Friday, May 20, 2016

Well shoot - I almost got a speeding ticket going 12 mph :(

Katie and I are back in New Mexico for the summer!

We had planned to spend the summer boon-docking on BLM and Forest lands with Jeanne and Riley, but that got knocked off the rails.  We were doing fine, enjoying ourselves and the great free 14-day sites in Cottonwood, Sedona and Camp Verde, AZ, with plans to head north in a few weeks.  (Jeanne is a great planner and found some great spots.)  Our original plan was to travel around Arizona looking for a place for me to buy for a home-base.  But after looking at some places, I decided I wasn't ready yet.

Then we were joined by a few other people... I didn't really know them very well and got a weird vibe.  I wasn't comfortable camping with the group and decided to head back to New Mexico. When I told Jeanne, she said she might meet up with other friends traveling the northwest, a trip she has been wanting to take. She would rather do that than re-do New Mexico, and the timing was perfect.  So we headed off in different directions, but we'll meet up again, hopefully before the end of the year.  :)

About the almost speeding ticket:  I'm at Riverside Campground at Caballo Lake State Park minding my own business and obeying all the rules.  (I thought... !)  This afternoon I left my campsite to dump the tanks at the upper campground area.  When I was driving back into Riverside, a Park Ranger followed me.  It's a short drive down a paved road.  Normally speed limits in campgrounds are 10 or 15 mph, and that's what I usually do whether it's posted or not.  There's no speed posted here, so I usually go around 12 to 13 mph, right in the middle.  There are two speed bumps with a "5 mph" sign right there and I always slow to 5 mph when I drive over them.  You kind of have to slow to 5 mph - especially in an RV.

I didn't think anything about the Ranger truck following me, hardly noticed him.  Until I drove into my campsite and he followed and blocked me from driving out.  Not that I was driving out - I parked, got out, plugged in to the electric pole, and he was still there.  I couldn't see him through his dark window glass, but figured he was doing something not not pertaining to me.

Then he got out and walked over to me with a smile.  He was really nice, but apparently he was following me because I was speeding.  I asked him what the speed limit is and he said 5 mph.


I asked, In the whole park???   Yup, in the whole park.  I said, usually it's 10 or 15 mph, and I thought the 5 mph signs were warnings to people that there were speed bumps right there, and he said no, the signs were there because children could be crossing the roads and it applies to any roads inside the campground.  So of course, I apologized and thanked him for the information.  I felt like an idiot.  Then he said he was going to give me a citation for speeding, but since I was staying in the park, he'd let it go.  His original intent wasn't to warn me, he was going to ticket me.  I would have been so upset if I had gotten a speeding ticket. And even more upset at myself because I guess I would have deserved it. 

Maybe it was more obvious than I realized - maybe I missed previous signs and just noticed the ones at the speed bumps.  (I'm going to have to check the other NM State Parks as I enter to be sure what the speed limits are, because I haven't been driving 5 miles per hours in the other ones.  Just in case they are all the same.)

My next door neighbor came over after the Ranger left and I told him what happened.  He said, "Well I guess I'd better slow down, too, and everyone else here!  No one is going 5 mph, even on the dirt road in front of our campsites.  The loop is a one-way two lane road, and we have neighbors who go the wrong way, they'd better watch it, too!"

So beware - the rules are being enforced to the letter in this park and THE SPEED LIMIT IS 5 MPH.

The Ranger couldn't have been nicer, but it's a bit unsettling that he was planning to ticket me.  Wow, that was close!

Here are some photos taken in the park and at Elephant Butte Lake SP in the last few days.  The Rio Grande is really up and it's just beautiful:



Someone has been doing a lot of work here at Riverside Campground - it's much cleaner than in previous years, bushes and trees have been trimmed, there aren't tons of squirrel holes and mounds, etc.  Really nice.  

And some critters:

Bullock's Oriole

Gambel's Quail

Roadrunner

Robin

Squirrel - lots of these running around

There's one bird I saw yesterday, and previous years while camping here, that's bright red.  I see him flying from tree to tree, always when I don't have a camera with me.  I am bringing my camera with me all the time again, I WANT a photo of that bird.  He's beautiful, and if nothing else, I want a good close look at him.  A lot of times I only see what a bird really looks like when I get the photos up on my laptop. If they are too far to see clearly, I use the zoom lens and get a "close up" look that way.  

The weather has been great here - we've had some sun, some wind, some rain, some thunder and lightning, pretty much everything.  That makes it interesting, and it hasn't started heating up too much yet.  

That's it for now - I have some photos from the time Jeanne and I spent in Arizona - Sedona/Cottonwood/Camp Verde.  It's a beautiful area, for sure, and I'll post some of them next time.

From me and Katie, have a great day, everyone!  :) 

23 comments:

  1. You good lookin' chicks never get ticketed!

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    1. I KNOW, RIGHT??? Actually it's us white-haired, little old ladies. Very innocent looking. We get away with everything, LOL!!!

