day 13 - Border Crossing and tips on Customs

Thursday June 15  - Day 13 of trip – drive to Banff, Canada

Amanda rose with me (bitterly) and helped cook bacon and pancakes for breakfast.  Didn’t take long to get the gear staged and ready to launch for Banff, AB (in Canada). 

The drive to the border took about 2 hours of smooth driving. Border crossings are nervous, by default.  Invariably, the customs laws make no sense, and simple stuff can get you in trouble (ie the US won’t let you bring citrus fruit from Canada. No clue why….). 

And so with a fake smile, I pull up to the customs agent and hand her our 4 passports.

She says “where are you headed and how long will you be in Canada?”

Me: “Banff, then Alaska. About two weeks”

She says “are you bringing anything into Canada that you intend to sell?”

Me: “No”

Her: “any alcohol”?

Me: “just a half bottle of bourbon, back in the camper”

Her: “Anything for self defense?” (recall that I’d shipped two pistols to AK last week JUST SO I could say “no” to this very question)

Me: “No” and smiles in a rare show of preparedness

And then, without question, prodding or other introduction…. Travis yells out from the back seat “how about BEAR SPRAY AND FIREWORKS? DAD, DON’T FORGET THE BEAR SPRAY AND FIREWORKS” from the back seat.  Like real loud, and with some sense of urgency. As if one fuse is on fire and the first one is about to go off. 

I’m trying to maintain a calm face as I rotate my head around like an irate owl, and say “you brought ……… fireworks?” to the boy… with light emitting from my eyes and smoke from my ears.

Travis: “yeah dad, and the bear spray”.

Customs agent lady: “just pull over there to the left.  Go in the building and they’ll talk to you about that….”

30 minutes, one form, a long apology, threats to leave the boy at the border, and confiscation of 300 incendiary devices later, we’re back on the road…. I can’t make this stuff up. 

Shortly thereafter, we see the sign saying “all watercraft must stop for inspection” about 30 miles inland. Inspecting and decontaminating the canoe takes another hour. Now bear in mind, there is NO HINT WHATSOEVER of zebra mussels on the canoe, but the FNG’s (flippin new guys) have nothing else going on and zero sense of urgency, so our canoe gets a better cleaning than my half ton Chevy ever got back in high school.  Back on the road, and otherwise unrestricted progress towards our destination.

Having now seen it, I will advise that the Kootenay National Forest in SE British Columbia gives up nothing to our parks in the states.  Absolutely fantastic country.  Huge rivers and creeks, vast expanses of forest, glaciers, gargantuan rock formations and fantastic road routing through it all. There was a smallish (300#??) male grizzly on the side of the road, and I mean….. like 5’ from the shoulder-side of the road.  It was feeding on dandelions (where the hell is Travis with his BEAR SPRAY AND FIREWORKS now???).   Lots of whitetail deer (all does) also spotted on the drive in.

Shortly after the bear sighting, we pulled into one of those “scenic overlook-vistas” spots on an apex of a mountain edge that provides a ~200 degree view of the opposing hillside. I wanted to get a picture, so I get out of the car and head that way. There are about 10 other folks in the same area, including some older bikers, and a gaggle of college girls, apparently visiting from Ontario. I note that 4 of the 5 girls are standing on top of the rock ledge wall preparing for a group photo.   Just about the time I get to the viewing area, all but one of the women take off their shirts, bra’s etc and get their picture taken, “flashing” the mountains.  Realizing what’s going on, I spin around and check the truck. Travis is looking away in embarrassment, Amanda is giggling, and Deanna is shaking her head sideways. Welcome to Canada!

Driving into Banff, the town is smaller than I expected. About the size of Crested Butte, CO. Our campsite is state-run, and is just a couple miles north of town. It’s a parking lot with trees and power. Awesome views of the nearby rock mountain faces, and the camp ranger warnings that “we live with the wildlife here in the park” are confirmed when the kids spot fresh mule deer poop in our stamp-sized campsite, C35.

Leftovers for dinner, and we plan tomorrows activities.