Ready cash

We crossed into Alberta on a Sunday. We stayed at a campground in a small town and went to the local fuel station to fill up. Older style pumps and they only took cash or debit. We had our debit card (we contacted the bank before our trip) so we filled up. Went inside to pay and debit card would not work. Because it was a Sunday, we could not get any Canadian money (no bank in town). The clerk let us drive off and go back to the campground to get some US dollars and come back and pay. Because we used US dollars, we ended up paying about $10 more for the fuel but we were relieved that we could pay him at all. Really, the only other time we used Canadian money was at provincial self pay campgrounds and once we just added a couple of ones to add to our Canadian money because we did not have the correct change. The rest of the time we just used our credit cards. We did have a small stash of US dollars with us but them we always have that. If you can get a chipped credit card before you depart on your trip, you will like using that much better. You can swipe and pay at your table when dining out. They will be in the US before the end of the year.