A DRUG RUN

These bars are part of the U.S./Mexican border fence at Algodones.

Like countless other folks, the daily migration south into the Mexican border town of Algodones, is usually for one of three things. The mostly American & Canadian pedestrian stampede is headed toward either a pharmacy, a dentist, or an optometrist . Algodones, just west of Yuma, has become a senior destination for services, or products, provided by one of the three mentioned above. Sure, there are the usual trinket stores found in other border towns, but the vast majority of businesses in Algodones fall into one of these three medical categories.

Patty and I have been making one or two trips a year into Algodones, and I have had some major dental work, we've both purchased numerous pairs of glasses, and Patty can get a years supply of a thyroid prescription for $12. That's way less expensive than paying the co-pay through our health insurance plan. Despite all of the chaos in Mexico regarding the drug cartels, we've never felt threatened, or uncomfortable in Algodones.

Yesterday morning, we parked at the Quechan Indian Tribe parking lot ($5), and walked across the border. We picked up a few things at the purple pharmacy, and we were back in line at the border within 15 minutes. There have been times that we've waited in line to get back into the U.S. for as much as 2+ hours. The wait yesterday was only about 15 minutes, mostly because it was early in the day.

From Algodones, we drove into Yuma, and walked through the Market Place swap meet on 32nd street. This is still a pretty good flea market, but the number of vendors was down considerably from last year. Sign of the times I guess. We picked up a few things that we couldn't live without, and headed back to the motor home. I spent several hours working on the new computer, transferring files, and getting used to Windows 7.

Today, we're moving the motor home into the fairgrounds, where we'll dry camp with the parking crew volunteers, and tomorrow, we'll start getting the Gypsy Journal Rallygoers parked inside the fairgrounds for early bird day. Later today, our pal Nancy will be arriving from CA in her fiver, and we're both looking forward to seeing her. We were at Nancy's home in Atwater, CA last October, and it will be good to catch up on everything.