@@xx1424xx Carlos will sometimes extend "Black Magic Woman" into astonishing 30 minute free-form, distortion-laden medleys, sometimes jazz, sometimes rockabilly, and, sometimes Bach-like classical!
You manage to show me places and facts I've never heard of before. As an "Easterner" and a person who is fascinated by history, I appreciate your travelogues so much. Thanks for taking the time to show us these interesting places in the West.
Back in the '80's we used to walk around the barb wire fence that was the border and go to the bullring. If you hit it at low tide you didn't even have to take off your shoes.
I use to live in Imperial Beach from ‘69-‘70. Attended Mar Vista high school and after school on a few occasions, we were able to walk unimpeded along the shore line, all the way to the Tijuana Bull Ring by the Sea, that you showed on your video. During those years, there was no border wall or passports required.
This comment is really interesting, I did not know passports are a more recent invention, at least for Mexico. Makes on wonder why it changed? It really feels like we are prisoners of our respective countries, when you think about it.
@@getsmart9987 The events of 9/11 changed how US citizens traveled. Prior to 9/11, citizens were able to travel to Canada and Mexico without a passport.
@@getsmart9987we’re also all prisoners on this earth. Admiral Byrd traveled passed the Antarctic walls in the mid 1900’s and reported more land. Then the Antarctic Treaty was signed and no one is allowed to go past the 66° south without “permission.” North Pole, where all compasses lead, is also off limits. We’re bred in enclosed environments for labor like donkeys. Then, once we are valueless, we ‘retire’ for 20~ years and die. What a ‘life’.
I thought the video was going to end when the US border park was closed...but I got really excited when I realized you were gonna take us across the border into Mexico.
As a SoCal native of course I have been hearing about the border area forever (my late father employed farm workers from Mexico) but I really appreciate actually seeing what the place is like. Also it is sad that the Friendship Park is nonexistent.
I too am a SoCal native and well into my “golden years”. I grew up in the South Bay. If I’m not mistaken, there always seemed to be problems at the park, and I believe that was why it was closed. I remember there not being such a huge fence, but barbed wire. Times have changed.
For decades one political group has wanted to treat the problem while the other has been steadfast in that they want "Mexico to pay for it." The way i see it is that is our water that flows down from Mexico into the USA in Cali and Az... We should take the free water. treat it and use it as an asset would be the logical thing to do
@@toyyoda3710. No, the logical thing to do is to stop the sewage from getting into the river in the first place. You know - things like septic tanks, sewage treatment plants. What a concept!
@@davidthelander1299 Tell me... How do we go into Mexico and demand proper sewage treatment... Just use the Army to invade and start digging septic systems? also its not just septic systems but also storm runoff ... As long as people vote GOP this problem will not go away
When I was in high school in the early 70s our cross country team would go to imperial beach and run south to the bullring and back crossing the river. Back then there was just a three wire barb wire fence marking the border. Those were good times .
When "they" are done letting invaders in, they'll finish the wall so we can't escape. TO LEARN WHO RULES OVER YOU, (both parties) FIND OUT WHO YOU CAN'T CRITICIZE. BAN ALL DUAL CITIZENS FROM HOLDING ANY PUBLIC/GOV'T OFFICE, ELECTED OR APPOINTED.
@@DiogenesOfCa Yeah I lived in east El Cajon on Lotus Lane so we didn't get flooded but I did have to help evacuate friends that lived off El Monte Park Rd as the river was eating the bank and headed for their house. Lots of Lakeside was flooded. Back then I was a member of SW REACT and we had food and supplies we took down to the mission in Tijuana for the flood victims of Tropical Storm Kathleen. Everything along the San Diego river got flooded even the stadium, it was the worst flooding I've ever seen with all three reservoirs overflowing, there was even talk the El Capitan reservoir could break and to listen for the alarm if you're going to be in that area.
I worked down there for a couple of years and would have to get gamma globulin shots whenever there was a storm because of all the raw sewage flowing in from Mexico. Occasionally the Mexican police (Grupo Beta) would be smuggling migrants across the border and threaten us until they saw we were just fixing the roads. A couple of times our trucks were broken into by the bandits who would also rob the migrants, but we were told not to report it because it would make the area look bad. The Mexican cops told us not to work after dark because we might be mistaken for smugglers and shot, we made sure we cleared out before dusk. Great video, thanks!
@@SidetrackAdventures That's great to hear, it was back in the late 80's early 90's that I worked there. Haven't been back since, but watching your video it looks like some of the area has been cleaned up, well, a little... 🙂 Thanks again for making these videos, they are very interesting!
@choppermontana8212 your comments are confusing first you say that the Mexican police arw helping migrants to be smuggled across the border, and then you write about "the bandits" which according to how I read English, and maybe you can help me with this, are the police because you left no previous identifier as to what "the bandits" are. Wait, bandits are the poice? Or did you mean random bandits? And finally, you are writing that you are warned by the police not to work after dark because because you might be mistaken for smugglers and shot. But aren't these the very same police that were smuggling migrants earlier? Can you clarify some of this. ? No, I'm not an English teacher trying to correct you. I'm just trying to get a better understanding because your story is fascinating.
I'm a midwesterner who lives in the San Fernando Valley now and I love all of these cool little gems about California and the Southwest you're teaching me. It's not my favorite place to live, I'd rather be back home, but it's where I live right now and you're making me like it a little more with each video.
