COMMENTARY

“THE WORST OF THE WORST” ALWAYS MEANS EVERYBODY

The straight line from America’s registry system to ICE detention centers

Is it just me?  Does anybody else see the direct connection between our experience as people on America’s offender registries, and our nation’s latest boogeymen, immigrants?  Let me get this straight:  The vast majority of those being swept up off our streets and warehoused in the most disgusting concentration camps America has ever seen have committed no crime, not even a speeding ticket.  Many are arrested when they show up for appointments meant to straighten out their immigration paperwork.  Many more have been arrested even though they have Green Cards or other established protected status.  Some aren’t even immigrants.

Gee whiz, gang, I sure hope all this sounds familiar, because it’s exactly the kind of viscous campaign the police have been carrying out against us for decades.

We shake our heads and say, How can this even happen in America?

To answer this question we need to talk about “The Worst of the Worst,” because that’s where it always starts.  It’s where it started for us, and it’s where it started with immigrants.  “We’re only doing what Americans rightly demand – we’re going after the Worst of the Worst.”  Americans all nod their heads and say “Oh yes, that’s what we want!”  And then the police, or ICE agents or whoever, use that mandate to go arrest everybody.

We shake our heads again and say, How can this even happen in America?  Here’s how:

The original premise sounds good – among society there is a group that most consider to be “Bad People.”  Us.  Immigrants.  Gays.  Non-Christians.  Good citizens are concerned and afraid.  Demagogs step in and say, “Your concerns and fears are justified.  We will respond to your fears by going after the Worst of the Worst of these Bad People.”

But of course that’s not enough, because now you have created three groups – the Bad People, the Worst People, and the Worst of the Worst People.  Once you do that, Americans will rightly ask, “Hey wait!  Why are you only going after the Worst of the Worst?  We also fear the Worst People, and even the Bad People.  You have to go after them too!”  Mission creep.

Then there’s the failure to define who the Bad People really are, which means you can’t possibly know who the Worst are, or the Worst of the Worst.  That’s how you get CP cases as Tier 3 in California’s so-called “tiered registry” (and several other states). 

Are so-called “violent” SO’s the Worst of the Worst, where so-called “hands on” SO’s are the Worst and all other SO’s the Bad People …? Or are ALL SO’s the Worst of the Worst, where other offenders are the Worst, and Democrats are the Bad People …? (Remember,  Q Anon says the Democratic Party is a nest of pedophiles, AND that they love illegal immigrants).

More mission creep.  Pretty soon the police are engaged in registry sweeps to scoop up otherwise law abiding PFR’s, ICE is sending otherwise law abiding immigrants to concentration camps, and Donald Trump is continuing his campaign of retribution against his enemies list.  Welcome to America.

But there is one more issue to address – the difference between America’s reaction to ICE detention sweeps against law abiding immigrants vs. police registry sweeps against otherwise law abiding registrants.  It seems that many Americans are, after all, able to differentiate and say about law abiding immigrants, “Wait a minute – not only aren’t these folks the ‘Worst of the Worst,’ they’re not even the Bad People!” 

Sadly, nearly all Americans seem unable to reach a similar conclusion about otherwise law abiding registrants.  That’s because nearly all Americans have been conditioned from an early age to believe that every PFR is a determined reoffender hiding behind the nearest bush waiting to strike. 

What, if anything, can we do to force Americans to see us differently?  I’m not sure, but simply appealing to statistical studies and reason isn’t going to work.  We see this in the battle against inhuman treatment of immigrants – every study shows that immigrants are in fact more law abiding and pay higher taxes than other Americans, yet none of that means anything to xenophobes.

What, if anything, can we do to force Americans to see us differently?  I’m not sure.

 DIFFICULT DESTINATIONS SERIES

Nevada’s “Visitors Registry” – a Special Report

From the 50 State Visitor Guide:

Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. 2019  §§179B and 179D (Effective Oct. 1, 2018)

AWA Compliant

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

48 hours for initial registration and updates; updates may be in person.  §§179D.460, 479D.480.  However, Nevada SOR office states that visitors for less than 30 days are not placed on the SOR registry but on a separate “visitors registry” that is not public. Visitors must “check in” within 48 hours & provide info to law enforcement. Return to “check out” when departing the state. The “visitors registry” including the dates of your visit(s) is available to law enforcement agencies only.

