Jake and I followed the Mexican border from the Pacific to the Gulf, a driving distance of 2,296 miles. Of the 47 legal crossings between the two countries, we stopped at fourteen, crossing twice into Mexico. We learned that only a third of the border is actually fenced, mostly in populated areas. Mountains, deserts and other rough terrain make it unnecessary to fortify much of the rest. The Rio Grande is a natural barrier too, although in some places one can wade across. The fencing takes many forms and has numerous openings for farming and grazing. We saw barriers that were both high and low: some to bar people, others, only vehicles. Some fencing has art painted on it, some is solid, and some has slats that one can look through. In certain places we were not permitted to get within 50 feet of the fence while at others, we were able to touch it. We talked to several members of the Border Patrol, whom we found to be uniformly courteous and informative.
