5C's Que Pasa

This is going to be a very short version of the actual event at the border due to the protection of our personal information.  We crossed on the US Thanksgiving and instead of a lighter interrogation as we expected we received the full monty.  Where are you going, how many years have you been doing this, how much alcohol do you have, do you own a home in Canada, and so on and so on and then the big question, how much cash are bringing into the US?

Legally we are each entitled to bring in $10,000.00 cash or so we thought.  First stop was a few meters down the road for an agricultural inspection.  Big joke!  He looked at nothing and merely asked if our dog food was made in the US.  I offered to show him the package and he said not important as he believed me.

Then came the hard part.  We were both to report into the office with all of the cash we were carrying with us including the pennies.  First I had to fill in a form for the both of us. When asked I was told that no we did not each need to fill in a form, one for the two of us was sufficient.  No we did not have any addresses in the US that we were staying at.  We were simply transiting the US and not certain where we would be spending the night. Yes were headed to Mexico.  Yes we have been doing this for 15 years now.

Once the form was filled out we both were to follow the agent, actually they call then officers now as I was informed.  We passed thru 4 sets of looked doors, it was somewhat intimidating.  Then we arrived to a very distant area of the building where another officer showed up and then we were informed that the two officers would count our money.  The Canadian funds were easy, $70.00 in 3 $20.00’s and 2 $5.00’s.  Took them 2 times to get it right.  Oh my I thought, what is going to happen when they get to the pesos?  The US funds were fairly easy as they were all in $100.00 bills but they had to count them over and over again as they kept forgetting to write the figure down.  I was itching to take over and direct the entire operation but kept quiet.

Then I opened the two envelopes of pesos, all in 20, 50 and 100 peso notes.  Both officers nearly gagged.  They really had  no idea how to proceed with system and order nor how to count nor document what they were counting.  It did not take long before both Colin and I were suggesting how to proceed, how to count and how to write down the amounts.  At one point I asked if it was possible to get a calculator.  It turned out that I was the only one keeping track and on the back of an envelope at that.  Colin was doing calculations in his head.  We soon came to realize that these guys had never done this before and had no idea what they were doing.  Yet we were being told we were in the wrong.  We just did not know why we were in the wrong.

I had a master piece of paper with all three currencies listed and the amounts I had of each and the date of the purchase and the exchange rate from the bank and then the grand total in Canadian dollars.  So we all finally got thru the big count and they got a total, less than mine but that was okay by me cuz it made me look like less of a crook.  Then they asked me what the exchange rate was for that day to convert it to US dollars???  Hello, how do I know?  Not my job.  They had no idea what to do.  So I suggested a figure and they went with it.  They they called in their big boss ( and he was big ).  I have to mention that there were about 18 agents/officers just sitting around at various desks doing nada.  This big boss came out of a segregated office.  I asked what the problem was and he explained that we were allowed to take as much money as we wanted over the border, even millions in cash, but it had to be imported.  I replied that we were allowed to bring in up to $10,000.00  across with no issues.  Yes he agreed, but we had over that amount.  Yes I replied but we each could have 10,000.00 and we were under that amount.  Oh no he said, that is $10,000.00 for the two of us.  We went back and forth, we were each entitled to that amount and he said no.  We were married and then meant 10K for the both of us and so on and so on.  I knew he was wrong as I has researched this.  Then came the cruncher, had we informed Canada that we were taking this much money out of the country?????  We have been doing this for years and years with no such episode.  He decreed that we had to go back to Canada to report this incident.  We were to leave the dogs and the RV and walk back across to Canada to deal with this infraction.  I meekly requested that our passports be returned to us as we walked back into Canada.  The US guy had forgotten that they were up front on the counter…not me.  If I was changing countries I wanted my passport with me.

