Great article by FSW (sorry if this was posted already)

[Zeke]

Seems that Stephan Wilkinson was on the California Targa route before the event took place. See the last leg.

http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/articles/500371

Most excellent!!

(no Porsche content other than the road and the fact that FSW is a gold plated Porsche owner )

[snbush67]

Milt, good find, great read.

FSW-
Great thought - One of Nissan's marketing challenges will be either to find 14-year-olds who can afford GT-Rs or to make their parents aware of them.

Hunter-Liggett, I was there over 2O years ago with NVG's in a jeep at night, scary stuff.

[Zeke]

Speaking of Hunter Liggett, he mentions that he and his daughter had to check in with the guards. Does that mean the roads are not patrolled by the CHP? Is there Heaven after all?

[snbush67]

Fort Hunter Liggett, guards were either DoD or MP, National Guard training base, sniper school etc. Those roads are terrible twisties with drop offs, cliffs, caverns and gorges, nothing there but spiders, snakes, pigs and rats.

I don't think John or Ponch have ever been there, but maybe.

[snbush67]

oh...and bats.

[CurtEgerer]

It's worse Milt. We were told that within the military grounds, if you were doing 36MPH in a 35MPH zone you would be ticketed, no ifs, ands, or buts. Luckily, the good roads start as you leave the base. I was detained for 30 minutes at the guardhouse because they didn't like my Michigan-legal vintage 1971 license plate

Here's a video of the section he talks about on Page 5. It is fun, but so tight that it's sort of a novelty road. All 2nd gear in my car. I guess I could've nicked 3rd a few times if I was pushing it, but no guardrails and a 2000 foot drop to the ocean ....


from cegerer on Vimeo.

[304065]

Awesome article.

Curt, that video made me afraid you were going to drive off the edge of the cliff.

[DSouth]

Wow great video.... Love the cyclist at 3:39. I bet he was surprised....

[Nine17]

Originally Posted by DSouth

Wow great video.... Love the cyclist at 3:39. I bet he was surprised....

I was concentrating on staying on the pavement that morning, but I think that "he" was a "she." Quite a climb coming up from the coast on a bicycle. The DOD guards at the Hunter-Ligett gate always give a friendly warning about the MP's and their radar. Once you hit Los Padres National Forest you're off their turf. The route is pretty much second-gear stuff but if you've seen "Mountain Legend" it looks a lot like the Piccolo Madonie...

[RoninLB]

FSW does Colorado in 2004


http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/articles/5777

[Zeke]

So, where would one have to pay a ticket if on federal land?

[MRM]

I can unfortunately answer that question. The ticket is paid through the United States District Court (Federal Court) for that area. The directions may or may not be printed on the ticket. If not, you have to call the court and get an appearance date to appear in court and get your fine or trial. And unless the feds have a prosecution agreement with the local municipality, the case is prosecuted by the US Attorney's office by real live Assistant US Attorneys who spend the rest of their days prosecuting drug lords, La Cosa Nostra or mortgage fraud rings. And to top it all off, the guy presiding over the case will be a real live federal judge. That would be what we call an Article III judge. Of the type appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the US Senate. Some offenses may now be handled by mere US Judge Magistrates, who are just appointed for seven year terms, rather than for life, but they are hardly less impressed with themselves than are the Article III judges.

If you have the misfortune to receive a citation from one of the fine federal law enforcement agencies on federal land, and you have the termidity to contest those charges and stand upon your constitutional rights, do not think that any of the above-mentioned gentlemen or gentle ladies will be pleased to have their time be used by a citizen who redresses such grievences to his government. They will not. They will not try to make it a plesant experience for you. And it won't be.

The only silver lining is that usually the feds don't certify their offenses to the state, so it isn't likely to show on your driving record, and a lot of the federal fines are pretty outdated and low.

[CurtEgerer]

These guys at the 'guard shack' actually called the Secretary of State in Michigan trying to verify my 1971 license plate. The genius at the State also volunteered to them that they had no record of my insurance! I had my valid insurance certificate and valid registration in hand but they said it "didn't look like a registration" to them In the "EXPIRES ON" box it says, "NON_EXPIRING". The registration was issued some 10 years ago when I got the plate and there is no annual renewal or yearly registration sticker to put on the plate. And since there's no annual renewal, the State would not have a record of my current insurance. I eventually had to call Hagerty who quickly faxed a copy of my insurance cert to the friggin' guard shack!! Sheeesh!