I live in the midwest so don't know anything about that area but its disturbing that in this day and age when we are trying to clean up the mess we've made here that raw sewage is still being dumped into the ocean there and it doesn't seem like much, if anything, is being done to correct it. We live on this planet as if we had another one to go to when this one is totally trashed. Thanks for the commentary on this area. Well done.
this actually happened here in the midwest on the lakes, remember the cleveland/toledo river fires? lake erie was unswimmable 20 years ago in some parts
My family and I attempted to drive into the US side of the park in 2021 and the gate was down. We thought it was due to flooding caused by a recent storm, but this video reveals what was really at fault. Nevertheless, we were able to drive up a nearby hill and got an interesting view of the area, all the way eastward and then westward towards the bullring, lighthouse and ocean. Park workers we chatted with were amused to find out that we were from New Jersey. Saw some great tumbleweed in action too!
I surfed IB for 35 years. The Sloughs was my fav spot. Surfed year round till about 4 years ago when the pollution was bad year round. Walked down to the border wall twice to surf fence line but they wouldn’t allow it. Great vid brought back many memories . Live in Tennessee now.
It's just amazing that they haven't done SOMETHING about all of that sewage! I'd heard stories about how that corner of the country was pretty nasty! Thanks for convincing me there's at least one place I don't need to visit!! Safe travels, Steve!!🙏
Oh, they've tried. It's a huge deal here, and always on the news. Everyone is mad about it, but it never really gets fixed. It affects Coronado beach, considered one of the best in the US. Tijuana basically isn't treating their sewage at all right now and the treatment plant in the US can't handle it all, and may be down, too. (I don't know the latest on it.)
When I first moved to Imperial Beach some 30 years ago, the extreme effervescent flow was just starting to get bad as hillsides of TJ grew in population. The hut/houses on those hillsides don't even have septic fields 🤮 El Nino years are the worst. The Mexican government has & never will own up, pay for nor invest $ in Baja Peninsula, it's up to the local municipalities & these people just tolerate it in exchange for extremely low cost of living.
@@L.Spencerthis side of the border tends to take a lot of Mexico’s sewage and trash. Hopefully one day our politicians will actually find the will to fund a solution. Right now, apparently Ukraine is more important than Mexico.
@@DrLumpyDMus Pretty obvious it is Mexico causing the problem. Build a waste treatment facility just like we have here in the US instead of just dumping raw waste & sewage into the environment. What did you think I meant?
It's always nice to see your adventures. I've been a nature photographer since 2009, but unfortunately since the COVID infection last November, which I never recovered from, I've been mostly house bound and bedridden. Only getting the occasional day trip with my parents locally here in the SF Bay, and even those are exhausting. So nice to see the outdoors in your videos.
While in the Navy back in the late 70's, I lived in Imperial Beach with my then wife and son. We went to the beach there many times, my son's favorite past time was collecting plastic tampon tubes that washed up on the beach. Signs suggested not going into the water there due to potential pollution. If we did want to go in the water, we would go up by Mission Bay, the water was much cleaner there.
I was at Boarder Field back in April of 2014. We walked up to about 50 yards from the fence. There was a sign that said something to the effect of "No unauthorized personal beyond this point". My wife and I were the only ones on the beach. I made the exact same comment as you. On the US side, there was nothing but birds and on the Mexican side, people enjoying a day at the beach. When you said that I had to chuckle. Nothing really changes, I guess. Awesome video.
What a Trooper, Mr. Sidetrack. All the way to the banks of the Tijuana River. People that live(d) in this area are well aware of the Raw Sewage Problem. Thanks again.
This is so great to see again! I had a wonderful camping trip last June at the cute campground, Tijuana River Valley CG. I was looking to go back and do some birding, but the campground is apparently closed until further notice, unfortunately . What a neat campground tho, so many trails and areas nearby to grab some nature and scenery. Another interesting adventure, Thanks Steve!
"...because right now it looks like a demilitarized zone, not a park." That's because it is a demilitarized zone. It's only a park in-name. Unfortunately the only way I see a park working here is if it's treated like the joint security area in Korea was originally intended to operate, basically with the whole area covering roughly equal area on both nations' sides with checkpoints administered by both countries' staff at all portals to the park. In Korea it failed as originally intended because the state of conflict had only ended in-armistice, not in-treaty. Such a thing could possibly work here due to the peace between the nations, but again only if both nations cooperate and if both nations allow each other to be involved in controls in and out of the area whichever direction people enter from and seek to leave from.
I walked down there with my dog last year around this time...just a few weeks before he passed away. I hadnt returned out of pain since, even though I would frequently visit. I think I can now again after watching this video
when I first got out of the Navy, I went down to this park (when it was right there at the border) I fished out there for surf perch. Now that I am seeing your post, I am very relieved that I did not keep any of the fish that I caught there. I fished every beach and pier all the way up to San Francisco area, at Pacifica. Then I drove inland and home to Concord.
Thankyou, Very Good Video. Myself and 3 friends 38 years ago walked from Imperial Beach across the border into a then little village and had tacos . The Border had only a cable out into the surf, with a Gun tower on the bluff. Crossing the river to get back to Imperial beach was as i remember Terrible, Good thing the water was only a foot deep or so, Thanks again for this video, Time has changed everything.
Many years ago when I was a child in that park we could cross from Tijuana to play there, there was only a small fence and in the afternoon we returned to Tijuana, we know it as Friendship Park
Thank you for such a great video. As a California Native you always seem to spark my interest on all the things you show. Look forward towards another video!
Thanks Steve for going there and filming. I'm in San Diego but well North of the border. So many reports of sewage that I haven't wanted to go see for myself. As for the cleanup, it's a combination problem, Mexico doesn't want to lose face and admit it's a problem, and for them, it's not an issue. Plus until recently the USA took all the water from the Rio Grande, didn't make any friends there. Plus the whole immigrants, no work permits issue that has been in place since the 60's has trapped whole families in the USA. Anyway congress authorized $3 Million dollars to fix it, and now the estimate is $6M. so who knows when anything will be done.
