Oklahoma

From the 50 State Visitor Guide:

Oklahoma Statutes 2021; 21 Okl. Stat. §1125;57 Okl. Stat. §§581 through 590.2

AWA Compliant

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

Three days for initial registration.  Three business days for address change and other.

Visitors NOTE: Oklahoma is a “dual registry state.” Per OK Notice of Duty.pdf: 

(1) ODOC registration required within 2 days of entry into Oklahoma if intending to remain in state for 5 consecutive days or longer (includes arrival day), employed more than 5 cumulative days in any 60 day period, and/or enrolled as a student.

(2) local law enforcement registration required within 3 days of entering jurisdiction with intent to reside for more than 7 consecutive days or 14 days in a 60-day period (includes arrival day), employed full or part-time, and/or enrolled as a full or part-time student. 

See sexoffenderregistration@DOC.OK.gov “Notice of Duty”

Shorter registration periods apply to out-of-state registrants with spouses residing in state.

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

Residence restriction: 2,000 ft. from school, “educational institution,” campsite used for children, parks, and day care facilities.  §57-590.  Registrants are also banned from living in the same dwelling.  §57-590.1. 

Per OK Notice of Duty.pdf, residence restriction applies to persons “subject to registration due to an Oklahoma sentence or due to entry into Oklahoma,” 

implying that this restriction does not apply to visitors not yet required to register. See sexoffenderregistration@DOC.OK.gov “Notice of Duty”

Presence restriction: may not loiter w/in 500 ft. of school, child care center, playground, or park if convicted for offense involving a minor.  “Habitual or aggravated sex offenders” may not enter park.  §21-1125.  Certain exceptions exist to loitering restriction.

Duration & updates:

15 years to life. §57-583(C). Petition to remove – 10 years.

Most recent visit: May 2025

Before you visit Oklahoma please read the Visitors Note above.  Oklahoma is unique among all states in that it is a “dual registry state.”  And what exactly does that mean?  It means that if you enter Oklahoma you will be subject not just to the statewide registries that apply in all other states but also to a “local registry” in the city or county in which you find yourself.  Any failure to follow the many requirements of either of these two registries is a violation that could land you in prison.  Therefore you should be careful not to exceed the number of days that would trigger a requirement to register in either of these two registries.  

Per OK Notice of Duty.pdf:

(1) ODOC registration required within 2 days of entry into Oklahoma if intending to remain in the state for 5 consecutive days or longer (includes arrival day), employed more than 5 cumulative days in any 60 day period, and/or enrolled as a student.

(2) Local law enforcement registration required within 3 days of entering jurisdiction with intent to reside for more than 7 consecutive days or 14 days in a 60-day period (includes arrival day), employed full or part-time, and/or enrolled as a full or part-time student.

Therefore the two most important numbers to keep in mind are:  Five, which is the number of consecutive days (including partial days) in Oklahoma which would trigger an obligation to register with the state; and seven, which is the number of consecutive days (including partial days) in any locality which would trigger an obligation to register with that locality.  Note that the five day limit reads “five days or more” which means you can only really stay four days, whereas the local registry limit reads “more than 7 days,” for what it’s worth.

However, as horrible as those numbers are, Oklahoma’s statewide registry sets no limit on number of days per month or year, so in theory if you need more time there you could leave the state after four days, stay out for one day and two nights, then return and restart the clock – as long as you stay in a different locality the second time (unless you don’t intend to stay in that first locality more than 14 days in a 60-day period).  Confused yet?

In very early May 2025 I was on the return leg of my South Central US + Texas tour and entered Oklahoma near Wichita Falls (TX).  On a previous visit (see below) I had traveled mostly up the I-35 corridor and around parts the west half of the state, and like my previous visit I was planning to spend two partial days and one night, and it was mid-afternoon so I decided to follow rural highways like US 81, SR 29 and SR 76 before hopping onto I-35, zooming through OK City and setting myself up (at a motel) to see some of northeastern Oklahoma on my way to Missouri.

I was less cautious about what I did and where I went than I had been on my previous tour (see below), but I think that’s because I have generally become more comfortable with myself over the years.  Still I kept my guard and followed the rules.

One thing I could not do is go to any state or local park, because my offense was an internet offense involving minors.  But even if it wasn’t I still would not be allowed to “reside” within 2000 feet of any “campsite used for children” (whatever that means) or park.  As noted above, per the publication OK Notice of Duty.pdf, residence restrictions only apply to persons “subject to registration due to an Oklahoma sentence or due to entry into Oklahoma,” implying that this restriction does not apply to visitors not yet required to register. 

Small town notes – Day 1

Comanche – Another town named Comanche, another disappointment

Duncan – Much better.  Kids playing in a culvert after a Spring rain just like it was 1957.

Partial Day 2 began with a stop at the Jim Thorpe home in in Yale, OK.  He was a famous early 20th Century Native American athlete.  It’s very small and wasn’t open but appears to be well-maintained which is more than I can say for the town. 

Next stop – Pawnee Bill’s Ranch Historic Site and Museum in the eponymously named town.  Wow! – This time in a good way!  Plus it’s a private attraction so you can go to it!  Unfortunately it was so early in the season that the museum was closed on weekdays but I could still go see a big buffalo heard.

