Trouble with California
Ag. Check points;we all know understand and tolerate them,never a problem. Couple of weeks ago we were heade to redwood. National forest from Grants Pas Oregon. Ag check ahead, ok I fall into line ...
Forum Discussion
Turtle n Peeps wrote:
So there is several things going on here. I will try to clear up a few of them....
I appreciate the info from someone who seems to be knowledgeable.
I particularly appreciate the part about AG inspectors not being LEO. I live in CA, so of course I have been through the kiosk dozens if not hundreds of times. I'm rarely inconvenienced by anything other than a question or two. But do become concerned as I approach these, when I've been on a hunting trip for example. Will they check my trailer? Will they want to see my guns, and all the registration **** that can go along with that? Hasn't been a problem thus far.
But a couple of anecdotes.
The AG people may not be LEO, but at certain times LEO will man the same station and conduct their own business. Once I was stopped and asked the normal question about where I had been, to which I replied Wyoming. Can't recall if I might have said "hunting in WY", but currently older and wiser and would definitely NOT add anything like that these days. Anyway, they pointed me toward a secondary inspection, where they checked my WY hunting docs, inspected my Deer. And eventually all was well and sent on my way. It was a pain in the butt to dig that stuff out at the time. Long ago of course.
The AG is concerned about more than just bugs on fruits and veggies. These days I would not try to bring an unprocessed Deer or Elk into the state. Ungulates carry their own diseases, and we don't want that in CA either. Firewood is an issue they are involved with as well.
A friend of mine was passing through the AG kiosk one year, and happened to have an apple with him. He was from CA, and the apple was purchased in CA, but carried out of state and then returned. He was honest about that, and they advised him that he could not bring the apple into the state, so he sat there and ate it on the spot. He was the type who would pare his apple with a pocket knife bite by bite, and I think they all got a bit of a kick out of it.
My biggest complaint, and it's just a joke more than anything, is that they sit in their booth at times just idly waving every single vehicle through. I guess it is a period of low risk or something. But why we're paying them to do that, instead of printing up a sign, just feels like a big waste of taxpayer treasure.