Great video, Steve. Your presentation on all your videos is very well done. I look forward to seeing them, and enjoy every one although this one makes me sad.
Lived in Imperial Beach from 1983 until last year 2023. Raised my children there. They surfed and went to Mar Vista high school. I saw a lot of changes during that time. Used to be a very tight knit and friendly community. You knew just about everyone. Not like that now 💔😥
I worked in the Border Patrol in San Diego from 1977 to 1980. When the friendship state park was open, drugs were being passed back and forth. The area down along Monument Road has some great birding locations. You should visit the bird and butterfly garden, and the community garden.
You were very brave...regarding the smell. People in the area are actually getting sick from breathing the air! Still hard they have been trying to deal with this since the 1930s!
Playas is my home town! Been living there for over 40yrs! My wife and kids have all grown up here in this small beach town. My son is a Lifeguard at that beach, have saved many trying to swim across around that fence. Not all that try make it.
We appreciate you showing us these places so we don't have to worry about what we're missing. This polluted river is a great example of how mis- managed, negligent, and incompetent both governments are. They go after people and companies that are easy to convict, yet this far into the 21st century they won't tackle a problem that takes real work to solve. But I DO enjoy your videos 😀👍
Well Steve; on the Tijuana river; that’s called “taking one for the team! I enjoyed seeing the unfriendly park at the border; i lived in San Diego for 5 years but my work kept me busy and I never made it down there, let alone to Tijuana/ so thank you:-)
... For not being a political channel you hit on some of the high points, in a very non political way, well done... ... Another Wednesday adventure with Steve... ... From Mineral Wells State Park in greater north Texas...
Thanks for the video Steve. My brother and I used to fish the pier there in Imperial Beach in the early '60's and when we got bored we would ride our bikes down to that river and fish there too. We never ate any of the fish we caught there because it used to stink real bad back then too! Funny how all we hear about is progress this and progress that but some things never change. Hats off to you for doing the video and hope you got hazard pay!
I lived in Bonita my senior year in high school. The bull ring was visible out of the dining room window. A border patrol dirt road ran in back of the house which was dragged every evening to smooth it so that footprints could be noted. That area is all solid houses now and it's doubtful that anyone slips through any longer. Some students I went to school with came over from Tijuana for classes every day. And of course there's fog! Even though I left San Diego in 1971, I still remember the weather report. "Night and morning low clouds and fog along the coast, high tomorrow 72, low tonight 64." Not only that, I began living in the Boston area in time to survive the "Perfect Storm". It certainly was.
Wow that was the most political episode of sidetrack adventures I’ve ever watched. There were so great highlights. The look on your face at the Tijuana estuary really showed how horrid that smell must have been have been, the Biden- Trump mural was hilarious, and at 9:34 got sone unintended political commentary. Great upload.
Cool video, Steve! I’ve always wanted to go back down there myself and film that border fence at the extreme southwestern corner of the US like you did. I went down there many years ago probably in 2005 or something like that. I remember I was able to get all the way to the border fence on the US side where it goes out into the ocean. I guess that is not possible these days. Very clever of you to cross into Mexico and head down the border wall to the ocean and film it from that side! I may do that myself one of these days. It’s sad that the Friendship Park is no longer being used and has fallen into disrepair. The sewage problem doesn’t help matters any, either. So many issues down there. Maybe one day they will all get figured out.
That Bull Fighting Arena has been there as long as I can remember. At 9:34 That's very nice what "some person" spray painted on the gray square block, nice for all the little kids to see. Thanks for all your time, work and posting......
This is a really good video about California i used to want to go there as a kid but now I'm 59 and I really wouldn't want to go there well maybe up in the Northern part near Oregon have a great Wednesday and thank you.🇺🇲👋🇺🇲
Back at the beach after the Utah desert! The wetland area is beautiful despite the sewage, which I've been hearing about as long as I can remember. So interesting to see how all of this looks now. I appreciate your commentary and research. I like the marker and the dolphin sculpture is fun.
In the late 40s into the 50s, the Tijuana Sloughs was an early big wave surfing proving ground, but the water quality was bad even then. Surfboard innovator, Bob Simmons, surfed there and made surfboards for the locals. It breaks in the Winter so you can't hide from the run off. I don't really know if anyone still surfs there, but the spot has an interesting history.
@@IanMcSlater Yes, I remember the name Dempsey Holder. I believe he was a lifeguard (head lifeguard?) in Imperial Beach. Those guys used to surf big winter waves 1/2 mile out to sea (no leash of course) in the fog wearing navy surplus wool underwear. Hard core!
That was a pretty mellow area back in the 1970s. I lived up north in Orange County but we came down to TJ a few times a year. The population of Tijuana exploded from the late-1970s onward as more people migrated to the USA from all over Mexico and Central America (wars & civil strife) and the border crossing protocol got tightened, then NAFTA created a lot of employment on the Mexican side of the border that attracted still more people. All those people create a lot of waste and the Ciudad was not able to keep up with it, thus everything on the streets gets washed into the Tijuana River when the winter rains come. Tijuana does have a sewage treatment plant just south of that bullring but the city/state/national governments in Mexico were not able to expand the plant nor the collection system to keep up with the population explosion. From your video it looks like the bullring is not used that much (no posters). They did build a bigger bullring on the other side of Tijuana that is used regularly. There are similar concrete monuments in easter California, AZ, and NM along the border, and in some areas those are the only things designating where the border is.
