhere east of Van Horne. There are several nice towns to the east with RV parks, or if just looking for a rest area, we have used the one about 6 miles east of Van Horne on I-10. Van Horne itself is very ANTI RV so we refuse to stay at any of the RV parks in the town.

[vgrenonqc]

So what would be the best place to stop for a night between Houston and Las Cruces?

[mileshuff]

I-10 to I-8 is fine. Drive that route several times a year. On I-8 there is a border patrol checkpoint heading west in California but its quick and easy and most likely you won't even stop. In all the years I've not been stopped once nor seen anyone else.

Between Gila Bend and Yuma there are only a few places to get gas. We usually fill up in Gila Bend at the Pilot which has a McDonalds or Wendy's next door.

At Yuma there is a truck stop on Fortuna Rd. on the north side of I-8. At El Centro there is a truck stop off 4th street, south 1 block then turn right on Wake Ave. There is an RV park on Wake to the left of 4th st.

Before passing El Centro make sure you have plenty of gas. Between there and El Cajon area I'm not aware of many RV friendly gas stations except for the Golden Acorn Casino at I-8 mile marker 61.

As for being near the border in a few areas you won't notice it. No problems at all.

[msmith1199]

Trackrig wrote:
We're in PV now having a great time. It's always interesting to talk to people who are here for the first time - they can't believe how different it is from what they read all of the time in the US papers.

Bill

Tourist areas in Mexico are far different than the border towns and the remote borders areas.

[SailingOn]

We have stayed at the small state park in Columbus NH a couple of times. The small museum there is interesting.
Two observations:
One morning another camper told us a man had come to his door overnight asking for water, odd since this is a campground - there are water spigots every few feet. He had called HSA, worried.
From there we drove west along the border for 50 miles or so. Every few minutes we would see a border security car alongside the road or at an intersection, each giving us a wave as we drove by. I rarely saw another car. I became convinced that if we didn't pass by the next Homeland Security car on time they'd have come to look for us.
The people in Columbus regularly go across the border to shop or see a dentist. A fellow in the museum assured us we could walk over and back without worrying about a passport; we did not test that.
We have enjoyed our stays there. I would turn my phone off to avoid Mexican roaming charges though.

[Richert]

NOPE! Have fun.