Knowing that a lot of my RVing friends will be heading to Canada & Alaska this summer I wanted to help them NOT go through what we did... "STRESS"
Last year we took off heading for the Alaskan territory and knowing we had to cross over the Canadian border in our motorhome right away started giving us all a great deal of stress & worry... We looked up many sites on the internet checking out what we could and could not take over the border. Many of them had different do's & don'ts. Finally after much research, help from my Canadian friends & actually contacting the customs border here is what we came up with... We crossed the border 4 times and never had any problems!
The most important things to remember are:
When you pull up to the border patrol turn off your engine
Remove your sunglasses
Only answer the questions they ask…
Do NOT offer any additional information .... repeat this advice again
I made an inventory list of all the food I had in the coach but they never asked for it. (Thanks Sue for this advice)
Have all shot records updated & current for your pets
Passports up to date, signed and ready to hand to them
Insurance card from your insurance company for Canada travel (yellow card) Ask your agent about it.
They will ask where you worked and what you did
Weapons:
We carry a hand gun with us... we pretty much already knew this was a big no no so we left it with our daughter in their gun safe. You can take rifles with some kind of permit but we were not hunting so this didn't apply to us.
We also had a BB gun which if under a certain pressure could go. I think over 500 pounds of pressure but not sure... Ours was too strong so we gave it away to a lady in the last RV Park that we stayed in before entering Canada.
Liquor:
This was my greatest worry.... LOL LOL
I have several bottles in a cabinet and just knew they were going to confiscate them... but guess what. If it is for personal consumption you have no worries... make sure they are open and at least 1 drink out of them. Now I did have a few new ones but I broke the seal I just told them they were all for personal use.
Beer… I believe is 24 bottles or cans… we don’t drink beer so it didn’t apply to us.
Food:
You can NOT take any food over the border with a pit in it….Period!
I had a freezer outside full of meat … they never asked but from what I understood was if it was for personal use it was ok to have
The fridge was stocked with milk, eggs, butter, everyday foods, some fresh veggies, potatoes and onions… I never offered info and only answered their questions.
Pet food is ok... the dry food we kept the bag just in case they asked what brand it was but they didn't... we also took canned food.
NOTE: remember I did have a full inventory list of all the food & liquor in the coach in case they wanted more detail
Telephone: Just for your info ...
Turn off your AT&T... they do not have a great Canada coverage and it cost to much to add it. BUT with Verizon for $20 dollars you can add Canada coverage to your plan & then cancel it when you come back out!
Don’t be afraid… This is what worked for us. Neither our friends nor us were ever searched but another friend kidded around about how much beer he had and they search his rig… Hench do not offer info!!! Because they'll tear it apart BUT you have to put everything back… & they do not allow you in the coach when they are searching it which I wouldn't like…. I sure hope this might have helped someone... and I hope I didn't miss something! Just contact me if you have questions
Have Fun, Travel Safe & Stay Healthy!!!
Hi all my bloggin' friends… It has been a while and I am trying to do a couple of catch up post to let you know where we are and what we’ve been up to. As suspected we are having trouble with internet coverage so this is a BIG post. We are loving our trip and are half way up in British Columbia, Canada. What a beautiful country this is with its majestic mountains, Ragging Rivers and farmlands. But I want to start at the beginning since I last posted so here it goes….
While we were in Blaine, Washington preparing for our entrance into Canada we had visitors from Canada…. My bloggin' buddies Sue & Doug at BIG DAWG AND FREEWAY, along with their wonderful dog Tucker, came all the way down here to spend the afternoon with us. What a delight that was for not only me but also all of us! It was great fun getting to know them and they also were so helpful with all of their information on Canada. I just know we’ll be friends for a very long time. Sue came loaded with gifts for me, which wasn’t necessary, because we would have loved them any ways… Included was a cute little moose, which we named Morris, now resides in the front window of Tassie and shares in all of our adventures…
The day had finally arrived for us to go into Canada, cross the border, face the customs cops and bring Tassie safely over into another country. I had did so much research on what you could and could not bring into the country and heard so many different stories that I had myself worried… I just knew they were going to take all my food and booze… should I hide stuff, throw it away or just face the customs officer and tell the truth about what was aboard? By nature I am not a worrier so I decided to tell the truth and what will be, will be. Sue had told that she makes a list of all they have in their rig and it works, so since I already keep an inventory list I printed it up to present to them if asked. Well we pulled up and after a few questions like where are we from, where are we headed, where did we work, any veggies, any booze (which I truthfully answered) we were let into Canada… No worries, no problems.
Our first top was at Cultus Lake Thousand Trails Park near Lindell Beach. We stayed there about 4 days and visited some really great sites. Bridal Veil Falls and Harrison Lake. Plus we took care of a few more errands while there.
From there we moved onto Yale, just north of Hope, on Canadian Hwy 1. We actually stayed at a lovely RV park in Emory called Emory Bar RV Park. They just couldn’t do enough to make us happy there… While we were there we went and visited quaint little city of Hope, Hopes Slide and Hell’s Gate.
Hope is nestled in deep wilderness at the base of the Cascade Mountains and sits on a wide sweeping curve of the mighty Fraser River, at the entrance to the Fraser River Canyon. This is truly the Chainsaw Carving Capital of Canada, with over two dozen large wooden sculptures scattered throughout downtown. These carvings feature local wildlife, including eagles, bears, mountain sheep and cougars.
Hope Slide is just east of Hope on Highway 3 is an awe-inspiring testament to nature's power. In January 1965, most of an entire mountain called Johnson's Peak came sliding down into the valley. Over 45 million cubic feet of earth, rock and slate travelling at 95 mph, tumbled down to bury the highway, an entire lake and mark the valley forever. Now known as the Hope Slide, the remaining half of Johnson's Peak is an irresistible draw.
This is becoming such a HUGE post that I will continue on another post in a few days… So keep an eye out for the continuing saga of Our Canadian/Alaskan Journey.
Have Fun, Travel Safe & Stay Healthy!!!
