Walmart, or Canada's Real Superstore?

Booking reservations in Canada's National Parks proved to be a bit tricky for us, since we'd planned on arriving on the Canada Day weekend.  (For you Americans, Canada Day, July 1, is much like our Fourth of July.)  We didn't make our reservations far enough in advance -- just because we were too busy seeing and doing and planning  for more immediate stays.  Anyway, when we finally got around to trying to make the reservation we found Sunday was all sold out, but we could arrive on Monday, July 1, Canada Day. 

Because of the uncertainty of how long the border crossing would take, plus the fact that we wanted to restock our fresh produce before heading to Banff, it was our plan to stop about halfway between Glacier National Park and Banff National Park.  But the few campgrounds we had called at the halfway point were booked, again because of the holiday, so we decided to stay at the Walmart in Cranbrook, BC.    Our internet resources had informed us that RVer's were welcome to park overnight at the Cranbrook Walmart, but that turned out not to be the case.  At the service desk they told us we couldn't stay because of  construction across the parking lot.   We called a campground about 7 miles up the road, found they didn't take reservations so they had plenty of space, and so that became our new plan.

But just as we were about to head from out the Walmart,  a man in a big white truck pulled up.    I thought he was a security guy asking us to leave.  It turns out he's a retiree thinking about buying a motorhome and is interested in our brand of motorhome.  We chatted with him for about 15 minutes.  He mentioned that the Walmart doesn't allow overnighters because people were camping in the parking lot -- using lawn chairs and having campfires!  He suggested we try across the road at Canada's Real Superstore.  

By this time it was very hot outside and also inside the rig.  We walked across the parking lot  to the Superstore and noticed there were at least 3 RV's in the lot.  Inside, the AC felt great.  Jim asked at the desk, and somehow the service persons got the impression that we wanted to camp rather than park, and there is a difference.  A campground in town was recommended.  They told us that Walmart didn't allow people to stay because people had started dumping sewage in their parking lot.  The more we talked, it came out that people were allowed to park for one night.  When we explained that was all we wanted to do and that we'd be out in the morning,  the two women at the desk said it was fine.

So, Canada's Real Superstore was our home for the night.

 

Welcome to Canada

We'd been advised about what you're allowed to bring into Canada and we'd heard stories about some people who had their RVs searched at the border crossing.  We were told about produce being confiscated, and on advice we received, we used up the fresh produce we had and planned on replenishing our supplies after we entered Canada.   For days we worried about having things in our home strewn about during a search -- not that we had anything to hide -- and how much time the border crossing would take.

In the end, we showed our passports, supplied the license number of the car we were towing, stated where we were going, the border agent smiled, was friendly and wished us a good trip, and we were across the border into Canada in less than five minutes.  All our worries about searches and confiscations were for naught.  We looked at each other in surprise and asked "That's it???"