Yesterday I went from Bellingham WA to British Columbia. I crossed at Sumas going Northbound. I really got some scrutiny from Canadian border patrol. They seemed very interested in why I visited Washington and B.C. They wanted to know what my job is. I told them I was retired. They still wanted to know what I did when I was working. I rather felt like they were trying to trip me up somehow. After the 3rd degree at the crossing booth, they then had me park my car and go inside. Again an interrogation. Then wait on a chair under a display of international border patrol badges.

I have heard that some of the cross-border drug traffic goes through places like Sumas. When I was back in my car driving to meet my niece, I looked in the car mirror and wondered if I looked like a narcotics mule.

I ate at an Indian restaurant in Abbotsford. Then I drove to Surrey and watched an Indian movie. When that let out at 9:30PM, I drove back to the border on 99.

I love the Vancouver area, but I'm not in love with B.C. roads and highways. They have these very long and straight roads, such as highway 10. And you can drive for miles in the outside lane. Then suddenly there's an arrow painted on the road and the lane disappears without much warning. I had to do some risky maneuvers to avoid an unwanted right turn. When going back to Bellingham WA, I found myself abruptly on an onramp to a highway. But for many minutes I couldn't tell what highway.
When I finally saw a road sign, it said I was on 99 northbound! So I had to find a place to reverse.

When I crossed at the Peach Arch, it was funny. The CBP guy was a Latino with a thick immigrant accent. And he seemed in quite a hurry to get me through. I sure didn't mind at that time of night, but given the trafficking stories, it wasn't what I expected. It was a relief to get on an oversigned American interstate highway. The rest of the trip was uneventful.

You are correct - In general, road signage in British Columbia is very poor, particularly when you compare it to the excellent signage in the United States.

There needs to be many more early signs telling you of changes in traffic - They're simply absent. I'm not sure if its budget, or culture, or what.

It's possible you were grilled at the border because you were only coming for a very short trip. I suspect it's outside the norm for a tourist to cross into Canada for only a few hours, to go to dinner in Surrey, then come back.

Several years ago, I went to Vancouver for a day. The rental car had Oregon plates. They were so suspicious that someone would drive from Oregon for such a short trip until I showed them that it was a rental car but that I had rented the car from Seattle.

I was actually inspired to stay in Bellingham by my brother who retired here because his daughter, who I visited, lived such an easy and brief drive away. The location makes these lightning visits very easy. It also helps that I like Bellingham, but my short visit was part of the plan. Maybe there just aren't many like me who cross the border at Sumas.

The CBSA at Sumas are surly ****ers. It didn't help when one of them was busted for drug smuggling, but it is mostly used by locals so a tourist spices up their day.

The truck crossing (SR 543) isn't much better. Stick to the Peace Arch (I5), traffic and all.

You should have been able to tell N. from S. by the sun. Oh, wait...

What with my unwanted extra excursions, I got to the Peace Arch crossing when the traffic was nil. It was the closest crossing but also nothing backed up. Under those circumstances, it was the best option. As I might have said, the guy with the Latino accent acted like any checking at all was a bother. Opposite of TSA.