This SOR office info updated & confirmed Apr. 2021.

Confirmed by Las Vegas Metro Police Dept. Oct. 2021.

Also: North Las Vegas Police “OffenderWatch” Safety Tips

https://sheriffalerts.com/cap_safety_1.php?office=54127

“Do I have to register as a sex offender in North Las Vegas if I am only visiting? Sex offenders who will be visiting North Las Vegas and will be staying in North Las Vegas for more than 48 hours, must register as “Sex Offender – Visitor”.” (emphasis added)

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

No statewide restrictions.

Duration & updates:

15 years to life. §179D.480.

Procedure available for removal from registry after departure.

What is Nevada’s “Visitors Registry” ?

Nevada is one of a handful of states that, by policy, treats a statutory very short (in Nevada’s case 48 hours) visitor registration requirement as a “duty to check in” but holds SO visitor information separately pending a commitment to depart within a specified time (up to 30 days); your info becomes part of a “visitors registry” that is not made public. Other states that do this are Alaska, South Dakota and Rhode Island.

I first became aware of this separate “visitors registry” while calling every state SOR office as part of my research in 2020. The nice lady at the Nevada SOR office told me all about it. And yet, there seems to be nothing on the Nevada SOR website about this.

In October 2021 I conducted field research at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (see photo). My sole purpose in going there was to find out if they knew anything about this separate unpublished “visitors registry.”

With a little prodding I was able to get the lady behind the bulletproof glass to go ask her supervisor about it, and when she returned she smiled cheerfully and said, “Yes, there is a visitors registry, and as long as you check in within 48 hours of your arrival, and give us all the information about your visit, and come back to check out before you leave, you will go on that visitors registry.”  But until now I have been too loathe to go into any registry office to actually apply, even to be on a visitors registry.

However …

A registrant’s experience with Nevada’s “Visitors Registry”

In early 2026 a member of Illinois Voices contacted me because they were obligated to attend a Las Vegas wedding.  Their obligation was going to last longer than 48 hours and what should they do?  They had read about the Visitors Registry on my travel website but wanted more information.

We discussed the Visitors Registry and I admitted that I’m too much of a chicken to have ever tried it, nor had I ever heard of anyone else trying it. It seemed that they would have to be the guinea pig.  I advised approaching the Las Vegas Police Dept. on MLK Drive with caution, and not giving them any personal information at all until they had confirmed the existence of the Visitors Registry, that it really is a separate registry and that their name would not appear on the main public registry.  Only after confirming all that should they proceed.

Las Vegas Metro Police Dept.

Here is the Illinois Voices member’s description of their experience:

“I took a Lyft yesterday from my hotel on the Vegas strip to the Las Vegas PD at 400 S Martin Luther King Blvd, Building C. I arrived around 2:40 pm. Just inside the entrance you wait in a short line to check-in. There they give you a ticket and you wait until your ticket is called. You go up to a window where you are interviewed. After that there’s a DNA cheek swab, photographs and full digital fingerprints/palm prints. There is no fee. The whole process took about 90 minutes. I was told I don’t need to return to check out. I would only need to return if I wanted to extend my visit.”

While this report confirms the existence of the Nevada Visitors Registry, there’s also one very troubling thing about it – as you can see, the NV SOR office put this visitor through the exact procedure as any person “applying” to be on their main registry, including DNA, finger and palm prints, everything.  The only difference is that they put your data in a different, non-published file.

Hey look!  These guys are open weekends & holidays!

This is different and far more onerous than any of the other Visitors Registry states.  In Alaska the entire process is done online, as recently reported on the ACSOL domestic travel discussion page.  You fill out AND submit their Visitors Registry form online at their SOR website, so obviously there’s no DNA sample or fingerprints. There’s also no in-person check in required.  Alaskans are pretty easy going folks.

South Dakota’s and Rhode Island’s Visitors Registries are apparently more informal affairs. If you check in and provide information about your visit, they’re ready to allow what the nice lady at the South Dakota SOR office described as “wiggle room.”  “We have hundreds of sex offenders coming to the Sturgis Bike Rally every year,” she said.  “They typically stay more than three days but less than a week.  Why would we want to register all these people and then have to remove them a few days later?”

