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Author: Subject: Mexicali Border Crossing
WideAngleWandering
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[*] posted on 5-4-2022 at 06:31 PM


Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666  
Quote: Originally posted by chippy  
if you are going to socal cross at tecate.


Worst advice ever! Tecate require ridiculous detour thru mountains, HUGE waste of time.


Uh, no. Best advice ever! I always cross north in Tecate. No hassles in town. No traffic. Easy access to car wash and tacos. Never more than 45 minutes in line to cross.

I just incorporate it into my trip, often spending the night in Laguna Hanson and taking the dirt road north to the top of the Rumarosa grade. Or coming up to Tecate from Ensenada if I find myself on the Pacific side.

Even driving the Rumarosa paved route on hwy 2 from Mexicali isn't bad compared to the complications and potential long waits in Mexicali.




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PaulW
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[*] posted on 5-4-2022 at 07:57 PM


The bonus is the drive from San Felipe to Tecate on one of the wonders of mountain highway construction.
Comparable to the highway across the Andes to get from Mendoza to Santiago. See this link

https://www.earthtrekkers.com/driving-santiago-to-mendoza/

Both highways have the tight switchbacks and the crashed rigs down the mountain side.
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chippy
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[*] posted on 5-4-2022 at 07:58 PM


Quote: Originally posted by WideAngleWandering  
Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666  
Quote: Originally posted by chippy  
if you are going to socal cross at tecate.


Worst advice ever! Tecate require ridiculous detour thru mountains, HUGE waste of time.


Uh, no. Best advice ever! I always cross north in Tecate. No hassles in town. No traffic. Easy access to car wash and tacos. Never more than 45 minutes in line to cross.

I just incorporate it into my trip, often spending the night in Laguna Hanson and taking the dirt road north to the top of the Rumarosa grade. Or coming up to Tecate from Ensenada if I find myself on the Pacific side.

Even driving the Rumarosa paved route on hwy 2 from Mexicali isn't bad compared to the complications and potential long waits in Mexicali.


Thanks! Some people just don´t get it. I've done both many times and without sentri I would never do Mexicali again.
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PaulW
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[*] posted on 5-4-2022 at 08:01 PM


Does not work when traveling north or east.
Kinda a long ways from Yuma or Phoenix, or an appointment in El Centro
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mtgoat666
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[*] posted on 5-4-2022 at 08:08 PM


Quote: Originally posted by chippy  
Quote: Originally posted by WideAngleWandering  
Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666  
Quote: Originally posted by chippy  
if you are going to socal cross at tecate.


Worst advice ever! Tecate require ridiculous detour thru mountains, HUGE waste of time.


Uh, no. Best advice ever! I always cross north in Tecate. No hassles in town. No traffic. Easy access to car wash and tacos. Never more than 45 minutes in line to cross.

I just incorporate it into my trip, often spending the night in Laguna Hanson and taking the dirt road north to the top of the Rumarosa grade. Or coming up to Tecate from Ensenada if I find myself on the Pacific side.

Even driving the Rumarosa paved route on hwy 2 from Mexicali isn't bad compared to the complications and potential long waits in Mexicali.


Thanks! Some people just don´t get it. I've done both many times and without sentri I would never do Mexicali again.


If you are unemployed or retired, and have all the time in the world, then tecate is great place to cross!
Mexicali east is fast — if you don’t have sentri, then use the ready lane. If you don’t have an enhanced drivers license for ready lane, then you are behind the times.
If you are nervous Nelly wigged out by Mexicali traffic, you are hopeless…




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chippy
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[*] posted on 5-4-2022 at 08:14 PM


Quote: Originally posted by PaulW  
Does not work when traveling north or east.
Kinda a long ways from Yuma or Phoenix, or an appointment in El Centro[/rquo

When I'm going to Mesa I use San Luis Rio Colorado. Thankfully I don´t do elCentro.
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chippy
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[*] posted on 5-4-2022 at 08:18 PM


Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666  
Quote: Originally posted by chippy  
Quote: Originally posted by WideAngleWandering  
Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666  
Quote: Originally posted by chippy  
if you are going to socal cross at tecate.


Worst advice ever! Tecate require ridiculous detour thru mountains, HUGE waste of time.


Uh, no. Best advice ever! I always cross north in Tecate. No hassles in town. No traffic. Easy access to car wash and tacos. Never more than 45 minutes in line to cross.

I just incorporate it into my trip, often spending the night in Laguna Hanson and taking the dirt road north to the top of the Rumarosa grade. Or coming up to Tecate from Ensenada if I find myself on the Pacific side.

