Oh Canada!

We bid farewell this morning to Grand Marais and pointed See-More to the north.  The air is cooler and the woods seem greener.  There is a definite lack of any big box stores and civilization as the girls know it.  This is our kind of country!

 Our last stop in Minnesota was at the Grand Portage State Park to visit High Falls and take the time to secure our passports and rabies certifications.  The passports were for us, the rabies documents for George and Gracie. 

This is also called Pigeon Falls as it is on the Pigeon River.  At nearly 120 feet it is Minnesota's highest waterfall.  As we wandered down the trail and wooden boardwalk we could hear the sound of the falls getting louder and louder.

They had a nice viewing area that allowed a really nice look at the full falls.  It was a sunny day so there was a rainbow across the falls.  This made for a nice memory to our trip.

Then we waited in line at the Canadian border, where apparently several geese were waiting also.  All seemed to be going smoothly and then we heard the dreaded words.  Pull over to the side and the agents will be out to talk with you.  Gulp.

Gracie finally decided to sit on Kiersten's lap - another milestone

I'd lived on the border before and had seen first hand how brutal some of these "exams" can be.  I remember one car in particular that was basically gutted, door panels removed, dash board pried up, etc. 

Our happy little campers

There were several cars in the chain link impound area that we explained to the girls that they were probably found to have drugs or illegal things that caused the driver to be arrested.  Kiersten asked if they would look at her I-pod, which made me wonder what was on her I-pod.  Hmmm.

We had to open all the bay doors and car doors for inspection and leave the RV while the two agents did their inside search.  Then came the really difficult part. They wanted us to gather the two cats into carriers for them to see.  Oh boy, this could be rough.

I offered to have them shine their light down the rabbit hole to see Gracie but there was no cat down there.  She must have joined George in the bedroom while we were at the falls.

To allow them access to view under the bed the slide had to be opened enough to clear the wardrobe cabinets.  We slowly opened it just enough to perform this, explaining that we were afraid the cats were under there and would be injured by doing this.  Yes, our cats have not only evaded our detection but that of two professional guards.

The finally gave up on seeing the cats and said we could go.  Whew!  Soon after they left George came tearing out of the bedroom and down the rabbit hole.  Gracie was not to be found.  I checked under the RV in case she bolted out while we were away and they were searching.  We finally drove away trying to calm ourselves with "she MUST be inside here somewhere".

As soon as we arrived at the Happyland Campground in Kakabecca Falls we turned the girls loose to check out the pool...outdoors but heated.  We got things set up and put back in order and searched for the cats.  Couldn't find either one of them.

I opened the can of cat food, that always works.  Gracie came climbing up out of the rabbit hole.  Huh?  We pulled open the bed looking for her and could not see here anywhere.  George is still missing, but we did have a glimpse of him at the border so weren't as worried about him being lost.

Finally I spotted George behind the couch also but even food would not bring him out.  After pleading with him I opened up the couch bed to access him and pulled him out.  Man can he ever dig those claws in and hold on to the carpet!  But as soon as he was out he went to the plate to eat.

They were both sitting in the window when the breeze picked up and the trees rustled too much for George and he sped off to the bedroom again.  Sigh.  Such is the way it is with our big cowardly lion.

It feels good being settled in for three days, maybe four, and having free Wi-fi that we can use from the campsite!  The girls have a pool with can amuse them for hours on end.

Tomorrow will be a full day when we travel into Thunder Bay to see Old Fort William.

Long Live the Queen of Law Evading Cats