an impromptu road trip deep into Mexico
We are truly privileged to live in one of Mexico's most modern cities, only three hours from the US border. I just never fully understood how much until this past weekend. Carlos' mother and sister made their final departure from the US last week. They purchased a 98 Ford Explorer to bring down with them, and Carlos' cousin drove it straight from Chicago to our house. After staying with us for two nights, his cousin flew back to Chicago and Carlos graciously volunteered to drive his mom, sister, and visiting aunt all the way down to Guadalajara, where they were planning to settle. And so we set out at 5:30 am last Saturday morning. We swung around the mountains and were in the nearby city of Saltillo by sunrise. From there, it was an eye-opening journey (for me) into rural, desolate Mexico. For about 8 hours, Carlos drove down the two-lane highways through Zacatecas, a state seemingly populated mostly by cactus and dust. In the small villages we passed, shelter consis...