Into the Beautiful North

The journey presses on to St. George, Utah and Nayeli frequently looks in Matt's Spanish-English dictionary. "Taxidermy" makes Tacho and Nayeli laugh for twenty miles. Nayeli notes, "We are more alike than we think", when looking up the reference to St. George slaying a dragon (276).

They eventually arrive in Green River and, homesick for Sinaloa, stop in a Mexican restaurant. They order in Spanish but are assured by the waitress, several times, that they speak English here. The waitress explains where her parents come from (Durango and Chihuahua). The cook comes out and again asks them to speak in English. Further questions are asked as to why they are where they are and Nayeli lies, saying they are there for work and "thinking she was among paisanos, thinking she was part of a great story and an adventure, made the mistake of winking at the chef”, when he asked her how they got here (280). Once the cook learns they are illegals he throws them out in a rage.

Since they left the restaurant, their touristy mood has deflated. Eventually, they stop in Rifle. Ironically, with "patriotic guilt" Nayeli purchases a plastic version of the Two Towers and attaches an American flag to the dashboard.