Canadian Border

Some incidents: US Border agent took 6 tomatoes while I ate one. He had us cut the tops off of green onions, he kept the tops. Petted the cat and never asked a question about her. The tomato and onion restriction started that day. Canadian customs at Skagway stood in the door so she could see us for the questions. In Victoria we boarded the ferry to the US and observed agents carrying many armloads of alcohol from a rig that just arrived, we guessed that person was not a happy camper. Another time arriving in Victoria from the US I sailed through customs in the motorhome. The agent grilled DW in the car for 30 minutes with questions like: where are your clothes, why don’t you have hotel reservations, etc. With each question she answered “I’m with that motorhome that just went through, we’re camping with no reservations.” Finally they let her through. A fellow camper had $19,000 in cash (2 people) and said he had to remove the cash from the safe and count it with 2 Canadian agents watching. At the Port Townsend, WA ferry I asked the US custom agent what I could do with my firewood. He pointed to a truck with firewood and said that when it’s full they auction it off to the employees and donate the money to children’s charities.

When you cross into Hyder, AK there is no US custom station. You can continue up the dead end road and enter Canada with no custom station. Returning you enter the US again with no custom station and then leaving Hyder you go through Canadian customs. He only asked where we were going and I replied “Back to the Steward campground.” I think he felt obligated to ask us something. I love to tell my friends that I’ve legally entered both Canada and the US without going through customs!