We were driving along the Salmon River in Idaho when we decided to stop at a small picnic/camping area right along the river. The whole place was about one foot from being flooded out by the Salmon River. As we were watching the river flow by in torrents, I struck up a conversation with the Camp Host. Towards the end of our conversation, he asked me where we were heading on our trip. When I told him the Canadian Rockies, he asked if we had any bear mace. I told him we did and he said that the Canadian border guards would take it away from us, since it was considered a ‘weapon’. He said he lives 60 miles from the Canadian border and the border guards were terrible. He said they were also sure to take away any of our alcohol and most anything else they wanted. He said it was ‘criminal’ and he had repeatedly written his congressman to complain about it. I asked what the laws were and he said it wasn’t the laws, they just seemed to take what they wanted; he suspected for their personal use.

In short order, we made a pact to not let those Canadian border guards have any of our booze. We had brought along two week’s worth of booze. We considered lying to them, hiding it, and all other means of deception. But in the end, we didn’t want to get in any real trouble and decided it was best to take the High Road. So we decided to drink all two week’s worth of booze in three days. That would show those border guards – nothing left for them to plunder. You can see our start on this project in the first photo. That’s at Lake McDonald Lodge in Glacier and we were overlooking the lake. Andrew kept contemplating the camp host telling us that they seemed to take whatever they wanted, and Andrew decided we should also eat our two week’s worth of chocolate before we got to the border as well. Again, you can see our start in the first photo.

Vicky and I continued our quest another night as we were starting our camp fire – we enjoyed a couple of Natty Lights – as you can see in the second photo. I also took quite a bit of flack over my hat and shirt that I’m wearing in the second photo – just because I’ve been wearing them for some 40 years. I like them.

Our third day, we were still in Glacier but planning on driving into Canada later in the day. During lunch, I got the bright idea that we should practice spraying our bear mace. I determined that since the Canadian border guards were going to take it away from us anyway, why not practice spraying it. After all, we didn’t know if it came out in a stream, a spray, or a fog. We didn’t know when to shoot it off if a bear did bother us. So Andrew, April and I took some practice shots. You can see mine in the third photo.

PS PUBLIC SERVICE TIP: Always wash your hands thoroughly after spraying bear mace. Say for instance you next stopped at a visitor center and decided to use the bathroom. Ordinarily, you would go in, conduct your business and wash your hands. My suggestion for this visit – after spraying bear mace – would be to go in, thoroughly wash your hands, conduct your business, and then rewash your hands.