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SRP Perkins Substation Installation

This was interesting.  A 500 kV substation.  Everything overhead is humming and buzzing, 24 hours a day.  Only our little section of the substation is powered off, the rest is still working.  We installed some equipment in an outdoor cabinet, and also in a rack indoors.  We’re doing a bit of a joint demonstration of digital substation technology.

One of the challenging things about this kind of work is that the guys start soooo early.  They generally arrive at 5:30 AM.  We’d show up 6:30 or 7 AM, just as the sun was coming up.  I understand why they do it, of course – there’s no shade out there, and the sun is unrelenting & hot!  Hard to believe it until you feel it!

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01-03 April: Trip to New Mexico

I’ve been repeatedly invited to Albuquerque by Don Bartrip, president of Winmer Technology Innovators, a former customer of ours when Jason & I were at Norscan Instruments.  The Trinity Site, where the world’s first nuclear bomb was tested, in the middle of White Sands Missile Range, is only open two Saturdays a year – once in April, and once in October..  and the NRAO Very Large Array radio-telescope site has guided tours on certain Saturdays.  They coincided (probably not a coincidence), so I went for a drive to visit Don and see them both.

I took Friday off, so I could have lunch with Norbert Wegner of ERLPhase (visiting family here from back home), then make a leisurely drive up to Albuquerque, but alas, it was not to be.  We were in the middle of an installation at SRP’s Perkins Substation, and my part wasn’t functional yet – so I had to drive up and do a couple of hours’ work on my day off.  I had to make a 70 minute drive in about 45 minutes, and still ended up being 15 minutes late.  Sorry, Norbert!  We had a good chat anyway.

Then, off through Peyson, onto Interstate 40, and going east.  And east.  And east.  Just as I crested the plateau northeast of Peyson, my car threw a “service engine soon” indication.  ARGH!  If you know me, you know that I can’t stand a SES light on my dashboard. 

The next chance I got, which was Holbrook just before going onto I-40, I whipped out my handy OBD-II bluetooth adapter, plugged it in, fired up my tablet, and got the code out – it appeared to be a temporary “engine too lean” indication, probably due to the change in altitude together with the push of passing on a hill, so I cleared the code and moved on.  Yay!

Trinity Test Site

This site is deep in the middle of the White Sands Missile Range.  You turn off the main two lane highway, go down another paved 2 lane road for a couple of kilometres, until you come to a fence and gate, guarded by armed MPs.  They look at your passport and wave you through.  From there, you pass a group of buildings, and head out across the desert.  All side roads have pylons to show they are closed.  There’s the odd vehicle with armed MPs, watching.  You go about 8 km and turn off onto a sand road, and after another couple of km, it opens into a huge parking lot.  There were probably about 1,000 vehicles there.  You walk about 2 km to the actual site, which is about 1/2 km in diameter, well fenced off.  In the centre is a cairn with a plaque, which is apparently at ground zero – where the tower sat on that fateful day in July 1945, that they set off the world’s first nuclear bomb.  They apparently didn’t know how well it would work – or even if it would work – but it put out something like three times the expected energy, and vapourized some recording equipment that they weren’t planning to vapourize.  Great planning went into the work – multiple sets of monitoring & recording equipment at various distances from the blast.  The light from the blast was like a second sunrise when seen from a great distance.  People demanded to know what it was, but the government at the time (and for long time later) just waved their hands and said, “nothing to see here, move along” 🙂  As well they should have, I suppose!

About 4 km away from the Trinity Site is the McDonald ranch house.  All this land was expropriated from ranchers during the war, and this house and its outbuildings were left behind.  The military used the house as an office, a lab, and assembly building.  There are artifacts and displays inside.  Outside, the other outbuildings are gone, just remnants remain. 

They have nasty fine sand here.  I dropped my camera, and it started misbehaving.  You will see later pictures where the lens didn’t fully open.  So sad.  I had to spend the rest of the day checking each time I opened the lens, to ensure that I could get an unimpeded picture!

