Chapter 18 Summary

Ray hitchhikes to Mexicali, California, catching rides with several interesting or eccentric people. In Mexicali, he walks across the border to Calexico, Mexico, has lunch and enjoys being in Mexico. He considers camping in Mexico but remembers that it would be dangerous to sleep alone so near the border. He returns to the United States and is harassed, detained and thoroughly searched by the border patrol agents as usual.

Ray then meets a professional truck driver named Beaudry. When Beaudry discovers that Ray is familiar with Mexico, he offers to drive Ray as far as Tucson if Ray will accompany him across the border for a few hours of fun. Ray leaves his equipment in the truck, and the two men return to Calexico for an evening of dancing, drinking and whoring. The next day, they drive toward Tucson, stopping for a lunch...