But Canada's only two hours away! 07/10

I woke up around 9:15, showered, and started packing to leave. Around 10 am, one of the state troopers came over and said that I wasn’t on his list and I needed to go pay before I left. I said ok, finished packing, and headed for the exit.

Turns out Minnesota State Parks are not very good deals. The park I stayed in was pretty underwhelming as far as cleanliness and overall “wow” factor. It was 24 dollars for the lot I was in because it had electricity. That would be outrageous enough for a state park, but on top of that, I had to buy a day pass for my car (even though I was only camping), which was another 5 dollars. I paid 29 dollars for an 8 hour stay! I could have stayed in a crappy hotel for a few dollars more and been a bit more comfortable. The moral is, don’t stay in Minnesota State Parks.

After leaving the park, I made my way up to Soudan, MN, so I could finally go see the physics lab which drew me up that far in the first place. I pulled up about 1:30, paid to see both the underground mine and the physics lab ($10 a piece for the tours), and waited for 2 pm to roll around for the first tour to start.

At 2, they ushered the tour group into a room to watch a short video about the history of the mine, and how it was apparently “the Cadillac of underground mines.” We then were all smashed into a small elevator that brought us down half a mile under the surface. The worst part of the day was when some redneck looking gentleman decided he wanted to smack his gum loudly in the crowded, tiny elevator for the entire 5 minute long journey underground. I can understand the want to keep your ears comfortable by chewing when the pressure around you is changing, but smacking is not the way to do it. It was as if I was literally being lowered down into hell.

Anyway, it got to be very cold that far down (about 50 degrees, very not hell-like), and I was glad I brought my heavy jacket with me. I saw some numskull kids wearing shorts and a t-shirt with a light windbreaker, like they were about to take a stroll on the beach in late April. I’m sure they regretted it once they got down there.

Overall, the mine tour was very interesting. We were shown what working conditions were like (sort of) first hand, and it was a very impressive mine. The chamber we were in was more reminiscent of a cavern than a mine. The way the mountain is, no timber was needed to support the roof or the walls from caving in, so they miners just dug out huge expanses at a time.

After that the physics tour came around at 4. I already knew the information the tour guide was giving me from what I’ve read about the subject in books and online, so the excitement of learning new information wasn’t there. The tour guide tried to make a few jokes, some of which were funny, and some the crown just didn’t appreciate, but overall it was a good experience. The main reason for going was to be there in person where they were doing all this research, so my mission was accomplished.

I looked on my map to see where to go next, and noticed the Canadian border was only 2 hours away. I thought, “Eh, why the hell not go take a picture of Canada?” Since I didn’t have a passport with me, I wasn’t planning on going to Canada, but just go take a picture of it from across the way. I pulled into International Falls, MN about 9 pm, and had another, “why the hell not” moment and decided to try to get into Canada anyway, sans passport. I paid my 10 dollar toll to cross the bridge and spent the next hour being interrogated by customs officials while they looked through all my stuff. They didn’t really like that I didn’t have a passport, or even a birth certificate, to prove my citizenship. All I had was a whim and my driver’s license.

Apparently that was good enough though. After a stern talking to from the official about the importance of having a passport, she allowed me entrance into Canada. She gave me what can best be described as a visitor’s pass to Canada. I have 2 weeks before I have to get out. If I’m not out of Canada by 12 am on July 25, a warrant will go out for me as a fugitive and I will be subject to arrest.

Surprisingly, my Capital One debit card didn’t work when I first got to Canada. I filled my car up with gas, went to pay the attendant, but they said my card was declined. I said it shouldn’t be, it has money on it. They informed me that sometime cards from America don’t work in Canada. This was very distressing as I only had 2 dollars in cash, and no other way to pay for the gas, much less anything else, besides using my card. After about 35 minutes of worrying and a bit of walking to the grocery store down the road, it was suggested that I might just have to have authorization from Capital One for my card to work in Canada. I called the 800 number on the back, spoke to a representative, and insto-chango, my card worked! Crisis averted. So just a word to the wise, if your going to a foreign country, even Canada, call your credit card company before you go to get them to authorize use in that country,

Canada so far has been like America, just not as good. Everything is in liters and km/h, plus there’s that tiny but noticeable exchange rate. The cheapest gas I’ve seen has been 1.00/liter (or about 3.50/gallon), and everything is about 16 percent more than it should be (because of that $1.16 Canadian to $1.00 US thing they have). There’s also a tiny bit of figuring that goes in to how far away everything is, since all the signs are in kilometers. I also have to remember that all the speed limit signs are in km/h, and its not appropriate to go 60 mph where it says 60 kmh (there’s about a 20 mph difference).

So now I’m sitting in a Tim Horton’s parking lot typing all this out.

Tim Horton’s is a weird mix of things. It’s part Subway, part CC’s, and part donut shop. Anyway, I’ve decided that since I’m in Canada, I’m going to go 800 miles in the wrong direction to go see Niagara Falls. It’s supposed to be more impressive from the Canadian side, and I missed it when I was in New York on my last trip, so I figure, “why the hell not?”