NRAO Very Large Array

 
Next, we dashed to the other side of Interstate 25, and onto Highway 60 headed west (yes, the same highway 60 that goes through Mesa and Phoenix, and continues up to Kingman).  From a ways off, you can see the little dots in formation – wow, that’s a big arrangement of satellite dishes!

It turns out that there are 27 dishes, each about 25 metres across and each mounted on a large heavy tripod arrangement and having bearing & azimuth drive.   There are railroad tracks going out in a “Y” formation some 34 km in each direction from the centre.  At various intervals, there are small (10 m?) spurs off the track, and a site pad where a dish can sit on three foundation pads.  They have a special carrier vehicle that goes down the railroad track, puts down its feet, turns 90 degrees to get onto the spur, then goes out under the telescope.  They support the telescope then unbolt it from the foundation pads, pick it up, and (slowly) move back onto the railway track and down to where it needs to be.  Wow.

There are four formations, “A”, “B”, “C” and “D” (how imaginative), where the 9 dishes in each arm are spaced at different distances from each other.  They change the formation nominally every 4 months, and, depending on the distance of the change, it can take up to 2 weeks to change over!

They have a supercomputer (built by the NRC in Ottawa?) inside, that takes the signals from the 27 dishes, correlates them, removes noise, integrates over time, etc., and they come out with images that rival the best visual images from Hubble!  Wow.

The radios used in these radiotelescope dishes are all built & maintained on-site.  They are unique in the world.  Cryogenically cooled, they are low noise and very sensitive.   The signals are brought back to the central computer by low loss cable, which they know the exact characteristics of, and the exact length, so they can compensate for everything when they do their calculations.  Cool.

They do observations 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  In pre-Internet days, researchers lived on-site during their observation period.  Now there’s just the bare minimum crew out there, keeping the system going.

Time slots for observations are assigned on a merit basis.  You don’t have to be some high end scientist to get time on the system.  They schedule the observation, and then queue them up on the computer.  Often they are 1 or 2 hours each, but can be more or less.  The on-site supervisor makes the final call, perhaps adjusting due to weather or other circumstances.

At the end of the tour, we went out and stood under the closest dish.  It was huuuuge!  As we stood under it, an observation changeover occurred.  It was wild, seeing these huge dishes moving (almost) silently, all perfectly choreographed.  These dishes are no slouches – I would estimate that it takes 60 to 90 seconds for them to go 180 degrees rotation, or from full low azimuth to pointing straight up.  Pretty impressive.

Visiting Winmer

On Sunday morning, Don and I did lunch at Hello Deli, a one-of-a-kind nice little breakfast & lunch spot.  Then we dropped by his office, Winmer, which brought back memories of the last time I was here, I think it was 2009.

The Drive Home

I stopped a few times 🙂

Airway Beacon

Don told me about the airway beacon system from the 1920s, and that there was one at the air museum at Grants Airport.  So, I stopped by!  Cool.  The museum was closed (Sunday afternoon, after all – and actually it’s open once a week), but I wandered around and stood at the base of the replica tower.

Standin’ on a Corner in Winslow Arizona…

Yes, it is interesting how a pop song, itself a product of culture, can influence culture in a feedback loop… oh wait, that’s the engineer in me prattling on again 🙂

There were people showing up constantly to take pictures and get their picture taken.  A beautiful blonde lass with an Aussie accent agreed to take my picture.  We chatted briefly, she was finishing up a bit of a road trip with her (much older) lady friend, going back to Denver and from there back to Australia…  Hmm, too bad that I was going west instead of east.  Oh well, I’ve got other issues to deal with 🙂

Winslow Crater

Yes, there’s a meteor crater not far west of Winslow.  I knew that it had closed at 5 PM, but I figured that I’d stop by and see it anyway.  Nope.  I went about 8 km sound on a narrow 2 lane paved road through a cow pasture (yes had Texas gate to enter).  Had to stop to let some cattle cross the road.  Then I crested a hill…  and saw the crater’s rim standing tall in the desert.  It was obvious that it was laid out in such a way that I wouldn’t see anything without being there when it was open.  Unfortunately, I didn’t take a picture of the crater rim from the outside – should have 🙂

And then home…

Then headed west toward Flagstaff, and south to home.