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  2. 5 MPH? Crazy!! My car goes faster than that without ever touching the gas pedal....would have to ride the brakes all the way. Not good. My street here in town (itty, bitty, Nebraska village) has a 20mph limit because some of the neighbors couldn't be bothered to teach their kids to stay out of the street and it is excruciatingly slow...even the people who asked for the signs go faster. :) OK, keep a close watch on that lead foot of yours. haha

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  3. Crikey .... that was a close call, aye?? It sure is pretty there and I like all the birdies. I'd like to chase 'em?? I bet I could catch that roadrunner, bloke. How's Katie doin??

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  4. It looks like a really nice park, but the speed limit would get me too. I drive about 10 mph in my mobile home park and it seems so slow. That would be a great conversation starter - "I got a speeding ticket for going 12 mph"!

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  5. That's the first time we've ever heard of a 5 mph speed limit in any park. The park must be trying to raise there own operating money. I would have been doing at least 10 mph.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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  6. Our park speed limit is 10 kph 6.2 mph and they do enforce is mostly

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  7. That's such a cool looking park. We's love to visit new mexico some day.

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  8. 5 mph is awful slow. Not sure our truck can go that slow. lol Nice of him not to issue the ticket. That's like when we got stopped in Mesa. We stopped and then turned right on red. Absolutely did not see the signs that said - DON'T DO THAT. We only got a warning - thank goodness. Now I make sure I read every sign when we get to a corner. Have a marvelous summer.

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  9. It's almost impossible to go 5 mph!
    Hard to make the decision to stop traveling and buy a place, isn't it? Especially when we can just pick up and leave if we don't like where we are, like you and Jeanne just did.
    Have a great summer in NM!

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  10. You went over 5 mph? Why you speed demon you!!

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  11. My favorite thing about my Garmin is that it shows the posted speed limit. With miles and miles of highway in and around Houston where the speed limit goes up and down, I never know the speed limit without it. Of course, inside the park, I'm sure it would not pick up the speed limit. It would hurt my feelings to get a ticket too. I can't even remember my last one.

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    1. My Garmin does too, but I've heard it can't be trusted. Be careful out there!

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  12. Yikes! That would be crazy to get a ticket for 12mph.
    I've been hoping to meet you some day, and now I find you were in the Cottonwood area last month when I was there. Maybe another time. Looks like you found a lovely spot that's really nice this time of year.

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  13. I'm glad you left if the people around you made you uncomfortable. It's best to follow your instincts I think. Glad you got out of the ticket. 5mph seems a bit too slow.

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  14. I almost got a ticket on the back road from Elephant Butte to T or C. It says 35mph I think and I usually would put my cruise control on so I wouldn't accidentally speed. I got stopped and warned. I told the officer the truth that I just got carried away singing and apologized to him. Phew!

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  15. Glad it was only a warning. Sounds like you are in a beautiful location. I'm sending you are local squirrel that is in the tree next to us. LOL. Lola has a fixation on him and she howls non stop when she sees it. ugh. Squirrel soup anyone? (not really) lol. Sheila x

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  16. Here I thought the speeding ticket story was ending in a joke--- couldn't have been more wrong. Well, now we all know it. Molly is also alert to squirrels around here, but she's getting really old.

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  17. Wow! That was a close call! I DID get a ticket from a trouper in North Carolina many years ago. In hopes of just getting just a warning, I wondered to myself if I cried whether it might make a difference and only get a warning. I was very surprised to find that I COULD cry on demand--but it didn't help!

    Welcome back to New Mexico. I'm a part-time RVing woman who is home in Albuquerque while I re-group for a trip to the Northwest. I really enjoy your blog! I've recently started one as well, although I am WAY behind in keeping it up to date. It's at MeTheToadAndTheRoad.com (no caps needed--just used for clarity.) If you come through Albuquerque, perhaps you'd like to meet for lunch. My email is fleming27858@gmail.com. Keep trying to stay under the radar! Rhonda Fleming

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  18. Love the bird photos, and glad you didn't get a ticket! Is Riley a sheltie? I think I used to read their blog. I love NM, it's on my short list of places to retire to. I like it because it's not as hot as Arizona, and it sort of has seasons. Coming from Michigan I think I'd like that. But, given husband is not sold on the whole idea of moving who knows if we'll ever go anywhere else but MI! :) :(

    Looking forward to seeing your photos next time.

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  19. Yikes, I"ve stayed at Riverside many times and never went that slow down that hill. Thanks for the heads up about the speed limit.

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  20. A good lesson for us all! I slow way down to a crawl, but I have to confess, I don't pay that much attention to the numbers. Sounds like I had better start! Thanks for the "warning ticket," officer! Glad you are back in your NM happy place...

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  21. Hi from me and Angel
    I think that I too would have been cited.

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