Sierra Blanca Checkpoint

Last year, my family and I went on a cross-country road trip from Virginia to Arizona and back. On the way home, we decided to stop off in El Paso, Texas and visit some relatives. From there, we planned to spend the night in San Antonio before making our way to New Orleans. We all went out to have a last meal together before saying goodbye. As we were enjoying a great meal and soaking up the beautiful surroundings at Cattleman's Steakhouse at Indian Cliffs Ranch, my uncle mentioned that as we travelled southeast toward San Antonio on Interstate 10, we would pass through the infamous Sierra Blanca Checkpoint, operated by US Customs and Border Patrol. "They'll definitely stop you" he said, "and it's a bit of a hassle but don't worry, they are just looking for drugs and illegals." My wife and I just smiled and glanced at each other, but sitting in the truck after saying our farewells, we scrambled to pull out our phones and find out what the internet had to say, as I definitely had weed with me!

View from one of the decks at Cattleman's.

We had just come from Albuquerque, where my wife grew up, and New Mexico has legal medical pot. One of her best friends had hooked me up with at least a quarter ounce for the trip home. What to do? Should we just risk it? Google said otherwise. Apparently, the Sierra Blanca checkpoint isn't messing around. The place is notorious, and well known for thoroughness and dogs. A whole who's who list of celebrities, including Snoop Dog and Willie Nelson have had their tour buses ransacked and been arrested here for marijuana possession, and it's not just celebrities. If you look up the checkpoint on forums or even just google reviews, you can read endless horror stories of searches and arrests. We were certainly not trying to have our vehicle searched, much less get arrested!