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27 March: Visit to the Commemorative Air Force Museum in Mesa

Right after church, Ted Raguso asked if I wanted to go to an air museum.  Now, I don’t know much about planes, but you know little boys always like planes, trains and cars.  So we went.  It was pretty interesting.

It turns out that they used to call themselves the Confederate Air Force, but here in the USA, the word “Confederate” has some meanings that many do not like – too many people lost in the war, still fresh in their minds, even though it was long ago.  So, they changed their name.

They were having a military flea market inside the hangar, and a military vehicle show outside that day.  The vehicle show was interesting too.  One was a perfectly restored WW II jeep – a real jeep, not an imitation or postwar commercial one.  I didn’t realize that Kaizer was made to share the prints with Ford, who made identical machines.  But, Henry Ford being the guy he was (or was it his son?  no matter), they put a little “F” on all the parts.  So, restoring a Ford WW II Jeep is more challenging, because you have to track down all the parts with “F” on them.  Heh, heh, maybe that’s why they did it – to make their vehicles more collectible????

I spotted a vehicle with a Canadian military insignia, flying the New Brunswick provincial flag, and numbered with a “CZ” on the side.  What gives?  It was an all-purpose military truck, and yes it’s originally from Canada.  Ha ha, can’t get away from those Canadians, can you?

One of the tracked vehicles was some kind of gun carrier – eek, the armament on that thing!  Kind of a propos in gun-happy Arizona, let me tell you… but that’s a story for another time.


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March & April: Backyard Flaura & Fauna!

Oranges

In early March, I had the first orange blossoms on my little orange tree 🙂 Other folks’ trees have been blooming for several weeks, such a sweet smell… and now my tree smells nice too. Maybe this year I’ll get more than one orange from it 🙂

 

 

 

Like last year, and the year before, there were so many blossoms on the tree, but last year I got only one orange, and the year before, only three.  After the blossom petals fall, you can see tiny fruit where the flower was – but they all disappeared, so sad.

So… just before he left, Eric helped me put a screen cover over my orange tree.  The idea is, if it’s birds (and we do have a lot of birds clattering around here in the spring), then it will stop them from accosting the tree ’til the fruit gets larger, when it seems they might be safe.

It’s a clunky contraption, but I hope it works.

Roses

It turns out that I have two rosebushes in the backyard, along the fence.  Had I known that, I’d likely have put the shed somewhere else!  Oh well.  The one on the south wall, is beautiful pink, smells lovely, came out with at least half a dozen blossoms.  The one on the east wall, is beautiful orange, came out with only three or four,   Both were lovely while they lasted!

The red rosebush appears to have been attacked by caterpillars or bugs.  I’ve sprayed to prevent further damage.

 

Here’s an update from early April.  Again, still lovely 🙂  I will have to spray them earlier next year.

 

And here’s from a week or so later.  They just kept coming 🙂

And a few days later.

Creeping Vines

Those who’ve been here know that I have a patio area covered in vines.  These vines appear to originate from my neighbours’ house – their whole south side, and half the west side, is covered with them!  I shudder to think of the damage that they’ve done to their house’s structure.  Oh well.

Anyway, these vines periodically get these big, beautiful, yellow blossoms on them, so beautiful.  Also, good hummingbird attraction as well – I’ve seen them a few times, but never fast enough on shutter to catch a picture.

Here’s what it looked like this year.

Honeybees!

One Saturday in March, my neighbour told me by text, that the bee’s nest on his house would be taken down Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, in the middle of the night.  What bee’s nest?  Oh the big one facing my kitchen window.  Hmm, never saw it.

 

I don’t know how I missed it!  It was over a metre across, it was crazy!  Constant activity around that hive.  I was wondering how I always had bees around my outside lights at night, and I’m sure that’s why.

Before relocation – about a metre (3 ft) across!

Apparently, they were honeybees and not nasty bees, so they were going to a farm – being relocated.

