Lac Le Jeune: First Stop in Canada

Crossing the Border with Your Home

We drove across the border (instead of taking a ferry) at the town of Sumas in Washington, and it was a breeze. We’d heard that border agents tell RVs to pull over into the “search lane,” where they go through your fridge and bar. And the online info all pointed to conflicting info we could not cross with (cheese is okay but not soft cheese? How much alcohol is “reasonable”?)

So we played it safe and ate and drank everything we had in the trailer before we hit the crossing. That was not a difficult challenge (except the morning after the night I finished off the tequila with the Northern California Airstream Club.)

We must have done all our paperwork properly and we must seem harmless, because, after a few questions at the booth, we were waved on through. Banjo, the “reasonable” bar, and all.

Canada: Not Just More of the U.S.

Our unnecessary preparations meant that we needed to restock with food and beer asap, which we did in the next border town in Canada: Abbotsford. And as I went into the stores there I was reminded that I’m such a country mouse: I really thought that Canada is just like the U.S., just friendlier and safer.

Imagine my surprise when Google Maps immediately began telling us estimated drive times in kilometers per hour. And labels in the grocery store were in French with Canadian dollars. My two Canadian friends whom we’re meeting in Jasper can convert to American units in a blink of an eye, but I’m an ignorant American who expects everyone to do that for me when I travel abroad. I guess I’ll find out as we cross Canada how much I’ll have to learn!

Lac Le Jeune Provincial Park

We’re on our way to the big reunion with those friends (one now lives in New Zealand) at Jasper, but we’re staying in some pretty places for a few days each on the way. This park is based around a beautiful lake (duh), with a walking trail around the lake, plus a day-use picnic area and a couple of boat ramps.

The campers here pull their boats (fishing, kayaks, canoes) up to the edge of the lake and tie them willy nilly. We decided not to take the kayaks off the truck because the effort to do so outweighs the few times we’ll be able to get on the water (calculating in the weather).

We really would have liked to, though, so Tracy might investigate buying two “lift assist” racks to replace our current kayak racks. They’re hydraulic-powered: you pull down each rack beside the side of the truck, load your kayak on, then push it back up on the truck top, avoiding ladders and standing on the back of the bed and basically risking life and limb (and kayak and truck) each time. They’re more complicated than I make it sound and super expensive, but we’ve not kayaked more times than I can count because of the trouble of getting ours off the top of the truck, so maybe in Wisconsin Tracy will talk with the kayak place he trusts there.

Hiking, Biking, Lazing in the Sun

The campsites here are really big and wooded, so lots of privacy, although none is right on the lake.

That land is reserved for private homes, but it’s fun to walk the paths by them and imagine their lake life, with floating docks and slides and lots of water toys.

We’ve enjoyed the warmer weather and avoiding the mosquitos in the new replacement tent, listening to music and playing cards at night. [I bought a new card game called Fluxx (Star Trek themed) that I really like; ping me if you’d like deets.]

Banjo’s been enjoying dipping in the lake and lying in the (about time) warm sunshine. Although, today it’s been raining all day, so Tracy tries to make it up to her by letting her in his lap.

We’ll be here for Canada Day, which I hear involves lots of beer drinking, fishing, and fireworks. I’ll report back how Banjo does with the fireworks; last time we were in Wisconsin for July 4 and she went bonkers afraid. Maybe Canadians celebrate more mildly? Just in French and kilometers?