Hi Steve, lifelong San Diego County boy here (well almost). While not a happy subject to cover you did an excellent job. I'm proud to be a San Diegan with you and your family!
In the spring, I took a hike on the cliffs above the beach, and it was pretty nice. Got up to the walls on the US side. The park down below was closed.
I'm born-and-raised in Orange County, California and have always wanted to visit Friendship Park. Thought the fishing there would be amazing! Thanks to your video I know that that is... unlikely 😂
Visited friends in Brea in the mid 90s. Really enjoyed the trip. What was cool for me was in the 70s we had a Shakey’s Pizza Parlour that I loved as a kid, but it closed years ago. Was able to get Shakey’s in Brea while I was there. Brought back fond memories.
It’s sad how messed up humanity is in so many ways. Beaches ruined. Militarized borders. Ugly walls. At least the birds get a bit of space to hang out.
@@ericreese7792 Part of the US culture, starting foreign wars, funding foreign wars and regional instability, telling others how to live, minding other people's business. Not surprised.
@@ericreese7792 I'm sure he doesn't have to deal with the illegals and all the crime that it brings, murders, gangs, drugs, human trafficking, theft, damage to personal property, and prostitution. It's easy to sit on the high thrown and criticize humanity when you have your kids gloves on.
i miss riding my horse to this beach. the contamination and garbage on the trails after this winter is so sad. and the smell down there at night when it’s low tide is literally making people so sick. it really is gross and so sad
intresting information .love to see ODD places where other people dont go . thank u very much . your videos caused a love seed become a huge tree for america . i wish someday i will be there .
Interesting vid today. I have never thought about that area before. I used to work with a guy who talked about his Grandfather walking across the boarder from Mexico and just settling in. That was a very long time ago I am sure because he is long gone and was older than me. And I’m 73.
Anyone that can make a tour of the polluted Tijuana river and a closed park interesting, is one damn good tour guide! Thanks again Steve
I love that he picks things that aren't always popular or obvious to take a look at. He often does some good research too. 👍
I saw Santana perform in the early 90's at the Bullring by the Sea. It was his first time back to Tijuana (to perform) since 1969. An amazing show
Wow, that would have been something to see.
Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass filmed a video in that bullring in the early-1960s, I believe it’s on UA-cam.
@@SidetrackAdventures It was. He performed for 3.5 hours.
Carlos shreds 🎶
@@xx1424xx Carlos will sometimes extend "Black Magic Woman" into astonishing 30 minute free-form, distortion-laden medleys, sometimes jazz, sometimes rockabilly, and, sometimes Bach-like classical!
Steve, I’ve found all your tales of travel well worth the watching, even the sadder ones like this! Thanks for taking us along on your wanderings 😎
You manage to show me places and facts I've never heard of before. As an "Easterner" and a person who is fascinated by history, I appreciate your travelogues so much. Thanks for taking the time to show us these interesting places in the West.
It has nothing to do with being an easterner , you're just ignorant to the world and life that not within your eyesight ..
Back in the '80's we used to walk around the barb wire fence that was the border and go to the bullring. If you hit it at low tide you didn't even have to take off your shoes.
I use to live in Imperial Beach from ‘69-‘70. Attended Mar Vista high school and after school on a few occasions, we were able to walk unimpeded along the shore line, all the way to the Tijuana Bull Ring by the Sea, that you showed on your video. During those years, there was no border wall or passports required.
When they finish the wall you'll be trapped in the hell America has become. The plan all along.
This comment is really interesting, I did not know passports are a more recent invention, at least for Mexico. Makes on wonder why it changed? It really feels like we are prisoners of our respective countries, when you think about it.
@@getsmart9987 The events of 9/11 changed how US citizens traveled. Prior to 9/11, citizens were able to travel to Canada and Mexico without a passport.
@@getsmart9987 We absolutely are. The whole world is a stage and to learn who the rulers are simply find out what group you can't criticize.
@@getsmart9987we’re also all prisoners on this earth. Admiral Byrd traveled passed the Antarctic walls in the mid 1900’s and reported more land. Then the Antarctic Treaty was signed and no one is allowed to go past the 66° south without “permission.” North Pole, where all compasses lead, is also off limits. We’re bred in enclosed environments for labor like donkeys. Then, once we are valueless, we ‘retire’ for 20~ years and die. What a ‘life’.
Thanks for vicariously allowing us to join you on your trips.
You really took one for the team on this one Steve. Thanks!
Yes sir he is the best
TJ is actually pretty fun, with good food and people
The Dolphins Pissed Off because of all the raw sewage being dumped into the ocean. Thanks neighbors.
Perhaps but it is only because of Americans that Tijuana is even there to start with.
Mexico certainly isn't doing anything to lessen their image of "Dirty Mexico". Come on people, get it together.
I thought the video was going to end when the US border park was closed...but I got really excited when I realized you were gonna take us across the border into Mexico.
I was pretty excited to see all the monuments on the Mexican side. Its a neat area.
@@SidetrackAdventures Psttt! You're a good youtuber!
@@SidetrackAdventuresI believe the Caliente(Sports&Horse Betting) is near there. If you like that kind of thing.(I Do/Caballos)
As a SoCal native of course I have been hearing about the border area forever (my late father employed farm workers from Mexico) but I really appreciate actually seeing what the place is like. Also it is sad that the Friendship Park is nonexistent.
Yes, it looks like it used to be a pretty neat place at one time.
I too am a SoCal native and well into my “golden years”. I grew up in the South Bay. If I’m not mistaken, there always seemed to be problems at the park, and I believe that was why it was closed. I remember there not being such a huge fence, but barbed wire. Times have changed.