The guys didn’t show up on the appointed night, but about a week later, while falling to sleep, I heard something and looked out front.  Sure enough, a couple of white vans marked with the name of the bee keeper’s farm, and saying “Bee Relocation Service”, and they were readying their suits & ladders.  Now the eaves are empty.

There are still a few forlorn honeybees flying about.

After relocation – just a few forlorn honeybees buzzing about

 

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16 March: Something out of the Movies?

There was a little mishap on Bell by the Fry’s this evening.

I had zipped down to Fry’s to get some groceries, and saw a bunch of flashing lights in the corner of the parking lot.  I had to look closely, trying to figure out what everyone was staring at.  There was  one car crunched, the other upside down. I think someone was still in the upside down car when I first arrived. Two police cars in attendance. When I was leaving, one was on the tow truck, and they were about to hook up the second one…

OK, not so dramatic, but I thought it was kind of unusual, kind of like out of a movie.  Remember that scene in Blues Brothers in the mall, where the cops are in their car, upside down, spinning?  Ha ha ha!

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10 to 22 March – Eric visits Phoenix

Eric came to visit for almost two weeks this year.  He made it a sports extravaganza, taking in a NASCAR race, 4 baseball games, and an evening of dirt track racing.  We did Sedona & the Grand Canyon on a road trip.

Let’s Go Racing!

13 March: Eric and Dean go to NASCAR

It was loud!  It was fast!  It was thrilling!  Lots of fender benders, of course – what would NASCAR be without a few crashes????

19 March: Eric & Dean attend evening of Dirt Track Racing at Arizona Speedway

It is way, way, way out east & south… an hours’ drive, even with little traffic!  Had stock cars, modifieds, and sprint cars.

The funny thing is, with Phoenix being as big a centre as it is…  Grand Forks track is way, way nicer!  Stands, concessions, and all.  Oh well, in spite of that, we had a good time.  And some beer.  Beer helps too.  [ it looked like beer helped a lot of people that evening 🙂 ]

Other Car Stuff

Gotta check this museum out next time: Arizona Museum of Open Wheel Racing

We drove by, after the baseball game in Tempe, but they were closed 🙁

The Martin Auto Museum

We visited the Martin Museum, a little gem of a private auto museum tucked away on the east side of I-17 just south of the 101 loop.  It is a small, unassuming building (although it does have a cool sign), but inside it has a fantastic array of race cars, performance cars, sports cars, and memorabilia.  Very cool.  Check it out if you’re ever in town: http://www.martinautomuseum.com.

Play Ball!

14 March: Eric & Dean attend California Angels vs Cincinati Reds in Tempe Diablo Stadium

18 March: Eric & Dean attend Kansas City Royals versus California Angels in Surprise Stadium

16 March: Get Out of Town!

Eric & Dean take road trip to the Grand Canyon

I did not realize that Eric had never been to the Grand Canyon.  He expressed interest, and when I realized that he had never been, we just had to go!

On the way, I insisted on a side trip through Sedona, taking an extra maybe 3/4 hour, mostly to see the view from Oak Creek Vista.  Oops, forgot that it was spring break, ugh!  Took over an hour just to get to Sedona.  Mostly 2 lane, and a lot of traffic circles… had a chance to practice my circle etiquette.  Let’s just say that Eric found my etiquette a bit lacking a couple of times.  I needed the practice, I guess!

By the time we got to Sedona, we were starved, so we stopped for lunch.  Ugh, parking, finding the restaurant, then getting out of town…  I guess I could have planned it better.  Oh well, more dad & son time 🙂

Oak Creek Vista

One of the most interesting things about here is that you can look back into the canyon that you just wound your way up out of – and see the teensy weensy cars winding their way up the road you just came on!

Grand Canyon

Well, of course, it was…  Grand!   Heh heh.  Eric and I stayed a respectful distance from the edge.  Yikes, there were others who were way out on ledges, even a couple who sat with their legs dangling over a long long drop… he was reading her poetry.  How romantic… but not so much if they get startled and fall to their deaths…  oh well, that would never happen, right?  Actually, it happens all the time!  Ya can’t legislate intelligence.  Hmmm, more about the Arizona school system another time.

