Fortuna border crossing

Picture this: heading north, sun at our backs, good road, plenty of time to reach the border and maybe make Saskatoon by evening. This is what happens when you have expectations on a 'fly by the seat of your pants' road-trip. After missing a turnoff that set us back an hour, we are toodling along, still optimistic that things are going well.  We see one road sign informing us of no shoulder ahead. What they should have said, no road ahead. The road just disappeared. Obviously work being done, but no evidence that there are people working on it.  Now picture this: no traffic, no houses, no signs, no people. It is getting darker and darker, muddier and rougher, bigger and bigger pot holes and after about an hour of driving the only evidence of life once being here is the half laid pipeline we see in the dusk. No signs to tell us that we are on the correct road to the border or to say Canada this way. Nothing. Just a road that is getting worse and may require us to go into 4 wheel drive. Okay, there was one vehicle a ways back that was following but he disappeared somewhere along the way. Not a lot of people heading to Canada.  Now we are thinking that we may not make the border by the time it closes at 10pm. Rita is still looking forward to hitting the duty-free. I have lost hope.  

I have no idea of how long this took us, but it was dark when we finally saw the border crossing. Looked like it was closed due to pylons blocking the road but we see lights and a couple of guards ahead and a sign saying last exit to the US this way. Not sure what was what. So scooted around the blockade, past a border vehicle sitting there and it sort of like we were pulling up for an oil change in a garage. There was a van from Wyoming inside and we could see the fellow in the office talking to the border guards. After about 15 minutes he departs and they indicate for us to pull in. Not sure what they thought but after a quick check of our passports we are back in homeland Canada. Whew! So relieved that they were open and I don't have to drive back on that non-existent road or spend the night in the car at the border. And the duty free 'trailor' was closed.

Abandoned house, can see potholes a bit