Aug 15, 2023 – Busted at the Border

It was time to leave Canada. Not that we wanted the Canadian Rockies behind us, it was that we had so much more ahead of us. The thought of crossing the Canadian border into the U.S. was bittersweet, but we were ready.

On a clear day, we left Whistlers Campground to drive south on the Icefields Parkway where we could stop and enjoy the views one last time, and then east to Rocky Mountain House where we reserved three nights at a rustic campground located on the flat side of the Rocky Mountain foothills. I figured three days would give us time to come down from our Rocky Mountain High, spend more time with Lorraine and Spencer, and prepare to cross the border into the U.S. After which, we would part ways with our friends who had their own adventures ahead.

Our home is on wheels and if we want to, we move on. Impending bad weather prompted Vivian and I to leave Rocky Mountain House and say goodbye to our friends a day earlier than planned. We had a relatively long drive to our next campground in Lethbridge, located a short 60 miles from the U.S. border. While there, we prepared to cross into the U.S. by doing the following – spend our Canadian cash down to the final looney, eat whatever foods we thought prohibited at the border, whittle down the alcohol to a reasonable amount for two people, and purchase Kit Kats.

Finally, August 19^th arrived. It seemed like a lonely road to the border crossing. After a quick pit stop, we eased up to customs where two lines had formed.

A sign indicated we needed to be in the left lane. As we waited, I checked the list I would provide the customs agent, figuring it would expedite the process. Four Taber corn, 1 tomato, 2 bananas, 1 onion, 2 apples, small bag of carrots. Our passports were in hand as we pulled up to the young agent who asked a few simple questions. I gave him my list. He smiled, gave me back the list and prompted us to “pull ahead, veer left and pull into the parking area. Then go inside the building behind me and wait in line”. Hold on there a minute…WHAT?

Oops, we got busted. Seems the tomato got us in trouble. Do we get time off for honesty? After receiving the detailed list of what can and cannot cross the border and which we had not seen prior to arriving, we kept the spirit of honesty alive by admitting we also had an unopened bag of basmati rice (and not the cheap Uncle Bens version). Who knew? We certainly did not and that was having done what we thought was adequate research to avoid this situation, which by the way delayed us two and a half hours.

Don’t worry, I won’t go down that “See what happens when you do the right thing?” road, because I’m glad we did. Nevertheless, a border agent searched our RV while we waited inside customs. After 30 minutes or so, she came back with our tomato and basmati rice in a container. Compared to the couple that drove up in the Class A (see photo above) ours was not a great loss. The agent that searched their bus came back with a couple large containers of frozen meat and seafood acquired in Alaska and Canada. The couple’s second mistake was driving into the wrong line which resulted in their detention. Adding insult to injury, they had to watch the agent dump each frozen piece of meat and fish into a waste container (can you see the dollar signs floating away?). That’s where our tomato and rice ended up as well.

At last, we were out of detention and free to go. Luckily, we had a campsite reserved in Shelby, Montana, only 30 miles away. It would have been a pleasant way to end the day, less than an hour’s drive and all settled in before happy hour. But there was this issue with the weather forecast. We expected lots of rain and wind the following day during our 260-mile drive to the next campground. With steep grades and road construction ahead of us, our border-crossing day was a better one to make that drive – all 297 miles of it.

By the time we got out of customs, it was noon. Should we or should we not? We’d be breaking our own rule if we did, which was to avoid driving more than 250 miles or arriving at a campground after 4 pm. Lucky for us, the campsite we reserved for the next night was open. Some extra coffee from the truck stop and we’re good to go. Clear skies, light traffic for the most part, up and over the mountain passes and getting through interstate road construction didn’t seem so bad.

So, the extra day at Cardwell General Store and Campground was spent mostly holed up inside the RV, watching the non-stop rain from our windows and relieved we weren’t crossing the Continental Divide on Interstate 15. It was a wonderful day! After that, the skies cleared, the temperatures cooled down a bit and we were ready to explore some of Montana for the next couple days. Stay tuned!

RV TIP

Planning to visit Canada? Learn from our mistakes and do your homework before coming back to the U.S. Rather than contacting U.S. Border Patrol, go to the USDA website for travelers crossing Canadian land border into the United States, and stay up to date with it as well because things can change. Your welcome!