Restricted access frustrations

[mreynolds767]

Oh definitely Mike!

trying to get a sunset shot at a place I have not seen one taken at was huge to me

and at least with a drone I know now how to do it if I had another day ; via the dirt road and path up the other ridge

seen many day time photos of the place

like you ; the chase to find a location both online and in person is definitely part of the fun.

Is of course nice when you luck into one too!

 

[mreynolds767]

have not had this happen but heard it can be common in some places

its nice he was patient with you while he screwed you

many countries I believe if you get a ticket as a tourist you have to immediately drive to the police station and pay the ticket BUT often the way around that is paying the officer directly a bribe to forget the whole thing

actually read multiple accounts in the city of La Paz, Mexico of this being a common occurrence at night time for tourists so was in the back of my mind in case I was stopped while driving

I'm cautious enough about visiting anywhere far from home that I don't ever want to run into that one officer who would feel insulted by a tip. Maybe I've watched to many documentaries about life in foreign prisons. :-(

My first experience with the reverse situation was a police officer pulling over select vehicles (rental cars) on a deserted stretch of highway in Costa Rica.

As we talked it slowly started feeling like he wanted a bribe, I was so young and dumb he had to coach me through it. lol I kept thinking, does he want a bribe? and then you have that fear of, well what if I'm wrong and offering it gets me in more trouble...is this real? am I just imagining it?

after about 5 minutes of repeating himself, he started showing me his unfilled-out ticket pad and motioning with his pencil to it as if he was going to write on it and then stopping and looking at me with a "well?"...

I was now a little more sure he wanted a bribe, but again you start questioning yourself and the situation... what if this is his game to trap me, get me to offer a bribe then he arrests me, maybe this is what he is trying to do all along!

By this point he was basically saying - listen we take care of the ticket here and save you a trip to the judge, I make it cheaper here too, okay? followed by a wide ear-to-ear grin.

By now he was basically hitting the naive gringo over the head with the obvious but I was still only about 50% sure lol

Now he is almost winking at me, was that a wink? I think he winked at me...This has got to be him asking for a bribe! But is it?

He finally said something like, listen, you pay me $X amount now and you go. I felt safer now since he was basically asking me to "pay the ticket" and he was presenting the bribe amount.

I said, how much again? It converted to something like $200.

I felt more confident for some reason and though okay we are in this now, this should be negotiable and started negotiating which he was happy to do, I think he was finally relieved that the gringo finally understood this game and his payday was on the horizon.

I think we negotiated to around $30.00, gave him the money and I think he shook his head and rolled his eyes as he walked away probably going to be telling his wife that night about how the gringos are getting dumber every day.

We drove off looking at each other, like did that really just happen? Yep.

--
Online Gallery here
https://www.mattreynoldsphotography.com/

 

[KENTGA]

My "shut-down" experience was at Yellowstone September 2016. It wasn't law enforcement but the crowds within 5-6 miles of Old Faithful, The parking lots to the thermals were full. Ditto Zion Valley tour bus parking lot and Grand Canyon South Visitor Center in June 2017.

Kent

 

[Gary from Seattle]

The lack of a website and accurate information available is what probably bothers me most.

Now I would think that would actually be part of the attraction and fun of your pursuit of going there. If it was more like horseshoe bend you probably wouldn't want to go there. Personally I enjoy the whole process of figuring out how to find something and get their on my own.

I pursued a location in Moab called the solstice snake for over a year until I finally figured it out and hiked there on my own. It's a secret location not disclosed on the internet where on the summer solstice an arrowhead-shaped shaft of light passes over a huge snake's head petroglyph.

Fajada Butte has a similar solstice effect that has been widely studied by archaeologists for many years. It is off limits due to erosion that threatens the effect in shifting giant slabs.

I spent two years and multiple trips searching a canyon for the capstone ruin in bear's ears until I finally figured it out. Another secret place not disclosed on the internet.



For me the fun of the chase was only eclipsed by the excitement of the accomplishment of the final discovery. They are like tiny tastes to me of what ancient explorers must have felt like finally achieving their goals. The pictures I took are really meaningless to me in the big picture.

I think our connection with nature goes back at least to early man if not to Great Apes yet farther back. In this modern era most humans are now far removed from the concepts of nature and our intimate connection to it. That is really sad in that this 'connection" certainly is fundamental to our sense of selves.

OTH there were not 8 billion humans on the planet until recently. As photographers or just folks who love nature, we should count ourselves very lucky. Life is so much richer with these experiences that likely are similar to those of early man.

My own personal explorations in backcountry skiing and climbing were richly rewarding; essentially addictive. Now that I know so much of the topography of the parts of the West that I aspire to visit, the sense of adventure for me is not what it once was. I've eaten much of the "candy" ......

 

[rick decker]

I like the excitement and fun of pursuing lost "icons" such as my wallet, my glasses my phone, and other items.

 

[mfinley]

I like the excitement and fun of pursuing lost "icons" such as my wallet, my glasses my phone, and other items.

ha ha, I know you better than that, you've had quite a bit more exciting pursuits you've been on

 

[mfinley]

I think our connection with nature goes back at least to early man if not to Great Apes yet farther back. In this modern era most humans are now far removed from the concepts of nature and our intimate connection to it. That is really sad in that this 'connection" certainly is fundamental to our sense of selves.