So off we trotted back into Canada under a US guard.  The first Canadian officer gave us such a negative look, like what have you two done wrong.  Shortly after turning us over to the Canadians the US guy took off.  I was finally able to logically explain the situation.  A quick look and a ” I will be back, wait ” and we were justing standing there wondering what was going to happen next.  Over 5 minutes later the same negative looking guy comes back with a sly smile on his face.  Bottom line he agrees with me.  We EACH get $10,000.00 and it is not a concern to the Canadian government.  However he has no control over what the Americans decide to do.  We walk back to the US and find the door literally locked.  Finally someone lets us in.  We have to sign here, here and here and oh what is your license plate number.  We were finally free to go but be careful if you do it again.  Do what again?  We did nothing wrong.  Perhaps this bunch of ‘officers’ had too much time on their hands this particular day.  We know that we were in the right and that none of this needed to have happened.  You can be assured that next year I will have print outs of all the required documents.  But the big question is….why is that fact that that we are a couple mean that we forfeit our individual rights.  As Mr. Big Boss said that is just the way it is, if you are a couple you are no longer individuals.  Where is the logic I ask.  Each person files a customs declaration, etc. whether you are married or not.  A huge waste of our time.

I do not want to hear about why we should not bring so much cash into the US or Mexico or that we should do things differently.  We do what we do for our personal reasons ( which mostly are a cost savings to ourselves  and a convenience to us ) and it is totally legal.  This last border fiasco was a blatant misinterpretation of the law by non thinking individuals.  I won’t let it happen again.  I intend to have the proper documents to show that I am correct.  After all if the Canadian officers, the representatives of the government decree that I am correct what else can I say.

Oncer thru the border we stopped for some groceries and wine. Welcome to the USA.

This was the highway out of Kelowna just 3 days ago when we left. Now they are experiencing some of the worst conditions in years if not ever. Temps down to -25C with the wind chill.

Just to show you how low the snow line was. I liked this shot as it showed some light and sun towards the south.

Back to the present.  Had a great sleep at Walmart in Mountain Home Idaho last night and got some retail therapy in.  Great for the mind and the soul.  This morning it was a cool 41F but very tolerable.  On the road about 7:30AM.

Love this view coming into Twin Falls, Idaho. Very scenic but today extremely windy. Colin said it was the worst wind of the trip.

Just a few miles before crossing into Nevada we came across this very obviously serious grass fire.

It looked like the land owners had been able to round up their cattle and move them to safety. The line of dark mid way are the cattle. Tough to get a good shot at 50 MPH.

Colin was down to 50MPH most of the day due to the extreme winds.  We had a good day other than the wind with only a brief rain squall in Wells while fueling up.  Tonight we are at an RV park in Ely, Nevada.  With expected temps down to -4C we are not taking any chances.  We are dumped and full of water as we will be boondocking for the next 6 days.  Our living room slide has not been out for over a week and tonight the bedroom slide will be brought in at bedtime.  We do not want to risk any problems with freezing.  Hard to believe that one year and one month ago exactly to today’s date we had frozen slides right here in this park.  Yes that was the end of October, 2013.  Not going to take a chance tonight.  With the promise of sun and warmth only four hours away we want to be ready to leave first thing in the morning. Off to Vegas in the morning.

I was finally able to speak to my Dad tonight for the first time since we left.  It was hard for me to hear his weakness and barely able to hear his voice.  At least he has no pain, he just has trouble breathing.  He said that if he could get two good deep breathes per day he could make it thru to the next day.  He told me he was disappointed that he was not getting better.  Sadly I had to explain yet again that he was not going to get better.  He paused and said “then I just have to get used to living like this”.  Tough conversation.

We had a fabulous sleep last night at Lowes, it was quiet and peaceful as opposed to past nights spent at the local Walmart.  Even the dozen or so shoppers showing up at 6AM did not bother us.  We were up and driving at 7:00AM.  It was 48F with no precipitation.  As we crossed into Oregon about 9:10AM we had temps of 60F and quite a bit of wind.  Colin had to really hang onto the wheel.

The girls are so happy to be back in the RV. Carmeh slept the deepest and most relaxing sleeps I have ever seen.

