Border Crossing – Fun Living

Yes, Beaver fever is a thing. It is actually a slang name for a Giardia infection, which one gets usually from drinking contaminated water. The water can be contaminated from wild animal feces, and one can get it from drinking water from streams or lakes even in pristine country like Alaska. Before Joe and I went to Alaska on our 20^th Anniversary trip, we had heard about Beaver Fever from my Mom, who was insistent that they had gotten it when in Alaska by eating ice from a Glacier that was brought into a tour boat for the Tourists to taste and touch.

My parent had driven up the Alcan Highway with my younger brother. The rest of us kids were already either in college or in the working world and did not go along, as we had our own lives by then. My parents drove their RV up the Alcan Highway with my mom’s brother and his family who also had kids along so it was perfect for my brother. He was young at the time maybe six or seven years old. My uncle had two boys who were very close to his age and two girls a little older then the boys. It was a perfect group to travel together.

My uncle tells the story that my brother almost got him arrested at the Canadian border. The boys all had Nerf guns to play with and frequently rode together in one of the RV’s. When they went across the Canadian border, a border guard came onto the RV and asked my uncle whether they had any guns they were taking into Canada. He indicated they did not, at which point my young, innocent brother piped up and said “Oh, yes we have guns.” The border guard immediately became interested and when my uncle tried to explain that he is talking about their toys, the guard stopped him cold and told him to be quiet while he talks to the boy. He asked my brother to show him the guns and my brother showed him the colorful stash of Nerf guns, at which the guard had a good laugh. It is one of my favorite stories.

It was these two families traveling together that my Mom insisted had contracted Beaver Fever from eating Glacier ice. Well I had been warned, and we do heed our mother’s warning because most often she has been right, so when my husband and I went to Alaska we were armed with the Beaver Fever warning. We had the trip all planned and part of it was a boat tour of the Kenai Fjords National park. If you have not been there, you have to see this in your lifetime. It is amazingly wild and beautiful. You take a boat out of Seward on the Kenai Peninsula for an entire day trip. During the trip you see whales, sea lions, puffins and birds of all types, and of course you see lots of glaciers and you see the glaciers calving, which is when large chunks of ice fall off. Many ice chunks are so large that the sound is like an explosion and they set off a huge wave when they hit the water. It is a really cool experience. Even the air around the glacier is wet, fresh and cool; even though we were there in July, we wore jackets.

The tour operator took us through the Fjords and along islands and coasts, telling us all about the wildlife we were seeing and the history of the area. We tried our best to get the perfect photos to try to capture the beauty that was before our eyes, but I never seem to get those perfect photos. I have great photos, but for me it is never as good as being there.

As we toured around, the boat staff served drinks and food and kept everyone entertained. So there we were on the double-decker boat tour, and as we watched a glacier calve and heard the sounds and felt the waves, even on our huge boat, the staff pulled in a large chunk of the glacier ice with enormous tongs and put it up on a buffet like table, and started using a pick to make it into smaller pieces and made glacier margaritas with the crystal blue ice and lemonade for the kids. So there was a dilemma! Who does not like margaritas and even more importantly, who would not like a margarita made with Glacier ice from the Kenai Fjords? But what about the Beaver Fever we had been warned about? So the choice becomes either, go for it and drink the coolest margaritas ever, made of glacier ice and served in the fresh air of the Kenai Fjords and risk the Beaver Fever induced vomiting and diarrhea, or skip the experience and watch as others lined up to sip the cold fresh lime juice and orangey triple Sec, with Silver Tequila that I could see them pouring, by the half gallon full into the large covered pitchers that were then being shaken vigorously over the uneven chunks of glacier ice. I got in line still knowing I could get out of line if I decided against it at the last minute. As I waited my turn, I rationalized and developed my arguments of why this would be ok. First my mom could be wrong. After all they were traveling with a bunch of kids. They could have picked up anything. Second, if this Beaver Fever was from Glacier ice would these boat tours serve the margaritas? They take groups out in boats ever day during the tourist season. Wouldn’t their passengers all be complaining about getting sick afterwards? And if such a thing did exist, I am a nurse and probably have pills for that in my travel bag which looks like a pharmacy.

By the time I was halfway through my rationalizations, it was my turn and I took the chilled margarita and the first sip was amazing. It was more orange flavor than lime and by far, the best margarita I had ever had. It was not blended and yet it was so icy cold, it almost gave you an ice cream headache. It was smooth and refreshing, because the orange was overpowering the lime by a little and it did not have the severe bite. Of course it did not hurt that we were drinking them on the deck of a boat, in one of the most beautiful and wild places on earth while watching the whales swim around the numerous lush green forested islands.

Sometimes you just have to take a chance and jump in with both feet, even though you know there is risk. We did not get sick at all and I am guessing that if any Beaver Fever parasites existed in the glacial ice, the Silver Tequila was enough to kill them. Of course this would be an entirely different story if we had become sick, but it still would be a story. Sometimes you just have to trust and take a chance that all will be OK. There is very little that we do when we are exploring the world that is risk free, but the opportunity to get out of our comfort zone and experience new things is exciting and a big part of why we want to see those most beautiful and sometimes exotic places. Travel well, jump in with both feet, taste the food, drink the margaritas and know that exploration takes some bravery and some risk, but it is well worth the experiences and the stories.

