Undefended Border Crossings? Not Any More.

With the prospect of several days of rain in the forecast, we inexplicably decided it would be a good time to take a short road trip to explore a bit more of Washington, a small area just south of Trail.  We rationalized that if it did rain the whole time, we had the camper, the furnace worked, the beer would be cold, the chips crunchy and we had lots of books to read.

Accordingly, we loaded up with reading material and headed south.

The first little surprise was getting stalled at the crossing south of Salmo.  This is a small, presumably pretty quiet crossing, and we've been through it many times in the past few years.  This time, however, after the usual questions about where and for how long (camping, about 2 days, and no we don't have a specific campground in mind....I've started to wonder if everyone they see who intends to camp knows exactly which campground they plan to stay at....are they unfamiliar with the concept of exploring?...), we get questions about possible recent medical tests, do we have any old gauges on board (like from an old airplane)....?  Huh???

Apparently one of their sensors picked up something, and for the next hour, we waited around while they held some kind of detector to us and our vintage Big Horn camper van, trying to find out .... well, we're not really sure, but I gathered that they were looking for radio-isotopes, possibly?  I had a ceramic tile saw in the van.  Maybe something from the tiles???  Who knows?  In any case, after they completed some paperwork, and apparently not finding anything interesting, we were allowed to proceed.  So, was this a case of some new toy to play with?  A training exercise?  Some equipment gone amuck?  They weren't exactly forthcoming but since they let us in, I'm assuming we were considered to be safe....  (At no time on our trip did I see the van glowing in the dark....).  I did hear the agent mention some isotope of Thorium....

One interesting sidebar: we were asked twice to keep our hands out of our pockets since the agent in question "...didn't know what was in our pockets".  (Ummm...my wallet and a dirty hanky....but I guess you can't be too careful....).

After a couple of days of reading, crossing Sherman Pass in a blizzard, finding one sunny morning for a short bike ride, we headed back north.  As we approached the border south of Christina Lake (BC), we noticed that there was a gauntlet to pass just to leave the Republic and return to our Socialist homeland.  Departing vehicles were being lined up so they could be X-Rayed.  So we had to get out, go hang out by the fence  while a truck drove up and down along the line of vehicles.  Our van is of early 1980s vintage, so I hope they spotted the rust, the joint arthritis and other artifacts of our van's old age.  I was tempted to ask, but given the small army of guys there in bullet-proof vests and guns, I decided that they might not appreciate my attempt at levity.  Who says I don't know when to keep my yap shut??

Thinking back, I do recall other minor annoyances crossing the border in past years, but one is tempted to put them down to individual crankiness or authority-wielding overkill.  I'm starting to wonder, however, if what we're seeing is a crescendo of paranoia, where everyone is to be treated like a potential enemy, out to cause harm.  I also wonder, though, if the inevitable result of treating everyone like a potential enemy eventually results in not having any friends.

Closer to home, I would have to say that as we see signs of our government ratcheting up its own level and brand of paranoia and fear, it's in our best interests to demand better.  Our traditional (?) low-key behaviour at home and around the world seems much less likely to attract trouble.  Harassing the ordinary, traveling public seems quite likely to result in more questions about your sanity, and intimidation tactics probably don't make anyone feel much safer.