@@SidetrackAdventures It was, my oceanography class took us there on a field trip in the 70's
They've "been working on the sewage problem since the 1930s"? Well, no need rush.
For decades one political group has wanted to treat the problem while the other has been steadfast in that they want "Mexico to pay for it." The way i see it is that is our water that flows down from Mexico into the USA in Cali and Az... We should take the free water. treat it and use it as an asset would be the logical thing to do
@@toyyoda3710 Save America from insanity.
TRUMP
2024.
@@ScratchGlass9 Trump is insane.
@@toyyoda3710. No, the logical thing to do is to stop the sewage from getting into the river in the first place. You know - things like septic tanks, sewage treatment plants. What a concept!
@@davidthelander1299 Tell me... How do we go into Mexico and demand proper sewage treatment... Just use the Army to invade and start digging septic systems? also its not just septic systems but also storm runoff ... As long as people vote GOP this problem will not go away
When I was in high school in the early 70s our cross country team would go to imperial beach and run south to the bullring and back crossing the river. Back then there was just a three wire barb wire fence marking the border. Those were good times .
When "they" are done letting invaders in, they'll finish the wall so we can't escape.
TO LEARN WHO RULES OVER YOU, (both parties) FIND OUT WHO YOU CAN'T CRITICIZE.
BAN ALL DUAL CITIZENS FROM HOLDING ANY PUBLIC/GOV'T OFFICE, ELECTED OR APPOINTED.
Do you remember that street in Playas that washed into the ocean during a tropical storm? I think it was 1976.
@@DiogenesOfCa Yeah I lived in east El Cajon on Lotus Lane so we didn't get flooded but I did have to help evacuate friends that lived off El Monte Park Rd as the river was eating the bank and headed for their house. Lots of Lakeside was flooded. Back then I was a member of SW REACT and we had food and supplies we took down to the mission in Tijuana for the flood victims of Tropical Storm Kathleen. Everything along the San Diego river got flooded even the stadium, it was the worst flooding I've ever seen with all three reservoirs overflowing, there was even talk the El Capitan reservoir could break and to listen for the alarm if you're going to be in that area.
I worked down there for a couple of years and would have to get gamma globulin shots whenever there was a storm because of all the raw sewage flowing in from Mexico.
Occasionally the Mexican police (Grupo Beta) would be smuggling migrants across the border and threaten us until they saw we were just fixing the roads.
A couple of times our trucks were broken into by the bandits who would also rob the migrants, but we were told not to report it because it would make the area look bad.
The Mexican cops told us not to work after dark because we might be mistaken for smugglers and shot, we made sure we cleared out before dusk.
Great video, thanks!
Wow that's crazy. I've heard a lot of horror stories about the police there, but luckily in the few times I've been I haven't run into any problems.
@@SidetrackAdventures
That's great to hear, it was back in the late 80's early 90's that I worked there. Haven't been back since, but watching your video it looks like some of the area has been cleaned up, well, a little... 🙂
Thanks again for making these videos, they are very interesting!
That's cool! No, don't report it! Just post it on UA-cam instead 🤣
@@David-sk9vv
I'm sure my old supervisor has been dead for years so he won't mind.
@choppermontana8212 your comments are confusing first you say that the Mexican police arw helping migrants to be smuggled across the border, and then you write about "the bandits" which according to how I read English, and maybe you can help me with this, are the police because you left no previous identifier as to what "the bandits" are. Wait, bandits are the poice? Or did you mean random bandits? And finally, you are writing that you are warned by the police not to work after dark because because you might be mistaken for smugglers and shot. But aren't these the very same police that were smuggling migrants earlier? Can you clarify some of this. ? No, I'm not an English teacher trying to correct you. I'm just trying to get a better understanding because your story is fascinating.
I'm a midwesterner who lives in the San Fernando Valley now and I love all of these cool little gems about California and the Southwest you're teaching me. It's not my favorite place to live, I'd rather be back home, but it's where I live right now and you're making me like it a little more with each video.
Funny, I'm a Californian who was born and raised in that valley my whole life. Had to move to the midwest last year and hoping I can move back soon.
I live in the midwest so don't know anything about that area but its disturbing that in this day and age when we are trying to clean up the mess we've made here that raw sewage is still being dumped into the ocean there and it doesn't seem like much, if anything, is being done to correct it. We live on this planet as if we had another one to go to when this one is totally trashed. Thanks for the commentary on this area. Well done.
This kind of stuff happens all the time in 3rd world countries. Go look at India, Bangledesh, etc...
fam we do much more than just sewage. ecologically that's a blip
I live 13 miles up the coast and have followed the sewage dilemma for many, many years. Tax dollars have been spent with no resolve.
The Tijuana River is a metaphor for the shit entering the US from Mexico.
this actually happened here in the midwest on the lakes, remember the cleveland/toledo river fires? lake erie was unswimmable 20 years ago in some parts
My family and I attempted to drive into the US side of the park in 2021 and the gate was down. We thought it was due to flooding caused by a recent storm, but this video reveals what was really at fault. Nevertheless, we were able to drive up a nearby hill and got an interesting view of the area, all the way eastward and then westward towards the bullring, lighthouse and ocean. Park workers we chatted with were amused to find out that we were from New Jersey. Saw some great tumbleweed in action too!
There used to be a sign: "Where the turds meet the surf"
Back during the America's Cup yacht races it was "Where the affluent meet the effluent". That had a nice ring to it.
That's a pretty good one.
