We finally made it across the border into Canada! We had no issues crossing. The border guard only inquired about alcohol, firearms, tobacco products and weapons such as pepper spray (not allowed) and bear spray (allowed). They did not inquire about food or plants when we crossed at the Sweetgrass MT/Coutts, Alberta border.

The ArriveCAN app is still required, and that is where you enter your passport and vaccine status (you must be fully vaccinated). They did not inquire if we had a pet, and we did not offer. The big piece of advice that all the Canadians gave us was to just politely answer the Border officers questions in as few words as possible.

This webpage has the most current information if you are planning on traveling to Canada, via vehicle, cruise ship or airplane.

https://travel.gc.ca/

We feel very blessed

For two years, we have been trying to get to Alaska for the summer. In February 2020, we first started to hear about this thing called Covid-19. At the time, we were told it would be over “very quickly” and that only 7 Americans were sick, and they would be fine. So we continued to be optimistic that we would still be able to go in 2020. Well that information didn’t turnout so well.

The weekend before we crossed, we were at a campground in Shelby, Montana. I kept staring out the window of our RV at a giant United States flag at half staff. It had been lowered in memory of the one million Americans that have died because of Covid-19. It’s a humbling figure.

Not a day goes by that I don’t feel grateful for the life that I have. The last two years have really reinforced those feelings. Between Covid and family and friends battling serious illnesses, it just puts things in perspective. Life is so uncertain. Drown out the noise, and just do the best you can each and every day. Don’t live in fear, just live.

VERIZON COVERAGE

While we were waiting in line at the border, our phones dinged with a message from our carrier, Verizon. It welcomed us to Canada and said we would be on roaming coverage in Canada, and we would be limited to 0.5 GB of high speed data per line, per day. After that, it would switch to 2 G speed. I used up my data once, and let me tell you, 2 G speed is useless. We are doing our best to be thrifty. My phone is connected to TELLUS network, and Dan’s has connected to Roger’s Network. We have identical phones, but have no idea why we are on two different networks,

Karen and Al have both Verizon and AT&T. They have not had any issues with coverage in Canada with their AT&T plan, but Verizon has limited them as well.

INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT

I have set up an Instagram page, and will use that for quick posts, due to the lack of cell/internet access. Our friend Bob “Buckeye” Miller started following us before I had even made a post – thanks Bob!

Here is a link to my first post.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd0p-IGOyf5/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

So if you are looking for photos, you can click on the link. We have visited several interesting places so far, and I do want to post some blogs when I have more robust internet. 0.5 GB doesn’t allow for photos. But it seems to do fine on Instagram.

My Instagram account is a work in progress, so be patient.

We are currently in a campground in St Albert, Alberta, and they have free wi-fi, but you are limited to just two devices. I will try to get a few blog posts ready to go, but my photos are on a laptop. We are using our free device coupons on the iPads. We went to a nearby Walmart yesterday and I found an SD card adapter for my iPad that I will try out. Hopefully I can put the photos on the iPad using that device.

On a side note, the Walmart in St Albert no longer provides plastic bags. You have to bring your own reusable bags. I’m not sure if that is a city-wide ordinance here or not. Also, you have to put in a coin to get your shopping cart (like Aldi does). Can you imagine Walmart banning plastic bags at all their stores in the US?

Quote of the Day: “It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.” – Marcus Aurelius