The Dyson Family (Almost) Made It to Canada

BONNERS FERRY, IDAHO – When you’re this close to the tracks, and you’re in a small town in the middle of the night, and it’s so quiet you can hear the flag flapping on the courthouse three blocks away, and you’re asleep, and then a 2-mile-long freight train comes past, pulled by four locomotives, and it blows the horn, you can’t believe how loud that horn sounds in the tent…

Greetings from Bonners Ferry…

It’s a little town right at the top of Idaho, near the Canadian border. My family and I are here camping in the county fairgrounds. It’s free camping.

I’m getting cell phone service. There’s a (wet) playground. There’s a (decrepit) skateboard park. There’s an electrical outlet on one of the buildings about 100 feet away we can use to charge our phones and make coffee in the morning. And the little town of Bonners Ferry is about a quarter of a mile away. Walking distance, if we want.

People have told us Bonners Ferry is a nice little town. And there are trains. Lots of them.

We are camping next to two busy railroads. First, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe’s transcontinental route between Seattle and Chicago runs about 500 feet away. And second, the Canadian Pacific track to Canada is about 100 feet away.

More than 50 trains a day trundle past the fairgrounds. Kate says it’s the loudest campsite we’ve stayed in. Here she is earlier…

It’s raining outside, and it’s cold. Kate, Dusty, and Penny are in the car because it’s warmer in there.

I’m in the camper with Miles, writing this letter to you by hand. It’s getting dark and I’m using the light of a lantern to see the page. It’s going to be cold tonight…

(Almost) Made It to Canada

We went to the Canadian border this weekend…

We packed up from our spot at Jeb and Margaret’s trailer park in Hope, we said goodbye to Art, Mandy, and Janice, and we hit the road.

Next, we hit Walmart in Ponderay and filled up our cooler with the usual stuff we buy at Walmart. Ingredients to make sandwiches. Bagels and cream cheese. Ice. Fruit. Chips and chocolate chip cookies. And fizzy water.

Then, we hit Taco Bell and spent $30 on tacos. It was raining and cold, and the clouds were hanging low over town. We couldn’t see the mountains above Ponderay because the clouds were so low.

Then we made the 90-minute drive up to the Canadian border, at a place called Porthill.

It was probably 3 p.m. when we got there. Deserted. No traffic going either way. (The U.S.-Canadian border is closed to all non-essential stuff, like tourism, due to COVID-19 shutdowns.)

First, we got to the U.S. Customs post. About 500 feet beyond that is the Canadian border post.

We had no intention of engaging with the officials at either. (We didn’t really want to cross the Canadian border anyway. We just wanted to take a picture and turn around.) But I made a mistake and drove past the U.S. border gate, missing our last chance to turn around.

Next thing we knew, we were in the no man’s land between the two guard houses. From there, we had to officially re-enter the USA, which meant showing our passports to the guard.

“Passports,” he said.

“You do realize we haven’t just come from Canada?” I replied. “We just came to take a picture on the U.S. side and we’re turning around.”

“Well, you’re here now, aren’t you?” he said. “Passports, please.”

Anyway, he turned out to be a nice guy, and even took a picture of us at the official sign marking the entrance to the U.S. (I think he was bored. He wandered over to make conversation with us.)

Closed for Winter

When we got to the county fairgrounds at Bonners Ferry, a sign on the bathrooms said, “Closed for Winter.” Luckily, there were two porta-potties behind the bathroom house, so we used those instead.

We ate our meals over the Coleman stove, like hobos. Here I am cooking chicken soup…

In the afternoon, a storm came over the fairgrounds, and for a while, it looked like it was going to be a bad one.

Our camper doesn’t do well in the wind, but fortunately the wind only whipped around for a few minutes and then stopped. It didn’t even rain very much. And it passed without incident.

