SargeW
Site Team
Well we just crossed the border today. My blog is going to be a little different than most, as I coin a familiar line from Jack Webb in the old Dragnet series. Instead of a lot of the sight seeing stuff (the DW is taking care of that in her web blog at the link at the bottom of my signature) mine will be more nuts and bolts stuff that I have to do to make the trip work.
I will start with the border crossing, as some like us, have never had to do it before in the RV. We started by getting a camp ground close to the Sumas border crossing. We chose Sumas as this was recommended to us because it is a lot less busy than Blaine into Vancouver or Linden. This info was right on. We crossed twice and never had more than 1 or 2 vehicles in front of us in line. A quick note about the RV park I picked in Sumas. I picked it because it was close to the border for easy access, about 1/4 mile straight shot. Big mistake. The Sumas RV park is in decent shape grounds wise, but the large contingent of dilapidated trailers, white trash residents, and pit bull dogs make it not a place to stay. A few fist fights broke out in the two days we were there, and the barefoot pregnant cigarette smoking teenagers thrown in for effect just completed the package. : Oh yeah, and to top it off the constant smell of cow manure from all of the cow lots around us was the cherry on the cake.
We crossed the first time in the toad to get some currency changed and buy a Canadian carrier air card. More on that in a bit. The currency exchange was easy and we used the Royal Bank of Canada in Abbotsford, BC for the transaction. We changed $200 American for Canadian. We were charged $3 for the transaction fee, a bank charge I imagine. The exchange rate was nearly one for one. So one US dollar netted $1.04 Canadian. Interestingly, the first campground we stopped at, Gold Trail RV, asked for US currency for the RV spot. More on that in a minute as well.
Then I had previously decided to buy a Canadian air card for internet access on the road (the DW and I are both heavy internet users). The carrier I selected was Telus communications. When I first chose them it was due to the fact that they are the main carrier in Western Canada, and equipment standard was CDMA, the same as my US carrier, Verizon uses. I located several Telus stores close to the border and picked one that was easy access. The store I went to was Clearwest Solutions, on Clearbrook Rd, in Abbotsford BC. The first thing I learned is that Telus is no longer using the CDMA band. They now use the HSPA standard, as they say it is much faster. In order not to be a contract customer I bought the air card (USB modem) out right and and became a month to month customer. At first the rep, a very nice girl, Sarah didn't know if we could be customers since we were out of the country residents. A call to the Telus home office informed us that as long as we had two forms of ID, a drivers license and credit card, and they ran a credit check on us, it would be no problem. We purchased a HUAWEI Mobile Internet Card (USB modem) Model E182, for $129. After taxes and fees it came out to just over $150.
The data plan I chose is called the Data Flex 35 plan. Basically I get 1 gig of data for $35, and it bumps up to as much as 9 gig of data for $90. We won't use that much, but it's nice to know that I won't go broke paying for internet use. In comparison, Verizon's only plan was for $25 for 100 MEG of data, and each additional meg was $25. A little quick math showed me that with 1024 meg in a gig of data, ONE gig of Verizon data was going to run over $2000! And for us to burn 5 gig a month between the two of us is easy.
The surprise came when I got to our campground in Clinton, BC and plugged it the new air card. I plugged it into my existing MBR 95 router and Wilson amp and exterior antenna. This is supposed to be a 3G max air card, but the test on the Speed Test site showed a download of 9.5 mbps!! ;D I tested a few more times and never got lower than 3.2 mbps. I was floored to say the least. I am sure that I won't get those speeds everywhere, but I didn't expect that speed anywhere. I don't know if it's the carrier, or the HSPA standard, but it's pretty amazing.
On the way across the border the first time we also parked (directed) and went into the Border Patrol office. We asked questions about what we could and couldn't bring across with us the next day. Some of the directions were, no fruits with a core (apples ect) no potatoes, two bottles of wine per person, 1 liter of hard alcohol, and no more that 24 beers. We also informed them that we would be bringing a shotgun along with us (for wild animal protection). We were told that that was no problem as long as it was not a "prohibited" weapon, and was carried appropriately. Interestingly, the young agent at the kiosk when we first pulled up was pretty curt, rude, and slightly sarcastic. The agent inside, also a younger guy was much more helpful and personable. Most of the questions asked were centered around where do you live, where are you going, how long will you be in Canada, and do you have any handguns with you (a prohibited weapon in most cases). He also suggested that we come back the earlier in the day the better, since we have to do the paperwork for the shotgun.