FYI we have our own ATT hot spot that we use while transiting the US.  I get 5GB for $50.00 which is good for a month. We are in the US usually less than two weeks but find the price well worth the convenience.  Also my passwords were found on my desk exactly where I had left them.  They were scanned to me today and I can decipher 90% so I think all is well in that area.  Plus that document has been added to my master travel list.  However it is the first time I have ever ever forgotten something at home in 15 years of RVing.

Other than the winds that came and went we had a great travel day.  We couldn’t believe how easy things were going.

That is until we got into Idaho.

If you recall a few weeks ago I asked you, my readers about staying at a Walmart over Thanksgiving and today, Black Friday.  You all told me not to.  So I made alternate arrangements with us supposed to have stayed at Home Depot last night but we couldn’t find it but did find Lowe’s by accident.  Tonight we had planned to stay at Camping World in Boise.  I had even called and an older lady told me their hours and even added where the electric plug ins where.  So only 42 miles into Idaho we turned off I84 and found Camping World.  They had 2 30AMP plugs left but we would have to unhook and back in.  After some discussion as to whether to unhook or just park and run the generator we decided to unhook.  However Colin wanted me to go check if it was okay to take an electric site.  I said that I had been told it was fine but he wanted to be certain.  Well not only could we not use the electricity we could not even stay in the parking lot  👿 They claimed it was a county ordinance that no one could stay in their RV overnight in Camping World!  We just scratched our heads, why even tell us where to plug in if we could not stay.

They suggested a Walmart down the road about 20 minutes.  Well there was no way we could get in there never mind it being full of Black Friday shoppers.  Now what, it was getting late and soon it would be dark.  Nothing to do but get back onto I84 and travel another 50 miles to the Walmart we were familiar with.  As we drove we discussed our option for the night if Walmart was full.   Likely we would stay at a Rest Area which was yet 30 miles past Walmart.  From years ago we know there is just one horrid RV Park in the area and I did not have the directions to get there.

We were treated to a lovely sunset.

It was dark at 5:00PM PST  ( but 6 PM MST local time ) as we approached Walmart.  We were in luck, our usual spot was available and the parking lot was only 1/4 full.  Should have just come here in the first place.  The towns and cities we are driving through are small and perhaps don’t do Black Friday to the extent of other places in the states.

So another long day of 407 miles. We really dislike arriving in the dark but then we are a month later than usual plus there has been a time change.

So here we sit, the only RV at Walmart.  It is a balmy 50F at 10:00PM and I still have a sink full of dishes to do as well as shower.  That means that once again the story of the border crossing remains to be told.  Likely tomorrow unless something else happens.  We will have a shorter day tomorrow so should have more free time once we park.  What is amazing is that we are traveling a full month later than last year but the weather is much better, so far!

It is bedtime but finally we have communication with the world.  The border was a massive pain ( special post coming ).  Got to Moses Lake eventually in the dark.  As per previous discussion we were by passing Walmart ( which looked empty by the way despite the holiday ) and heading to Home Depot which we somehow missed.  As we got out of the town we realized we should turn back.  At that intersection we came across Lowes which was closed and empty so we stopped there.  I have no idea if this is ok for RVers but here we be.  Somehow we had no internet nor any of our passwords which I think I left at home.  Still waiting for a response from a friend with our key to check if they are still on  my desk at home.  Turns out that our ATT hotspot needed several hours to charge before becoming active.  That just happened 5 minutes ago as I was heading to bed……what a day.  The border was insane and we got lost coming here.  Then Colin broke his most important guitar nail pushing in a fuse that the tech had shut off re the generator  service, because we had no electric even with the generator running.  Plus  2 or 3 other things that I can’t remember at this late hour of the night.  Just a typical first day I guess but if the passwords can’t be found we will stop and drive back in the car.  Yes we know, we should have had them backed up elsewhere.  Totally my fault but it you need to know anything about my Dad’s affairs I have all of the info at my finger tips.

