We were parked in Waterton Village Township Campground Site C10 and fully set up by 11 AM Monday. Today was our most casual travel day. The road between Saint Mary and the Chief Mountain border crossing was beautiful with almost no traffic. In fact, cows and bulls standing in the roadway easily outnumbered the total number of vehicles we saw this morning. Spectacular views of iconic Chief Mountain loomed around every curve and rolling hill.
We were all paranoid about the border crossing. We heard all sorts of scary stories. In fact, yesterday at the Saint Mary Visitor Center, one of the NPS front liners told us we better chop any green peppers into tiny little pieces and put them in a baggie. She said, “They won't let you in with whole green peppers. They are really on the lookout for them!”
Well, that comment alone conjured up a small platoon of Canadians eager to roto-root through every little crevice of our rig, including the refrigerator, the side compartments...you name it. My vivid imagination saw scenes of beady-eyed inspectors combing our travel trailer for the dreaded greeen bell peppers.
So, naturally I decided to be proactive and made a “To Declare” list and put everything single little item I could think of on the list. I mean I listed everything, including our total cash and the actual value of coins in our possession too ($131.99). In hindsight, the “To Declare” list is hilarious. We pulled up to the Canadian check station and some young guy asked for our passports; where we were from; what was our license plate number; did we have any firearms and how long were we going to stay. I showed him my “To Declare” list and I swear I saw him roll his eyes. He handed the list and the passports back with a snide comment, “You might want to sign your passports so they will be valid.” But then he smiled and said, “Enjoy Your Stay” and off we went with nary even a thought of a strip search for the green bell peppers. Luckily, we were not actually carrying any green bell peppers but who knows, maybe there's an all points bulletin for them or something. Anyway, the crossing was painless and the pre-check paranoia was totally unwarranted.
Waterton Village is a Real Big Deal—far bigger than we expected. It's more like a full fledged small town rather than what the word “village” would make you think. And the place is packed. People are swarming everywhere.
We booked this site back on February 6 after spending a few hours scoping out the best remaining sites. Even back in early February, the Townsite Campground was almost full. Luckily, we found C10 and got two nights. This morning Susun immediately declared C10 to be the best campsite in this gigantic campground. I don't know if it's the best or not but it sure looks better than any campsite I can see from our location.
After Susun awakes from her obligatory nap, we're off to a nearby playground. Why? Well, for some unfathomable reason, the powers that be here decided to make a children's playground a WIFI hotspot. I guess you could say that adding WIFI to a kiddie playground automatically turns it into an adult playground...or something...
We were all paranoid about the border crossing. We heard all sorts of scary stories. In fact, yesterday at the Saint Mary Visitor Center, one of the NPS front liners told us we better chop any green peppers into tiny little pieces and put them in a baggie. She said, “They won't let you in with whole green peppers. They are really on the lookout for them!”
Well, that comment alone conjured up a small platoon of Canadians eager to roto-root through every little crevice of our rig, including the refrigerator, the side compartments...you name it. My vivid imagination saw scenes of beady-eyed inspectors combing our travel trailer for the dreaded greeen bell peppers.
So, naturally I decided to be proactive and made a “To Declare” list and put everything single little item I could think of on the list. I mean I listed everything, including our total cash and the actual value of coins in our possession too ($131.99). In hindsight, the “To Declare” list is hilarious. We pulled up to the Canadian check station and some young guy asked for our passports; where we were from; what was our license plate number; did we have any firearms and how long were we going to stay. I showed him my “To Declare” list and I swear I saw him roll his eyes. He handed the list and the passports back with a snide comment, “You might want to sign your passports so they will be valid.” But then he smiled and said, “Enjoy Your Stay” and off we went with nary even a thought of a strip search for the green bell peppers. Luckily, we were not actually carrying any green bell peppers but who knows, maybe there's an all points bulletin for them or something. Anyway, the crossing was painless and the pre-check paranoia was totally unwarranted.
Waterton Village is a Real Big Deal—far bigger than we expected. It's more like a full fledged small town rather than what the word “village” would make you think. And the place is packed. People are swarming everywhere.
We booked this site back on February 6 after spending a few hours scoping out the best remaining sites. Even back in early February, the Townsite Campground was almost full. Luckily, we found C10 and got two nights. This morning Susun immediately declared C10 to be the best campsite in this gigantic campground. I don't know if it's the best or not but it sure looks better than any campsite I can see from our location.
After Susun awakes from her obligatory nap, we're off to a nearby playground. Why? Well, for some unfathomable reason, the powers that be here decided to make a children's playground a WIFI hotspot. I guess you could say that adding WIFI to a kiddie playground automatically turns it into an adult playground...or something...
Our big one and only goal today is to get tickets on the “International” for tomorrow's boat ride up to Goat Haunt on the far south end of Waterton Lake. Goat Haunt is in Montana so we will have to bring passports to visit there. And then show passports to get back into Waterton Village. Gawd forbid anyone tries to smuggle a green bell pepper back from Goat Haunt! Chances are pretty good that we will disembark at Goat Haunt and spend most of that day there. It looks like there are three trails there that appear to be “good for geezers” and they go to an overlook, a waterfall and a lake...a veritable trifecta of scenic delights. Supposedly, we can catch a later boat back home, presumably as long as we aren't carrying a concealed green bell pepper.
I wasn't originally going to book us into Waterton. Susun was the one who insisted we go to Waterton.She was really, majorly insistent about it. So, well, here we are. I am actually really glad to tiptoe into Canada for three days. Thanks, Susun! YA DUN GOOD!
I wasn't originally going to book us into Waterton. Susun was the one who insisted we go to Waterton.She was really, majorly insistent about it. So, well, here we are. I am actually really glad to tiptoe into Canada for three days. Thanks, Susun! YA DUN GOOD!
More meandering narrative later. Happy Day & Many Cheers!
2 comments:
The green pepper caper. We are not fooled and neither are those wily Canadians. And what about the capers? Did you declare them? This could end so badly.
Looked forward to reading today's travel adventure and it did not fail! Another awesome day for John and Susun! Yippee!
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