RV’ers pick up stories to tell, and taking your house on wheels across a country border may generate one. Especially if you are dragging a pickup truck along with you.
In the Vancouver area, there are two border crossing a few miles apart. Trucks have to use the Pacific Border crossing. Passenger vehicles can use either the Peace Arch crossing or the Pacific Border crossing. Our destination was the Pacific Border RV Park, just across the border at 175th Street and 0 Avenue. 0 Avenue is the border. One of us has a gut feeling that we should mix in with all the other tourists at the Peace Arch crossing, because maybe the other one has more staff to search trucks, increasing the likelihood we would be searched. But one of us points out that our RV park is actually on border, next door to the Pacific Border crossing. We go to Pacific Border.
First there are the usual questions; where do you live, where are you going, where are you staying, why, how long. How long have you been traveling and where have you been since you left home. Then, do you have a gun. Apparently, he’s thinking; An American with an RV and a pickup truck; he’s got to have a gun.
No, we don’t have a gun. Do you own a gun? Yes. You don’t have a gun in that truck? No. Why? Because I didn’t want to bring a gun into Canada. You have been traveling extensively across the western United States, you didn’t have your gun with you? No, we didn’t bring a gun.
He doesn’t believe me. “That officer will show you where to park. Take this paper into the building and go to Counter A.”
Different officer. Repeat of the normal questions. He takes our passports and keys and tells us to have a seat. For the next 45 minutes, three border guards go through the truck and through every drawer and cabinet in our motorhome. There has to be a gun in that sock drawer, right? At one point, an officer comes in and says they can’t get the slides out. Jane offers to show them. After she opens the slides, she asks if she can stay. They tell her to go back into the building.
We didn’t hear, “Welcome to Canada,” but we were given our passports and keys and told we could go. Our destination, Canada! We made it!
We know our way to the Pacific Border RV park because we had checked it out when we visited Emily and Stuart back in February. We did not have an RV at that time, but had decided on the one we were going to get. Besides, the RV park is literally on the border. While we set up, Emily and Stuart are on the way to see us. We enjoy showing them the RV and we have a celebratory glass of wine (or sip, as appropriate). The air is good, the sun is out. We’re elated.
