Back in the good ole USA, although still a long way from home!

The plan that I had put together came off pretty much as planned. The rollback to caryy the bikes and the car with driver to get us to the border showed up around 10 AM, so we loaded up and said goodbye to our friend Francisco. It took about 4 hours to get to the border crossing in Nogales, and stopping and having a complete search of the bikes by the military. When we finally reached the crossing, that is when the wheels came off. The way the border is laid out there is no turn around point within a 1/4 of the actual crossing. So, I needed to have the two driver stay with Jenn while I try to take one bike at a time across. The first problem was that the rollback motor wouldn't work. After searching around for a while, the tow truck driver found a hill that almost matched the 4 foot height of the flatbed. So the him, the car driver and I went over to try to get the bikes off. As much as we tried to find ways to make it work, there was still a 2 foot gap between the end of the flatbed and the hillside. So, the tow truck driver and I lifted each bike over that gap, while the car driver tried to keep the bike from falling the 4 feet to the ground. Eventually we got both bikes off without mishap and it was time to attempt the crossing. Jenn nervously stayed with the guys, while I drove the 1/4 mile to the border. The lines were long and it took about 45 minutes to get up to the crossing guard. After I explained to him our issues, he told me I could park the bike over with the border crossing trucks while I went back thru the Mexican crossing so I could get the other bike. I walked the 1/4 back to Jenn and the boys who seemed excited to see me. While I was gone Jenn knowing that we were going to miss our UHaul pickup time called Neal. Neal called them and reserved us a truck for pickup after they closed. Thansks so much Neal. So I jumped on the other bike while Jenn hobbled her way to the walker entrance. I again waited for about 45 minutes but eventually reunited with Jenn on the other side. In the meantime our friend Neal had arranged for a friend from Kimberly Clark to meet us about 1/2 mile inside the US to help us go get the truck. Our only option was for us to ride 2 up on a bike to met him. So off we went with Jenn's injured leg sticking out in the wind, but we got there and saw the smiling face of Luis (KC) and his lovely wife Belma to welcom us into the US. So while I walked the 1/2 mile back to get the other bike. Jenn and Luis went to pick up the truck, while Belma stood watch over the one that was already in the US. I got back to the bike and drove back to the meeting spot. Belma and I had a wonderful conversation while waiting for Jenn Luis and the truck. Finally the arrived and we loaded up and bid goodbye to some more wonderful people who have helped us on this journey. So, we grabbed smething quick to eat and drove a couple of hundred miles until around 10:30 last night. So here we are in Lordsburg New Mexico, getting ready to drive the last 400 miles to Presidio to our truck and our final leg back home. If all goes well, we shouls be back home late Friday or early Saturday. Thank you Francisco for getting us on our way and Neal, Luis, and Belma for helping us across the border. We couldn't have done it without you.