– Tom Dyson

P.S. I saw this sign on the road coming into Bonners Ferry…

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Readers are happy Tom chose to spend the winter in Driggs, Idaho… and recommend sights for the Dysons to see…

Reader comment: Wow Tom, you’ve made a great choice to hole up for the winter! Driggs is an awesome town, and only 20 minutes from Grand Targhee, which is a small and favorite ski resort for the locals in the know. The town is quaint, with a fantastic restaurant called Teton Thai that we always frequent when we’re there!

We have a place just 10 minutes south in Victor, and would love to host you for dinner when we come up in the winter. Safe travels, and hope to meet you and your family!!

Reader comment: Tom, while in Driggs, if you have a day open, you can visit the Craters of the Moon National Monument. It’s about two hours west of your bolthole. Also, if you want to see a lake with really clear water, you should try to visit Crater Lake National Park in Oregon before heading back east.

Meanwhile, others offer to host the Dyson family when they resume traveling…

Reader comment: I read most of your postcards and have tried, on occasion, to cross paths with you and connect. I follow and agree with your gold trade and continue my investment in the precious metal. There is a website called Escapees.com. It’s a motorhome-living sort of thing. With that, you get a “Days’ End Directory.” Yes. That’s the website. It is a listing of thousands of places to stay free, compiled from people that do as you’re doing, long before you did it!!

Thanks for publishing my letters. And always, love your wife more than you feel you should.

Reader comment: I don’t believe Glacier National Park doesn’t allow trailers on “Road to the sun,” so look for somewhere to park before you go there. As you enter the park, stop. Go hiking. Go early at all the spots. St. Mary’s is closed thanks to COVID. My wife and I were hoping to catch up to you and your family, though our paths never crossed. I had similar travel plans, though Colorado fires brought us here at this home.

You’re welcome always at any of our homes in Colorado, Minnesota, Vietnam, Thailand, or Spain. Yes. Any or just one. We may have stories of travel and love of the world as one. Best wishes and go Trump!

Reader comment: I’ve been reading your postcards since China (I think). Your family is clearly having a wonderful trip throughout the U.S. My partner and I just returned from a shorter (compared to yours) road trip: 3,200 miles starting in LA over 14 days. We were trying to figure out places we could live after around three more years here in LA.

Boise was my favorite city; Red Lodge, Montana was cute (but so snow-bound in winter); Jackson, Wyoming was ridiculously overcrowded with tourists, and the hotels were so expensive ($495 for Springhill Suites vs $120 in SoCal); Pinedale, Wyoming could be a small town possibility (but we’d need to run away from the winters); and Deer Park, Utah was lovely (but housing is so expensive).

Reader comment: If you happen to come to Hungary (not very far from the U.K.), I will give you free accommodation in my houses in two different locations for as long as you wish.

Reader comment: Tom: I’m sure Idaho is nice for a ski vacation, but not any better than Mount Baker and similar ski areas near Bellingham, Washington. And with this location, you also get the sea and nearby Vancouver, Canada, if they ever open the border again.

We met with several Canadian friends two days ago and they, like 90% other Canadians, are not interested in having the border open for some time. The winter climate is moderate, with average temperatures in the 40s and 50s. Perhaps two weeks of snow and daffodils in February, sometimes January. But still lots of skiing activity in the nearby mountains. And the just-offshore San Juan islands are a time warp, 1960’s America. You can get there by ferry or on our sailboat. And heck, Penny (my wife) and I live here as well.

Reader comment: Glad to hear that you are settling in for the winter, but I hope that you are prepared for the cold and snow coming up to that area within the next 45 days, all the way through till March 2021. If you are into that kind of weather, then you will enjoy it. Just make sure you dress everyone up warm enough. I am only saying this because according to the Farmers Almanac (which is 89% correct), we are due for a much colder snowy winter this year versus last year.

Snow is nice when you don’t have to shovel it or drive in it. Hopefully this winter you will not be doing either, but staying snug and warm inside. You stay safe.

Tom’s note: As always, thank you for your messages! Please keep writing us at [email protected].