Point Roberts residents worry for future of 'Little America'

Point Roberts residents worry for future of 'Little America' with border restrictions extended

Section:Gallery

Sat., June 19, 2021

San Juan Cruises' 100-foot vessel Salish Express arrives at the Point Roberts Marina on Thursday, June 17, 2021, in Point Roberts, Wash. The Salish Express has been offered by the Port of Bellingham as an emergency ferry service from Point Roberts to mainland Whatcom County since August 2020 to help address unique transportation challenges caused by the ongoing closure of the U.S./Canada border to non-essential travel.

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Gradyn Comfort, 62, of Houston, talks on his cellphone as his wife, who asked to remain unidentified, snaps a photo on the Salish Express arriving at the Point Roberts Marina on Thursday.

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A seagull flies along a beach as a great blue heron wades near the shore on Thursday against a backdrop of Mt. Baker in Point Roberts, Wash.

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A woman who asked to remain unnamed takes a nap during the two-hour-long ferry ride aboard the Salish Express on Thursday, June 17, 2021, from Bellingham, Wash, to Point Roberts, Wash. The ferry trip affords many beautiful views of the area but for locals it's just another commute.

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Tourists aboard the top deck of the Salish Express snap photos as the vessel leaves Bellingham for the Point Roberts Marina on Thursday, June 17, 2021, in Bellingham, Wash.

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Brian Calder, President of the Point Roberts Chamber of Commerce looks out of his truck as he gives a tour of the community on Thursday, June 17, 2021, in Point Roberts, Wash.

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The view from Bayview Drive in Point Roberts looks along Centennial Beach and Boundary Bay and over the Canadian border on June 17.

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The Canadian-US border line is seen as marked on Thursday, June 17, 2021, as it runs along Roosevelt Way in Point Roberts, Wash.

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The US and Canadian border crossings were mostly vacant on Thursday, June 17, 2021, with the exception of the occasional traveler with an essential purpose going to Canada from Point Roberts, Wash.

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Beth Calder stands amid a warehouse full of held packages due to Covid 19 shutting down the US-Canadian border in 2020 on Thursday, June 17, 2021, at Point To Point Parcel in Point Roberts, Wash.

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Point To Point Parcel has a warehouse full of held packages due to Covid 19 shutting down the US-Canadian border in 2020, photographed on Thursday, June 17, 2021, at Point To Point Parcel in Point Roberts, Wash.

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A Point Roberts mailbox is seen full of uncollected mail on Thursday in Point Roberts, Wash. Many part-time residents of the community have not been able to return for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving yardwork and mail to pile up.

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Diane Thomas, 72, left, and her sister Jeanette Meursing, 74, trim the lawn of an absent community neighbor Thursday in Point Roberts, Wash.

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Diane Thomas, 72, left, and her sister Jeanette Meursing, 74, both laugh with each other Thursday after they finished weed-whacking an absent community neighbor’s yard in Point Roberts, Wash.

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Jeanette Meursing, 74, and her sister Diane Thomas, 72, (not pictured) weed-whack an absent community neighbor’s yard on Thursday, June 17, 2021, in Point Roberts, Wash. Realizing that many part-time residents of the community had not been able to return for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving yardwork to pile up the sisters sprang into action, mowing lawns and string trimming yards.

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A man walks a dock in Point Roberts Marina on Thursday, June 17, 2021 in Point Roberts, Wash. According to residents the marina would normally be full and bustling with activity from summer crowds, but, due to the Canadian-US border's continued closure in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, only a few locals were mingling on the docks.

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Carlos Toney, a deck hand with the Salish Express leaps from the boat to the dock as he helps tie it up before its final run for the day on Thursday, June 17, 2021, in Point Roberts, Wash. The Salish Express has been offered by the Port of Bellingham as an emergency ferry service from Point Roberts to mainland Whatcom County since August 2020 to help address unique transportation challenges caused by the ongoing closure of the U.S./Canada border to non-essential travel.

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A passenger heads below deck aboard the Salish Express on Thursday in Point Roberts, Wash. The Salish Express has been offered by the Port of Bellingham as an emergency ferry service from Point Roberts to mainland Whatcom County since August to help address unique transportation challenges caused by the ongoing closure of the U.S./Canada border to nonessential travel.

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A passenger disembarks from the Salish Express on Thursday, June 17, 2021, after it arrived in Bellingham, Wash. The Salish Express has been offered by the Port of Bellingham as an emergency ferry service from Point Roberts to mainland Whatcom County since August 2020 to help address unique transportation challenges caused by the ongoing closure of the U.S./Canada border to non-essential travel.

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