Road trip...canadian boarder help?

[Brent]

Im leaving tomorrow from CT on my way back to school in Oregon..i plan on taking the northern route and probably heading from montana up into canada for a few days...I was jsut wondering with a car packed full of stuff what happens when i try to go through the boarder and get checked? ive done it before no problem, but am i going to need more then just a drivers license? and am i goin got be stopped and made to clean out my car for like 5 hours?! cause thats the last thing i want to do...please get back to me asap if you have experiance with this...thanks

[Don Woodmancy]

The scrutiny you receive crossing into and out of Canada depends to some extent on your appearance, age, and attitude, however, you should be prepared for fairly close attention being paid in either or both directions. Even before last September, Canadian border checks could be extensive for young people, for anyone they thought might be importing firearms, and sometimes, random checks. I can only guess it has gotten more stringent since then. I have friends who are Canadian. They are middle-aged and look quite "normal" and they were subjected to a very close examination crossing back into Canada last month. On the other hand, I (older-also "normal") crossed near Toronto a few months ago and was only asked two or three routine questions in either direction. Over the years, I have found that there is no way to predict how much attention you are going to receive at a border unless you do something stupid-then you're going to get all the attention you can handle. Have a great trip.

[Richard woods]

your chances of being "checked" rest with your response,appearance,attitude.I have traveled to the far east visiting several countries including Mexico and the only time I was subjected to scrutiny was when my son and I returned from Mexico complete with backpacks etc, walking back across,and our own customs put us thru a useless search back in 1992.It was our appearance after 20 days of traveling in Baja that got the attention.Just be sure you have proper identification to prove your citizenship,and you should be fine.