I'm not in Mexico YET

Today I drove to the Calexico-El Centro-Imperial-Brawley metropolis. Mostly for a break in the routine, but also to pick up a couple of things. I usually get there by driving north on State Road 34 (Ogilby Road) to Highway 78 west, over the Imperial Dunes and onward to Brawley. Then I turn south on Highway 86 through Imperial to El Centro. That’s the lazier, more scenic route. But today I was impatient and took I-8 to El Centro. Cruisin’ fast and smooth.

The longer, slower, scenic route

The shorter, faster, boring route

Along the way I-8 gets within 1,600 feet of the border. Despite the number of cell towers along I-8 and in the small farm towns along the way, my phone started believing it was in Mexico, causing it to switch over to the Telcel network. That’s not a problem because I don’t use the phone while driving.

But when I got back to camp, which is eight miles from the border, and where I’ve always had a strong Verizon signal, my phone insisted it was still in Mexico. So I rebooted the phone. Twice. But it still grabbed the Telcel signal. Argh.

After about an hour the phone realized it was in the US and gave me my Verizon connection. Maybe the phone just wanted to be in Mexico, drinking tequila and eating shrimp tacos. Or maybe the Customs & Immigration line was really long.