Nothing to Declare (abandoned agricultural inspection station; Yermo, CA)

            All of the major highways into California have an agricultural inspection station (“Border protection station” is what the state calls them.).  Traffic is funneled past uniformed officers who inquire as to whether you have any produce obtained out of state.  The point of these stations is to intercept and prevent insects and other pests (the state's term: “invasive species”) that might damage California crops from entering the state.
When I was a kid and we were returning from our periodic out-of-state camping trips, we passed through these stations.  I didn’t know about agricultural pests then, and had no idea what the point of these stops was.  I only knew that very official-looking uniformed officers were asking my father questions he was expected to answer.  It was easy to imagine we were smugglers moving through customs with our illicit cargo cleverly hidden, never to be detected.  The long road trips were a little more fun with these flights of fancy.
Nowadays, these stops are more of a minor annoyance, breaking my 70 mph pace down the interstate.  Still, as I inch the car forward in the line of traffic toward that uniformed officer, I glance down at the Nevada-purchased banana on the seat beside me.  As I eye my bright yellow contraband, a little of that childhood fantasy creeps up on me, and I do what any good smuggler on the verge of detection would do—I eat the evidence. 

   

Taken on: September 20, 2013

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18-35mm f/3.5-4.5D

abandoned

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Camera: Nikon D800, f/8.0, 76 sec, 21mm, ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D800
Lens:	18.0-35.0 mm f/3.5-4.5
Aperture:	f/8.0
Exposure Time:	76
Focal Length:	21mm
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Manual
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.4 (Windows)
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