With the news that the Canadian border is poised to open to vaccinated travelers on August 9, it appears that our gamble has paid off and Jim and I should make it home. But wait! I guess I am getting ahead of myself and I should start this tale from the beginning…

Last fall, out cycling one day, I was pondering how to celebrate Jim’s big birthday in 2021. I was thinking of how much we enjoyed our van/self-supported cycling trips over the past year (thanks to Covid). And I was also recalling how Jim had salivated over off-road campers that we saw on our trip to the Artic circe a couple of years ago. Hmmm… Voila! I had it! An off-road camper ticked all the boxes: 1) It would suit Jim. I already knew he thought that they were super cool; 2) It would allow us to continue to travel and cycle even during Covid; 3) We could go places that were wild and uncrowded even as many parks and campgrounds grow ever busier; 4) We could adapt to the potential limitations of getting older since we could travel as far as we wanted and wimp out in style when the weather got tough; and 5) I didn’t have to sleep on the ground!

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So, Jim enthusiastically embraced the idea and after much research we sold our trusted and much- loved Sprinter van and began the slow process of acquiring a custom-built off-road camper truck (heretofore referred to as the Truck).

With the Truck completion date in late July, we began to ponder a late summer trip. Where to go? We really wanted to travel north again but the Canadian border remained firmly closed. Ahh, one can get to Alaska with the Truck and our old dogs in tow and the bikes on back via the Alaska ferry from Bellingham, Washington. But tickets were selling out fast in April (no other way to take a camper to Alaska than the twice a month ferry). And we didn’t want to ferry both ways (spendy and not that interesting). Surely, we thought in April, the border will open this summer and then we can bike and drive back through Canada meandering and taking advantage of our new ability to camp pretty much anywhere. Such a fabulous plan! So the one-way ferry tickets were purchased “Two seniors, one stateroom, two dogs, and one camper spot, please”. Camping reservations were made in Denali National Park (no boondocking allowed). The rest of the trip was TBD (to be determined) since we should have plenty of time and the flexibility afforded by the Truck. Quite satisfied, our plans were made.

Then in late spring the message came from the Truck builder. Sorry, big chip shortage. Your Truck will be delayed, probably at least a couple of months! 🥺! Oh no! Hand-wringing! Sadness! Must we cancel all of our plans? Fortunately after brainstorming and $, the problem was resolved. We’re back on track!

We hoped that our good friend and cycling buddy extraordinaire, Debs, would be able to travel with us. We have cycled together multiple times, most recently in the Arctic. Would the borders open to a Brit? Only time would tell.

In late April the news came that the border closure was extended until late May. Eh, no problem. It will probably open in June. Late June…the closure was extended to late July. Hmmm, this is looking worrisome. And by the way, the return ferry is sold out through September. 😓. I began compulsively checking the news…what is Trudeau thinking? Could we beg our way across the border? What would wintering in Alaska in the Truck be like? And darn, it looked like the pandemic would prevent Deb from joining us 😔.

So finally we return to the theme of this post. The border is supposed to open on August 9th, 2 days after we start our ferry ride to Alaska. Hurrah!

We traveled to Colorado to pick up our Truck in late July, and our plans to trek north and travel back via Canada 🇨🇦 look feasible 😇. So with Jim’s new Truck all packed, and the dogs loaded up, we are on our way!

The blog begins again. Look forward to traveling with you all! Welcome aboard!