Crossing The Border

Having a little history, I don’t like border crossings. With another day of travel, we drove through Traverse City, recalling our previous visits to this city. It was a 4-hour drive pulling the Airstream, and not a bad one. There was very little traffic along I75 to the Mackinaw bridge across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, better known as “The UP.” Traffic did get backed up to pay the bridge toll. Martha pulled out a credit card, saying it would be faster than cash. I questioned if they would take it, but she was right. EZ Pass would have been a LOT more efficient. 

Anticipation grew as we drove toward the next bridge. The land was wide open with a few farms. It looked like moose country, but with 92 degree heat, any moose would be sleeping in the shade. We paid the $8 fee for truck and trailer and crossed the St. Mary’s River. Below were all kinds of locks to transport ships between Lake Huron and Lake Superior. There is a good view of Saint Mary’s Rapids where people fish for steelhead. 

Only a few cars were lined up to go through customs in Canada. I didn’t know if that was good or bad. The agent asked if I knew where my license tag was from as he examined our passports. “Are you carrying any guns? Where are you going? How long will you be here? Have a good time.” I smiled, thanked him and drove on. 

The roads were rough, buildings run down or abandoned and businesses closed, not a good sign for a major entrance into Canada. We drove north of town to the Sault Ste. Marie KOA, where Kelly and I stayed 12 years ago on our Fish Across Canada trip. Bill and Joan still run the place, although a couple of young adults greeted us, one guiding us to our sight. The campground has grown a lot since our last visit, but they have all the amenities – showers, laundry, swimming pool, trailer wash, air station, putt-putt and more….and they charge appropriately.

We got a shower before a thunderstorm came through. Although there is cable TV, we couldn’t find anything worth watching, so we were off to bed early.