# Canada/US border crossing (bonus: public notary question) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 22, 2006, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-us-border-crossing-bonus-public-notary-question/357820 "2006-05-22T21:26:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-us-border-crossing-bonus-public-notary-question/357820/21 "2006-05-26T03:53:18Z")
Agh, I was 15 when I got that passport, and you have to have gotten it after age 16 to renew by mail. Living in the boondocks really bites sometimes… But thanks for the info. **Ginger** , I will beg and plead with my travelling companions for a day to go to Banf. (Hey, living in the boondocks is great sometimes…if you’re used to driving 2 hours one way for groceries, 3 hours one way to see some glorious mountains isn’t too bad.) ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-us-border-crossing-bonus-public-notary-question/357820/22 "2006-05-26T03:54:27Z")
I meant Banff, of course. I have X-Men 3 (and 2, and Nightcrawler’s “BAMF!”) on the brain. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-us-border-crossing-bonus-public-notary-question/357820/23 "2006-05-26T05:39:16Z")
When you go to Banff, go up the road a bit to Lake Louise. Have a drink at one of the many excellent bars in the Chateau with a view of the Lake. Rent a canoe and paddle around. If you have an afternoon, climb up to the Agnes Tea House. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-us-border-crossing-bonus-public-notary-question/357820/24 "2006-05-26T09:54:51Z")
Things have certainly changed at Lake Louise since I was last there, but it remains one of the most beautiful places on earth. I worked there as a teen and always said I’d retire there. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-us-border-crossing-bonus-public-notary-question/357820/25 "2006-05-26T21:03:28Z")
Can I hijack this a little? What about minors, who wouldn’t necessarily have photo ID? What ID should we expect to provide if we’re bring kids across for a visit into Canada? We do have passports for the kids so we’ll bring them, but some friends who are also going don’t have passports for their kids. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-us-border-crossing-bonus-public-notary-question/357820/26 "2006-05-27T02:28:19Z")
A birth certificate, and if you’re not travelling with both natural parents, you will NEED a notarized letter from the absent parent stating that you have permission to cross the border with the child. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-us-border-crossing-bonus-public-notary-question/357820/27 "2006-05-27T03:06:12Z")
How big is Lake Louise? As a postal worker, I see postcsards of this place nearly every day (it’s very popular). The pictures are absolutely smashing. Gorgeous stuff. But it looks like a small piece of water (ie paddle across it in ten minutes). ther is also never any evidence of human activity there. Not a soul, let alone ‘many bars’. Is there a particular backwater the photogs use, or is that THE lake? Sorry for the hijack. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-us-border-crossing-bonus-public-notary-question/357820/28 "2006-05-27T17:59:22Z")
The lake at Lake Louise is approximately four kilometers from the townsite. It’s uphill. It’s one hell of a drunken walk, let me tell you. The lake itself is not particularly large, and you probably could paddle across in about ten or fifteen minutes. The Chateau Lake Louise is built right on the shore of Lake Louise, and there is a lovely teahouse around the far end. There is a shopping plaza up there, so that the well-heeled tourists have no need to leave the hotel complex during their stay. There is also a tour company which does horseback trail rides, and another hotel called Deer Lodge, just a few minutes’ walk from the Chateau. The townsite has many hotels, bars, restaurants, and a shopping plaza as well. When I lived there is was just wee, but it’s grown quite a bit. I worked at the Post Hotel, which is less expensive and more luxurious than the Chateau. It also has more convenient access to the ski hill. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-us-border-crossing-bonus-public-notary-question/357820.md?page=1)