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by MRM

I can unfortunately answer that question. The ticket is paid through the United States District Court (Federal Court) for that area. The directions may or may not be printed on the ticket. If not, you have to call the court and get an appearance date to appear in court and get your fine or trial. And unless the feds have a prosecution agreement with the local municipality, the case is prosecuted by the US Attorney's office by real live Assistant US Attorneys who spend the rest of their days prosecuting drug lords, La Cosa Nostra or mortgage fraud rings. And to top it all off, the guy presiding over the case will be a real live federal judge. That would be what we call an Article III judge. Of the type appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the US Senate. Some offenses may now be handled by mere US Judge Magistrates, who are just appointed for seven year terms, rather than for life, but they are hardly less impressed with themselves than are the Article III judges.

If you have the misfortune to receive a citation from one of the fine federal law enforcement agencies on federal land, and you have the termidity to contest those charges and stand upon your constitutional rights, do not think that any of the above-mentioned gentlemen or gentle ladies will be pleased to have their time be used by a citizen who redresses such grievences to his government. They will not. They will not try to make it a plesant experience for you. And it won't be.

The only silver lining is that usually the feds don't certify their offenses to the state, so it isn't likely to show on your driving record, and a lot of the federal fines are pretty outdated and low.

Jeez, and to think one might end up with a federal warrant on their hands if they don't get a date to pay.

I might just stay away from this "fort."

[RoninLB]

Originally Posted by milt

Jeez, and to think one might end up with a federal warrant on their hands if they don't get a date to pay.

I've heard stories of guys being tagged by forest rangers in national forests and ignoring them.. until the Fed's eventually catch up with them

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by milt

Seems that Stephan Wilkinson was on the California Targa route before the event took place. See the last leg.

http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/articles/500371

Most excellent!!

(no Porsche content other than the road and the fact that FSW is a gold plated Porsche owner )

Thanks, Milt...I have had the pleasure of driving all the roads in the article many times, in a wide variety of cars. FSW writes well.

I drove Route 50 in the 70's in my '68 VW Bug...I carried a distributor wrench to adjust timing at altitude, per John Muir. I've done the loop through rte 50 into the inter mountain west in a 912, a 911SC, a Toyota truck, A Saab Turbo, a Ford Country Squire, a BMW 2002, and a Fiat 128 (as well as other I can't recall).

Last time I drove it was two years ago in a F-150. Different worlds.

[GH85Carrera]

My father was in the Air Force when I was growing up. We lived on base at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery Al. I got a ticket for 26 in a 25 zone. I don't remember if there was a monetary fine but there was hell to pay at home. I was told that if I ever got another ticket on base I could not drive on base again. From that day on I drove 5 MPH under the speed limit on base. The second I went through the gate I would floor it. The day I left home forever and moved to Oklahoma I did a doughnut right in front of the gate shack. The cop that had given me the ticket was watching. I was outta there before he could do anything and I have not been back since.

[MRM]

Originally Posted by milt

Jeez, and to think one might end up with a federal warrant on their hands if they don't get a date to pay.

I might just stay away from this "fort."

Oh yes. Unless the ticket is a "payable" offense with a scheduled fine printed right on the ticket, the standard procedure is to not issue a court date with the ticket. The court date gets set by the officer later when he files his paperwork, some time later. The court doesn't send any notice. So unless you are in the habit of calling the local federal clerk of court on the off chance that someone is planning to issue a warrant for your arrest, you never get notice of the hearing. When you don't appear at the hearing a bench warrant issues for your arrest and you are subject to arrest and being held until the feds get around to hauling you around to the court that issued the bench warrant. THEN you get your bail hearing.

The folks who search for offenders who have federal bench warrants are US Marshalls. Yes, those US Marshalls. And no, they don't have anything better to do than dredge up violators who didn't make their court appearance for the hearing they didn't receive notice for. And no, they don't differentiate between bench warrants issued for mass murder committed to benefit a gang and littering at Yellowstone. Both are federal offenses.

[RoninLB]