Eric hopped the low barrier and went out on a plateau, right as soon as we got there.  Thereafter, he stayed well back.  We overheard a guide saying that you should stay your own height’s distance from an open edge – so if you fall, you are ensured that you can grab something, even if it’s a trip-launch.  Good advice, I figure.

…and then Eric went Home…

Sniff.

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23 April: Has it really been over a year?

Apparently, it has.  Sorry about that!  I’m getting busier, here in the land of scorpions & rattlesnakes.  I’ve posted a few things on FaceBook, mostly because it’s easy from my phone.  So, you know what?  I think I’ll snag the FaceBook stuff and re-post it here, since it’s my life! 🙂  Then maybe I’ll try to get started here again.

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18 April: I come across a medical emergency :(

I watched most of the Jets vs Anaheim game, but needed to go for a walk.  Besides, I wanted ice cream 🙂    I took a stroll in the warm evening air.  I walked over to the Chase Bank near Cave Creek & the 101 Loop, took out some cash, but then decided that I didn’t need ice cream, so I walked back down to Union Hills Road and took up my “regular” route (at least it was regular until my whole system broke down 2 wks ago when I started working silly hours then flew to France!).

I was listening to the game through my phone, tuned through the Internet to TSN 1290 Winnipeg.  Curse that goal with 20 seconds left, grrrr!  Just as it was scored, I came up on 30th St and Union Hills, where there were two cars stopped, looked like maybe a collision – but it wasn’t.  One of the cars had been going westbound (coming toward me) on Union Hills, and had stopped along the curb just short of 30th St.  The other had come from the east, cut it off, and was parked at an angle in front of it.  Both front doors were open on the one along the curb.  A young man was standing in the open driver’s door, a young lady in the open passenger door.  The young lady was crying, sobbing, obviously upset, and talking into a cell phone; the young man was demanding that she give the phone to him.

A domestic dispute, perhaps?  Hmm.  I asked if everything was OK, she sobbed, “NO!”   It was then that I saw someone slumped in the driver’s seat.  Oh, no.

I asked if she had 911 on the phone – yes.  She handed the phone to the young man, just as a van pulled up, and an older man & two younger kids got out.

The young man managed the situation, was told to remove the lady from the car and put her on the pavement.  The older man & he took her out and laid her down.  I didn’t get involved (something which I feel somewhat guilty for now), but asked the kids to move the van behind the car so as to protect the rear.  They were not of legal driving age.  The young lady was in no shape to drive anything, anywhere, so I went back and flagged all the traffic over to the next lane.

Meanwhile, the young man started chest compressions.  The young lady was beside herself, “Where is the ambulance?  That’s my mom!  I can’t lose her!  I’m going to lose her!”

About two minutes later, a fire truck emerged from the corner at 32nd & Union Hills.  I shouted “four blocks!” and directed the truck in, then stepped back.

The firemen (yes they were all men) were slow & methodical, and I was wishing they would hurry up 🙁  But they got in there, relieved the young man from the compressions, and got the lady hooked up.  The older man was pacing, standing behind the car, clasping his hands, obviously praying.  The young man scooped up the young lady, took her to the van, where the other two kids were, and did his best to calm them down.

I asked the older man, if he was family (this was all very confusing to me).   Yes, that was his wife on the ground.  The young lady was their daughter, whom she was driving home when this apparently happened.  The young man was her boyfriend.

The ambulance arrived about two minutes later.  They got a strong pulse and regular breathing back!  The boyfriend was busy telling the daughter all this, that things were going to be all right, to be strong.  She was not doing well.

I recognized that there were three vehicles there and three drivers.  I mentioned to the husband that he should go in the ambulance, that the kids should deal with the cars, pick up one later.  He said no, he would follow.  I insisted that he go in the ambulance – “You have to, the cars are not worth it, let the kids deal with them.”  Suddenly, he realized and said thanks.  He went in the ambulance.