So then I go to have my shower and halfway thru I get ice cold water.  Looks like by accident the heater was turned off.  Poor Colin is last and is still waiting for hot water.  So far at 10PM it is only 46F.  We have a mild night but the next two will be very different.  I have photos to share but we are so tired that this post whill have to suffice.

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Only 276 miles later. It took from 9:45AM until 1:05PM to cross the borer, waste of time.

Who said that heading south would be without a few glitches. However you really do have to come back to hear the border crossing fiasco.

...the snow fell for a good part of the morning.

We woke up Wednesday morning to 6 inches of snow.  Rain was in the forecast, not snow.  The forecast was for more rain and we had hoped it would melt the snow.  That never happened and it looks like more snow tonight.  It never got above 1C/34C all day.  Fortunately we never lost power.  There are over 6000 folks without power for 24 hours.

The geese were all sitting in front of home with snow on their backs.

They kept following each other as if in flight formation. That is snow falling.

They were making paths in the snow as it lay on top of the part of the lake that had recently thawed. I was surprised that the snow just kept accumulating on top of the water.

It has been a hectic day of back and forth between the house and the RV with all the last minute items that needed to be moved.  Some went into the RV and then back again to the house.  Right now Colin and the fellow we hired to blow out our lines are doing their thing.  Last year it took 15 minutes but this guy came with a smaller compressor and has been at it for an hour.  Next year I will insist on the boss with the big machine to get the the job done.

In addition to all of this beauty we were treated to a beautiful bald eagle flying about, likely looking for a snack. It was difficult to get to work with all of these distractions.

The plan is to sleep in the RV on the street tonight.  We have the furnace running and one 15 AMP cord to a heater running through a window.  We shall be a very cozy family trying to stay warm.  I will admit to being somewhat concerned with the weather over the next three days and nights.  So far it looks like we won’t have to deal with much if any precipitation but the lows are what concerns me.  First night Moses Lake, Washington, second night Mountain Home, Idaho both boondocking and the last night will be in Ely, Nevada but in an RV Park.  However last year it was a month earlier and our slide outs froze. I am certain this trip won’t be without some adventures, you will just have to check back to see what we have been up to.

I think we are getting out in just the nick of time.  This very serious weather advisory was just posted.

Certainly motivation to get past the snow and move on south.

The girls refused to go outside to do their business this morning, in fact Colin had to first shovel the snow off the grass for them and then I had to force them outside. As you can see Carmeh wanted to come back inside.

The RV still looks pretty much like this at the end of the day. Tomorrow will be an interesting day I think.

Next post from somewhere down the road. At least we will be further south 🙂

A very special Happy Thanksgiving to all of our American friends.

Honest it did. As soon as I started moving my clothes into the RV the closets decreased in size.  It is the truth.  I have lost about 30 lbs since we got back home end of April and I have no idea of what still fits me.  So after a bit I got tired of trying things on and just sent them to the RV.  Well the RV was not happy.  It only wanted my skinny clothes   😈 What if I gained some weight this winter 😳   I wanted something I could fit into.  We are still working out a compromise.  I think the RV might win.

All of that finagling cost me about four hours and now I am seriously behind.  Heck we only have 2 sleeps to go.   We were lucky today loading in between the rain showers.  However the temps felt like way minus to me.  I guess I am a wuss at heart.  Had a chat with my Dad today and I am sad to report that his voice has gone once again.  The problem is that draining his lung gives him more time but the actual draining seems to give him many more physical problems. It takes a week to recover and then it starts all over again.  What to do?  What do decide?  I just don’t want him to drowning in his own fluid.

So happy to be closer to the house. The golf cart is under the tarp on the left. My car is under a similar tarp on the other side other RV.

At least we don't have too far to walk from the house to the RV.

It is 8:30PM and I really need to make a decent meal for Colin, personally I don’t need to eat any more.  Hopefully once we get on the road my appetite will return.  Meanwhile enjoy these sent to me via 2 blog readers.

Very sweet, thanks George.

Whoa Heather 🙂