Border Crossing

From Vermont our next destination was Holland, Michigan; where we would meet our friend Allison and spend several days exploring the area with her. To get from Burlington to Holland we had to decide which route to take, the long way around through Ohio, or straight across through Ontario? After our recent border issues we were skeptical about doing another one, but decided we wanted to give it a try. We wanted to see if we would have trouble again, or breeze right through like many other travelers we have talked to.

After we spent the first part of the day exploring Burlington, we loaded up and headed across the bridge into New York. Our goal for the evening was Saranac Lake, where we planned to meet another couple with a bus project and park at their place for the night. Driving through the Adirondack Mountains was an amazing experience, even though it can be a chore to weave the bus through some of the small towns and winding mountain roads. There were so many beautiful rivers and overlooks, it would have been fun to spend an entire week camping and exploring the area. On the way to our destination, we passed through Lake Placid and got some views of the old winter Olympics structures. The Olympic training center is still used today, and tourists are welcome at some of the points of interest, such as the towering ski jumps. As scary as those things look on TV, they are even more intimidating in real life! The Lake Placid high school even makes use of the speed skating rink, which serves as their track. Arriving in Saranac Lake we found Shelby and Dave’s apartment and got the bus situated for the night. We met them through Instagram after they started commenting on our pictures, and when they learned of our route they offered up a place to park and a tour of their own bus project. We couldn’t say no! It was a lot of fun to compare buses, theirs is still in the middle of the construction phase but it is coming along nicely. It is going to be a more complete home than ours is, which will be a lot of fun for them. Next on the agenda for the evening was a drive over to Lake Placid, where we were going to have dinner and beers at Lake Placid Craft Brewing, home of the famous “Ubu Ale”, a strong, dark English style ale. We really enjoyed the food and beers, as well as having some fun people to hang out with. We stayed out late into the night telling travel stories and playing the beanbag toss game in the brewery yard.

The next morning we relaxed in the bus while we tried to figure out which direction to head and where to stop for the night. After studying maps for a couple hours and looking up various camping options we just couldn’t find anything that fit our plans, so we waved goodbye to Dave and decided to head towards Niagara Falls, to see how far we could get before we called it a night. Our camping spot ended up being a Wal-Mart parking lot in Albion, NY. This was the first time we had parked at a Wal-Mart (wallydocking) and we weren’t too thrilled, but it was a free place to stay for the night and we could get a few groceries inside. It turned out to be better than expected, we had a quiet corner of the lot and no one bothered us. We even met another traveler parked there in his converted van, it was interesting to share stories with him and learn about his recent trips around New England. Lindsey made us an amazing dinner, homemade potato chowder and even a strawberry rhubarb cobbler, baked in the tiny oven. This was the first real use of the oven, and we weren’t sure how well it would work, but it did great! We sat at the table looking out the window at the beautiful sunset, happy to be out exploring the world even if we were in a parking lot.

After cooking some breakfast the next morning we got everything put away and ready to get back out on the road, this was the big day! The Canadian border was only an hour away and we were ready for it. As we waited in line to go through the checkpoint we relaxed and prepared ourselves for another invasive search. Finally our turn came at the window where the officer checked over our passports, asked a few questions, and waved us on our way. This was impossible. How could it be so easy? We rejoiced as we paid our toll and headed toward Niagara Falls. Circling the area for half an hour we finally found a place to park the bus so we could visit the falls. It was a rainy cloudy day, so the view wasn’t as clear as it could have been but it was a powerful experience to stand out on the point only a few feet from where the river plunged down over the edge. It was more impressive than I ever imagined it would be, I am very thankful we decided to stop there along the way. Lindsey and I watched the waterfall for a while before we walked back to our bus just in time to miss the heavy downpour that started.

Heading back out onto the highway we slogged west though the rainstorm hoping to reach Holland before midnight. Somewhere along the way I noticed a strange squeaking sound coming from the front of the engine, I just chalked it up to a belt making noise from being wet and didn’t think much of it. The rest of the drive through Ontario was uneventful; we were noticing how much the terrain was changing, long gone were the mountains of New York. We finally reached the Michigan border, where we got our first glimpse of the great lakes. The highway leading to the US border went up over a beautiful bridge where we could see Lake Huron off to the right side, never before had we seen such a vast expanse of water that wasn’t an ocean. We were so excited to be here. The real fun started when we pulled up to the US Customs window, where the officer asked me to shut down the bus so we could talk without yelling. I of course said sure thing and reached for the key, as I was about to turn it a little voice in the back of the mind said “don’t do it” but I shrugged it off thinking it was silly, the bus hasn’t had any issues so far, why should it start now. After completing the passport check and declaration paperwork he motioned us over to a side area to wait for our “random” inspection (yea right) but as I turned the key and hit the start button all I got in return was a loud click. I tried again with no luck. Great, now we are stuck in the lane at the US Customs with a dead battery. That’s when I realized that the strange squealing I had heard earlier in the day was the alternator in its death throes, possibly killed by the heavy rainstorm. I had been driving along all day with all the headlights and running lights on, as well as the fan so the starting batteries were too weak to crank the giant diesel engine. There we were in our crazy old bus, broken down in the middle of the border crossing with a line of people behind us. This is one of those moments where you just laugh and can’t believe it is happening. I explain to the border officer what the problem is and he radios for the Michigan DOT to send a truck over, so a few minutes later a pickup pulls up to the bus, we hook up some jump leads, let it sit for a couple minutes and then she fired right up. Fortunately these old diesel’s don’t require any electricity to run, so as long as we could leave it running and not shut it off we would be ok to make it to our stop for the night. After going through some of the typical US bureaucratic nonsense we were finally free to continue into Michigan. We still had a few hours to go until we reached Holland, and we weren’t sure if we were going to make it.