OTH there were not 8 billion humans on the planet until recently. As photographers or just folks who love nature, we should count ourselves very lucky. Life is so much richer with these experiences that likely are similar to those of early man.

Okay this is going to be weird - I won't go into the details but last night we were watching the taylor swift documentary, a lot of the theme of it is how she's spent her whole life trying to please strangers (her fans) and how unsatisfied she is, her big accomplishments for over a decade starting when she was 13, nobody to share her moments with. She's has riches, fame and fortune, adored by millions, understood by no one, everyone around her trying to get a piece of her.

As I was watching this I just kept thinking, geez just throw on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt and a baseball cap, get a beat-up truck and go explore the outside, get away from everybody and just connect with the sun, the wind and the beauty of the silence of empty places. Just disappear for a month and soak in what really matters.

My own personal explorations in backcountry skiing and climbing were richly rewarding; essentially addictive. Now that I know so much of the topography of the parts of the West that I aspire to visit, the sense of adventure for me is not what it once was. I've eaten much of the "candy" ......

Put on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt and a baseball cap, get a beat up truck... lol

 

[Bill Ferris]

While I understand your frustration, I would encourage you to see the situation from the perspective of the locals.

First, it's their land and they're free to manage access as they see fit. As travelers, we have a responsibility to respect the local culture and customs, even when it inconveniences us...arguably, especially when we're inconvenienced.

Second, I've no doubt that, after it became known on social media, the place was getting trashed and abused as a result of increased visitation. If 1 in 100 visitors is careless and disrespectful of a place, the impact they will have might be inconsequential. If that number is 10 in 1,000 or 100 in 10,000, the negative impact increases exponentially along with visitation.

Third, a fee that might seem modest to an international traveler could quickly render a place inaccessible to many locals. That isn't right. It's their land and keeping a place accessible to locals should be a top priority.

 

[thielges]

The fee issue is usually addressed with a dual fee schedule: a market rate fee for tourists and a lower cost fee for locals.

The market rate tourist fee funds the site's maintenance and operations. The local's fee allows residents to afford a visit. It would be nearly a crime to financially bar locals from enjoying their own cultural assets.

 

[KENTGA]

Thanks thielges,

I hope you're correct--- especially from a country that has a much lower standard of living---- no matter where it is. In the last few yeas I've been to MX 3 times---- twice in San Miguel de Allende and greater Guadajaura (sp) area. I could not believe how much less things cost down there. I gave a blind man with his grandson 100 pesos ($10.00 US) and I thought he was going to cry. I was glad to help someone.

Kent

 

[mreynolds767]

Agree with everything you wrote Bill

to give some more context to the location; there are at least 8 beaches in this immediate area. All are free. One of them you can drive right up to the sand. Another 4 as I discovered that night you can access via the ridge line trail I found; I saw zero people on these beaches at sunset. One boat in the area; that’s it is as remote as any beach you could imagine

I am not so certain the locals care that much about this particular beach compared to the others ; maybe they do

the beach got famous due to social media recently but imagine the locals might not think it better than those other beaches they just want one with easy access that is free

paying to park at a beach is not exactly an unusual concept, though maybe in Mexico It is?
most paid beaches in the world you can access at off hours.
So this is a free beach that even the locals cannot enjoy for sunrise / sunset despite no worries of overcrowding at those times. How is this good for them?

from a photographers prospective I couldn’t care less about the beach itself but wanted to get onto the ridge above it. The trail starts right where they put up a gate and are restricting access so is now off limits ; as from the ridge you can walk onto the beach

I am not mad or bitter about not getting a shot it happens. Just venting here of the type of common frustrations we experience when out traveling and trying to take photos of interesting places.

 

[peter826]

You mentioned the beach has been on social media a lot, making it famous. I follow a lot of Mexican photographers/travelers and haven't seen it much. Was it some influencer, or tv show, or..? I'm sort of surprised that such a random place, somewhat hard to get to, near a city that's not so popular with tourists, would garner such attention -- even if it is beautiful!

 

[mreynolds767]

You mentioned the beach has been on social media a lot, making it famous. I follow a lot of Mexican photographers/travelers and haven't seen it much. Was it some influencer, or tv show, or..? I'm sort of surprised that such a random place, somewhat hard to get to, near a city that's not so popular with tourists, would garner such attention -- even if it is beautiful!

Beating a dead horse here but yeah this is what had me so puzzled. No, I have not seen it on social media myself or by any photographers of interest to me.

I only found through google searching and saw basically iPhone pictures of the place along with an occasional drone shot after digging deeper.

Is not as popular as your typical photo location / destination. In large part that is why it appealed to me as it seemed like a location known to the locals for being really beautiful but most people thousands of miles away have never seen images of it before.

Can only guess why they decided to so severely crack down on visitation here. It is definitely more about protecting the nature than it is keeping tourists out and allowing access for the locals as they are as affected as I am by the restrictions. With Sunday access being thrown as a bone to them.

The main issues as I understand are trash left behind and of people walking on the fragile dunes. Both of which seem like issues that could be solved without not allowing visitation.

--
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