The daughter went to park the car along 30th street.  Again she was not doing well, so I directed her to a space under a streetlight, advised her to turn around to face the right direction (who knows if they tow for such things here, but it’s not a time to find out), to turn off her four way flashers, and to lock up the car.

The fire leader asked the daughter questions about the incident, like did the mother complain of any symptoms, did she say anything… etc.  No, nothing.  Then he turned to me and asked who I was.  I said “oh no, I’m just a passer-by, I have no knowledge of anything.”   And then everyone was on their way.

I continued my walk, shaken.  The hockey game seemed not-so-important now.  I stopped at the Circle K at the corner of 32nd and Union Hills for my ice cream, but they don’t have any.  I settled for some M&Ms 🙂

Life is short and can be taken from us at any time.  Enjoy it while it lasts.

And, to quote Percy Mayfield, Nothin’ Stays the Same Forever:
If you are a… thinking person… take the time… to pray!

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14 April: Europe liked me so much that they didn’t want me to leave!

After a whirlwind five days (or so… hey I’m still jet lagged) in Lyon, France, it was time to come back to Phoenix.  I got sent a “time to check-in” message 24 hours before flight, but that was 12 noon, and I was at the HVSE lab at Alstom Villeurbanne… and they don’t have WiFi for my phone 🙁  They do have wired Internet… if you have an Alstom computer… which I did, but it was late afternoon when I tried it. 

Because the first leg of the journey was Air France, you go to their web site to check in – fine.  It was confusing (even in English) but I got to a part where it wanted not only my passport information (the passport itself was safely locked in the hotel safe but I have all details in my LastPass Vault for just such occasions) but also my Visa or Permanent Residency Permit detail…  Curses, I don’t have my TN visa information on my Alstom computer, so that will have to wait.

We worked til 7 PM when our time ran out, security was locking the place down, and we had to leave.  This time, the taxi back to the hotel was a van – nice and spacious for once – and I asked the fellow to come back at 09h30 the next morning to take us to the airport.  He agreed.

When I got back the hotel, I went straight to the computer and checked in.  Or, rather, I tried to check in.  Again it wanted the Visa or Permanent Residency Permit… and this is a TN Work Visa under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA, remember that?  Brian was good for something!) – I am most certainly not cleared for permanent residency!  [I get reminded of this from time to time when I get denied bank credit because of this]   So, it says “See an Air France Agent at the airport”.  Well, you know me, I get stressed about such things… so I grumbled and sighed, and kind of said, “oh well”.

The morning of our departure, I zipped around, mailed some postcards (that’s another blog post altogether!) and was ready to leave at 09h30.  The van didn’t show up, it was a small car again 🙁  apparently the other driver’s brother.  Sigh.

Our taxi made a quick stop at the security gate at Alstom Villeurbanne, so my colleague Sam could get the power adapter plug that she’d left at the office the night before, and away we went to Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport (LYS).  We had made sure that our taxi would take a credit card, because our cash was running low.

At the airport, we did the usual “American fool in Europe” credit card dance.  Wave the corporate American Express card, nope they don’t take that.  Give them a personal Visa card.  Didn’t work.  Try a different personal Visa card.  Oh, wait a second, he’s putting the card end into the machine – and US credit cards have no chip!  Ugh.  I tried to tell him in my broken French that there was no chip, he’d have to swipe (we’ve had that happen before) but soon it became obvious that this credit card machine didn’t have a swipe slot – it was chip or nothing.  What a time to leave my Canadian credit cards at home!  I’ll take them next time.

The driver’s brother showed up – the one from the night before.  He couldn’t help.  (his machine had a swipe slot, but maybe there’s something that prevents them from cross charging?)