Mexico got 'GRIT' 🇲🇽👍
@@johnhodge5871Where the motion meets the ocean?
Now it just reads welcome to California!!
Interesting visit to an interesting place. An example of how borders can become complicated.
I surfed IB for 35 years. The Sloughs was my fav spot. Surfed year round till about 4 years ago when the pollution was bad year round. Walked down to the border wall twice to surf fence line but they wouldn’t allow it. Great vid brought back many memories . Live in Tennessee now.
It's just amazing that they haven't done SOMETHING about all of that sewage! I'd heard stories about how that corner of the country was pretty nasty! Thanks for convincing me there's at least one place I don't need to visit!! Safe travels, Steve!!🙏
Oh, they've tried. It's a huge deal here, and always on the news. Everyone is mad about it, but it never really gets fixed. It affects Coronado beach, considered one of the best in the US. Tijuana basically isn't treating their sewage at all right now and the treatment plant in the US can't handle it all, and may be down, too. (I don't know the latest on it.)
When I first moved to Imperial Beach some 30 years ago, the extreme effervescent flow was just starting to get bad as hillsides of TJ grew in population. The hut/houses on those hillsides don't even have septic fields 🤮
El Nino years are the worst. The Mexican government has & never will own up, pay for nor invest $ in Baja Peninsula, it's up to the local municipalities & these people just tolerate it in exchange for extremely low cost of living.
@@L.Spencerthis side of the border tends to take a lot of Mexico’s sewage and trash. Hopefully one day our politicians will actually find the will to fund a solution. Right now, apparently Ukraine is more important than Mexico.
Who is "They" and what would you like them to do?
@@DrLumpyDMus Pretty obvious it is Mexico causing the problem. Build a waste treatment facility just like we have here in the US instead of just dumping raw waste & sewage into the environment. What did you think I meant?
It's always nice to see your adventures. I've been a nature photographer since 2009, but unfortunately since the COVID infection last November, which I never recovered from, I've been mostly house bound and bedridden. Only getting the occasional day trip with my parents locally here in the SF Bay, and even those are exhausting. So nice to see the outdoors in your videos.
While in the Navy back in the late 70's, I lived in Imperial Beach with my then wife and son. We went to the beach there many times, my son's favorite past time was collecting plastic tampon tubes that washed up on the beach. Signs suggested not going into the water there due to potential pollution. If we did want to go in the water, we would go up by Mission Bay, the water was much cleaner there.
"Beach Whistles."
Native IB here and I love the Navy,you are always welcome here.
I remember as a kid, I first thought they were little squid!
I was at Boarder Field back in April of 2014. We walked up to about 50 yards from the fence. There was a sign that said something to the effect of "No unauthorized personal beyond this point". My wife and I were the only ones on the beach. I made the exact same comment as you. On the US side, there was nothing but birds and on the Mexican side, people enjoying a day at the beach. When you said that I had to chuckle. Nothing really changes, I guess. Awesome video.
What a Trooper, Mr. Sidetrack. All the way to the banks of the Tijuana River. People that live(d) in this area are well aware of the Raw Sewage Problem. Thanks again.
This is so great to see again! I had a wonderful camping trip last June at the cute campground, Tijuana River Valley CG. I was looking to go back and do some birding, but the campground is apparently closed until further notice, unfortunately . What a neat campground tho, so many trails and areas nearby to grab some nature and scenery.
Another interesting adventure, Thanks Steve!
"...because right now it looks like a demilitarized zone, not a park."
That's because it is a demilitarized zone. It's only a park in-name.
Unfortunately the only way I see a park working here is if it's treated like the joint security area in Korea was originally intended to operate, basically with the whole area covering roughly equal area on both nations' sides with checkpoints administered by both countries' staff at all portals to the park.
In Korea it failed as originally intended because the state of conflict had only ended in-armistice, not in-treaty. Such a thing could possibly work here due to the peace between the nations, but again only if both nations cooperate and if both nations allow each other to be involved in controls in and out of the area whichever direction people enter from and seek to leave from.
I remember going there as a kid in the 70's. There was all kinds of marine life in the estuary. Now it's dead. Sad.
Thanks for taking one for the team, Steve!
I walked down there with my dog last year around this time...just a few weeks before he passed away. I hadnt returned out of pain since, even though I would frequently visit. I think I can now again after watching this video
when I first got out of the Navy, I went down to this park (when it was right there at the border) I fished out there for surf perch. Now that I am seeing your post, I am very relieved that I did not keep any of the fish that I caught there. I fished every beach and pier all the way up to San Francisco area, at Pacifica. Then I drove inland and home to Concord.
Thankyou, Very Good Video. Myself and 3 friends 38 years ago walked from Imperial Beach across the border into a then little village and had tacos . The Border had only a cable out into the surf, with a Gun tower on the bluff. Crossing the river to get back to Imperial beach was as i remember Terrible, Good thing the water was only a foot deep or so, Thanks again for this video, Time has changed everything.
Many years ago when I was a child in that park we could cross from Tijuana to play there, there was only a small fence and in the afternoon we returned to Tijuana, we know it as Friendship Park
Thank you for this video. I once lived near here, and the slough in IB was horrific even back then.
Thank you for such a great video. As a California Native you always seem to spark my interest on all the things you show. Look forward towards another video!
Thanks Steve for going there and filming. I'm in San Diego but well North of the border. So many reports of sewage that I haven't wanted to go see for myself.
As for the cleanup, it's a combination problem, Mexico doesn't want to lose face and admit it's a problem, and for them, it's not an issue. Plus until recently the USA took all the water from the Rio Grande, didn't make any friends there. Plus the whole immigrants, no work permits issue that has been in place since the 60's has trapped whole families in the USA.