[As an aside, I was amused by how the SOR lady’s description of the Sturgis Bike Rally made it sound like an annual sex offenders’ reunion.  Hey, maybe NARSOL should hold next year’s national conference in Sturgis during the rally and make it official?]

Why is there a Visitors Registry anyway?

You may be wondering why any state SOR office, whether in Nevada, Alaska, Rhode Island or elsewhere, would go out of their way to create a separate visitors registry when it’s not spelled out in state law. As a person who worked as a government bureaucrat his entire career (until I ruined my life), I’m confident I know the answer: work avoidance.

You see, these states with separate visitors registries have very short visitor registration requirements, but they also have standardized procedures available to remove you from their registries after you leave (unlike Tennessee, Florida and 13 other states that keep you on their registries forever in order to pad their numbers and get more federal funding).

What this means for a SOR office (or sheriff’s department) bureaucrat is that any time a visitor is forced to register, they have to do all the work of adding that person to their registry and posting it on their website. Then as soon as that person leaves the state they have to do all the work of removing that person from their registry and their website.  That’s double the work for somebody they really couldn’t care less about. Thus is born the separate, low effort “visitors registry.”

However, this report from a person who actually made use of Nevada’s Visitors Registry doesn’t make it sound low effort at all!  Upon reflection I think it’s because, although it’s not saving any time for either staff or you at check-in, it was clearly the easiest procedure for the bureaucrat assigned to create it.  All he had to do was – Copy – Paste.  Assignment completed.

Most recent visit: August 2025

In early August 2025 I was on my way from Oregon to Utah and that necessarily took me through Nevada.  Before entering at the state’s incredibly remote northwest corner on SR 140 I made sure to gas up and pick up supplies in Lakeview, OR.  My mission was to get to the Utah state line and the Bonneville Salt Flats within 48 hours.  That’s not difficult since there’s nothing worth seeing in this part of Nevada anyway.  Passing through the Sheldon National Antelope Refuge and seeing no antelope kind of set the tone.  Instead I occupied myself by making a few

Small Town Notes:

Winnemucca – Not much to see here.  The whole town seems to be migrating towards I-80.

Battle Mountain – I read or saw somewhere that this town was “Voted Armpit of America.”  It’s not quite that bad – allow me to suggest Wendover, UT (see below) if you want to make a comparison.  But it is a jumble of rotting mobile homes.

West Wendover, NV as seen from Wendover, UT. Note that the front faces of the Montego Bay and Nugget casino buildings both go right up to the state line.  The Shell station is in UT.

West Wendover, NV & Wendover, UT – There is a military base just outside of Wendover, UT so that makes this just about the dumpiest base employee town I’ve ever witnessed, with mobile homes rotting into the ground.  West Wendover, NV is a failed military retiree mobile home community, where veterans could retire out in the desert and be close to base services.  Except it’s deteriorating and kind of not completed.  Also the only person I saw while driving around was a young latino boy walking his bicycle, which doesn’t fit well with the idea this is still a retirement community.

Bruce Hossfield, Atwo Zee Registered Traveler

Kentucky

Diamond Caverns

From the 50 State Visitor Guide :

K.R.S. 2019  §§17.500 through 17.580.  502 K.A.R. 31:020

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

K.R.S. §17.510 states 5 working days for initial registration and updates.  Registrants employed in the state must register if present for a period of 14 consecutive days or 30 days in a calendar year.  Per Kentucky SOR office, visitors are not required to register unless present for 14 consecutive days, or 30 days in a calendar year.

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

Residence restriction: 1,000 ft. of schools, day care facilities, and publicly owned playgrounds; must move out of residence within 90 days if a new facility opens.  §17.545.  The state notes that the Kentucky Supreme Court forbid retroactive application of this law to those who committed offenses prior to July 12, 2006 and states “The Kentucky State Police do not evaluate or approve particular locations for compliance with sex offender residence restrictions. If you have any questions concerning whether you are subject to the residence restrictions in KRS 17.545 or whether you may legally reside at a particular location you may wish to consult an attorney.”