So we start scrounging the money.  57€, I had 40€ in notes and Sam had a 5€ and a ton of change.  She started counting the change.  When we got to 50€, the driver said, “Enough, that’s OK!” but we kept counting.  [At that point, he unlocked the doors – I had not even realized they were locked!]       We got to 55€ and then it was just small coins.  He was happy to see us go, I think 🙂

At the airport, the agent was polite, seemed to struggle a bit with my check-in, but gave me my boarding pass for all three flights – Lyon to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to Minneapolis, Minneapolis to Phoenix.  I checked my one bag and saw it go down the belt.  It wasn’t until the middle of the first flight, that I realized that the agent had not given me my bag tag.  Curses, sure hope it shows up, because now I don’t have a claim check 🙁

We had a tight connection in Amsterdam, although you wouldn’t know it from the schedule – we had to walk for miles, pass through (another) security check, even though we had not gone out of the security zone, up, down, across, ugh… and once we got to the gate, they were already calling zones!

There apparently is another level of security check before you can get on a trans-Atlantic flight.

First up, an agent takes you aside and asks about your checked luggage.  She wanted to see my bag tag, and was aggravated when I said that I didn’t have it.  She insisted that I look in my pockets, on my passport, on my boarding pass… then went to speak to the supervisor… then came back and gave me the 3rd degree about, you know, “Did you pack your own luggage?  Did anyone else give you anything to carry?  Were they ever out of your possession or control at any time?”  Then fine, continue on.  Whew!

Not so fast.

There is a second waiting area for boarding.  In order to get into that boarding area, they take your passport & boarding pass, then scan your boarding pass on some kind of a laser scanner (like a supermarket bar code reader).  Everyone else’s said “OK to Board”, so then they went into that second waiting area.  Mine said “Denied Boarding”.  For this station, there’s only one line, so folks are backed up behind me.

They tried and tried, went over to the computer and typed and typed.  Asked me my address, checked my birthdate, etc.

I stepped aside as best I could (with my UGH carry on with two laptops and various other junk in it!  And of course the CPAP machine) and they continued.  The supervisor came over and they tried and tried.

It took about 15 to 20 minutes to straighten things out.  It seems as though, for the purpose of international immigration, the TN Visa is actually classified as a permanent residency permit.  Ha ha, joke is on me. 

Now you go through another security bag check and body scanner.   At least now I’m in the real boarding area.

After a loooooooong flight across the Atlantic, we finally arrive in Minneapolis, where we have to go through US Customs & Immigration.  There are two lines – one that clearly says “U.S. and Canadian Passport Holders” and one for everyone else.  Where do you think I went?   Cool machine, you put in your passport, it asks a bunch of questions and takes a photo of you from above, then prints out a slip that you take with you up to the booth.

The guy asks, “So you are going home to Canada today?”  
Of course, I answer “No, home to Phoenix.”  
His eyes narrow, “Where do you live?”  
I give my address in Phoenix. 
“How do you do that, do you have a visa?” 
“Yes, you just flipped past it, there it is.” 
“You have a TN Visa?  You are supposed to be in that line over there.”
I roll my eyes (oops).  “Well it said U.S. & Canadian Passport Holders.”
“Not if you are here on a TN Visa.”

He gave me a bit more of the gears, then  finally sighed and just let me through.

A few minutes later, miracle of miracles, there’s my suitcase!  As I strut toward the exit, another agent steps out from the side, and asks me to submit to secondary screening.  Now, you don’t say no to a customs & immigration agent, especially in this country.  So, I said, “sure”, with a smile.

That turned out to be a non-event.  He asked a few questions, put my bags through yet another scanner – although thankfully I didn’t have to take the laptops out this time, nor have to half undress or empty my pockets.  Then I was off to drop my bag on the belt for the next flight.

Wait a second – I don’t have a bag tag for it.  I asked the attendant at the belt if they would re-tag my bag… or else I could photograph the tag and its bar code, I suppose…   she reached down, pulled the tag off (it was still on the strip) and put it on my boarding pass!  Yikes 🙂

The rest was largely uneventful.  We had to go through full security screening again (I moaned and was told it was because we had had access to our bags which might have items that are not allowed on the plane), then went to the gate, where I had a drink!  Oh yes, and now that I’m back in the USA, my CDMA phone starts to work again – so I got a ton of E-mails and messages.  Ah, the connected world we live in!