I'm back from a quick trip to the border with Canada and toured the International Peace Garden. It was pretty quiet there as the tourist season is pretty much over. Here is a picture of one of the stainless steel monuments at the west end of the garden. There is also an older cast iron monument not far to the east of this one.
Does the marker say Canada on the other side?
Were there a multitude of border control agents making certain you went through proper security before you could step around to see if the other side said Canada?
Did you almost forget to leave your pocket knife in your vehicle and if you had, would they have put you in jail for transporting weapons across international borders?
Inquiring minds want to know. 😉
Larry P
Yes, it says CANADA on the other side. You can drive right into the International Peace Garden because the entrance to the garden is between the customs buildings for each country. You have to, however, go through security coming back into the United States. I would guess the wait was about 30 minutes. We had to answer a bunch of verbal questions. The guy looked in the back of the pickup, but didn't actually go through our stuff, nor did we have to leave the vehicle.
South Border Monument
here's one on the southern border, east of Douglas, Az - looking south.
South Border Monument
> here's one on the southern border, east of Douglas, Az - looking south.
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Wow, the gangs get that far out to tag stuff? :pinch:
Neat video about the border posted on the CLSA forum. http://www.flixxy.com/the-bizarre-bo...?utm_source=nl Check it out. Jp
Larry: on the Mexico border the new fencing is usually a couple feet North of the monument like in the photo Joe F posted below. Easy to walk around and inspect it all...
When last visiting the most Westerly monument (from the Mexican side) the agent on the US side was noticeably shaken that I spoke to him, and no way was he going to speak back. I could feel his fear... Strange world we live in.
Link does not seem to connect here in Canada.
Cheers,
Derek
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> Neat video about the border posted on the CLSA forum. http://www.flixxy.com/the-bizarre-bo...?utm_source=nl Check it out. Jp
It doesn't connect anywhere. Bad link.
More Border Monument Photos
From a 100+ year old lithograph given to me by the "northern contingent" of the Colvin Crew and now on loan to Ranger School. Note the hoop in the tree being the original marker
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Those are some nice pics, as always!
I did some survey work a few years ago at various Canada-US border posts in northeast US and Alaska. Here are some pics from the Alaska sites.
Poker Creek (me on the left). There was nobody there, it was closed for the winter when we finally got the go-ahead.
the Canadian side...
Here are a few in southeastern Alaska
and a benchmark on the Alcan highway
Also did a lot of work at crossings on the US-Mexico border, here is an actual border crossing, they pull the ferry across using the rope:
here is an interesting page about the latter photo:
Los Ebanos border crossing
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> Those are some nice pics, as always!
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> I did some survey work a few years ago at various Canada-US border posts in northeast US and Alaska. Here are some pics from the Alaska sites.
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> Poker Creek (me on the left). There was nobody there, it was closed for the winter when we finally got the go-ahead.
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What do you mean there was nobody there John? Looks to me like everyone was there. Population 2
Larry P
South Border Monument
Re: the monument near Douglas, AZ: Rings to hold a range pole?
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You're right...we brought it back up to full capacity.
That was a place where I was a little bit worried about breaking down or getting stuck...no cell phones, no town nearby. The other crossings further south we just had to worry about grizzlies. When we arrived at one, and told them we would be out working along the border line, they asked if we brought firearms. We said no, we were told no firearms on federal property...they said we SHOULD have brought guns because the bears were out in force. So we just made a LOT of noise as we hiked along.
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My Father-in-Law had a summer job in Alaska when he was in college in the 1950s, something to do with wildlife. He is a retired California Fish&Game Captain. He said he was chased by a Grizzly, he barely made it into his small boat, thankfully the motor started and he was able to get away.
> Did you almost forget to leave your pocket knife in your vehicle and if you had, would they have put you in jail for transporting weapons across international borders?
Seriously, for those who haven't travelled to Canada, leave your guns at home. This is one thing the Canadian guards take very, very seriously. They have a knack for detecting gun owners and take their glee in jerking around a you-all with a gun. And if you forget to leave them at home be darn sure you declare any you may have with you. At least that way they will just turn you around, rather than tearing the upholstery out of your vehicle and then turning you around after a night in jail. I've heard a number of horror stories about guys forgetting they have a gun with them. These stories are never pretty.
Usually the border guard will have a few cursory questions about the purpose of your trip to Canada and you will be on your way in under a minute. Pocket knives are no problem when travelling by car.
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Last year I had a neat consulting project to train surveyors from the International Boundary Commission (IBC) in the use of TBC. Guys came from both the Canadian and US offices of this organization, and I got to find out what they do. I forget the exact numbers, but I think the US part had only 5 (maybe less) field guys, Canada the same. A LONG line to maintain for such a small group.
South Border Monument
[sarcasm]Seems to me there's a pretty substantial fence right there.....who needs a monument?[/sarcasm]
South Border Monument
here's the "new" fence looking east.