Buffalo herd at Pawnee Bill's Ranch

Then I came upon something I thought did not exist – an actual Indian reservation in Oklahoma, specifically the Osage Nation.  Naturally I wanted to see what that was like so I proceeded east on SR 20 and north on SR 99 to Pawhuska (see notes below).  Rand McNally promised points of interest but I either couldn’t find them or they were closed.  The agricultural economy seemed adequate but the towns were downscale.  And as elsewhere in Oklahoma, the “reservation” has been so polluted by european immigration that it’s hard to tell the difference between here and anywhere else.

Will Rogers home and Will Rogers Museum are two different things 15 miles apart.  The home is in Ooologah but it was closed “for maintenance.”  The museum is right on Will Rogers Turnpike (toll road).  Good museum but tends to rely on dioramas a lot.

According to my phone photos, before leaving Oklahoma late that afternoon I stopped at a rest area slash Native visitors center.  Then it was on to Missouri.

Small town notes – Day 2

Cushing, Hominy and Pawnee – Okay I guess.

Yale – see Jim Thorpe home above.

Pawhuska – The streetscape project is a good try but it takes more than a streetscape to save a downtown.  You have to get businesses willing to locate there.

Barnsdall and Afton – Nope.

Skiatook – Good.  Contrary to stereotype, the better part of this town is inside the reservation boundary, and things go downscale when you leave.

Previous visit: June 2023

In June 2023 I traveled through Oklahoma for my very first time, on the return leg of my trip to the NARSOL national conference in Houston, TX.  Entering from the south on I-35 I stopped at the Visitors Center to pick up brochures and maps.  I figured, as many of you might, that this must be a good state to do Reservation Tourism.  

I was surprised to learn that there are absolutely no reservations in Oklahoma – not one!  However, each tribe has a fairly meaningless “designated area” and many tribes own big tracts of land in their own names – and that of course has more meaning than anything else here in America.  There are also a lot of tribal visitor centers, cultural centers and museums to visit, so I made it a point to stop at those.  

My favorite art at the Southern Plains Indian Museum, called "Our Monsoon Dazzler"

One thing I could not do is go to any state or local park, because my offense was an internet offense involving minors.  But even if it wasn’t I still would not be allowed to “reside” within 2000 feet of any “campsite used for children” (whatever that means) or park.  Now, as noted above, per the publication OK Notice of Duty.pdf, residence restrictions only apply to persons “subject to registration due to an Oklahoma sentence or due to entry into Oklahoma,” implying that this restriction does not apply to visitors not yet required to register.  

I was feeling pretty cautious about testing any of these laws out, I was only planning to spend two (partial) days and one night in Oklahoma, and the temperature was over 100 degrees and thus completely unsuitable for camping, so I didn’t have to anyway.  Out of an abundance of caution I did not visit Turner Falls State Park, “home of Oklahoma’s largest waterfall.”

Stafford Air & Space Museum, Weatherford OK

Places I did visit included:  Chickasaw Nation Welcome Center, Anadarko National Hall of Fame for Famous American Indians, Southern Plains Indian Museum (very cool), Chisolm Trail Museum, and Cherokee Strip Museum.  I also visited the Stafford Air & Space Museum in Weatherford, OK, dedicated to local boy and Apollo moon-landing astronaut Tom Stafford, home to all his personal papers and space memorabilia as well as a whole lot of really neat air and space exhibits.

By the time I left the Cherokee Strip Museum it was late in the afternoon of (partial) Day 2.  I crossed over into Kansas, where it was still over 90 degrees and way too hot for camping.

  Texas

From the 50 State Visitor Guide:

Tex. Code Crim. Proc. 2020 §62.001 through 62.408

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

Registration required for residence of “more than 7 days,” and must register by the 7th day.  Updates after 7 days.  §§62.051, 62.055.

Transient registrants must report every 30 days. §62.051.  Resident registrants making three or more visits of 48 consecutive hours duration to a TX municipality or county other than place of permanent registration must report to local law enforcement. §62.059.

Visitors must register by “the 7th day after the person’s arrival in the municipality or county.”  §62.051(a).  Per the Texas SOR office, this means a visiting registrant who never remains in any one locality more than six consecutive days isn’t required to register. This SOR office info confirmed April 2021.

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

No state-wide restrictions, but local residence and presence restrictions, where applicable, do apply to not-yet-registered visiting offenders. For example, San Antonio has a presence restriction applying to parks.  This means you will not be able to set foot in the Riverwalk during your visit.

Duration & updates:

10 years to life. Annual updates.

Most recent visit: April 2025

There is a quirk in the way Texas (or at least the Texas state SOR office) interprets its law that registered travelers should be aware of.  Texas is one of quite a few states whose registry laws are written to say that visitors must register by “the [insert # of days here] day after the person’s arrival in the municipality or county.”  §62.051(a).  Quite a few states have this type of language because, as you can imagine, state legislators don’t invent their own statutes out of whole cloth when writing registry laws. No, they look at what some other states are doing and copy what they like best.

In reading this language you might feel justified in believing that what starts the clock ticking towards your obligation to register would be your arrival in a specific municipality or county, rather than the simple act of crossing the state line.  But NO.  Every state (other than Texas) that has this type of language interprets it to mean the clock starts ticking when you arrive in their state, and continues to tick for as long as you are in the state no matter what municipality or county you happen to be in.  That’s why, for every other state, my advice to you is to assume that the number of days stated in the statute applies statewide.