Presence restriction:  May not be present on grounds of school or daycare without advanced written permission.  K.R.S. §17.545.  Registrants are prohibited from using certain social media and chat rooms, and are forbidden to photograph or videotape minors without parental consent.  §17.546.

Per Kentucky SOR office, a procedure is available for removal from registry after departure.

Duration & updates:

20 years or lifetime, depending on offense. §17.520. Updates annual or every 90 days, depending on offense. §17.520. No tiers.

Most recent visit: May 2026

According to Kentucky state statutes, no registered person may reside within 1,000 ft. of schools, day care facilities, and publicly owned playgrounds.  K.R.S. §17.545.  Also, no registrant may be present on the grounds of a school or daycare without advanced written permission.  §17.545.  This isn’t as long a list as in some other states, but per the state SOR office, yes these restrictions will apply to you during the 14 consecutive days or 30 days per calendar year you are allowed to be in-state before you have to register. 

If you pull into a motel off the Interstate one evening it’s extremely unlikely you’ll be anywhere close to anything but a few other motels, a truck stop and other convenience services.  In that situation you have little to worry about.  On the other hand if you plan to spend a few days or more vacationing in Kentucky I would advise scoping your resort or timeshare’s neighborhood out just to be sure.

It so happens that I am a frequent traveler on I-24 through Kentucky because it’s part of my route from Iowa to Florida.  In May 2026 I entered Kentucky upon leaving my campground on the Tennessee side of Land Between the Lakes Nat. Rec. Area.  As usual I was “just passing through” on this trip, not spending the night, and like most states Kentucky allows that without counting it against your allowable time per visit or year.

Paducah

 

At the National Quilt Museum                                                  Downtown Paducah

My primary destination that morning was Paducah, which has done a good job of turning its quaint riverfront downtown into a tourist destination.  The main attraction is the National Quilt Museum.  No, I am not a quilter!  But the quilts here are true art, and they always have new featured exhibits, so you’ll see new art on each visit.

Downtown Paducah has other museums including the River Discovery Center and the Market House Museum.  There’s also a downtown market, lots of antiques and souvenir shops, and a new Riverfront Park which you’re aloud to go to because there’s no playground (… yet …).

Mammoth Cave

Mammoth Cave, KY

On a June 2021 road trip I was determined to get tickets for a good Mammoth Cave National Park cave tour, and to secure a campground for the night before said tour.  Every cave tour was booked solid as soon as its date became available on-line, which was only about 10 days out.  To beat that madness I decided to stop at the park on the northbound leg of my trip and buy tour and campground tickets for the date I knew I’d be back on the southbound leg.  And believe it or not, this strategy worked flawlessly! Eleven days later I pulled into my reserved national park campground (with no playground), and the next day I was on a high-demand cave tour.

Diamond Caverns is a privately owned cavern along the national park entrance road.  Obviously, it can’t compete with Mammoth Cave, but on my October 2020 trip I was able to walk right in there and get a same-day ticket and the tour was enjoyable.

Previous visit to Kentucky

 

Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace & Boyhood Home

In May 2023, while traveling east on the Western Kentucky Parkway (toll) my first real stop was Lincoln’s birthplace and boyhood home (two separate national parks within a few miles of each other).  Very interesting. 

Then I proceeded to Natural Bridge State Park.  Perhaps you noticed above that parks, historic sites, museums and Churchill Downs aren’t on the list of places you can’t “reside” within 1000 feet of, so there are a lot of places you can go in Kentucky without worry.  Also, the statute specifies only “publicly owned playgrounds,” so a hotel swimming pool or game room doesn’t count.  Neither does a playground at a timeshare or private campground like a KOA.

Natural Bridge State Park

With that in mind, I am pleased to report that (unlike most other KY state parks) there are no playgrounds in the campgrounds at Natural Bridge State Park.  They are all in other parts of the park.  Also, the natural bridge is really spectacular and offers scenic views of mountainous Daniel Boone National Forest which surrounds the park.

Red River Gorge National Geological Area (part of Daniel Boone Nat. Forest) is right across Mountain Parkway (toll) from Natural Bridge, so the next morning I went for this very beautiful drive.  After wending my way through several more national forest byways I came to I-64 east which took me to West Virginia.

 Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area: A Special Report

From the 50 State Visitor Guide (Kentucky):

K.R.S. 2019  §§17.500 through 17.580.  502 K.A.R. 31:020

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

K.R.S. §17.510 states 5 working days for initial registration and updates.  Registrants employed in the state must register if present for a period of 14 consecutive days or 30 days in a calendar year.  Per Kentucky SOR office, visitors are not required to register unless present for 14 consecutive days, or 30 days in a calendar year.

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

Residence restriction: 1,000 ft. of schools, day care facilities, and publicly owned playgrounds; must move out of residence within 90 days if a new facility opens.  §17.545.  The state notes that the Kentucky Supreme Court forbid retroactive application of this law to those who committed offenses prior to July 12, 2006 and states “The Kentucky State Police do not evaluate or approve particular locations for compliance with sex offender residence restrictions. If you have any questions concerning whether you are subject to the residence restrictions in KRS 17.545 or whether you may legally reside at a particular location you may wish to consult an attorney.”

Presence restriction:  May not be present on grounds of school or daycare or publicly owned pool or splash pad without advanced written permission.  K.R.S. §17.545.  Registrants are prohibited from using certain social media and chat rooms, and are forbidden to photograph or videotape minors without parental consent.  §17.546. Updated Aug. 2024

Per Kentucky SOR office, a procedure is available for removal from registry after departure.

Duration & updates:

20 years or lifetime, depending on offense. §17.520. Updates annual or every 90 days, depending on offense. §17.520. No tiers.

From the 50 State Visitor Guide (Tennessee):

Tenn. Code Ann. 2019  §§40-39-201 through 40-39-306

AWA Compliant

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

48 hours for initial reg. and updates, but “within 48 hours” is defined to not include weekends and holidays.  §40-39-202(32).  

Visitors must register “within 48 hours” of entering state. Per Tenn. SOR office, the 48 hour clock starts upon crossing the state line but will be interrupted from midnight to midnight on weekends and holidays. Also, per SOR office there is no limit on number of repeat visits per week, month or year.

“Primary residence” established after 5 consecutive days. “Secondary residence” means any residence for 14 or more aggregate days in a calendar year, or 4 or more days in a month.  “Residence” means physical presence. §§40-39-202, 40-39-203.

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

Residence & Employment Restriction:  1,000 ft. from school, day care center, child care facility, public park, playground, recreation center or athletic field, or the offender’s victim or victim’s family. §40-39-211.  In 2019 TN applied new restrictions to residence with any minor; these restrictions are under a Temporary 

Restraining Order pending trial (see NARSOL Digest 8/19 p. 5).

Residence restriction:  Violent offenders and those with convictions against minors may not reside in on-campus housing of any institution of higher education. 

Presence restriction: 1,000 ft. from school, day care center, child care facility, public park, playground, recreation center or athletic field, with exceptions. §40-39-211.  Tennessee libraries have authority to restrict access by Registrants.  §40-39-216.

Per Tenn. SOR office, these restrictions DO apply to visitors during the 48 hour grace period.

Duration & updates:

Life.  Petition to remove – 10 years from end of probation.  §163A.125.

Violent offenders update quarterly; all others annually.  §40-39-207

Most recent visit: May 2026

Land Between the Lakes is not a national park but rather one of the crown jewels of America’s National Recreation Area system, which is in turn administered by the National Parks Service – which means, like Great Smoky Mountains National Park which is also partly in Tennessee, that it is “out of the jurisdiction” of state and local law enforcement.  The harsh residency and presence restrictions of the states where it’s located are not enforced here.

My May 2026 campground

In May 2026 I camped at one of the little campgrounds near a boat ramp on the Tennessee side of Land Between the Lakes.  This was Night #2 of my two-nights-and-one-day-but-less-than-48-hours trip the long way through Tennessee just to show how it can be done.  It was an off-season weeknight so I had the place almost to myself, so I took a lakeside site with a beautiful view.

Land Between the Lakes is a creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority, situated between two long skinny lakes (Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley) created as a result of the construction of Kentucky Dam at the confluence of the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers.  The two rivers, and therefore the two lakes, run parallel to each other for over 50 miles and the TVA acquired this land as part of its water quality control plan.  

