Nearly two years of being caged in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic has some snowbirds anxiously waiting in their motorhomes and trailers in southern Alberta.

The Eight Flags Campground in the small windswept town of Milk River, 18 kilometres from the Canada-United States border crossing at Coutts, is full of shiny, large RVs.

ItB次元官网网址檚 in anticipation of land and sea border crossings reopening Monday for fully vaccinated Canadians. Such crossings were closed to non-essential travel at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020.

B次元官网网址淎ll of a sudden someone said the borderB次元官网网址檚 opening and it just went nuts here,B次元官网网址� said Helen Runka, who operates the campground.

B次元官网网址淭hey said theyB次元官网网址檝e been waiting to go back to the U.S. for two years and theyB次元官网网址檙e not going to miss out.B次元官网网址�

The campground, which has 35 sites, has twice the number of bookings for this weekend. Some overflow parking is being offered near a baseball diamond in the town.

Runka said itB次元官网网址檚 surprising how long some of her guests have been waiting.

B次元官网网址淭he one over there on Site 3 will have been here 18 days by the time he goes over the border,B次元官网网址� she said.

B次元官网网址淭he other ones from Saskatchewan and Ontario B次元官网网址� theyB次元官网网址檙e only here for 14 days.B次元官网网址�

Donna Call and her husband from Calgary pulled into the campground on Oct. 21 on their way to Brenda, Ariz.

B次元官网网址淚t will have been 17 days weB次元官网网址檙e going to be here,B次元官网网址� said Call, as she sat a picnic table next to her RV. The vehicleB次元官网网址檚 front Arizona licence plate reads B次元官网网址淒esert Rat.B次元官网网址�

Even the Alberta weather has made her long for the sunshine of Arizona, she said.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e had snow here. It was like, nasty. It was -13C for four or five days.B次元官网网址�

But she said they donB次元官网网址檛 plan to be lining up at the border on Sunday night.

B次元官网网址淚f my husband had his way, probably. But weB次元官网网址檙e going to leave around 5 a.m. (Monday). IB次元官网网址檓 just hoping itB次元官网网址檚 not backed up all the way to here before we try and pull out,B次元官网网址� she said, pointing to a nearby highway.

B次元官网网址淵ou never know. People could be sitting there at midnight.B次元官网网址�

Don Breckenridge from Langham, Sask., said he had hoped to be pulling into an RV parkin Las Vegas on Oct. 31. So heB次元官网网址檚 growing anxious.

B次元官网网址淚f you look at the weather up here, it happens to be extremely cold at night,B次元官网网址� Breckenridge said.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 just going to be a zoo in here the last night before it opens. ItB次元官网网址檚 just because people want to get down before itB次元官网网址檚 really snowing bad.B次元官网网址�

One camper, 23-year-old Otto Miantz, has been touring Canada since leaving the Danish Royal Marines four months ago.

He now wants to visit the U.S.

B次元官网网址淛ust driving around this one,B次元官网网址� he said knocking on the top of his car, B次元官网网址渉iking and sleeping out basically.B次元官网网址�

Miantz plans to meet a friend in Montana then drive through Idaho and Washington before crossing back into Canada to Vancouver.

He said he wants to get up early to be one of the first ones across the border Monday.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 expecting a lot of people to be down there. ItB次元官网网址檚 going to be crazy.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址� Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press