However, I have called the Texas SOR office to ask this specific question twice, nine months apart, and spoken to two different people (I know they were different people because one was a man and the other was a woman) who both gave me the same answer:  Texas interprets its statutory language exactly as written. The clock starts when you arrive in any given county or municipality. Partial days count.  If you move on to some other county or municipality before your six days are up (because as I always say, you should avoid using that last day), the clock starts again.

Texas has no statewide presence or residency restrictions, but like so many other states it has local residence and presence restrictions, and where applicable they do apply to not-yet-registered visiting offenders. At the 2023 NARSOL Conference (in Houston) one conference participant pointed out that San Antonio has a presence restriction applying to parks.  This means if the conference had been in San Antonio none of us registrants would have able to set foot in the Riverwalk during our visit.

Oh well! You can't visit Riverwalk while you're in San Antonio.

Near the end of April 2025 I entered Texas from Louisiana where I’d just finished my Mardi Gras reconnaissance mission to New Orleans (see Louisiana blog post below).  I had two destinations – Houston, where I would spend a day with an old friend of mine (we first met in 6th grade) who now lives in its northwest suburbs; and Mineral Wells (west of Ft. Worth) to have lunch with my son (Note: He neither lives nor works in Mineral Wells, that’s where the restaurant was).

Houston, we have a problem

At my old friend’s suggestion I had made campsite reservations are a local county park and began my Houston time clock there.  I went out to dinner with my old friend but when I got back they kicked me out of the park – NOT because of a registry issue, they had a “no car-camping” rule and as always I had no tent.  I have only run into a rule like this once or twice in the past, and always at a local park, never at a state or national park.  Nevertheless I had to check in at a local Motel 6.

As a courtesy to my old friend I had turned Day 2 of my Houston clock over to him and said, “Show me something in Houston.”  But I knew in advance he’d squander that opportunity because he really hates Houston.  Instead (believe it or not!) he took me to Padre Island National Seashore which is way down past Corpus Christi, which meant we spent the entire day in the car driving back and forth and saw nothing (he is a terrible driver but I’m relieved to say I’m still alive). 

Padre Island National Seashore. I was there just long enough to take this photo. 

A whole lotta seaweed, eh?

My old friend had his chance and he wasted it.  Next time I will visit Houston the way I have started to visit other cities this year – reserve a (reliable) motel room in advance, arrive to spend an afternoon and evening seeing the real Houston, then go out to lunch with him as I’m leaving town.  I’ll invite him to tag along with me on that day before but there’s way he’ll go.

Comanche, TX – The town that made me go Hmmm

The following morning, Day 3, was the last (partial) day of my Houston clock.  Lunch with my son wasn’t until the following day so I decided to strike out across Central Texas for a day and get myself someplace close to Mineral Wells by that evening.  From Houston I followed US 190 northwest until it became SR 36 which is a country highway. Eventually that would take me to SR 16 north to Possum Kingdom State Park fairly close to Mineral Wells.

I’m going to say this and I don’t care you think – Central Texas is not an inspiring place.  Many of the ranches do not seem prosperous.  Instead I drove though mile after mile of rolling hills and overgrown prairie.  There are no points of interest here, neither on my Rand McNally map nor in reality.  I drove through the downscale towns of Gatesville and Hamilton.

And then I came to Comanche, TX, at the junction of SR 36 & 16, where I needed to gas up and get supplies.  I actually had some trouble finding these basic things there which caused me to drive around this little town for a while in search of my needs.

Wow! – and not in a good way.  Still, as a retired city planner I couldn’t help being impressed by this example of how a failing agricultural economy can kill a small town.  As I have said before about Indian reservations, where the agricultural economy is good the towns will usually prosper too.  Otherwise they’re in trouble.

Comanche, TX's empty downtown. Why do they even bother with a traffic signal?

For some reason I took a photo of Comanche’s stark and lifeless downtown before heading north on SR 16, all the while pondering what I had seen.  I forgot all about this photo until I was downloading the rest of them for this blog entry.  De Leon was the first time I said to myself, hey, I wonder how bad off this town is? (BTW I took no notes and can’t remember so there’s no judgement here) and took a little spin around town that has become my new small town calling card (see my “Big Cities and Small Towns” blog entry below).

I will say this – the further north I went the better things got and by the time I crossed I-10 it was much better.  Yes I mean you, Breckenridge and Mineral Wells (there’s an actual mineral spring with a big health spa there but I didn’t go).

According to the information from the TX SOR office, my Houston clock had stopped at three days (including partials) and my Stephens County clock now started.  However, when I woke up the next morning from my restful night’s sleep I was starting (partial) Day 5 since entering the state, and the question still arises whether you or I should believe anything two random people at the Texas state SOR office told me.  Do you or I really want to be the first registrant to test these statements and risk getting a much different interpretation from the next Stephens County sheriff’s deputy that pulls you over for having a blown taillight?

My answer to that question is definitely not.  That’s why, after having lunch with my son I wandered northwest toward Wichita Falls before leaving Texas that day.  They say there’s an actual falls there but I didn’t see it – the observation point was flooded due to heavy rains!  Then I headed northeast on SR 79, jumping from the frying pan of Texas into the fire of Oklahoma before the afternoon was over.