Now it’s a National Recreation Area with lots to offer in a part of our country where high quality outdoor recreation opportunities can be hard for registered people to find.  According to Kentucky state statutes, no registered person may reside within 1,000 ft. of schools, day care facilities, and publicly owned playgrounds.  K.R.S. §17.545.  Per the state SOR office, yes these restrictions will apply to you during the 14 consecutive days or 30 days per calendar year you are allowed to be in-state before you have to register.  

So what this means is, yes you can go to Kentucky state and local parks but you can’t camp anywhere within 1000 feet of a playground.  And guess what?  Most Kentucky state parks have playgrounds conveniently located in each of their campgrounds.  Oh well!  But Land Between the Lakes is out of their jurisdiction. Yey!

Tennessee is even worse, as I have pointed out in other blog posts.  Tennessee has statewide 1000 ft. residency AND presence restrictions preventing you from getting anywhere close to having any healthy outdoor recreation at their state and local parks.  Who knows what additional punishments local governments have piled on.  Oh well!  But Land Between the Lakes is out of their jurisdiction. Yey!

Notice that Law Enforcement is part of Parks Administration

Now let’s be clear – there is a reason why Land Between the Lakes is not a national park.  It doesn’t have natural wonders or places of historical or cultural significance.  It just happens to be a (large) spit of land between these two hydroelectric reservoirs.  

BUT!  If you want to go boating, swimming, water skiing, ATVing, dirt biking, hiking, backpacking (they have a 57.8 mile long “North-South Trail”), visit the planetarium at the visitors center, or for that matter go admire the dam which is an amazing piece of engineering, you can do so at Land Between the Lakes without fear of violating any state or local rule, and without worrying that some dickhead sheriff’s deputy is going to hassle you.  And that is a very good thing.

Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area.  It’s a place every registered traveler should know about, and visit often.

I think this is Barkley Dam

 North Carolina

From the 50 State Visitor Guide :

N.C. Gen. Stat. 2019 Art. 27A, §§14-208.5 through 14-208.45

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

3 business days for initial reg. and updates.  §§14-207, 14-208.9. New residents: w/in 3 business days of establishing residence, or whenever present in the state for 15 days, whichever comes first (“residence” not defined). §14-208.7.  “Employed” means more than 14 days or more than 30 days in a calendar year.  §14-208.6

Per Rolfe Survey, visiting registrants once placed on state’s registry ARE NOT REMOVED.

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

Residence restriction: 1,000 ft. of school or child care center, with exceptions.  §14-208.16.  NC law includes a very expansive definition of “child care” that includes e.g. Boys & Girls Clubs. §110-86. However, “school” does not include “institutions of higher education” or “home schools” as defined in §115C-563.

Presence restrictions:  For offenses involving a victim under 16 and other offenses, may not be present on “place intended primarily for the use, care, or supervision of minors,” or w/in 300 ft. of such a place if it is located on another property such as a mall. Also may not be present “where minors gather regularly for scheduled educational, recreational, or social programs.”  Various exceptions for parents on school business, or in need of medical care. §14-208.18.  

Duration & updates:

30 years to life. Petition to remove – 10 years. Tier III updates every 90 days; all others every six months. §§14-208.7A, 14-209A

North Carolina Arboretum, Ashville

Most recent visit: May 2026

North North Carolina has a lot of onerous residence and presence restrictions which you should be concerned about.  However, according to state law (§14-208.16) these restrictions apply to “an offender who is required to register,” and therefore in theory not to a visitor who is not required to register because you’re in the state for less than 15 days.  Unfortunately, when I put this question to the nice lady at the NC SOR office in 2022 she said that actually they do apply.  What do you expect, right?

Therefore I would certainly suggest staying away from schools, child care centers and “places where minors gather regularly.”  You can, however, attend your college reunion because “institutions of higher education” are excluded by definition from the term “school.”

North Carolina has no law against registered people visiting parks, whether local, state or national parks.  You can visit Smokey Mountains National Park, national forests or any state park in North Carolina without fear.  You can also visit historic sites, museums and monuments of which the state has many. Just stay away from the playgrounds!

In May 2026 I entered North Carolina from Myrtle Beach, SC on US 17. My primary destination this time was the Outer Banks, but on Partial Day 1 I only wanted to get as far as a very nice campground in Croatan National Forest. 

In the morning of Day 2 I drove the very long way to the Outer Banks by taking Scenic Route US 264 through marshy coastal towns along Pamlico Sound.  I had not ridden this road in 55 years. 

Outer Banks

In my teen years growing up in New Jersey, my parents took us to the Outer Banks for our annual summer vacation.  US 264 is still the same and as scenic as ever, but Outer Banks towns like Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills have completely re-invented themselves since 1970.  I remember one two lane road with mostly bait shops along it, and sandy old beach bungalows like the one my family stayed at every year.

Bodie Lighthouse

There have been enough devastating hurricanes in the past 55 years to wipe away those old beach towns, providing ample opportunities to re-build themselves to withstand 150 mph sustained winds. Big, expensive and up on stilts is the Outer Banks new calling card.  US 158 is now a four lane by-pass highway with commercial pods in accordance with modern suburban planning principles (get ready for some round-abouts!).

Wright Memorial, showing Kill Devil Hill in background and landing spots in foreground

That afternoon I first visited Cape Hatteras National Seashore, especially Bodie Island Lighthouse. Next stop Wright Brothers National Memorial, followed by Fort Raleigh National Historic Site.  Fortunately it was too early in the season to see the Lost Colony play – as a kid I was forced to watch it a couple of times and didn’t like it.

Kitty Hawk Kites

Only two businesses that I know of survive from the old days – Kitty Hawk Kites, where I tried unsuccessfully to learn hang-gliding as a teenager, and:

Regional liquor store chain you should know about:

Brew Thru – Yes that’s right, it looks like a big car wash but you drive thru displays of alcoholic beverages.  When I was a kid there was only one, but now it’s a chain.

Regional restaurant chain you should be warned about:

Smithfields - It's a BBQ chain, it's in NC, so you would think the BBQ would be good, right? No.

That evening of Day 2 I retreated inland and found a cheap motel in Williamston.  My only objective for Day 3 was to drive across NC so I’d be set up for my visit to Pisgah National Forest.

Pisgah National Forest

Pisgah is the National Forest covering most of North Carolina’s Smoky Mountains region.  It is in two big pieces, northeast of and southwest of Asheville.  Like Smoky Mtns. National Park (see my separate “special report” blog post) it’s federal land so you can see its many natural wonders and points of interest without worry. 

Waterfalls in Pisgah Nat. Forest

While traveling with family in the past (see “previous visit” below) they have usually focused on Asheville, Biltmore, and areas southwest.  On Day 3 of this visit I decided to spend a day in the other part of Pisgah to the northeast, with emphasis on seeing as many waterfalls as I could get to easily.  The entire Pisgah region is known for its waterfalls.

This region is also dominated by Grandfather Mountain – which is a mountain, a state park (just off the Blue Ridge Parkway), and also a pretty good private tourist attraction.

"Mile High" suspension bridge and the view from it at Grandfather Mtn. attraction

At the end of Day 3 my goal was to take I-40 just over the TN state line and find a motel there, thus starting the clock on my two-nights-and-one-day-but-less-than-48-hours drive through Tennessee (see my “Tennessee/Nashville/Memphis” blog).

Blue Ridge Parkway

Folk Art Center, Blue Ridge Parkway near Ashville

The Blue Ridge Parkway is perhaps America’s most famous Depression-era road building project. It.  At the north end it connects with Skyline Drive and Shenandoah National Park.  It is under the jurisdiction of the US Parks Service.  Therefore you can safely travel on this road, which twists though the majestic Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains in VA and NC, with reduced fear of local sheriffs departments. You can safely stay at any of the campgrounds and visit attractions along its length, as I had on previous occasions.

Registered travelers should always take advantage of opportunities like the Blue Ridge Parkway to see great sights and visit great places without fear of local police harassment.

Previous visit – March 2024

In March 2024 I joined my family for their Spring Break vacation in the mountains of North Carolina.  They came from Florida.  I came from Iowa, but afterwards traveled with my family to Florida, all of which I properly reported at my local Iowa sheriff’s department as a 6 1/2 week trip with multiple destinations in multiple states.  I even told them that in the middle of this trip I’d be inserting another trip with my ex from Florida to New Jersey and back before returning to Iowa. 

The view from Chimney Rock State Park, NC

Iowa had no problem entering this level of travel complexity into my registry sheet – which just goes to show that you shouldn’t worry about complex travel plans.  I like to think that having my sheet with the answers to any suspicious police officer’s questions sitting right in my glove compartment protects me during my travels.

During my NC family vacation we visited the usual attractions – museums, quaint small towns, Chimney Rock State Park, drove the Blue Ridge Parkway and stopped at the Folk Art Center, etc.  We arrived on Monday and left on Friday, so even including partial days that makes five days, well within the 14 days allowed by North Carolina without triggering an obligation to register.

Bruce Hossfield, Atwo Zee Registered Traveler

  South Carolina

From the 50 State Visitor Guide:

S.C. Code Ann. 2019  §§23-3-400 through 23-3-550.  AWA Compliant.

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

3 business days for initial registration and updates for “residence.”  Residence / temporary residence means one’s home, or any place where one “habitually resides” or resides for a period of 10 consecutive days or more.  Residing in the state for 30 or more days during a 12-month period also establishes a residence. §§23-3-430, 23-3-450, 23-3-460.

Visitors: “Summary” FAQ website states that registration is required if you are planning to visit for 10 days or more.

Per Rolfe Survey, Visiting Registrants once placed on state’s registry ARE NOT REMOVED.

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

Residence restriction: For certain offenses against minors, may not reside w/in 1,000 ft. of school, day care center, “children’s recreational facility,” park, or playground.  §23-3-535.

State pre-emption: A local government may not enact an ordinance that: (1) contains penalties that exceed or are less lenient than the penalties contained in state statutes; or (2) expands or contracts the boundaries of areas in which a sex offender may or may not reside. §23-3-535(E).

Duration & updates:

Lifetime.  Tier III and SVP update every 90 days; all others every 6 mo.  §23-3-460.

Most recent visit: May 2026

Yes, while visiting South Carolina you will be bound by their registry restrictions.  However, for a visitor these restrictions are “relatively” few. In fact, if your offense was not against a minor you’re off the hook, and only apply for “certain hands-on offenses” although I’m not ready to offer a definition of “hands-on” here.

Also, SC is one of nine states that have laws pre-empting local governments from adopting any law more restrictive than the state law.  So believe it or not – in South Carolina yet – you can travel without fear of getting snagged by a local restriction.

Congaree National Forest

Boardwalk trail at Congaree Nat. Pk.

Even so, in my travels to date through South Carolina I have never tried to test their system. When camping I still prefer national parks and forests.  My main objective for this trip was Charleston, but on this trip I figured an afternoon would be enough and that left time to go visit Congaree National Forest, which is SE of the state capitol Columbia. 

Congaree is a vast southern swamp, so remote back in the day that slave holders were unwilling to enter it in search of for escaped slaves.  The freedom seekers built their own town and sustained themselves there for many years.  Nowadays there are trails and boardwalks and yes – campgrounds.

Charleston

I have actually been to Charleston a fair number of times, usually with family, and usually going to the same places – the Battery, City Market, Rainbow Row, and eating at a downtown restaurant.  On this trip I was, as usual, running behind after my side trip to Congaree National Forest, but I wasn’t concerned because I had already decided to get on an on-off tour trolley and stop wherever I wanted.

Rainbow Row

Unfortunately it turns out that Charleston has no on-off trolley! This really surprised me.  They do have an ordinary city tour bus that takes you to all the sites, and I did that, but I didn’t have the energy left to go retrace my steps to see anything I couldn’t get off to see on the tour.  In the end I was disappointed.

The Battery

One thing to point out about Charleston:  Their visitors center is centrally located and has plenty of all day parking (which of course you have to pay for). It’s a good jumping off point for your day in Charleston and it’s where you should go first.

City Market

Upon leaving Charleston I found a campground in Francis Marion National Forest. The next morning I passed through Myrtle Beach, which is just as touristy as you can imagine, but also has a beachfront state park.  It was a Saturday morning, but it was off season so few people were there. But I’ll bet it’s a nightmare in the summer.

 After that it was on to North Carolina and the Outer Banks.