The Lowmans Leave the U.S. Behind for Five Weeks
(July 15)
Dear Folks,
Greetings from very rainy Billings, MT. It has rained hard all day.
We are at the Best Western Kelly Inn. It is supposed to look like a lodge. It is the cutest place we have stayed. The room is semi-wheelchair accessible. There is a bear theme here.
We took some photos from a rest area where we stopped.
Also, there has been interest in the camping part of our trip–where we will be, when. It wasn’t in what we shared before because it is in a handwritten document. So we photographed that and have attached it. For your information.
Also, we reached a huge milestone today. Some of you know that we wanted to learn some French before this trip. Our niece, Megan, has a Duo Lingo family plan. So she very generously added us to it. We started on Jan. 1, 2024. Today, after 559 consecutive days, we finished all the French material! 🎉. What a relief. And just before we enter Canada tomorrow.
This will be our last night in the US for more than five weeks.
(July 16)
Dear Folks,
Greetings from Lethbridge, Alberta!
On our way up today, we stopped at a few monuments in MT.
Our big focus for the day was crossing the border. When we came in 2022, we crossed at Sweetgrass. It was so neat: it is a major crossing, so you go through something like a toll booth: you showed your documents and were quickly on your way. But that was then. We wondered how things would have changed with the current situation.
We stopped before the border to put the Girls’ gear on. We had all their documents at the ready. I had my passport card.
When we got to the border, there were two lanes open. We figured that we might need to go to the building for the Girls to get a pat down. The left open lane had a few cars waiting. The right open lane was wide open. So we pulled up: and saw the agent up in an area like a two-story building. I put down my window. He opened his window. I said, “You’re really up high.” That’s when I realized that I was in the truck lane. I said, “I’m in the wrong lane, aren’t I.” He agreed. I apologized and asked if I could back up and go to the correct one. He said yes. But by then, there was a truck in back of me. He said that we would make it work.
He asked where we were going. We told him. He said, for a vacation? I told him about BEYOND LIMITS. He asked how long we would be in Canada. We could tell him exactly. He asked if we had tobacco or liquor, weapons or firearms. Then he asked if we had more than $10,000 in cash. I said, “I wish!”
He asked for my passport. I said I have a passport card, and tried to hand it up to him. We couldn’t connect. He said, no problem, he would come down to get it. He did and ran it. Then he came back.
By then we had quite a line behind us, so he wished us safe travels. The Girls were a little put out that they got all dressed for that. The guy probably was thinking that the US wasn’t sending particularly choice specimens to Canada. 😇
ALWAYS an Adventure.
Tomorrow is our longest day yet in terms of distance to cover. So we will try for an early night.
Wags and Hugs
The Lowman Family