An Eclipse Epic Fail: April 2024

One thing I and my old friend agreed upon was that we should go together to see the solar eclipse in April 2024.  I let my old friend take charge of finding a hotel room for the night before and the viewing site itself – which turned out to be Uvalde, TX.

On this trip I flew from Orlando to Houston, and while in Texas my friend did all the driving (see comments about his driving above).  NO, I was not required to give my sheriff’s department in Florida any flight info at all.  That only applies to international travel.  Also NO, I was not required to give them any information about my friend’s name or his car.  It’s out of state so it’s none of their business. 

However, YES I had to register my friend’s Texas address as a “temporary address” and destination.  Some registrants I speak to are concerned about the consequences of registering this information.  In the case of Florida’s registry, his address temporarily appeared on the FL SOR public website on my day of arrival, and then magically disappeared when I left.  The good news is my old friend didn’t freak out about that.

The bad news was that on eclipse day it was cloudy and threatening rain all over Texas! Where we were in downtown Uvalde the sun peaked out momentarily just about 30 seconds before totality.  It was impressive but not total, and then it was gone and a few seconds later it got dark but we couldn’t see anything.  Uggh!

 Louisiana

From the 50 State Visitor Guide

La. Rev. Stat. 2023 §§ 15:541, 15:542, et seq., 15:543, et seq., and 15:544.

La. R.S. §§14:91.2, 14:91.5, 14:91.9, 14:313, 14:313.1, 15:551, and 15:553

La. R.S. §§40:1321(J) and 32:412(I)

AWA Compliant

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

3 business days for Initial reg. and updates. La. R.S. §15-542.  New residents to the state have 3 business days to register and to provide information to police and the community as required by §§15:542.1.3 and 15:542.1.  Residence defined as: “a dwelling where an offender regularly resides, regardless of the number of days or nights spent there.” Added Aug. 2024.

Resident registrants planning to acquire “temporary lodging” for 7 consecutive days or more must register within 3 business days before establishing temporary lodging. §542.1.2(F)(1).  Employees and students must register within 3 business days of beginning.  §542.1.3(C), (D). 

Visitors: Per Louisiana SOR office, visitors must register if in state 7 consecutive days (no limit per year).

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

Residence and presence restrictions apply to registrants convicted of offenses involving victims under the age of 13, including parks and libraries, youth centers, public pools, video arcades, etc. with few exceptions.  §14:91.2

Use of “social networking websites” by registrants with computer-related crimes or where victim was a minor, is prohibited. §14:91.5.  Registrants must obtain and possess “special identification cards” from the DPSC, and branded drivers licenses.  §§40:1321(J), 32:412(I).

Registrants may not wear “masks or hoods” or disguise their identity in public during holidays (including Mardi Gras). §14:313 Candy or other gifts may not be given by offenders to persons under 18 on holidays, with exceptions. 14:313.1  Certain occupations prohibited to SO’s. 15:553.  Updated Aug. 2024

NOTE: Per Louisiana SOR office, these restrictions DO apply to not-yet-registered visitors.

Duration & updates:

15 years to life based on tier. §15:544.  Updates based on tiers:  TI – annual, TII – 6 mo., TIII – 3 mo. §15:52.1.1

Most recent visit: April 2025

This is the first time I am posting about Louisiana.  I have been to New Orleans several times but that was before I ruined my life, and it was usually on business.  I have driven through Louisiana without stopping many more times but that’s because I and my ex live in Florida and our son lives in Texas, and we have to go through Louisiana to visit him.

If you scan back through Louisiana’s ridiculous registry restrictions set forth above you’ll see the two most problematic items are: (a) if your victim was under 13 (and why do I have to keep reminding people that includes CP images?) you can’t go to any of the usual suspect locations but in particular the parks where many of the events you may be interested in are taking place, and (b) you can’t wear masks or disguise your identity in public and you can’t give candy or trinkets to anyone under the age of 18.

It’s pretty obvious where this stuff is coming from – the good citizens of Louisiana are terrified that an army of criminal perverts is invading to take over Mardi Gras.  But wait – aren’t perversions what Mardi Gras is all about …?  Anyway, just be on your toes and mindful of these rules.

Since I began travelling I’ve wanted to visit Louisiana, and of course the time you’re supposed to do that is Mardi Gras.  However … it so happens that Mardi Gras usually occurs very close to March 3, the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s infamous (to us PFR’s) Smith vs. Doe decision that legitimized America’s disgusting registry system.  Since 2023 ACSOL and NARSOL have cooperated to hold DC conferences and vigils on the Supreme Court steps to mark this anniversary.  Every registered person and their loved ones need to be in DC every year to participate – we will never get anywhere with public opinion until we can have 10,000 PFR’s vigilling at the Supreme Court and get some actual press coverage.  Even that would be just 1% of everyone on America’s registries today.

New Orleans

That makes it kind of hard to go to Mardi Gras.  However … it recently occurred to me that if I was a business owner in the French Quarter I’d definitely want to turn Mardi Gras into a season, so I’d have more time to sell beads and trinkets and alcohol.  So in April 2025 as part of my South Central US tour I made an “off-season” exploratory trip to New Orleans to see how it all works. 

