We would skirt Carrizo Mountain, travel through the Fish Creek Mountains heading north along a cabrone trail that Chewie knew like the city avenue I live on. Our next way point, Chewbacca told us, would be a long day away with many many La Migra searching for us. Keep the serapes on. (note: back when we were mujados crossing this great desert river of sand and dry washes, there were far less La Migra agents patrolling our sector, no ground or motion sensing radar, few tracking dogs, yet The Law was out there looking)

Joe: "Sue and I, Cj and Laury said our good bye at La Rumorosa, both heading east, and stayed within eye sight until the Mexicali border crossing. Adios mi amigas. Sue and I kept on, now on Baja Hwy. 8. By mid afternoon we were at the Yuma Border Crossing and the Colorado River, just a small stream. The Imperial Valley agriculture sure has a thirst for this muddy river, irrigation canals went everywhere. Good for America, bad for Mexico."

"South of The Border with Arizona, the Cocopa Tribe that a hundred years ago enjoyed a rich river delta ecosystem at the Gulf of California, now see a trickle float by. Sad but true. We were back in El Norte, hung out in Yuma for a few hours, then turned west on U.S. Hwy. 8 then 98, the road that parallels the border. Crossers - cruzandos — scurried across the highway, La Migra was racing back and forth catching some (statistic, one of five undocumented aliens make it across La Frontera, the line or fence). A family of javelinas also shuttled across. We drove through, stopping periodically to sight see and study the botany — Sue is a naturalist and ethnobotanist. By late night we were listening to Art Bell and Coast to Coast on the AM dial and nearing the junction with Hwy. 8. We saw in the distance a glow — a brush fire! I figured this was a Chewie trick and we were within spitting distance of our friends."

Weird how close we can be to loved ones and not touch them.

"When Sue and I slowly crossed the burn area, I saw a few odd side-of-the-road trinkets such as small piece of rope on a road sign, a tire propped up on a fence, and a tattered shirt on a cactus. Any three of these pieces of litter might of told me Chewie had come before and the family was all right."

Chewie and Danny returned from their inferno. Dan had the brush he used to swipe away their tracks. Dan had watched Gabby and the Mexicans from Veracruz sweep out our trail so often he was now an expert at this disappearing act. All of us every day heard or saw other parties clanking along making ruckus or leaving behind tell tales of their passage. We did not let them know our presence unless Chewie sensed a medical problem or their lack of water. Our guide would say, watch them walk and see what kind of shape they are in.

One time we observed a small group with children and Chewie plus one of our Veracruz team took two gallons out of our pack and raced on ahead on a parallel and convergent course. Chewbacca, "I knew the little ones had urin the color of tea, no good for the kidneys."Our ape man dropped off the aqua fria, granola bars, swiped out their tracks, and vamoose, came back. We could hear the group praising God and gulping the elixir of life.