Blaine, Washington and Stanley Park in Vancouver, Canada

We left La Conner, Washington and drove north to Blaine, Washington which is right at the border with Canada.  It was only about an hour drive to the Birch Bay Thousand Trails RV park. We picked a site in their Phase II section so Al backed us in and we have nice room between sites but we are right next to the Nature Trail so some foot traffic on the trail. 

 

We went to Bellinham, WA the next day and got diesel for $4.75/gallon at a Native American Indian run 76 station in Salish Village!  We're liking that price!

The next day we drove to the post office in Blaine to get our mail.  Then walked around the downtown and ate a giant ice cream cone.  

 

 

Then we walked over to the Peace Arch on the US side.  We could not go in to Canada because we didn’t have our passports with us and we didn’t complete the app in advance for approval to visit Canada again. We didn't realize the border was THAT close!

This is as far as we could walk towards Canada.  We didn't see anyone around to stop us but didn't want to take our chances.

We could see the Canadian portion of the park but couldn't get any closer.

This Unfortified Boundary Line
Between the
Dominion of Canada
and the
United States of America
should quicken the remembrance
of the more than a century old
friendship between these countries.
A lesson of peace to all nations.

Erected April 25, 1936

In Commemoration of
One hundred and fifty years of peace.  1814-1964 between Canada and the United States of America.

The signing of the Columbia River Treaty on September 16th, 1964
at this International Peace Arch Park by the President of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson and the Primer Minister of Canada, the Right Honorable Lester B. Pearson P.C.

There were a lot of little monuments marking the line between the countries.

Shh...I stepped on the Canada side to capture this photo. 

We talked for a bit with a Border Patrol Agent sitting in his car and watching a border crossing on the other side of the park.  The border between the US and Canada is barely blocked and it would be easy to walk in to Canada. 

How about these "border walls?"

All those guys were walking on the Canadian side but the Border Agent was keeping an eye on them!

During Covid people would meet in this park when it was against the law for them be together either in Canada or the US.  People set up tents for privacy and the border agents just kept an eye on the comings and goings. 

At the park there were information boards with border line information such as:

Negotiations of 1823-24
In 1824, the British proposed that a line should be drawn from the Rocky Mountains "due west along the 49th parallel of north latitude to the point where the parallel strikes the great north-eastermost branch of the Oregon or Columbia River, marked in the maps as McGillivray's river, thence down along the middle of Oregon or Columbia to its junction with the Pacific Ocean."

The American negotiator was instructed to first ask for the 51st parallel and if not agreed to by the British, then fall back to the 49th parallel.

If you can see on the map, the US wanted the line in purple and the British wanted the red line.

Treaty of 1846
The negotiations for the settlement of the northwestern boundary were finally concluded in 1846.  The first article of that treaty reads in part as follows:

"...the line of boundary between the territories of the United States and those of Her Britannic Majesty shall be continued westward along said 49th parallel of north latitude to the middle of the channel which separates the continent from Vancouver's Island, and thence southerly through the middle of that channel and of Fuca's Straits to the Pacific Ocean."

Unfortunately, this did not end the dispute.  Both parties disagreed on where the "middle of the channel which separates the continent from Vancouver's Island" was actually located.  Hostilities developed resulting in both American and British forces occupying San Juan Island in the disputed area.  The line was finally arbitrated by the Emperor of Germany in 1872. 

In 1857, the US Commissioner, Archibald Campbell, met with his counterparts for the water boundary, Captains James Charles Prevost and George Henry Richards, both of the Royal Navy.  They soon disagreed on which channel was "the main channel separating Vancouver's Island from the Mainland."  The "main channel" was supposed to the be boundary described in the Oregon Treaty of 1846.  This disagreement soon escalated into the infamous "Pig War" in the San Juan Islands.

US in Red
Great Britain in Green
Compromise is the dashed purple line

We walked away from the border and out to the marina.

This isn't good!

Our next day was a down day so I did an activity at the campground.  I tie-dyed a t-shirt for $5.50 and it was fun.  It came out pretty good I was surprised.  Sorry, no photo of it but I did get a nice swirl like the photo.

Another day we drove to Canada via the Peace Arch/Douglasville crossing. 

Sign said no photos or video so I had to put the phone down. 

When the Canadian Border Agent saw that we were from Texas he asked if we had any guns.  Haha!  Also, Al got selected randomly to do a Covid test.  The Agent gave us an address for a lab to get a test which takes several days for the results.  We were only in Canada for the day and the Agent knew that but said he was required to give Al the info anyway.  We never went to the lab because what really was the point?

We went to Stanley Park in Vancouver where we walked around and saw the Rose garden, Bridge, Totem Poles, Lumberman Arch, and Seawall walkway.  Then we walked all the way over to the downtown and got Slurpee’s at 7/11. 

Kiwanis Club
Rose Plot
First planted in 1920 to
demonstrate the possibilities
of rose culture in Vancouver
"The City Beautiful"

Next we walked along the Seawall path.

We walked all the way to the bridge.

Stanley Park is huge at over 1,000 acres and there are so many things to see!

We could see downtown Vancouver from our walk.

We got 26K steps in at Stanley Park and we were tired!  We stopped off at a Costco in Canada where they serve chicken strips and fries, chicken wings, and caramel sundaes from the food section.  Yum!  Then it was time to drive back to the USA.  

Back to the Peace Arch and to the border.

Check out this weird art sculpture just on the US side.

Ghost Billboard Erected on U.S.-Canada Border

A U.S. art studio called Lead Pencil Studio has created a sculpture on the border between the United States and Canada that consists of a blank space in the shape of a billboard, surrounded by tangled metal. Titled Non-Sign II, the piece was commissioned by the U.S. government.

The artists behind it are Annie Han and Daniel Mihalyo, who've won numerous awards for their work over the last decade. The pair carefully twisted metal to give the appearance of a ghost of one of the billboards that populate the area.

Han and Mihalyo noticed the way the area is packed with signs—advertising billboards, and then, closer to the border, a proliferation of government signs. Their hope is that their sign, flying by enigmatically ("What was that?"), will add a little bit of awareness to the whole signage landscape in the border zone. Just open up a free space, really. How very American. The empty rectangle frames only a view of sky as you drive by, nothing else.

Well, it got me to dig deeper.......

 

Back in the USA!

It was time to leave Blaine, Washington.  On our route to the next destination we stopped off at the Snow Goose farmer's market recommended to us and ate giant ice cream cones!  That should hold us over until dinner!

 

 

Here is the territory covered in this blog entry.

We made it to our northernmost point and now it is time to start heading south.  Next we’re going to a county park north of Seattle and will catch the Angels play against Seattle at their stadium.  Thanks for following along. 

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