I made an advance motel reservation, arrived mid-afternoon and wandered around the French Quarter until the evening to see what it was like on an off-season Saturday night.  Then the next morning I stopped at the new New Orleans Welcome Center to ask them whether Mardi Gras is a season (the Welcome Center has moved – my gps took me to the wrong place).

Small brass band, off-season Saturday afternoon

The answer to that is Yes, of course it’s a season, but not as long as I had supposed – only about a week and a half.  Evenings start cranking up on that weekend before the weekend before, with at least one parade every day usually late afternoon.  From that point the excitement builds day by day until you get to actual Mardi Gras Day, when the partying and parades start around 9 am and go until they scrape the last drunk off the sidewalk Ash Wednesday morning.  There are no special events like scheduled jazz performances on a stage like you might see on Beale Street in Memphis, for example (I asked).  It’s all Mardi Gras all the time.

Street performers, off-season Saturday afternoon

One positive about this arrangement is that you as a visitor get to choose your desired intensity level.  I’m an old geezer and a real stick in the mud too because I don’t drink or gamble.  But even I can go stick my toe into it let’s say about a week before, have as much fun as I can stand and say I did it.

When I do go for my Mardi Gras road trip I think I’ll add a day of other New Orleans site seeing a couple of days exploring Cajun country.  Those should come before the day I do Mardi Gras so I can run from there to DC in plenty of time for the Vigil.  That would be about four days in Louisiana all together, well within the 6 available consecutive days we’re allowed (no limit per calendar year).

 Missouri - updated

Meramec Caverns

From the 50 State Visitor Guide :

R.S. Mo. 2019.  R.S. Mo. §43.650.  R.S. Mo. §566.147 through 566.150.  R.S. Mo. §§589.400 through 589.426.  AWA Compliant .

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

3 days for initial registration and updates. 

"Residence" is defined as “any place where an offender sleeps for seven or more consecutive or nonconsecutive days or nights within a twelve-month period” §589.404(5). 

Visitors: “Any registered offender from another state who has a temporary residence in this state and resides more than seven days in a twelve-month period shall register for the duration of such person's temporary residency” §589.400.11. However, “temporary residence” is not defined. 

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

Residence restriction:  offenders may not reside w/in 1,000 ft. of school or child care center.  §566.147.

Presence restriction: offenders cannot be present w/in 500 ft. of school, day care center, park with playground equipment, childrens athletic facility, pool, or Missouri department of conservation nature or education center.  §§566.147-566.150. Updated Aug. 2022.

Missouri applies Halloween restrictions to all registrants, including sign posting mandate. §589.426.  However, as of Oct. 2023 this requirement is under a restraining order pending a lawsuit brought by ACSOL.

Duration & updates:

15 years to life. Updates: Tier III – 90 days. Tier I & II – every 6 mo. §589.400

 

Most recent visit: April & May 2025

Missouri is a beautiful state, but you’ll have to be pretty darned careful if you travel there.  Visitors must register if in the state for more than 7 days in a 12-month period. §589.400.11.  That makes this state precisely twice as restrictive as Indiana, which allows visitors 7 days in any six month period.  However Missouri defines “residence” as a place where you sleep.  So presumably, like Illinois, if you can drive through without ever stopping to sleep that partial day won’t count against your annual total – but if you do stop to sleep the partial days on both sides of that restful night will count and you will have chewed up two of your annual 7 day total.

Worse, Missouri imposes several onerous restrictions that you should assume will apply to you as a visitor:

•         Offenders may not reside w/in 1,000 ft. of a school or child care center.  §566.147.  Since I am from Florida, where similar restrictions apply, I can tell you 1000 feet can be a pretty hard standard to meet.  Be careful in selecting your motel room.

•         Missouri used to apply Halloween restrictions to all registrants, including a sign posting mandate. §589.426.  However, recently ACSOL took the state to court and there’s now a restraining order in place against the state.  So for now you can be there on Halloween.

•         Offenders cannot be present within 500 ft. of school, day care center, park with playground equipment (which is most of them), or swimming pool. §§566.147-150.  Recently they added childrens athletic facilities and Missouri Department of Conservation nature or education centers (whatever they are) to that list.  You may want to think twice, for example, about a motel with a pool.  You may say, oh please! It’s just one night and who’s going to check?  But my job here is to warn you about any potential problems you may face while traveling.

Missouri’s restriction against being present at or within 500 feet of a “park with playground equipment” is especially problematic for vacationers.  If you think about that wording – it could be a 1000 acre state park and yet if it had just one playground anywhere, you can’t go anywhere in that park.  It makes no sense, but it means most state or local parks are OUT.  For all these reasons I have to give Missouri a travel rating of 4 thumb screws.

However, when it comes to national parks you’re okay because like most states, Missouri considers national parks to be “out of their jurisdiction.” Unfortunately Missouri has few national “parks.”  Yes, St. Louis’s Gateway Arch is definitely a park and has no playground.  What about Ozark National Scenic Riverway?  It’s administered by the National Parks Service so you’re good there too.  Mark Twain National Forest, which is extensive but includes few Ozark attractions, is definitely not a park.  And speaking of Mark Twain, his Boyhood Home & Museum in Hannibal is a privately owned attraction, not a park.

Now that I have a summer home in Iowa and a winter home in Florida I travel back and forth several times per year, and one of the best routes for this long two day trip is south through Missouri.  However the half-way point for this route is not in Missouri but rather at either Memphis (if I continue south on I-55 from St. Louis) or south of Nashville (if I turn east from St. Louis).  Therefore I have been safely passing though without sleeping, hoarding my 7 days per 12 months for when I wanted to spend more time in this beautiful state.

For the vacation traveler you should know that most of Missouri’s travel points of interest including its many caves are in the Ozarks, in the southern half of the state, whereas the northern half is mostly wide open prairie.  There are a lot of state parks up there and I’m sure they’re lovely but remember, you can’t visit any of them and I can’t camp there.

However, there is Mark Train’s Boyhood Home in Hannibal.  In May 2023, that was my first stop after entering the state from Iowa on U.S. 61.  It’s an interesting attraction and includes many restored original buildings occupied and owned by the childhood friends and neighbors who inspired Twain’s most famous characters.  There are also two caves that Twain explored as a boy – he even graffitied his name in one of them.

Mark Twain House, Hannibal

In the northwest part of Missouri there’s also Jesse James’ family home, which like Twain’s home is not a park but a privately owned attraction.  However, it’s little and not worth driving all the way over there unless you happen to be in the area anyway.

The Ozarks

Yes, the Ozarks are Missouri’s main vacation destination, and for the registered traveler there’s a bit of good news.  Many of the attractions there are either federal (like Ozark National Riverway and Mark Twain National Forest) or privately owned attractions (which I will describe below), so you can avoid the whole state-park-with-a-playground problem.  On the other hand, because it’s such a big tourist area get ready to pay through the nose.

My first road trip of 2025 from Iowa was to the South Central US with emphasis on Texas.  That meant I traveled through Missouri twice – southbound and northbound.  Both times I tried to spend time in the Ozarks.  Southbound from I took a route through a part of the state I’d never seen before and enjoy the countryside.  My destination that day was the Pulltite campground in Ozark National Riverways (remember – national park – I can camp there).

In part because Missouri is such a park-camping desert for registered citizens, I have sought the oasis of Ozark Riverways several times over the years and visited some of its attractions like Round Spring (which also has a cave), Blue Spring, Alley Mill and Two Rivers.  And because it’s a riverway, all manner of rafting and canoeing are ready for you.

Rocky Falls, Ozark National Riverways

After staying overnight I headed south to my next major destination of New Orleans, but on the return leg of my SC US trip I was back in Missouri, this time entering at the far southwest corner from Oklahoma.  My goal again was to report on the Ozarks, but before doing so I want to draw your attention to George Washington Carver’s Boyhood Home, a National Monument near Joplin, MO.  I stopped there two years ago and was very impressed.  He was a great scientist – and a great Iowan (he was a student and a professor at ISU in Ames) whose story was systematically minimized by white racist Jim Crow historians.  Go find out the real story.

Entering from Oklahoma the Ozarks don’t start right away, but the westernmost tract of Mark Twain NF is between Cassville and Branson.  That’s where I found a very nice Army Corps of Engineers campground.  In a restrictive state like Missouri registered travelers should be on the lookout for Army Corps recreational facilities.  Anywhere the Army Corps has built a dam they own the land around that lake and there’s a pretty good chance they’ve set up boat ramps and campgrounds.

The next morning on my way to Branson I stopped at Dogwood Canyon Nature Park, a private attraction on State Road 86.  Looks nice but unfortunately it was closed on account of rain.  While there I picked up some brochures that explained that this would be one of four attractions that I would go to but not go to that day, all owned by Jimmy Norris, founder of Bass Sporting Goods.  The other three are all at Top of the Rock, which is a big gated mega-development where you have pay $10 just to get in. 

Dogwood Canyon Nature Park

Then you come to Lost Canyon Cave and Nature Trail AND Ancient Ozarks Natural History Museum.  You can’t buy the tickets separately, only together, it’s about $100 per adult and it’ll take about four hours altogether.  I hadn’t planned on that amount of time but maybe next time I’ll know what to expect.  And that day the nature trail golf cart checkout stand was closed because even though it had stopped raining the 3 mile long trail was still slippery.  PS the “world class” golf course is the fourth attraction.  There is yet a fifth Jimmy Norris attraction, Wonders of Life National Museum and Aquarium, in Springfield.

I decided to skip all that until next time, and opted for a cave tour at Fantastic Caverns, just north of Springfield.  The unique thing about this one is they put you in an open trailer and drive you through the tour.  Then a short 10 minute walk takes you to the waterfall where all the cave water pours into the river.

Fantastic Caverns

It was now afternoon and I needed to find a motel in northern MO to set myself up for the next day.  I did take US 54 so I could go through Lake of the Ozarks, which is very touristy and has a large state park for you to stay away from.

Now let’s tally up my number of days in Missouri.  Southbound I slept one night, so that’s 2 days.  Northbound I slept two nights, so that’s 3 days.  Because the state law specifically says “more than seven days” (see top) I have exactly one overnight stay remaining in my quiver for the next 12 months.

Small town notes:

Buffalo – Yes & no.  West side good but on east side the crumbling downtown fronts the old railroad.

Versailles and Tipton – good.

Fayette – has a small college, so that makes it a “small college town.”

Macon – kinda okay

Kansas City

In 2023 I visited downtown Kansas City, rode their trolley and saw the City Market, Union Station and the National WWI Historic Monument & Park.  It’s a national park and anyway, there’s no playground there so it was no problem.

Then I had Kansas City BBQ at Slap’s, but that’s in the other Kansas City in Kansas – so when I found a nearby motel I wasn’t “sleeping” in Missouri.  Therefore even though I came back and spent a second partial day it was still zero days as far as Missouri’s registry is concerned. 

View of Downtown Kansas City from the WWI Memorial

St. Louis

In May of 2024, traveling from Iowa, I began what I hoped would be a four day tour of Missouri with the first night’s stay at a motel (with no pool) in St. Louis, but after that I was turned back by car troubles so severe that upon returning to Iowa ended up junking my car and getting another (used) Toyota Sienna.  Now I have a car that’s registered and tagged in Iowa but my driver’s license is still from Florida.  Neither Iowa DMV nor my Iowa sheriff’s department seemed to care about this, but what would Florida say when I returned there next fall?  Well, a year later I can now tell you that Florida didn't care either!

But meanwhile there I was in St. Louis overnight at a really crappy Days Inn, so I made the most of it by going on the Anhueser-Busch brewery tour. Very enjoyable!  Then the next morning I decided to live a little dangerously by going to the St. Louis Art Museum, which is justly recommended by all the tour books as a St. Louis must see.  Unfortunately it’s located within Forest Park – which is another recommended must see, but not for us.

St. Louis Art Museum. That's the actual saint himself riding his horse out front.

It’s a huge park and although I didn’t see any playgrounds either while entering from the west or later exiting to the south (after a stop at the Jewel Box), I assume there is probably one on the far side of the park, half a mile away at the Visitor & Education Center.  I just stayed as far away from that as possible.  Upon entering the museum I also checked the map thoroughly to make sure they didn’t have an on-site playground or children’s rec area.  I am happy to report there are none, so if you want to follow my lead and see great art while visiting St. Louis, do so.

 Visiting America’s big cities and small towns

I have been traveling for about four years now, and up until now I have mostly visited national parks and other wonders of nature.  I have visited comparatively few of America’s cities and towns, which is kinda odd for me because I am a retired city planner and you would think that I’d want to do that. Also, there are special considerations that arise for registered people when visiting cities. One that I have reported on is Chicago, where because of Illinois’ disgusting presence and residency laws we aren’t allowed to be in Millenium Park or see it’s beautiful waterfront.

Well actually I do want to visit cities. Starting this year I have a plan for doing so, and I will report on what I could do and couldn’t do in those cities due to my registry status.  That way you can have a better idea of what you can do if you go there.  I don’t know about you, but I have reached a point in my life’s journey where if there is a thing nobody can stop me from doing or a place they can’t keep me from going, these are things I definitely will do and places I will go. 

I have also decided to stop ignoring America’s small towns.  They are after all another place nobody can stop me from going while traveling.  I prefer to get off interstate highways and see the countryside when I travel. Of course that means I pass through a lot of small towns, but until now I’ve been just zooming through and completely ignoring them.  

Starting this year I will randomly pick some small towns to take a look at as I go along.  Generally speaking I’m talking about towns with a population of less than 1000.  I will drive their Main Street and see their town square.  Then I will drive a few blocks into a residential area or two.  I have actually done this on my first trip of the year which was South Central US with the most time spent in Texas.  Each small town takes no more than 10-15 minutes, and yet you can see quite a lot in that short time.  

Is the town prosperous or poor?  Is the town square empty and falling into the ground or filled with local businesses?  Are most of the residential streets paved? If so how well?  Are the homes occupied or rotting? What kind of homes are they and how old?  What kind of people live in the town?  Do they have a public park or is it a VFW park? That could make a difference if you want to stop at the farmers market being held there on a Saturday morning.  

If you are inclined to say hey Zee, 10-15 minutes is nothing, all I can say is that’s 10-15 more minutes than any other traveler is giving that town, and it’s short enough that you can do it and still stay on your travel schedule.  I found these little towns fascinating and yes I’ll definitely be reporting on them.  I’m hooked!

   Pennsylvania Update

So-called "historic train ride" in Strasburg, PA

From the 50 State Visitor Guide :

42 Pa.C.S.2019 §§9799.10 through 9799.9

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

Within 3 business days of establishing residence, becoming employed, or attending school.  3 business days for updates.  If fails to establish residence but nevertheless resides in state, shall register as transient. §9799.19.

Visitors: “Residence” means place where domiciled for 30 days or more w/in a calendar year.  “Transient” means no residence but nevertheless resides in state in a temporary place or dwelling, including a homeless shelter or park. §9799.12. Per the Lancaster State Police office, PA has no specific time limit for visiting registrants but staying more than 30 days per calendar year or becoming employed or attending school establishes residency and would trigger a requirement to register. Updated June 2021.

List of registration sites: www.pameganslaw.state.pa.us/VerificationSites

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

None.  Registry website supposedly only shows:  Sexually violent offenders, Sexually violent predators, Sexually violent delinquent children.

Duration & updates:

15 years to life.  Updates: T1 – annual, T2 – 6 mo., T3 & SVP – quarterly, Transient – monthly

A Pennsylvania Update: April 2025

In theory, Pennsylvania should be a pretty easy state to get along with as a registered visitor.  Their SOR statute states that “Residence” means a place where a registrant is domiciled for 30 days or more within a calendar year.  Also, there are no statewide or local residency or presence requirements. Thank you to PARSOL for providing me with the citations for 2 court cases that ensure this - Fross v. County of Allegheny, 20 A.3d 1193 and Lake Naomi Club, Inc. v. Rosado, 285 A.3d 1 (Pa. Cmmw. Ct. 2022).  They also have pointed out that the state SOR office is back to answering the phone these days which is also a help.  These updates are significant enough – and Pennsylvania is a significant enough state – that I am updating and re-posting the 50 State Visitors Guide chart on this site to include them.

Unfortunately “Transient” means the registrant has no residence but nevertheless “resides in the state,” but while the word “residence” is defined, the word “resides” is not, so … if you’re traveling through Pennsylvania, how long do you have to be there before you “reside” without having a “residence” …?    To the average traveler this may seem like a ridiculous question, but as registered citizens you and I know it’s far from academic.  You can’t count on the state police officer who pulls you over for having a blown tail light to give you the interpretation you wanted.

I resolved to resolve this uncertainty on a trip I made to the Northeast May 2021. After staying overnight at a PA state park campground I visited the Lancaster State Police office (which is also a Registration Verification Site) and was referred there to speak to an officer who admitted he was “not the sex offender expert” (then why was he assigned to answer this question? Was the “expert” out of the office?).  

After going back to his office and reading the statute he nevertheless opined that PA has no specific time limit for visiting registrants but staying more than 30 days per calendar year or becoming employed or attending school establishes residency and would trigger a requirement to register. That confirmed the same conclusion I reached after reading the statute.

Most recent visit: April 2024

Independence Hall, Philadelphia

In December 2023 I traveled from Florida with my now ex-wife but still Best Friend Forever to visit relatives and participate in a Wreaths Across America event on Long Island.  We had decided ahead of time to reserve a hotel room one night in Philadelphia so we could take in a few sights the next morning before continuing on to New Jersey.

You MUST have a Philly cheese steak sub!

As with our previous stops in Virginia, my ex-wife had never been to Philadelphia’s historic sites before and she was very impressed.  I was too even though I’d seen them before.  At lunchtime we asked one of the sales ladies at the Liberty Bell gift shop where to get a good Philly Cheesesteak and she suggested the Reading Terminal Marketplace.  Wow!  It’s like other downtown markets such as Faneuil Hall or Charleston Market, but even bigger with all kinds of stuff – including several Philly Cheesesteak options.  I also bought baked goods at one of the semi-authentic looking Amish stalls.

We spent a couple of hours just at the Reading Market but after that it was time to get moving – we had a hotel reservation that night in far norther New Jersey.

In April 2024 my BFF & I were again traveling from New Jersey and decided to stop in Philadelphia again to see a few sites we had missed on the previous trip, specifically Betsey Ross’s house and Benjamin Franklin’s Museum.  Then we visited Valley Forge on our way to the same hotel in “downtown” Intercourse where she had stayed two years before (see below).  Although she enjoyed all the stops we made, she was disappointed that left no time for touring Pennsylvania Dutch country, neither that afternoon nor the next morning on the way out of state.

Previous visits: 2022-23

In July 2022 I traveled thru Pennsylvania while tagging along with my family on their trip to the Northeast.  My ex-wife likes Pennsylvania Dutch Country very much.  I find it to be hopelessly commercialized.  What must it be like to be an actual Amish or Mennonite person trying to go about your life surrounded by billboards and tacky trinket shops and fake buggy rides? You have my sympathy, folks.

American Antique Car Assn. Museum, Hershey PA

Nevertheless she had reserved a hotel room right in “downtown” Intercourse.  I stayed at the very same state park I had the year before, about 40 miles away.  We spent way too much time at that tacky tourist village in Intercourse, but the upside to that place is that trapping all the tourists there keeps us away from the locals.

Later that day we were all rushing eastbound on I-78.  They spent the night at a hotel in Stroudsburg while I had reserved a campground in nearby Hickory Run State Park.  We were splitting up after that – they were on their way to Long Island to spend four days with my ex-inlaws, while I was headed for Maine to go whale watching.  

On the southbound leg of our Northeast trip we came back thru Pennsylvania, this time to visit Hershey’s Chocolate World and Hersheypark.  I was roped into this part of the trip because our granddaughter wanted more than anything to ride on some of the scariest rollercoasters in that theme park, and although Mom insisted that she be accompanied by an adult neither she nor Grandma were willing to do the accompanying.

Wow, some of those rides were truly terrifying!  I told my granddaughter that going on them was something I would consider to be an item on my bucket list, but don’t expect me to do that again!

In May 2023 I again passed through Pennsylvania on my way from West Virginia to New Jersey.  This time I could skip Pennsylvania Dutch Country, and would have skipped Hershey too until I saw a sign for the American Antique Car Association Museum.  Wow – way cool!

The Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania, in Leonard Harrison St. Pk.

From there it was on to Hickory Run State Park to stay the night before proceeding to New Jersey.  It also so happened that on the return leg of my journey, which took me through Upstate New York, I made a little side trip into Upstate PA to see the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania.  Yes there is such a thing and it’s really spectacular!