LIFE’S A DANCE – CROSSING THE CANADIAN BORDER AT SWEET GRASS, MT/COUTTS, AB - Tuesday, April 25, 2023

We left Stanford, MT at 9 a.m. and headed toward the Canadian border at Sweet Grass, MT/Coutts, AB in Canada. It was already 45 degrees with sunny skies and temperatures would reach 65 degrees by the end of the day. We drove 293 miles today (in almost 10 hours including numerous stops). As we got closer to the Canadian border the winds began to pick up making pulling a camper a little more difficult.

We arrived at the Granview Recreational Park in Granum, AB at 6:50 p.m. after almost 10 hours on the road, with numerous stops. Our first stop was at Great Falls, MT, which is located at the confluence of the Sun and Missouri Rivers and is Montana’s third largest city.

In Great Falls, we had to get several things, such as groceries at the Wal-Mart, as well as picked up Mel’s prescription. We then took a few minutes in the Wal-Mart parking lot to make and eat chicken salad sandwiches with chips while we were putting away the groceries. We also got gasoline at the Wal-Mart gas station; and then made copies at the Ink & Toner Store; and lastly we mailed a certified letter to “My Best Address” at the Great Falls post office.

It was around 1 p.m., when we were finally back on the road and heading toward the border. The road had numerous steep hills and curves and by now the wind was hitting the front driver’s side of the truck pretty hard. Our next stop was to get gas in Shelby, MT, and of course as what has become a habit at the Town Pump station – we had to get four corn dogs and a soft drink to go. We continued through the state of Montana and as we were getting close to the Canadian border at around Sweet Grass, while we were running about 70 mph along I-15 North, we saw a big bull moose with huge antlers standing right beside the interstate in a snow-melt pond. What an amazing sight he was!

We arrived at the border crossing at around 3:43 p.m. – slowly inching the truck and camper up to the border station window. The attendant popped his head out his window and began asking us numerous questions such as: 1) can I see your passports; 2) where are you from; 3) where are you going; 4) what is the license plate of the truck; 5) do you have any alcohol or tobacco; 6) do you have any mace or bear spay; 7) do you have any cannabis, marijuana, or illegal substances; 8) are you currently working; and 8) why are you going to Alaska and how long will you be staying. They never even once asked us if we had any produce or chicken or eggs, as we had read they might ask. When Mel was through answering the questions, the attendant said wait just a moment as he stepped away from the window. When he came back, he handed Mel the passports and a yellow ticket and told us to park the truck and RV and go inside the building.

Mel asked why we were selected for an inspection – and come to find out we were just randomly selected. However, we still think it may have been triggered due to the fact that during the questioning phase, Mel had said we had a bottle of rum and two 25-ounce bottles of beer, or that we had paper tags on the truck since we had just bought it, or because our permanent address was South Dakota and we had bought the truck in Wyoming. This is all speculation as we will probably never know for sure why we were selected. As this random search entailed them taking the truck and camper keys and going out to inspect the vehicles, while we sat patiently inside the building – this process would ultimately delay us for an hour. We were finally back in our truck and leaving the border inspection area at around 4:45 p.m.

From the border, we continued along the Alberta Canada highway at a maximum speed limit of 110 km (which is about 68 mph) going through many small towns until we came to Lethbridge, AB. Lethbridge is Alberta, Canada’s third largest city. The Lethbridge region was home to 3 Indigenous nations: the Sik-sika (Blackfoot), Kainai (Many Leaders, now called Bloods), and Pikani (including the Ammsskaapipiikain in Montana and Apatohsipiikani in Southern Alberta, also called Peigan). Collectively, they formed the Sow-ki’tapi (Prairie People). Because European fur traders along the North Saskatchewan River first came into contact with the Blackfoot, that tribal name came to be applied to the entire confederacy.

While driving by Lethbridge, we caught a glimpse of the High Level Bridge, which is the longest and highest bridge of its kind in the world – around a mile in length and 300 feet elevation.

After passing through Lethbridge, we drove through Fort Macleod, and then took AB Highway 2 North toward Calgary. 

A few minutes later we arrived at Granum, AB and the Granview Recreational Park located at 602 Dufferin Street.

Here we decided to spend the next two nights ($20 CA or $17 US/night for a total of $40 CA or $34 US). We arrived at 6:50 p.m. and got all set-up. It is a beautiful campground, but the water is not turned on yet, so we had to fill the fresh water holding tank before pulling into the back-in site #12. There is a stunning pond right outside the left side of our camper toward the back. This was a very peaceful campground with only one other camper and the campground host, besides us.

We decided to have pork chops and a salad for dinner tonight and ate around 9 p.m. Therefore we ended up staying up past 11 p.m. before retiring. As I put the border crossing fiasco out of my mind, I am once again reminded of the song by John Michael Montgomery – “Life’s a dance, you learn as you go. Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow. Don’t worry ‘bout what you don’t know, life’s a dance, you learn as you go.”

We shall continue to dance all the way to Alaska,

Shirley & Mel