As we rumbled along watching the sun go down I was a little nervous, as our headlights would barely turn on without our batteries charged up. By the time nine o’clock rolled around we were running down the highway without any lights, and still had a couple hours to go. The setting sun was still lighting up the horizon so we pushed on, but kept an eye out for a place to park. After another 45 minutes on the road it was too dark to be on the roads with our dim candles for headlights, so we pulled off into a rest stop to wait until daylight so we could see. I parked the bus in a spot and shut it off, praying that I would be able to get it going again in the morning. Luckily I was able to hook up our little generator to my battery charger and jump-start it again in the morning. Driving along in the bright morning sun we were just happy to be so close to a friends house, where we would be parking for the next several days. I could figure out what to do with the alternator while we relaxed with Allison and her family. We pulled into their house and got the bus situated on the driveway before shutting it down one last time. After saying hello to Allison’s parents we set off into Holland on the motorcycle, ready to see all that Michigan has to offer.

After Campobello Island, we had to reenter the US and drive an hour north to the next border crossing to enter the New Brunswick mainland. Coming back into the US was easy enough, just a twenty minute wait or so while they checked out our bus, and when we were ready to go, everything was back in its place. Unfortunately, our cross back into Canada at the much larger station in Saint Stephen was another story.

The problem so ironically evolved from us trying to be totally prepared to enter Canada without issue, and what resulted was the opposite. What happened is, we knew that we couldn’t carry firearms over the border, so Steven bought a gun case to ship his guns home. When he took his guns to the Mount Dora, FL gun shop to have them shipped, the shop owner insisted he could get us a better shipping rate by packing the guns in some makeshift boxes instead of using the plastic case. So we ended up not needing the case, but thought we would just take it back home and use it later. If we had known what trouble this would cause us, we would have gotten rid of that thing much sooner.

When the Canadian border officials searched our bus, they found the empty gun case and went into panic mode. After waiting a very long time for them to let us go, we were beckoned outside to the bus. What we found was all our belongings that were stored in the outside compartments dumped all over the parking lot. This didn’t bode well. Immediately, Steven was questioned about his firearms and while we explained how the guns were back in Oregon, they did not believe us. We were ushered inside the bus and discovered that they had turned the place upside down, having torn into every compartment and every box and they left everything laying in heaps on the floor. Our home was trashed.

Needless to say, tempers were high, and we did not appreciate the attitude we got from the border officials as we did our best to comply with the rules. I was very scared as they threatened to send Steven off to jail, and threatened us with dogs, and we had done nothing wrong. I know they were just doing their job, but we expected a little more courtesy, and not to be treated like criminals. Steven was asked repeatedly to just tell them where the guns were hidden, as if we are some kind of smugglers. When they finally confirmed that we had no weapons, they continued to berate us with accusations and threatening messages. After they confiscated my tiny pepper spray (I didn’t realize it was illegal), I asked how women were expected to protect themselves. I got a very sarcastic reply from the male border official, who stated, “With their fists”. Wow. He proceeded to make fun of American gun laws and to complain about how hot it was inside the bus as he had to dig around every single box we have in there. Like I’m supposed to feel sympathy for the guy.

Now, believe me, we by no means wish to speak illy of the country of Canada. We just happened to have a terrible experience trying to vacation there. We are aware that our bus is unusual and draws extra attention where ever we go. We expected to be searched. We just didn’t expect to be treated so poorly. It is a sad truth that there are people who try to sneak weapons and other things into other countries. But we would never try to pull anything like that over anyone. We were intensely disappointed how the whole thing was handled. If any of you have had good experiences with Canada, please share your experience. We had heard such good things about entering Canada, and actually heard bad things about the US customs. Coincidentally, the US was nothing but quick and courteous each time we crossed over.

After re-packing the whole bus and cleaning up from that disaster, we continued east. The view was gorgeous! Dense forest on either side of the highway, with an occasional peak out onto a river or brook. The fog rolled in and created a very interesting effect on the landscape. We took note of the fence line along the road, which we heard is to keep wandering moose out of the way. After some time we finally came upon our stop for the night and into the company of some fellow boondockers. We stayed the night at Bill and Janet’s place near Petitcodiac, and they welcomed us with a cooler full of beer on their huge and wonderful farmhouse porch. We really have had the best luck with meeting such gracious hosts on this trip.

We were ready to head up to Nova Scotia the next morning, but we decided to take pause and reevaluate our situation. First, there is a large storm approaching Canada (thanks to hurricane Arthur from Florida). Secondly, buying diesel (or much of anything) in Nova Scotia is extremely expensive. And thirdly, we are looking forward to visiting our friend in Michigan next weekend and have already planned a camping trip there. With such little time before we need to reach Michigan, and the other factors against us, we eventually decided that our energy would be better spent heading back into the US and making our way over to the Great Lakes. It would be fun to see Nova Scotia, and/or Prince Edward Island, but to really appreciate it and take it all in, you need several days there. To spend one rushed weekend driving back and forth would have been a waste. On a trip like ours, with a limited budget and a pressed timeline, you have to cut your losses and decide what is more worth your effort. We rather enjoy our time spent in a few places, than run all over the Earth without taking the time to appreciate every stop.

Therefore, we find ourselves back in the States for the fourth of July, taking in the fireworks and some good American brew in Bangor, Maine. Cheers!

New Oregon Trail

Taking The Long Way Home

UPSTATE NEW YORK

NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA