kepPNW wrote:Well, the official site for that park is actually
http://parks.state.wa.us/474/Beacon-Rock and the need for a parking pass is clearly stated. Not sure why they're using us.gov, rather than one under the wa.gov TLD, so I'm curious what page you're referring to. But anyway, it's a Washington State park. WTH? They all require a Discover Pass. Pretty hard to see a local, especially one who's hiked that park many times before, not being aware of that.
Here's the webpage I looked at:
http://parks.state.wa.us/DocumentCenter/View/5664 Okay, not technically a .gov site, my boo-boo. But it is an official sanctioned page. And yes, I have no doubt that thorough research elsewhere would have been fruitful, but cripes, if the official page for a trailhead doesn't state that there's a parking fee, I don't think I should have to keep looking. As for my woeful ignorance that all WSP require the Discover Pass, I guess I just don't have anything to say about that. Maybe I'm a moron...but that's not really the subject at hand here.
drm wrote:I think it's a state money grab (state park), wouldn't blame this one on Skamania County. Isn't there a sign where you turn off SR14? The welter of confusing options once you get the ticket combined with the gambling nature of it is ridiculous. Somebody should do some kind of open records request to see how often, if ever, people who send in that note get the reduction.
My citation was through Skamania County Court, so they're the target of my wrath. No, pretty sure there wasn't a sign there. I suppose it's possible. When I'm driving at a junction, especially when turning left, I tend to be watching for other things. But I don't think there was. After getting the citation, I went looking for some sign that I might have missed.
kepPNW wrote:I know of one person who was cited, sent in a "bite me!" letter (sans check), and never heard back. Only other time I've heard someone respond rather than cower.
Love it!
BigBear wrote:I am sorry that you received a ticket, but also find it ironic given our discussion over the Mt. St. Helens TH question.
I figured somebody would mention that. Glad it was you, and pleased you're good-natured about the whole thing.
Bosterson wrote:... kudos for finding a very appropriate usage of "kafkaesque" - it does seem apt for this.
Cool. I was wondering if some pedantic twit would explain why my plight has nothing in common with that of Josef K.
Squidvicious (post above) seems to have summed up the labyrinth of options pretty well. I bought the $30 ($35) pass, recognizing it's essentially mandatory, and then discovering* the appeal form when I was searching online for clarification of who I should make my check payable to. So at that point I had an option of sending in an additional $59 with no chance of a partial refund, or an additional $75 with the possibility of a partial refund. What steamed me was the ridiculous complexity of the whole thing, and the fact that they didn't even reduce my penalty to $59. Makes me wonder under what circumstances they grant a refund (maybe they never do, as somebody else was wondering above).
* see what I did there?