Posted by 4Valhal If you're ever in Kansas (Kansas City) again and want to do just that let me know.

*drool* Sometimes the best thing are underground.
Best I've done are Atlas F sites so far... and a Nike Missile Master (above ground).

Welcome to UER

Posted by 4Valhal If you're ever in Kansas (Kansas City) again and want to do just that let me know.

Dang! Where were you when I was out there chasing tornadoes a couple weeks ago?

Speaking of Kansas, I got to know some of your "park police," evidently there are only two counties (or maybe it was states) that still have a separate "park police" jurisdiction with their own territory - different from state and national park jurisdictions - these are county level. I had an encounter with them about a month ago. There were probably 12 of them looking for me. They must have been really bored, because I think every one of their on-duty squad cars had surrounded my car - lights flashing and everything. I didn't even go inside anything and they still gave me an "encroachment" citation. I was near that massive munitions/military region just outside of KC, but was ticketed for taking photos of a nearby barn. I didn't bother hiding or being stealthy because I didn't know I was even on park property (evidently, this park property was not considered public park property, despite having zero indication that this was off limits. However, this is a battle I don't want to fight). I was surprised they gave me the ticket after I talked to three or four of them for a better part of a half hour about the history of the place and they acted all buddy buddy. Bastards.

I know exactly what place you are talking about, and the county in question. It is one of the richest in the country and the police act like it.

Our shop used to be two blocks from that munitions plant. We were there for about two years before we moved and I drove by there every day. I've been on the property but have never been able to get close because security is tight. That place is by no means abandoned, despite how it looks. I've seen MRAPs rolling on the property off in the distance...

There are so many local stories about the place it's insane.

The EPA told Disney it'd take an estimated 500 million to clean up the property. The Army blasted through $120mill of tax payer money and accomplished nothing back in the 2000s.

Getting close to that property is a good way to find yourself in jail over night. I'd love to get in there and see what's going on but I don't want to end up in some underground government research program.

Thanks for the welcome!

When the police came to make me leave an abandoned school, there had just been some boys breaking windows at what looked like it might have actually been a functioning administrative building for the active correctional facility nearby--literally the only building on what could have been considered the old campus that didn't look completely run down and abandoned. In fact, we had given it a wide berth earlier on because we noted the modern and recent window fixtures and door locks.

My friend and I were all smiles as the police rolled up to us. We were walking away from a known local "amateur photography" hot spot in broad daylight with a couple of flashlights and cameras. They knew why we were there, and we made no attempt to evade.

When I saw the boys cautiously cresting the hill as we were being lectured on the relative merits of acting a like an adult and staying out of places like that, though, I chucked their little asses as far under the bus as I possibly could.

I pointed right at the kids and said, "If those kids try to tell you they weren't smashing windows at the office building over there, I would take that with a shaker of salt." I am pretty dedicated to the idea of leaving no trace, so I don't have a real lot of love for vandals.

At first, I felt like a dirty, dirty snitch, but when the inevitable call came in about the broken windows later on, I didn't want mine to be the only phone number the police had to follow up about it.

All that to say the more furtive, aggressive, or suspicious I have acted in the past, the more the police have treated me like a problem instead of a person. I am also careful to only break one law at a time. If I am going trespassing, I will leave anything else that might be construed as contraband at home. I have run in the past, but I don't think it represents the best play in most cases anymore.

Acting like an otherwise upright citizen really helps; having an easy scapegoat doesn't hurt.