Anyway congress authorized $3 Million dollars to fix it, and now the estimate is $6M. so who knows when anything will be done.
FASCINATING AND THANK YOU STEVE..GREAT TOUR...SAFE TRAVELS..
Thanks Steve, allowing me to see another corner of the world I've never been to.
Great video, Steve. Your presentation on all your videos is very well done. I look forward to seeing them, and enjoy every one although this one makes me sad.
Lived in Imperial Beach from 1983 until last year 2023. Raised my children there. They surfed and went to Mar Vista high school. I saw a lot of changes during that time. Used to be a very tight knit and friendly community. You knew just about everyone. Not like that now 💔😥
Thanks for making this video. A quality visit to an interesting no man's land in CA.
I worked in the Border Patrol in San Diego from 1977 to 1980. When the friendship state park was open, drugs were being passed back and forth. The area down along Monument Road has some great birding locations. You should visit the bird and butterfly garden, and the community garden.
Saw a Golden Eagle there once in the late 90's.
Thanks for holding your nose and taking some great shots of SW California's corner. It's a beautiful area, especially without the smell.
You were very brave...regarding the smell. People in the area are actually getting sick from breathing the air! Still hard they have been trying to deal with this since the 1930s!
I enjoyed this glimpse of US/Mexico geopolitical relations. Great job, Steve!🥰
Thank you for the historical perspective. Well done!
Hello Steve, Thankyou for putting in the extra effort and producing this vidlog.
I was stationed at NAS Imperial Beach back in 1969. Thanks for the video.
Ream field, the background ambiance of IB.
I miss going to the Campground down there.. its closed for some reason. Love your videos man.
Playas is my home town! Been living there for over 40yrs! My wife and kids have all grown up here in this small beach town. My son is a Lifeguard at that beach, have saved many trying to swim across around that fence. Not all that try make it.
I had never been out there before. I wish it would have been a nicer day.
Bro. Us too was third to last condo group down in La Playas. “The Bocs”
We appreciate you showing us these places so we don't have to worry about what we're missing.
This polluted river is a great example of how mis- managed, negligent, and incompetent both governments are. They go after people and companies that are easy to convict, yet this far into the 21st century they won't tackle a problem that takes real work to solve.
But I DO enjoy your videos 😀👍
Great video just like your others. I'm originally from LA county and remember my family's travels to this area decades ago.
Well Steve; on the Tijuana river; that’s called “taking one for the team! I enjoyed seeing the unfriendly park at the border; i lived in San Diego for 5 years but my work kept me busy and I never made it down there, let alone to Tijuana/ so thank you:-)
I was there a couple days after you. Thank you for history of the park.
Great work, man. Thanks for being the most unbiased youtuber ✌️
Thank you for another soulful video.🥺💜
... For not being a political channel you hit on some of the high points, in a very non political way, well done...
... Another Wednesday adventure with Steve...
... From Mineral Wells State Park in greater north Texas...
Sorry... not quite a 'non-political' channel. Fuck Israel? Couldn't that have been edited out with a little filming technique?
I went to Adobe Walls last year. North Texas is beautiful.
Thanks for the video Steve. My brother and I used to fish the pier there in Imperial Beach in the early '60's and when we got bored we would ride our bikes down to that river and fish there too. We never ate any of the fish we caught there because it used to stink real bad back then too! Funny how all we hear about is progress this and progress that but some things never change. Hats off to you for doing the video and hope you got hazard pay!
I lived in Bonita my senior year in high school. The bull ring was visible out of the dining room window. A border patrol dirt road ran in back of the house which was dragged every evening to smooth it so that footprints could be noted. That area is all solid houses now and it's doubtful that anyone slips through any longer. Some students I went to school with came over from Tijuana for classes every day. And of course there's fog! Even though I left San Diego in 1971, I still remember the weather report. "Night and morning low clouds and fog along the coast, high tomorrow 72, low tonight 64." Not only that, I began living in the Boston area in time to survive the "Perfect Storm". It certainly was.
Wow that was the most political episode of sidetrack adventures I’ve ever watched. There were so great highlights. The look on your face at the Tijuana estuary really showed how horrid that smell must have been have been, the Biden- Trump mural was hilarious, and at 9:34 got sone unintended political commentary. Great upload.
Cool video, Steve! I’ve always wanted to go back down there myself and film that border fence at the extreme southwestern corner of the US like you did. I went down there many years ago probably in 2005 or something like that. I remember I was able to get all the way to the border fence on the US side where it goes out into the ocean. I guess that is not possible these days. Very clever of you to cross into Mexico and head down the border wall to the ocean and film it from that side! I may do that myself one of these days. It’s sad that the Friendship Park is no longer being used and has fallen into disrepair. The sewage problem doesn’t help matters any, either. So many issues down there. Maybe one day they will all get figured out.
That Bull Fighting Arena has been there as long as I can remember.
At 9:34 That's very nice what "some person" spray painted on the gray square block, nice for all the little kids to see.
Thanks for all your time, work and posting......
"Some person" with a fake country...
Good video Steve. I never even considered what’s down there. I live near LA. So I am used to nasty sea water. Not like Hawaii. Thanks!
That sucks that IB and the strand were closed this year. Thank you for the tour.
This is a really good video about California i used to want to go there as a kid but now I'm 59 and I really wouldn't want to go there well
maybe up in the Northern part near Oregon have a great Wednesday and thank you.🇺🇲👋🇺🇲
Back at the beach after the Utah desert! The wetland area is beautiful despite the sewage, which I've been hearing about as long as I can remember. So interesting to see how all of this looks now. I appreciate your commentary and research. I like the marker and the dolphin sculpture is fun.
