We had to leave our vacation home in Arizona in early march to come back to Calgary to spend time with my Wife’s Mom before she passed away. We thought we would get back to get the Corvette in a month or two but with the border closed it took us a while to realize that we could fly down and drive back. We flew into Tucson through Dallas in mid-August and spent some time enjoying the heat (it really was TOO hot) and our southern home before heading back north in the Vette.
In Arizona everyone is required to wear a mask in enclosed spaces and we did notice that almost everyone complied. Our first stop on the way back was in Wickenburg AZ for breakfast. The restaurant had every other table or booth empty and all the staff wore masks. Stops for gas were not an issue but I did wear disposable gloves at the gas pumps to be safe. We spent the first night at the Casa Blanca Casino Resort in Mesquite NV. Check in was easy with space between arriving guests and Plexiglas screens at the check in counter. People were patient and did elevators by themselves. We took lots of Lysol wipes and did a thorough cleaning of door knobs and the TV remote in the room to play it safe. Dinner was also easy with people and tables spaced well apart. In typical US style they gave us more food than either of us could eat for dinner. The casino was interesting with partitions between the slot machines and customers wearing masks pulled down to allow them to smoke. Table games had every second seat empty. Neither wife nor I are gamblers so we didn’t spend much time in the casino except to let me place $5 on red at the roulette table and win!
Our second day took us to Idaho Falls ID. Food and gas were similar throughout Utah. Check in at the Marriott was easy and similar to Mesquite. The room was nice and again we used our wipes on everything to be safe. Wife ordered Domino`s pizza and met them in the lobby. Money on a table, Pizza placed on the same table and the exchange was done.
After a good night`s rest we were up early for the longest day of the trip. The first two days were about 500 miles each and the last day was 700 miles. Stopped for food in Helena MT and the same rules of engagement were in place. Spacing, masks and too much food. The trip to the border was uneventful except for dodging a dead critter on a bridge and a big stone that came off a semi at 80 MPH. Thankfully my training a Spring Mountain kicked in and both potential problems were avoided.
The Canadian Border was very busy with trucks backed up for almost ½ a mile. There wer few cars and we drove to the front of the line. I wore a mask and we had to wait for the border agent to don gloves and a mask before he opened the window. I handed him our NEXUS cards, answered questions about how long we were gone and amount of our purchases and he welcomed us back to Canada. About a mile down the road commercial traffic was waived through and we stopped to chat with Alberta Health Services. I was able to complete an “Alberta Isolation Questionnaire” on my cell phone. Once complete they noted the entry code and indicated that they would be “checking on us in a few days to see how we were doing”.
After arriving home Friday evening we unpacked and poured drinks to begin to unwind. Our Daughter had stocked the fridge with fresh food and returned yesterday to top up our booze supply.
Overall the trip and related interactions with the Airline, people in Arizona and all the way back including border services and AHS were painless. I have a long list of things to keep me busy (including giving the Corvette a very good cleaning) during quarantine and wife is already planning to host Thanksgiving dinner once we are free to mingle again.
We can’t wait to fly back to Arizona for the “Snowbird” winter. I sure hope Air Canada doesn’t cancel their flights to Phoenix and force us to go through Dallas again but if they do we have “been there, done that” and can do it again.
We would not hesitate to do it again if we had to and for anyone else that needs to bring a car home - go for it!
In Arizona everyone is required to wear a mask in enclosed spaces and we did notice that almost everyone complied. Our first stop on the way back was in Wickenburg AZ for breakfast. The restaurant had every other table or booth empty and all the staff wore masks. Stops for gas were not an issue but I did wear disposable gloves at the gas pumps to be safe. We spent the first night at the Casa Blanca Casino Resort in Mesquite NV. Check in was easy with space between arriving guests and Plexiglas screens at the check in counter. People were patient and did elevators by themselves. We took lots of Lysol wipes and did a thorough cleaning of door knobs and the TV remote in the room to play it safe. Dinner was also easy with people and tables spaced well apart. In typical US style they gave us more food than either of us could eat for dinner. The casino was interesting with partitions between the slot machines and customers wearing masks pulled down to allow them to smoke. Table games had every second seat empty. Neither wife nor I are gamblers so we didn’t spend much time in the casino except to let me place $5 on red at the roulette table and win!
Our second day took us to Idaho Falls ID. Food and gas were similar throughout Utah. Check in at the Marriott was easy and similar to Mesquite. The room was nice and again we used our wipes on everything to be safe. Wife ordered Domino`s pizza and met them in the lobby. Money on a table, Pizza placed on the same table and the exchange was done.
After a good night`s rest we were up early for the longest day of the trip. The first two days were about 500 miles each and the last day was 700 miles. Stopped for food in Helena MT and the same rules of engagement were in place. Spacing, masks and too much food. The trip to the border was uneventful except for dodging a dead critter on a bridge and a big stone that came off a semi at 80 MPH. Thankfully my training a Spring Mountain kicked in and both potential problems were avoided.
The Canadian Border was very busy with trucks backed up for almost ½ a mile. There wer few cars and we drove to the front of the line. I wore a mask and we had to wait for the border agent to don gloves and a mask before he opened the window. I handed him our NEXUS cards, answered questions about how long we were gone and amount of our purchases and he welcomed us back to Canada. About a mile down the road commercial traffic was waived through and we stopped to chat with Alberta Health Services. I was able to complete an “Alberta Isolation Questionnaire” on my cell phone. Once complete they noted the entry code and indicated that they would be “checking on us in a few days to see how we were doing”.
After arriving home Friday evening we unpacked and poured drinks to begin to unwind. Our Daughter had stocked the fridge with fresh food and returned yesterday to top up our booze supply.
Overall the trip and related interactions with the Airline, people in Arizona and all the way back including border services and AHS were painless. I have a long list of things to keep me busy (including giving the Corvette a very good cleaning) during quarantine and wife is already planning to host Thanksgiving dinner once we are free to mingle again.
We can’t wait to fly back to Arizona for the “Snowbird” winter. I sure hope Air Canada doesn’t cancel their flights to Phoenix and force us to go through Dallas again but if they do we have “been there, done that” and can do it again.
We would not hesitate to do it again if we had to and for anyone else that needs to bring a car home - go for it!