I graduated from St. Scholastica in Duluth, in 1980, with a degree in Nursing and started my first job as an OB/GYN nurse at St. Paul Ramsey Medical Center, now Regions. My good friend Kae Honeman graduated that same year. I had met her in the college dorm on my first day, in my first year of college, at St. Cloud State, where I had done my general education credits before transferring to St. Scholastica for Nursing. Kae was a fun loving soul. We were part of a dorm floor of fun loving girls in their first year of college. Back then we could drink in college and it was the 1970’s, so need I say more. We never got into any serious trouble, but I do recall a Friday night where Kae pierced my ear with a hot needle and an ice cube. There was some liquor involved. I still have that extra earring spot just on my left ear and I wear one earring proudly in it, as a daily remember of those wild and crazy years with my college girlfriends.

A few years after we both graduated we decide to go on a road trip adventure. We flew into San JoanCalifornia1981n Francisco where Kae’s brother lived, and stayed with him touring around the city for a few days before renting a car and driving down the Pacific Coast Highway for 10 days. We had no agenda other than to end up in LA to fly back to Minnesota. It was good to be young and free. We had no worries, only 10 days to enjoy and meander our way through some of the most beautiful scenery in the country. So off we went, tunes blaring and driving the cliff roads along the Pacific Ocean. I wish we had had cell phones in those days. We would have a lot more pictures of the beauty of that trip. Alas, technology was not as advanced. In fact we were gone for 10 days and not once in that time did we call our parents or any relatives and that was perfectly acceptable back then. That would be unheard of now, where we are used to communicating on almost a daily basis if we want to. Back then long distance phone calls were expensive.

Fairly quickly in our trip we ended up in Big Sur with its ocean cliffs and mountains. We stopped in a little town for lunch at a local bar restaurant among the large pines. I still remember the cool moist air and the smell of those trees. We ended up staying and talking with the locals and hanging out all day, playing pool, laughing and telling stories. People we had never met before became very close in those few hours. We ended up staying overnight and the next day hopped in our car and were off again on our adventure. When we saw beautiful beaches we stopped to swim, like in Monterey and Pismo beach. We stopped at the Hearst Mansion in San Simeon and toured Santa Barbara. We made our way stopping to eat when we were hungry, drinking wine and getting hotels when we were tired. We passed LA after stopping at a few beaches and Sea World, making our way toward San Diego to spend a few days.

We decided that we wanted to visit Tijuana Mexico. After all it was the 1980’s and you did not need a passport. However, I am not sure why we thought, as two women in their twenties, that this was the safest decision. Nothing bad happened, but it makes me judge our stupidity level. We were told not to bring purses because of pick pockets and we were told not to drink the water. With that information we walked across the border. We shopped and bought sea shell wind chimes and tequila, and poor Kae sprained her ankle walking around on the cobblestone streets. Of course me being the nurse, I said we can make this feel better if we just got an ace wrap and wrapped it up. We looked for a “drug store” (pharmacy). Imagine the looks we received from the locals when we Minnesota girls were asking for a “drug store.” It took us a few strange looks before we realized what we were asking for and changed our request to a “pharmacy.” We were lucky we did not get arrested, but we found our pharmacy and with a lot of gesturing to get over the language barrier, were able to buy an ace wrap and keep Kae going.

Having shopped as much as we wanted, we retreated to a local restaurant and bar and ordered margaritas. After all we had to try margaritas in Mexico. After drinking about half of them, we realized they were full of ice and we had been warned not to drink the water or the ice. By that time, we figured the tequila would kill anything in the water and we must have been right because we did not get ill.

On the way back across the border, as I was standing in line, tired from the days activities and with a little tequila under our belt, I suddenly realized as I saw everyone pulling out their drivers licenses for ID, that I only had a credit card on me and no ID of any kind. After all, we had been told not to bring a purse, so I only took cash and a credit card in my pockets. I was panicked as I thought I could not get back into our country without ID, and it was getting dark by now. Kae being the ever calm and reassuring one said “You don’t look Mexican. You will be fine.” At the time, I thought the statement was ridiculous, but it turned out to be true in the 1980’s. I got to the border guard and explained that we had come shopping for the day and were told about the pick pockets and that is why I had no ID. I am sure I was sweating by this time and looking real nervous. These are all bad things around border guards. The guard laughed and said “no problem” and let us through.

I entered the US without any ID of any kind and on top of it all, I had a shopping bag full of crap, like a Mexican blanket and the shell wind chime all neatly wrapped in paper by the Mexican shop owners. The border guards did not even bother unwrapping or looking into the packages. I could have had 10 pounds of hash or cocaine in there and they would not have known. They checked nothing and let me through on my word. It was clearly a different time.

We finished our trip and had dinner in LA on our last night in California. We flew back tired, but having a real taste for more travel and more adventure. Even though we both became busy over the years with our careers and then families, we shared that road trip in the 1980’s that we can reflect upon fondly. It wove courage, problem solving skills, fun and a taste for adventure in the fabric of our very being. We did not have a lot of money back then, being just out of college, but I am glad we took the time and money to explore our world together.

Fun Living

Stories by Joan Quade

Tag: Border Crossing

Beaver Fever

Joan and Kae’s Excellent Adventure