Even driving the Rumarosa paved route on hwy 2 from Mexicali isn't bad compared to the complications and potential long waits in Mexicali.


Thanks! Some people just don´t get it. I've done both many times and without sentri I would never do Mexicali again.


If you are unemployed or retired, and have all the time in the world, then tecate is great place to cross!
Mexicali east is fast — if you don’t have sentri, then use the ready lane. If you don’t have an enhanced drivers license for ready lane, then you are behind the times.
If you are nervous Nelly wigged out by Mexicali traffic, you are hopeless…


Goat you are a ****** and your assumptions are stupid and wrong. Carrry on lame azz.
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mtgoat666
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[*] posted on 5-4-2022 at 09:22 PM


Quote: Originally posted by chippy  
Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666  
Quote: Originally posted by chippy  
Quote: Originally posted by WideAngleWandering  
Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666  
Quote: Originally posted by chippy  
if you are going to socal cross at tecate.


Worst advice ever! Tecate require ridiculous detour thru mountains, HUGE waste of time.


Uh, no. Best advice ever! I always cross north in Tecate. No hassles in town. No traffic. Easy access to car wash and tacos. Never more than 45 minutes in line to cross.

I just incorporate it into my trip, often spending the night in Laguna Hanson and taking the dirt road north to the top of the Rumarosa grade. Or coming up to Tecate from Ensenada if I find myself on the Pacific side.

Even driving the Rumarosa paved route on hwy 2 from Mexicali isn't bad compared to the complications and potential long waits in Mexicali.


Thanks! Some people just don´t get it. I've done both many times and without sentri I would never do Mexicali again.


If you are unemployed or retired, and have all the time in the world, then tecate is great place to cross!
Mexicali east is fast — if you don’t have sentri, then use the ready lane. If you don’t have an enhanced drivers license for ready lane, then you are behind the times.
If you are nervous Nelly wigged out by Mexicali traffic, you are hopeless…


Goat you are a ****** and your assumptions are stupid and wrong. Carrry on lame azz.


Chippers:
I am totally right! Always! Never wrong!
The 8 across the mountains is relaxing 80 mph drive, wide lanes, high-speed curves, a calTrans marvel. The 2 / 94 thru the mountains is curvy and slow, and has a toll, and takes extra 1/2 to 1 hours in drive time.


[Edited on 5-5-2022 by mtgoat666]




Woke!

“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”

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[*] posted on 5-5-2022 at 04:06 AM


Paul,

If you think that HWY 2 is a marvel you don’t drive much! The road from Mexico City to The south is a marvel as is the road from Nairobi down into the riff valley! HWY2 is a goat trail! Except I doubt goat wold drive it!
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Purdyd
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[*] posted on 5-22-2022 at 07:03 AM


Just to complete this, I did cross Mexicali east and came from the west and made the left turn.

I got there about just after 2:45pm on a Tuesday and was through the sentri lane before 3pm.

I had planned on Wednesday a bit later in the day but things change.

The ready lane was backed up so I waited in line for a few minutes to make the turn. The line moved in small surges.

The left lane widens into two left turn lanes just before you make the left turn. I noticed some California license plate cars drove by to the end and used the right most left turn lane to turn left presumably into the ready lane. It was difficult to see into the busy intersection.

See intersecting left turns marked red and blue below.

There are many topas in the sentri lane so it took awhile to navigate to the border. They were checking for a sentri card at the spot marked x in the picture below. You could conceivably get into the correct lane if you goofed and got into sentri.

There was only one car in front of me at the border.

Google maps stuff

Left turn lanes
Entering sentri lane to left
Ready lane blue, sentri red, and x for sentri Id check


2C2BF7EC-0808-469F-93B8-314B9188FFEF.jpeg - 124kB 974E28E9-5EA9-4BB5-A23A-C0F6D95641DE.jpeg - 174kB 09E474EC-AD77-4866-8C62-370ECD453FAE.jpeg - 234kB
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Lee
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[*] posted on 5-22-2022 at 09:40 AM


Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666  

Chippers:
I am totally right! Always! Never wrong!
The 8 across the mountains is relaxing 80 mph drive, wide lanes, high-speed curves, a calTrans marvel. The 2 / 94 thru the mountains is curvy and slow, and has a toll, and takes extra 1/2 to 1 hours in drive time.
[Edited on 5-5-2022 by mtgoat666]


This is true.




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