Nineteen years ago I did something few financial journalists do. I hopped on a used BMW motorcycle and left Dallas for a ride along the 2,000-mile U.S./Mexico border. By the time I parked the bike, in bitter cold, in Santa Fe I had ridden nearly 3,900 miles. I reported on some mishaps, like getting a flat tire more than 200 miles from anywhere. Not to mention breaking a foot peg when I dropped the bike in Tucson.
But I didn’t say much about being snowed in for several days when I managed to get into Flagstaff ahead of a major storm.
The bike was a 1995 R1100RT. It was equipped with three bags, heated grips and an electrically controlled windshield that I came to love for its protection from rain, snow and cold. Loved the heated grips, too.
For reporting I brought along a laptop, a cellphone, a recorder and an early electronic camera. (You can tell just how early when you see the photos that have a fraction of the pixel count of current cameras.)
The other thing I did was invite readers along and ask for their suggestions about people and places to visit that I could report on. Reader response was amazing and I wrote Bob Mong, who had recruited me to the Dallas Morning News in 1985, that we had something new going on – I called it “Reader Directed Reporting.”
The result was an interesting picture of another place. A place that isn’t Texas and isn’t Mexico. It’s Borderland, a different kind of place, and another kind of country.
The posts, 18 of them, are all on my archival site, www.scottburns.com, but you can access them all from here.
Have a great trip!
Borderland
A statistical picture of life along the border
Austin: The Incredible Disappearing Slacker
San Antonio: High Times and Low Water
Yturria Land and Cattle and El Canelo Ranch: Where’s the Beef?
Brownsville: Lifeguard on the Rio Grande
McAllen: Fields of dreams
All roads lead to Crystal City
Big Bend and the bridge at Presidio
Marfa: Herds of tomatoes, as far as the eye can see
Tucson: Containing growth
Tucson: Born to be wild?
Yuma and the dusty road to Mexicare
San Diego: The Ultimate Crop
Notes, mile marks and pictures
Related columns:
Scott Burns, “Clothes Horse, Clothes Rider,” 8/29/1999
https://scottburns.com/clothes-horse-clothes-rider/
This information is distributed for education purposes, and it is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, recommendation, or endorsement of any particular security, product, or service.
Photo: Scott Burns, on the road in Big Bend National Park
(c) Scott Burns, 2019
1 thought on “Borderland Revisited”
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Oh, this is going to be fun!