You covered something obscure to most of us and did a nice job doing it. I was surprised you weren't "in the middle of nowhere" as usual, though!
Nice production and appreciate the education. Good Luck getting back into the States.
Such a contrast to other places with historical significance. Regardless, glad you shared this with us and highlighted the bad and the good.
I grew up right there! My husband lived in a condo right next to this as a kid.
In the late 40s into the 50s, the Tijuana Sloughs was an early big wave surfing proving ground, but the water quality was bad even then. Surfboard innovator, Bob Simmons, surfed there and made surfboards for the locals. It breaks in the Winter so you can't hide from the run off. I don't really know if anyone still surfs there, but the spot has an interesting history.
I believe there was a Holder or the Holder brothers who surfed then too. Hear stories about it from their grandsons
@@IanMcSlater Yes, I remember the name Dempsey Holder. I believe he was a lifeguard (head lifeguard?) in Imperial Beach. Those guys used to surf big winter waves 1/2 mile out to sea (no leash of course) in the fog wearing navy surplus wool underwear. Hard core!
That was a pretty mellow area back in the 1970s. I lived up north in Orange County but we came down to TJ a few times a year. The population of Tijuana exploded from the late-1970s onward as more people migrated to the USA from all over Mexico and Central America (wars & civil strife) and the border crossing protocol got tightened, then NAFTA created a lot of employment on the Mexican side of the border that attracted still more people. All those people create a lot of waste and the Ciudad was not able to keep up with it, thus everything on the streets gets washed into the Tijuana River when the winter rains come. Tijuana does have a sewage treatment plant just south of that bullring but the city/state/national governments in Mexico were not able to expand the plant nor the collection system to keep up with the population explosion. From your video it looks like the bullring is not used that much (no posters). They did build a bigger bullring on the other side of Tijuana that is used regularly. There are similar concrete monuments in easter California, AZ, and NM along the border, and in some areas those are the only things designating where the border is.
Hi Steve, lifelong San Diego County boy here (well almost). While not a happy subject to cover you did an excellent job. I'm proud to be a San Diegan with you and your family!
So cool that you went into Mexico! Great video, Steve!
Thankyou for making this, I miss San Diego, I. Wish I had never left
Yet again a place I may never get to. Thanks
Thanks, Steve. 🙂👍
Thanks for this great video of a truly sad situation
Great tour, Steve--thanks much!
Sidetrack Adventures is international!!!
Wow That was so interesting Thanks Steve
Another gem Steve!!
One side a little festive looking. The other side closed, bleak and depressing... A shame. Great video and appreciated your efforts..
Superb video. Only the second I've seen but very impressive. Thank you.
Kinda gives that song by the Doobie Bros, 'Blackwater' a whole new meaning!
Thanks, Steve!
Thanks Tiahuana, that's just lovely.
Interesting. I never heard of it. Thanks for the video. I enjoy your videos because I always learn something new
There's a piece of engineering on that wall going into the sea while still standing vertical. Thanks Steve, love these rides.
The Dolphin statue in the video beats the hell out of the Cardiff Kook statue/sculpture.
In the spring, I took a hike on the cliffs above the beach, and it was pretty nice. Got up to the walls on the US side. The park down below was closed.
I have never heard of that park, thanks for sharing Steve !
I'm born-and-raised in Orange County, California and have always wanted to visit Friendship Park. Thought the fishing there would be amazing!
Thanks to your video I know that that is... unlikely 😂
Visited friends in Brea in the mid 90s. Really enjoyed the trip. What was cool for me was in the 70s we had a Shakey’s Pizza Parlour that I loved as a kid, but it closed years ago. Was able to get Shakey’s in Brea while I was there. Brought back fond memories.
Typical Mexico 3rd world crap literally.
You can catch a Mexican Brown Trout.
Thankyou for sharing. Never heard of this park before. Nancy
Big stinky river is a great way to keep folks from crossing the border through Friendship Park
That never stopped anyone before 😂😂😂
Thank you for the tour of southern America and northern Mexico Steve. It certainly is more colourful (colorful) on the Mexican side on the wall.
It’s sad how messed up humanity is in so many ways. Beaches ruined. Militarized borders. Ugly walls. At least the birds get a bit of space to hang out.
And mostly because people who live nowhere near the border get irrationally angry about it.
@@ericreese7792 especially one particular carrot head criminal.
@@ericreese7792 Part of the US culture, starting foreign wars, funding foreign wars and regional instability, telling others how to live, minding other people's business. Not surprised.
I was having the very same thoughts...it is 2024 and we have sewage running into the ocean. It makes me want to scream.
@@ericreese7792 I'm sure he doesn't have to deal with the illegals and all the crime that it brings, murders, gangs, drugs, human trafficking, theft, damage to personal property, and prostitution. It's easy to sit on the high thrown and criticize humanity when you have your kids gloves on.
i miss riding my horse to this beach. the contamination and garbage on the trails after this winter is so sad. and the smell down there at night when it’s low tide is literally making people so sick. it really is gross and so sad
intresting information .love to see ODD places where other people dont go .
thank u very much .
your videos caused a love seed become a huge tree for america .
i wish someday i will be there .
Interesting vid today. I have never thought about that area before. I used to work with a guy who talked about his Grandfather walking across the boarder from Mexico and just settling in. That was a very long time ago I am sure because he is long gone and was older than me. And I’m 73.
Extremely interesting.. the difference between the sides is hard to believe...now I've got to search the web for other places like that...great job!