We’ve been waiting a long time for this day and despite the heavy rainfall, it really couldn’t have gone better. We left Bellingham at 10:02 am and an hour later we were sitting in line sneaking photos of the border guards.
It was a damp and dreary morning in Bellingham.
Traffic was light the border in Sumas.
There was a slight wait, but only because there was just one booth open. We rolled up to the window and handed over our passports to the officer. She was young, efficient and pleasant, but she was all business. She had the questions down pat and I guess I had all the right answers. She asked about our destination and whether or not we had plans to leave anything behind in Canada. She wanted to know what fresh fruits and veggies we had on board, and yes, she asked about alcohol, guns, knives, etc. There was one unusual question, she said, “What are you expecting to find?” I replied, “Beauty”, she cracked a smile. In just a few minutes, we were on our way. Easy, peasy. We went down the road a bit then pulled over to wait for our traveling companions, Bill and Kelly Murray. They, too, made it across the border unscathed.
Our first stop in Canada was Costco, but I had failed to check out Google Earth to confirm the parking situation. I turned blindly down a narrow side street to get to the turn-in and Bill and Kelly followed. By the time I realized there was no RV parking at Costco, we were already committed. Luckily, there was an abandoned garden center right next door, and while it wasn’t huge, it was just right for Scoopy and Bill and Kelly’s 5th wheel. It kind of reminded me of when we wheeled Scoopy, with Toadie attached, into a busy Trader Joe’s parking lot in McKinney, TX. How we got out of that mess without calling a wrecker I’ll never know, but we did, and without a scratch!
Parking like a boss at Costco. Costco selfie with Kelly and Bill.
By the way, in case you were wondering, Costco in Abbotsford does not carry Tri-Tip. If I had known that, I would have stocked up in B’ham. But, oh well.
Soon after crossing the border Steven and I realized our GPS doesn’t work in Canada. We had no idea. So when we left Costco, Bill & Kelly took the lead, as they not only have GPS, but the RV version, which will warn them of low bridges and the like. We were scrambling on the Walkie Talkies to figure out our rig height in meters! We also converted mph to kms and liters into gallons. Who says we never use math? Diesel in Hope is $1.00 CAN per liter.
There is a very small parking lot behind the Hope Visitors Center with room enough for two or three rigs and that’s where we are parked for the night. We’re right across the street from the beautiful Fraser River and just a block or two away from downtown Hope. It didn’t take us long to walk nearly the entire town – I say “nearly” because we got sidetracked at the liquor store. And wow, yes, alcohol is expensive here! We bought one Bota Box ($40 CAN) and that’s gonna have to be it until Alaska. The other “necessity” we purchased at a little outdoorsy store was a can of bear spray. We’re not allowed to bring any across the border, so we had to buy it here. I hope we never have to use it.
Our spot behind the Visitors Center in Hope.
Steven does Stallone! With sketchy cell service, this may be our alternative.
Cool mural seen during our walk around Hope.
It may not have been sunny in Hope but it was certainly dramatic.
The beautiful Fraser River. Walking around town with alcohol and bear spray. 
Our solar has been amazing. Even with heavy clouds our panels kept the batteries charged at 100 percent until well into the evening. These long days make such a big difference, so we’re fairly confident our plan to boondock our way to Alaska is doable. Just a couple of nights at the visitors center will pay for that wine. 🙂
Expensive wine but worth it.
We have a fairly long travel day planned for Thursday, 247 miles (397 kms) to Williams Lake. We have a Plan A as to where we hope to stay for two nights but no Plan B. Fingers crossed!
UP NEXT: Happy Hour Drama at Williams Lake!
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I really enjoy your posts on your adventures! It is like I'm traveling along for the ride. Can't wait until I get close to retirement and get on the RV road myself. Keep those posts coming and do be careful on your travels! Tell Steven to keep getting those good photo shots!!!
Looks like a great start. It will be fun to watch you travel. We took the ferry from B'ham to Haines several years ago. Kind of spendy.
I hope that is the best-tasting wine you've ever had. 🙂 Our alcohol intake certainly diminished while in Canada – too bad you can't say the same for diesel. So, no plan B… Linda, sounds like you are ready to go with the flow – that fulltime life is stealthily working its magic on you. Definitely the right attitude for this adventure. I'm almost as excited as if I was along on the trip.
Oh Canada, they are just like us, but different, eh? 🙂
Seriously? You didn't bring ANY wine or alcohol with you? You can bring SOME. Don't remember the amount, but you remember our "liquor cabinet" don't you? It wasn't fully stocked but we did have quite a few open bottles. We did answer truthfully on how much and they let us in. What we didn't say is how much wine we had stashed. I think we brought a case of Trader Joe's $3 buck chuck. My memory is that we put it in the middle of our pass through under storage bay, so tons of stuff in front of it from both sides. Of course, had we been randomly selected to empty our bays we would have been screwed. But we weren't. Sometimes you just have to take a chance. No guts, no glory….and no wine, haha!
Yay!!! You're on your way! The price of alcohol is outrageous. Doesn't exactly make one want to linger too long in Canada….
Great start, I'm so looking forward to following your adventures north. Have a safe trip and please take a lot of pictures . This might be the only way some of
us ever get to see that part of the world . Watching From Boise Id.
Flying by the seat of my pants is a new experience. We're seeing lots of places to overnight, but I've already made more tight turn-arounds in BC than I have ever. Like, remember the first time you and Odel gave us a driving lesson and we had to hop out and stop traffic on a busy road? Yeah, almost a couple of those situations. Not quite, but aaaaaaalmost!
It's a good thing BC is beautiful, because with expensive alcohol and extremely limited Internet, who would want to come here. 🙂
So happy to have you along for the ride! I believe our problem will be having too many beautiful photos to choose from.
Yeah, exactly! I guess when Canadians come to the US they also have to do math, eh?
Oh, please. I think you know us better than that. 🙂
Thanks for following along! I'm hoping to blog often, but connectivity is an issue. Not for long, I hope, but even if so, I'll write offline then upload a ton at one time. 🙂
I took the ferry from Haines to Prince Rupert in 1981. I don't remember what it cost, but it was one of the most memorable experiences I've ever had. Just beautiful!
Hahaha!!! No kidding!
Great blog! We're still in Cache Creek. Looking forward to following your adventures.
Thanks! Wow, we blew right by you in Cache Creek! You're must be on the "mosey" schedule. Our paths are bound to cross somewhere along the way. Enjoy, and safe travels!