Odd conversation at the border

[Bobflhtc]

Several years ago I decided to drive up to Alaska through Alberta and then come back through British Columbia. When I first crossed the border I was driving and I kept getting these texts messages. After a few hours I took a break to check my phone and saw that I had already run up $50 in roaming charges. Needless to say I shut my phone down and relied on the free Wi-Fi at the visitor centers along the way. I finally pulled up to the Border checkpoint to go into Alaska. The agent asks me where are you going. I thought it was pretty obvious but anyway I say Alaska. He says you're there, now what? I say I thought I would drive around for a while. Then he wants to know how long it's going to take me. I tell him I'll probably want to leave before it gets too cold.

On the return trip I'm leaving Alaska to head back into Canada and the agent wants to know what took me so long. How do you explain I've been waiting my whole life not to worry about how long stuff takes.  It felt like I was part of an Abbott and Costello comedy routine. 
 
Anybody have similar experiences?

 

[Zil]

Are you a citizen of USA? Simple question. Simple answer, Fairbanks. Screwy question. Simple answer, What a great time I had visiting this great state! I wish I could have a longer stay!
The phone problem is on you.

 

[Almost There]

Anybody have similar experiences?

All the time!

Well, until I learned to be very specific with the border staff! Even if it wasn't the whole answer. Just give them enough information to keep them happy.

Arizona for the winter is not the right answer....   Quartzite until April 15 IS!!

Trying to explain camping on BLM and National Forest land would only confuse the issue. And giving them a detailed itinerary of a 6 month trip around the southwest will drive them nuts.

Do not ever tell a border guard that you are going to drive to Florida in 24 hours and stay for only 3 days for a conference and then drive back!  Better to tell them that you're visiting friends in Ohio for the weekend...that they'll believe...the Florida trip, not so much! Haha, this actually happened years ago - 2 vans making the trip, one cleared effortlessly (the Ohio answer), the other was held up for several hours!

I've been crossing the US/Canada border regularly for over 40 years and some of the crossings were worthy of comedy routines

 

[MrNoodly]

I'm on an oddball journey right now. I established residency in Douglas AZ, which is on the border. It's also the end point of US-191, large stretches of which I've driven at one time or another. I decided finish driving the whole thing, border to border. I need to do the section from Canada to I-90, the little section from West Yellowstone to the park, Bluff UT to Chinle AZ, and I-40 to I-10.

So here I am, a couple of hours from the northern end in Morgan MT. There's really nothing there but a small port of entry. I have my passport and everything should be cool, but I wonder what kind of crap I might get from authorities on either side if I tell them my story and just want to cross the border and make an immediate U-turn.

 

[rvwandering]

I agree with Almost There. Sometimes you have to specific. Most of time we breeze right through the border checkpoints but one time, going north from Skagway into the Yukon, the guard became very annoyed with us because we did not know how far we were going that day, where we were staying, or how long we were staying. The concept that we had an RV and we could travel without set plans was not something that he could understand. Now I always have a travel plan ready before we get to the crossing, even if I know we will deviate from that plan at some point.

 

[waldenbound]

I think they do that so people are not coming to Canada with no way back. You have to have means for your stay, plus the means to get back to your own country.

 

[bullfrog]

I had a friend who's first trip out of Greenup County Kentucky was to Canada. It was done on sorta of a dare after several days of drinking shine. He threw everything he owned into a Suburban and loaded a 24' flatbed with all the camping gear he could beg or borrow. Threw a tarp over it and left in one day's time to Canada. When he got to the border station they asked him what his destination was and if he had anyhing to declare. He told them the only thing he could think of to declare was he had never been out of the state of Kentucky and had no idea of where he was destined to go. He thanked them border guards for unloading everything for him as he had a lot of extra stuff he didn't need as he was drunk when he packed it and he was sorry the border guard got his foot run over backing him into an inspection stall. I think they were glad to see him leave even though their dumptser was full.