Dick, Dick, Dick, Dick....  You are talking about my childhood home (The
Sierras west of Reno).  It would be completely unethical and possibly
illegal for me to report some the areas I know of that do not have
checkpoints.  However, I think it would be quite alright to mention some
scenic routes that I love to travel myself.  Of course, I never bring
illegal pets into the state.  (cough...)
 
My favorite scenic route, and one that easily connects to 395, begins at
Hawthorne, NV, about an hour south of Reno.  I normally take 359 (turns into
167) towards California.  A beautiful route, with connections to Bodie (a
wonderful ghost town) and a scenic view of Mono Lake, with connections to
view several wonderful spots.  The road dead-ends not far from Lee Vining,
near Tioga Pass, which takes you on a very scenic route through Yosemite.
Out of Yosemite, take 120 towards Modesto or 140 towards Merced, and you can
connect to Sacramento, the bay area, or southern CA.  For 359/167 route,
make sure your autp is working properly, you have a cellular phone, or you
like to walk, because it is absolute wilderness, no gas stations or
anything.  In the last few years, I've seen deer, bear, coyote, and cougar
from the car.  You will be lucky NOT to hit a black-tailed jackrabbit.
Rattlesnake are common on the road.  Traffic is normally very light, and out
of maybe 20 years of driving the road, I can't recall ever seeing more than
one or two CHPs.  The only government-inforced stop would be the one into
Yosemite, which I never noticed to be a problem, and is even less of one if
you flash a national park pass bought in a ferret-frendly state ($25?).
 
Another good route, but with more opportunity to stop at mobile checkpoints
is 395 south from Reno.  Usually, you drive into California without
incident, but on occasion I've been lucky enough to visit and chat with
mobile Aggravation Station officers who (used to) periodically stop
out-of-staters.  If you have a cold and don't wish to expose them, or if you
would like to see lots of Pinyon pines, I would take 395 south to the 208
junction (just a few miles from the CA border).  208 joins 338 and takes you
through high desert bush country fed by the Walker River.  Again.  very
scenic, but not quite as remote.  Lots of locals drive by; just wave, and
they will think weird things, but will wave back.  The road ultimately feeds
into Bridgeport CA on 395.
 
If you like to chat with government officals, take 6 towards CA, and
somewhere between Benton and the NV border you can find the people you want
to talk to, but not normally late at night or the wee hours of the morning.
You will just have to pass through without anyone to chat with.  The route
connects to 120, which brings you through some wonderful volcano country,
and the south side of Mono Lake.  You can stop by the Inyo Craters (for you
archaeologists--the Bodie Hills Source) and pick up pieces of volcanic glass
beside the road (but not inside the park--that's illegal).
 
Oh yeah, about Yosemite.  I was raised just down the road, learned to climb
there, cut my teeth studing ecology in the upper park, and once tried to
duplicate Ansel's most famous picture with my own 8X10.  I have been inside
the park maybe 7-8 THOUSAND times, and I have never been stopped, searched,
or asked what kind of animal I was carrying.  What is kept out of sight is
not noticed.  All they want is your money when you go in, and your receipt
when you leave.  With the pass, you roll down the window, they hand you the
newspaper and map, you smile and leave.
 
If you take Tioga Pass, the ascent from Lee Vining is startling.  A some
points alomg the road, you can look down the canyon (almost straight down!)
2-3,000 feet.  Breathtaking.  Along the upper parts of the park, if you stop
at the big scenic spot about 10 miles or so from the entrance, you can see
half-dome from the rear, and yellow-bellied marmots will come up to your
car.  Don't feed them, they just get rude (one actually climbed into my car
when I refused to pay his tribute).
 
FINAL WORDS OF WARNING.  Sonora Pass and Tioga Pass are not snow plowed, and
can stay closed until June.  If closed, the roads are marked as such at 395.
Traveling north may bring you into contact-joy with witty goverment
officals; sometimes 50 is open south of Lake Tahoe, and you can make it to
Sacrament.  The best bet if the high country is closed, is to go south,
which will take you into the desert country, past Death Valley, and into the
Mojave Desert, but you can connect at Mojave CA for all points to CA.  Go
east if you want to talk to the government or offer them support.  SOmetimes
an old inspection station is open along this route (I forget the exact
location) and I usually tell them I have no fruits or vegges, and they pass
me through.  A rule of thumb for finding opportunities to speak with
government officals seems to be 1) lots of trucks, and 2) lots of tourists.
 
I have lots of other scenic routes for the non-Californian, and will happily
share them, as part of supporting tourism in my home state of course.
E-mails will be answered.  I can even speak hypothetically on how to play
hide-n-seek games with your favorite government friends, if desired.
 
Bob and the 13
[Posted in FML issue 1495]