We were back the next day at a little after 7 AM, and he was right, the border was nearly empty. We were directed to park and go inside after talking to the agent at the kiosk. A female, older, not much personality either, just the same questions. Upon going inside we were the only ones there. We approached the agent at the counter, and for joy, for joy, it was the same agent as the previous day at the kiosk. It started out much the same way as yesterday, so I looked him straight in the eye and answered each question without hesitation, and made no extra conversation. After a few minutes he loosened up some, and it was more of a conversational tone. I had the required form filled out in triplicate with all of the proper blanks filled in. He wanted to go the RV to measure the barrel length of the shotgun (anything under 18'' is illegal and a felony to possess). I had marked on the form that the barrel was 18 1/8" long, which it was. I walked him to the RV, opened the slides as necessary then went outside while he investigated. After a few minutes he came back out and told me I could close it back up and come inside. He also complemented me on my locking system I installed to hold the gun (I was shocked). A few minutes back inside to sign the document, he made me a copy of the stamped document (that constitutes a 60 firearms license) and went to the cashier and paid my $25.
The whole process took about a half hour. Pretty quick actually, and not near as difficult as I was expecting. We pulled out and headed for Clinton, BC.
Taking highway 1 north is just like taking any well maintained highway in the states (and much better than some that I have been on lately.) The major difference I noted is that Canada does not spend a lot of money on signage. Signs like downhill recommended speed, recommended speed on corners, and upcoming available turnouts are lacking. The rest areas are marked, but if you want to hit a turnout for any reason you need to keep a sharp eye out to avoid flying by at 100 KPH (62 MPH).
We arrived early at our campground since we left so early in the morning. And good thing, because all though we were on mostly smooth new roads all the way from the border, I still managed to collect another new "star" chip in my windshield So I broke out the WalMart windshield repair kit and patched up chip #5 in the MH windshield. Oh well, at least I didn't by a new one before we decided on the Alaska trip.....
I will start with the border crossing, as some like us, have never had to do it before in the RV. We started by getting a camp ground close to the Sumas border crossing. We chose Sumas as this was recommended to us because it is a lot less busy than Blaine into Vancouver or Linden. This info was right on. We crossed twice and never had more than 1 or 2 vehicles in front of us in line. A quick note about the RV park I picked in Sumas. I picked it because it was close to the border for easy access, about 1/4 mile straight shot. Big mistake. The Sumas RV park is in decent shape grounds wise, but the large contingent of dilapidated trailers, white trash residents, and pit bull dogs make it not a place to stay. A few fist fights broke out in the two days we were there, and the barefoot pregnant cigarette smoking teenagers thrown in for effect just completed the package. : Oh yeah, and to top it off the constant smell of cow manure from all of the cow lots around us was the cherry on the cake.
We crossed the first time in the toad to get some currency changed and buy a Canadian carrier air card. More on that in a bit. The currency exchange was easy and we used the Royal Bank of Canada in Abbotsford, BC for the transaction. We changed $200 American for Canadian. We were charged $3 for the transaction fee, a bank charge I imagine. The exchange rate was nearly one for one. So one US dollar netted $1.04 Canadian. Interestingly, the first campground we stopped at, Gold Trail RV, asked for US currency for the RV spot. More on that in a minute as well.
Then I had previously decided to buy a Canadian air card for internet access on the road (the DW and I are both heavy internet users). The carrier I selected was Telus communications. When I first chose them it was due to the fact that they are the main carrier in Western Canada, and equipment standard was CDMA, the same as my US carrier, Verizon uses. I located several Telus stores close to the border and picked one that was easy access. The store I went to was Clearwest Solutions, on Clearbrook Rd, in Abbotsford BC. The first thing I learned is that Telus is no longer using the CDMA band. They now use the HSPA standard, as they say it is much faster. In order not to be a contract customer I bought the air card (USB modem) out right and and became a month to month customer. At first the rep, a very nice girl, Sarah didn't know if we could be customers since we were out of the country residents. A call to the Telus home office informed us that as long as we had two forms of ID, a drivers license and credit card, and they ran a credit check on us, it would be no problem. We purchased a HUAWEI Mobile Internet Card (USB modem) Model E182, for $129. After taxes and fees it came out to just over $150.
