Transamerica '22 Pacific-Atlantic crossing

[flaxi]

Hi all TC friends, some people might remember me, Felix from Germany, 10 years ago on the trip to the Southwestern USA (I wrote a trip report).
Now, a new adventure is approaching: a Trans-America-Trip:
We (my Spanish friend Luis and I ) will arrive at Vancouver at 2nd of May 2022. In Victoria BC we will pickup our rig, which I already had bought a couple of months ago: 2008 Dodge Ram Hemi + 1996 6’102 NorthernLite camper.
Finally the end of our trip will be Halifax at 17th of June. So, it will be a Pacific to Atlantic-crossing.
We want to visit the following highlights:
Coming from Vancouver we will cross the frontier with direction Seattle. Then: Mt Rainer, Mt St. Helens, Portland, crossing Oregon to the Owyhees, Payette Nat. Forests Idaho, Craters of the Moon, Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Beartooth, South Dakota, Chicago, Detroit, Niagara, Toronto, Montreal, Quebec, Noca Scotia, Halifax.
The rig will be shipped to Germany from Halifax harbor.
May be you see our rig, then lets drink a beer together. 🙂
To make it easier I just started to design a blog, so, feel free to have a look at it from May on.
Cheers from Germany
Felix

Capricorn-Raid Blog:
Capricorn-Raid Blog

PS: in association to John Steinbecks "Rosinante" we called our rig "Capricorn" = Dodge Ram....... 🙂

[larry_cad]

Wow! I don't have it that hard to get in the house when I come home late at night!

[flaxi]

hey Silver, OlCoot & all .........wow, thanks a lot for all these information........Extremly appreciated !! Pretty tough......ok, we will check and keep the eyes open !!!! THX and cheers Felix

PS: yes, found the ArrivCan App and installed it. Will try to declare a couple of days before we depart.

[silversand]

Hi Felix:

Sounds like a great trip.

My wife and I are in Florida for the winter, escaped Canada at the end of November. We are planning numerous trips to the US this June and July, so we are not sure when we will be in Quebec. Plans evolve quickly (Canada being one of the strictest countries on Earth to get into because of Covid, even if Canadian citizen). IF we are actually home, and plans coincide, we may get to meet you guys.

Just a few things you need to know when traveling across Canadian provinces: every province has its own Covid visitation laws. All the Maritimes are the strictest, for foreign travelers. You will have to consult with New Brunswick and Nova Scotia members here, but those Provinces usually have police roadblocks at most/all road access points checking all ID of passengers and driver when you drive into, for example, New Brunswick (the only way to get to Nova Scotia by road from Canada, is across New Brunswick). Maritime Provinces also have their own Pandemic Level codes: Level 4, 3, 2 etc independent of Canadian Federal Pandemic Levels. Depending on how Omicron develops/subsides, you may have a very tough time driving into New Brunswick from Quebec, under a US or EU passport (ie. you may need a PCR test, and/or quarantine period). Same for entering into Canada from any US land border crossing (you have to buy a commercial lab PCR test in the US for a considerable amount of money with negative result and ArriveCAN filled-out by internet 3 days before appearing at Canadian border). Then, when you present yourself at Canadian Customs at a road entry, the officer will likely give you a PCR test in a box, this to be administered by you and passenger within 24 hours of crossing by land. If you test positive just after you cross, you will need to spend at least 10 days in isolation, with absolutely no exiting your camper to get food, or interface with anyone. This begs the question: your quarantine plan when arriving in Canada with your truck camper must be bullet-proof to scrutiny by Canadian Customs agent. No one wants to acquire Omicron, but s**t happens. You will likely have to go through the same tangled mess when crossing from Quebec into the New Brunswick as a non Canadian foreign national. Then, do the same testing again when exiting New Brunswick into Nova Scotia. This is not a guarantee, but you better plan for significant delay/quarantine/or isolation when entering Canada by road from the US, and again when entering the Canadian Maritimes from Quebec OR from Maine. It may affect your Halifax shipping schedule.....if you have to meet a shipping broker on a specific date.

Cheers,
D-

[Ol_coot]

Recommend you use the ArriveCAN app or online before leaving your home country to provide mandatory travel information required for entry into Canada. Seems it's a new requirement from the government for entering Canada.

[JoeChiOhki]

Just a good heads up, alot of the National Parks have started requiring getting entry tickets to get inside due to the huge upswing in visitation during the pandemic.

[flaxi]

yes, we had visited the NPs in the South West (Utah, AZ, Nevada, Colorado). Of course extremly attractive and worth to travel a lot more times there. But now we go to the north, so we will visit the places as mentioned above. Will be funny and interesting as well, I'm sure. 🙂

[ajriding]

The best American sightseeing is the national parks. Maybe you did those 10 years ago, you did not say. If you havent been to utah then you are missing a lot. once you get past the Rockies then the sightseeing becomes less. You want ideas of where to go or you just looking for drinking buddies? lol

[Hemi_Joel]

Sounds like a wonderful adventure, good for you! Safe travels.

[flaxi]

Hallo Larry,
Danke es geht mir sehr gut ! :-)))
An interesting point!
I'm aware of the COVID controls, but is there anything special beside of the usual condition (vaccination + documents or app, evt. PCR test)?
Thx for all info.

[larry_cad]

Guten tag Herr Felix, wie geht es ihnen?

Welcome back, and I'm hoping you have another good trip. One thing to watch out for would be border crossings. With the covid issue, traveling between Canada and USA has become more difficult. I'm sure you are aware of all that, but just want to make sure.

sicheres reisen

[flaxi]

thx @all and thx for the tips, Jim ! 🙂

[jimh406]

Have fun.

I'm not sure how much you thought about it, but you might have some limits seeing Yellowstone and the Tetons because of snow. If you've ever considered traveling the park by Snow Coach or snowmobile considering booking those now if you will be in Yellowstone are early in May. Also, camping in the park will be limited availability, so better book soon if you plan to stay there.

[Lwiddis]

I welcome you and Luis! I hope your trip is wonderful!