Oh Canada (Can NAH dah) 😀

We made it to the promised land! About noon PDT we were granted access to this amazing country. We are currently at Cultus Lake in BC and will be here for 16 days!  Wow. 

Our journey was not without peril. Yesterday we realized we could bring only 1.5 liters of booze across the border, and we had about 20 gallons! Uh oh!

So our first move was to determine which bottles we could live without.  That took care of an old half bottle of triple sec and a pint of very cheap vodka we used for bloody marys.  Good start and only 47 more bottles to deal with.

Cindy decided to ask the front office if they would store a box or two for us. I was blown away when they said yes. So we grabbed one of those huge plastic storage bins and loaded it up. That issue solved. 

But since we now realized there were things we could not take with us, we decided perhaps a check of the border web site was in order. Were there other things?  Uh, yeah.

So you may know that this area of Canada is bear country. We knew and so prepared with a purchase of bear spray.  This is a strong pepper spray intended to thwart an attacking bear. But guess what you can't bring across the border.  Yup, bear spray.  I feel like my chances of returning to the US have been purposely lessened. Anyway, into the booze box with the bear spray. 

The next items we discovered were any fresh meats and vegetables.  Ugh.  We had just shopped and had quite a good selection.  So last night we made a valiant effort to eat everything banned including a very large salad and almost a whole bag of Mandarin oranges. Without being gross, let's say we were pretty successful, but I did have some extended reading time in the bathroom this morning. 

When we got to the border, we were not asked if we had meat or veggies, we were tested with questions such as when did you last visit Canada and where do you live.  Long story but I failed both 🤔

Anyway, perhaps the border guard could see the distress in my face from losing my liquor and spending too much time reading this morning.  Whatever the case, they let us in.

Our first Canada stop was Walmart ( because we ate everything the night before). The store was small and arranged very differently than any we have seen in the US. But with the exchange rate in our favor, the prices were very reasonable. So we have food again. I know you were probably concerned that we might starve and were ready to mail a care package but fear not, we will be just fine. 

Our destination was Cultus Lake Thousand Trails Preserve and the ride in was amazing. Cultus Lake is incredible with turquoise water and towering pines along the shores. 

The park itself is nestled in the hills amidst more of those pines and amazing vistas to the mountains. 

The sites are well shaded with full hookups, fire pits and picnic tables. 

  

We will be here for 16 days and plan to do some hiking, sightseeing, and did I mention we are in the middle of wine and berry country? Fresh produce stands and wineries all along the highway coming in which we will absolutely be visiting. 

Anyway, we are looking forward to a few down days, some evenings by the fire, and making a bunch of new memories here at The Next Hundred Miles 😀