Suspicious Americans in Manitoba

Red River greenway, E Grand Forks, MN

That would be us, according to the Canadian border agents in Emerson, Manitoba. Two middle-aged, unemployed Americans traveling to Alaska with two cats in a travel trailer is right up there with boarding an airplane for highly suspicious activity deserving the third degree. Where are you headed? What’s in Alaska? What do you do? Unemployed? What do you live on? Do you have any firearms? Do you have large amounts of cash with you? Where do you live? Where else have you lived? 

We were “interrogated” by four different agents who asked pretty much the same questions, often several times. Two stern-faced custom agents pulled on their black gloves and asked us for the keys to the truck. We went outside. One man stood in a military stance, legs apart, looking tough. The other asked us more questions. “Are you sure you don’t have a large amount of money in an envelope you forgot about somewhere in your trailer?” he asked me. I tried to visualize where this cache might be hidden that I had forgotten about. Nothing came to mind. “Yes, I’m sure,” I said. I didn’t know why I would have a large sum of money with me. I’ve got an ATM card and credit cards. Why risk having lots of cash? What would I do with it? They asked us to lift up our shirts, lift up our pants’ legs and pull our pockets inside out. 

Winnipeg

Then they wanted us to put David’s wallet and the contents of my purse on a bench, get the cats out of the truck and stand at a distance while they went through all of our belongings. “Do you know what we’re looking for?” they asked us. “No,” said David. “We’re looking for drugs, firearms and large amounts of cash.” They acted like we actually had these items with us and treated us as if we were indeed guilty. One man opened two little cosmetic pouches I have in my purse. Maybe he thought he would find a miniature gun? Not much room to stuff drugs or cash in there. He examined all the pockets in my purse. Then they scrutinized the truck. The cats were very unhappy in the cat carrier. Neptune almost got out because one of the zippers failed. 

Legislative building

After the men were unsuccessful in finding contraband in the truck, they disappeared into the trailer for about 15 or 20 minutes. You could hear them banging around in there, opening drawers and cabinets, looking in the compartments under the bed and the settee and who knows where. We stood outside with our hands crossed over our chests, fuming. When they came out, they were grinning. They told us they were done and we could leave. “Have a nice trip,” said one of the agents. “Thank you,” said David. I just glared. Anything out of my mouth would have been sarcastic: “Find something amusing? Didn’t find the stash of catnip I hid in the locker? The cats get high on it.” Better not to provoke insignificant people who have a bit of power and are full of their own self-importance. 

Can you spot the 2 bear cubs?

Our unpleasant entry into Canada on this trip put a damper on our spirits for awhile. David kept calling them names. But eventually we pushed it out of our minds and resumed our adventures. We spent the next few days in and around Winnipeg. Then we traveled west to Riding Mountain National Park for a few days.

Riding Mountain Nati'l Park

Upper Fort Garry

 The weather was glorious except for one rainy morning in Winnipeg. We went bike-riding and hiking. I picked up a 24-pound bar of pure gold worth $500,000 at the Royal Mint. (It’s chained and guarded.) 

We visited several national historic sites along the Red River. 

We saw a flock of American white pelicans, a herd of bison, a black bear and her two cubs, a female moose and other wildlife. 

wild turkey struts by

Trailer failures so far in case you’re interested: 1. One of the etched glass panels in a cabinet door broke. (Dishes crashed into it while we were bouncing down the road. David taped it. We’ll replace it when we get home.) 2. One of the trailer tire fenders cracked and was flapping in the wind. (David glued it. We’ll replace it at home.) 

3. The kitchen sink was never caulked and so water gets underneath it. (This isn’t new, but for some reason it’s been more of a problem. David will try to caulk it from the top, but really the sink needs to be removed so it can be done properly.) 4. Our brand-new spare trailer tire came off when we went over a particularly bad spot in the road too fast. The cable holding it underneath the trailer broke. Fortunately, we realized the loss around 10 or 15 miles down the road when we stopped to view the Inglis grain elevators. We rushed back and found it leaning against a pole by the side of the road where someone had placed it.  Isn't that great?