Border crossing – Towing Silver: Kim Davison's Travels

I left Estevan and headed for the border.

I know I’ve said it before, but it always seems odd to cross a border that doesn’t involve a bridge and a river. So what if I’m repeating myself? It’s my blog!

The photo quality is kind of low, but I was concerned that I might be subject to “extreme vetting” if I got caught taking a picture at a border crossing.

I’m sure you can’t read the sign, but it says, “crossing open 9 am – 10 pm”. I guess the country is closed from 10pm – 9am.

I’m glad I wasn’t more overt in taking the photo, because this was the most unusual border crossing I’ve ever had – well, other than the time I had to pay a bribe to get into El Salvador.

I pulled up to the building and rolled down my window. The border control agent came up and said, “Please turn off your engine.” I did. Then we proceeded with the usual “citizenship-where are you coming from-where are your going-anything to declare” questions. She took my passport and cat papers, and made sure that the cat was in her carrier.

Then she had me let her in the Airstream. I had to wait outside until she told me to come in. She wasn’t bothered by the three cans of Bud Light, which I did declare. (I drank one while I was in Canada.) She was not pleased that I had plants with me. I told her that I lived in the trailer, and I knew that I might lose them, but I didn’t want to throw them out. She heaved a sigh and let me keep them. I was grateful for that. I was also grateful that she didn’t ask me if I had any plants in the trailer at the initial interview. I probably would have gotten in trouble if I hadn’t declared them.

After she checked everything out, she let me lock the trailer back up. Then she asked me why I was crossing there and not at some other crossing. I told her that I was going to Minot. She asked me why. I told her I liked the name, and then I said, “Why not Minot?”

She finally gave me a half smile and handed me back my papers, and I was happy to be across the border.

Two hours later, I was in Minot.

One of the things on my “to-do list” was run Flo and Bart through a truck wash. People had told me that the Blue Beacon Truck Wash would do trailers, too. I saw a sign for them on the way into town.

I borrowed this one from the internet, but the sign looked something like this.

I called to see if they washed RVs. They did, so I headed over before I went to the campground.

I got in line behind the big trucks.

It took a while, but I finally got close to the building. Just one more truck before I go in.

I’m up next!

I pull in and a horde of guys with pressure washers swarm around Bart and Flo.

They were really getting the road dirt off! As soon as they finished with the cab, the guy running the show came and got me to go into the office and settle up. In case you want to know how much it costs to wash so much metal in a truck wash, I looked it up on my credit card records. It cost $54.60.

After the scrubbing, I headed over to Roughriders Campground and got settled in for a few days in Minot.

Why not?

Pancho Villa State Park is just two miles or so from the border. After checking to make sure that my identification documents were adequate to get me back into the USA, I made my plans to go to Mexico.

I had two objectives: get my teeth cleaned and then use those clean teeth to have lunch.

I walked across the border. It seemed odd not to have to cross a bridge to get into the neighboring country. After all, I grew up crossing between Buffalo, New York and Fort Erie, Ontario.

Here, though, I just parked and walked across. There’s mile 0.

I saw a sign for a dental clinic, so I made my way over there. Clean teeth was the first thing on my agenda.

It was kind of a “down home” office.

It had kind of old equipment, but everything went well. When I told the dentist that I had forgotten to take the antibiotic I needed to take due to my knee replacement, he went over to a nearby pharmacy and got me what I needed. The assistant got me a glass of water from a fresh bottle, and the cleaning went well.

I strolled about a bit and then headed over to The Pink Store, which had been recommended to me.

And, yes, it is pink!

Of course, there is absolutely nothing that I need, but I did have to look at what they had to offer.

Hat and pots.

Pots and baskets.

Whimsical statues.

And then I found a spot for lunch at the back of the store.

I ordered a Bohemia beer and the waiter brought me chips and salsa. Delicious!

The General Guererro Caldillo was my choice for lunch, which was a spicy beef and vegetable stew. It came with beans, rice and tortillas. Again, delicious!