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| Entering Canada at Coutts, Alberta! |
To bring a gun into Canada there are MANY rules to be followed. It can't be a .22 or .32. The barrel must be 4 1/10" long or longer, no more than a regular clip. It must be stored in a locking vault and have a trigger lock installed, also. David had met all the requirements and had all his paperwork from Canada in order.
About an hour later, two nice young men came out dressed in bulletproof vests, badges, BIG GUNS, and all in black. They asked me where David's gun was. I was holding Chrissy back and told them it was either beside the driver's seat or in the backseat of the truck behind the driver's seat. They had the key to vault and unlocked the gun. They didn't remove it from the vault and saw that the trigger lock was in place. They placed everything back and thanked me and left. Still no word on where David was! Of course our cell phone didn't work in Canada. Janice was trying to call me, but couldn't get a call through and I couldn't call her.
At 2:50 p.m. David came walking out. He got in the truck and pulled out. I just looked at him and wasn't going to ask any questions until he was ready. I was about to hear "the rest of the story."
Janice and Kay were parked alongside the road just ahead near a rest area.
When we got to the rest area and parked I finally heard what happened inside.
Janice came through easily. When she tried to sit down and talk to David, she was told to not speak to him and to go back and sit down. She had planned to wait for David in the parking lot, but had to move due to a fuel leak from an earlier motorhome parking there. They were out with the HazMat unit cleaning it up. She had to leave and wait down the road not knowing what was happening either.
David was questions heavily about why he was bringing a gun into Canada. According to the rules you cannot say "for personal protection." Not a valid reason. It, for us, was for personal protection in Alaska. He was asked if he was in law enforcement, why did he need a gun, etc. He explained he had completed all their paperwork according to the rules and cited the rules back to them. They explained that up until he and Janice came through, only TWO gun permits were given out for the entire year. He and Janice made two more. They finally agreed to give him the required paperwork, but they weren't through yet. They wanted to know did he have more guns at home, what kind of guns, etc. Not being nosy, but just wanting to chat. They finally let him leave. WOW! We thought we would breeze on through, but not so. Most people end up trying to bring a gun in by hiding it or lying that they don't have one. We wanted to do everything by the book.
The rest area provided a great break from the last two hours.
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| We are all now in Alberta, Canada. Yes, we say many wild roses. |
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| Prairie Dogs |
One of us had firewood on board. I won't say who it was but they were driving a motorhome. Never got checked and it was all safely burned a little later.
David was up to the point of cracking jokes now. He suggested we have prairie dog skewers for dinner. We all had a big laugh at that one. You'd never catch one!
Many people in Canada camp and we saw many camping dealerships. We were getting tired and looking for a campground. We had not made advance reservations at many campgrounds thinking we'd just pull in and find something. It was the middle of May. Why not?
Guess who was having a holiday this date? Canada. Guess what they do on this day? It's the official opening of camping season. I took a picture of a campground where David said we were stopping.
Turned out he wasn't too far from the truth. We pulled into the Daisy May Campground in MacLeod, Alberta, Canada. We also got the last two camping spots. We don't have trouble backing into a spot with our short camper, but Janice can't backup without disconnecting the tow car behind her camper. Turned out one spot was perfect for backing up and one was a pullthrough Janice could use.
A couple in the campground came over and introduced themselves. Todd and Jeannie told it was Vickie's Birthday in Canada. We looked a bit confused and they told us it was Queen Victoria's Birthday and a national holiday. They all called it Vickie's Birthday. They were a great couple. Enjoyed talking to them!
It had been a long, trying day so we ate dinner and turned it hoping to get an early start!
End of day mileage: 2,426
TTFN!
Jenny
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