The data plan I chose is called the Data Flex 35 plan. Basically I get 1 gig of data for $35, and it bumps up to as much as 9 gig of data for $90. We won't use that much, but it's nice to know that I won't go broke paying for internet use. In comparison, Verizon's only plan was for $25 for 100 MEG of data, and each additional meg was $25. A little quick math showed me that with 1024 meg in a gig of data, ONE gig of Verizon data was going to run over $2000! And for us to burn 5 gig a month between the two of us is easy.
The surprise came when I got to our campground in Clinton, BC and plugged it the new air card. I plugged it into my existing MBR 95 router and Wilson amp and exterior antenna. This is supposed to be a 3G max air card, but the test on the Speed Test site showed a download of 9.5 mbps!! ;D I tested a few more times and never got lower than 3.2 mbps. I was floored to say the least. I am sure that I won't get those speeds everywhere, but I didn't expect that speed anywhere. I don't know if it's the carrier, or the HSPA standard, but it's pretty amazing.
On the way across the border the first time we also parked (directed) and went into the Border Patrol office. We asked questions about what we could and couldn't bring across with us the next day. Some of the directions were, no fruits with a core (apples ect) no potatoes, two bottles of wine per person, 1 liter of hard alcohol, and no more that 24 beers. We also informed them that we would be bringing a shotgun along with us (for wild animal protection). We were told that that was no problem as long as it was not a "prohibited" weapon, and was carried appropriately. Interestingly, the young agent at the kiosk when we first pulled up was pretty curt, rude, and slightly sarcastic. The agent inside, also a younger guy was much more helpful and personable. Most of the questions asked were centered around where do you live, where are you going, how long will you be in Canada, and do you have any handguns with you (a prohibited weapon in most cases). He also suggested that we come back the earlier in the day the better, since we have to do the paperwork for the shotgun.
We were back the next day at a little after 7 AM, and he was right, the border was nearly empty. We were directed to park and go inside after talking to the agent at the kiosk. A female, older, not much personality either, just the same questions. Upon going inside we were the only ones there. We approached the agent at the counter, and for joy, for joy, it was the same agent as the previous day at the kiosk. It started out much the same way as yesterday, so I looked him straight in the eye and answered each question without hesitation, and made no extra conversation. After a few minutes he loosened up some, and it was more of a conversational tone. I had the required form filled out in triplicate with all of the proper blanks filled in. He wanted to go the RV to measure the barrel length of the shotgun (anything under 18'' is illegal and a felony to possess). I had marked on the form that the barrel was 18 1/8" long, which it was. I walked him to the RV, opened the slides as necessary then went outside while he investigated. After a few minutes he came back out and told me I could close it back up and come inside. He also complemented me on my locking system I installed to hold the gun (I was shocked). A few minutes back inside to sign the document, he made me a copy of the stamped document (that constitutes a 60 firearms license) and went to the cashier and paid my $25.
The whole process took about a half hour. Pretty quick actually, and not near as difficult as I was expecting. We pulled out and headed for Clinton, BC.
Taking highway 1 north is just like taking any well maintained highway in the states (and much better than some that I have been on lately.) The major difference I noted is that Canada does not spend a lot of money on signage. Signs like downhill recommended speed, recommended speed on corners, and upcoming available turnouts are lacking. The rest areas are marked, but if you want to hit a turnout for any reason you need to keep a sharp eye out to avoid flying by at 100 KPH (62 MPH).
We arrived early at our campground since we left so early in the morning. And good thing, because all though we were on mostly smooth new roads all the way from the border, I still managed to collect another new "star" chip in my windshield So I broke out the WalMart windshield repair kit and patched up chip #5 in the MH windshield. Oh well, at least I didn't by a new one before we decided on the Alaska trip.....