A bit tired, a little homesick and toiling in the early stages of delirium, we sped east on Highway Four east of Brownsville, Texas.

Smiles crept onto our faces as we rolled down the windows and felt the unmistakable smell of the ocean winds coming off the Gulf of Mexico. My slumbering mind awakened as I spotted the white sands of the Boca Chica beach out in the distance.

Ocean to ocean, we had made it.

Twenty days after we left Tucson to travel the entire 1,952-mile U.S.-Mexico border, we had arrived to the end on this sunny, suddenly inspiring Saturday. We started at the beginning of the border in San Ysidro, California, with a clear goal: to see, feel and observe as much as humanly possible of the U.S.-Mexico borderline in three weeks.

A fisherman casts his net from the Mexican shore where the waters of the Rio Grande River meet with the Gulf of Mexico at Boca Chica, TX. Photo by James Gregg.

Our arrival to Boca Chica beach — where the mouth of the Rio Grande River collides with the Gulf of Mexico marking the end of the line — signaled the culmination of a successful trip.

The arrival to our destination gave us renewed energy that helped us finish our journey on a positive, productive note that seemed doubtful earlier in the week as we trudged our way through eastern Texas. The unending stream of inspiring and welcoming people here made our work enjoyable and easy. Like us, they seemed to walk with a bounce in their step and a smile on their faces. Maybe it was the ocean air, maybe it was the relaxation of a summer weekend. Either way, the Boca Chica vibe helped us put an exclamation mark on the final chapter of our trek.
- Brady McCombs

Sailing down I-10 and bearing down on El Paso seemed something like hitting the fast rewind button on the VCR of your own life. It took us over 5,000 miles of travel and three weeks to collect the raw materials for this project. Within a matter of hours we would be back in Tucson, retracing those same steps at breakneck speed.

This experience stretched my limits in so many ways that it’s going to take a couple of days to get my head to stop spinning. There were times when I felt physically invincible, ready to climb mountains to get the story.

Resort hotels at South Padre Island, TX, are reflected in a mirage across the sand along Texas Highway 4 near Boca Chica Beach at the Gulf of Mexico. Photo by James Gregg.

Other times I was so tapped that I could not get out of bed. There were times of fear, joy, great camaraderie, but best of all it was full of constant learning. I feel like I have a much broader understanding of our southern border and the people whose lives are impacted by it. We spent time getting to know folks who stand on polar opposites of the immigration debate, and in many ways they are not as different as they might think.

This experience has also been extremely humbling. The enormity of the border itself is one thing, but the people will always stand out in my mind.

Each and every one of the hundreds of people that I talked with had something to teach me, from a 92-year-old farmer to a two year old that just couldn’t keep his diaper on.

- James Gregg

Alright, so you’ve got photos from the photo guy and words from the writing guy, so, as the online guy I’ll spare you the extra verbiage and offer my signoff in the form of a video postcard from the mouth of the Rio Grande River as it spills into the Gulf of Mexico.

To see the video, click the image below.

Video postcard from Boca Chica beach, where the Rio Grande River flows into the Gulf of Mexico.

- Andrew Satter