Talking with the head Ranger
I got a chance to talk to the head ranger when I was buying my nonresident annual camping pass, which, by the way, is good for one year and still $225. He was a really nice guy, and I assumed that since he is the Ranger in charge of Storrie Lake State Park, he would have heard through the grapevine what's actually going on in terms of fee Increases.
We talked for quite a while, and he quickly pointed out that he had no official knowledge of what was happening. I believe he said, "They don't tell me anything." But he did say without even thinking about it that they're going to raise the out-of-state camping permit to $600 a year. He didn't say what source that came from, but he said it matter-of-factly as if he believed it to be true.
He also said that the fee schedule would change on the first of January, but he didn't know what it would be. I told him I didn't have the money to stay at the New Mexico state parks at the increases the state is discussing, and he said something about the prices they're talking about being ridiculous.
He also told me that there had been instances of "some" Park Rangers keeping some of the money they were taking out of the "iron ranger" every day. So now they have a rule that there has to be two officials present before they can touch a pay envelope. And this had something to do with the state giving a contract to ReserveAmerica to make reservations with credit cards instead of the locals handling cash.
He said my park pass would be good for one year, just like normal, so I'll have this final year to enjoy Elephant Butte State Park, City of Rocks State Park, Rockhound State Park, and others I've visited over the years.
I didn't learn a whole lot about what's going on with New Mexico State Parks because it sounds like only the politicians in Albuquerque know what's going on. We peons will be notified of the changes sometime between now and the first of January. After all, what says Merry Christmas more than a huge price increase?
But as far as I can tell, they want to eliminate any benefit given to nonresidents even though we nonresidents already pay over twice as much for Park passes; that's not what they're after. I believe they want to eliminate annual park passes for non-residents, which is why they're raising the price so high.
Oh well, if there's anything I've learned about life, it's that nothing good lasts forever. Prices seldom go down. Things usually get harder instead of easier. And getting old sucks.
Theboondork
My thermometer in the camper shows the temperature when I woke up in Trinidad. The surprise is that 34.7° isn’t the outside temperature; that’s the temperature inside the camper. I don’t sleep with the heat on when I’m boondocking, and yes, despite that, I still manage to stay comfortable.
My camping spot at Storrie Lake State Park. It’s pretty cold here, so I wanted a four-dollar-a-night electric hookup. The only first-come, first-serve electric hookup available was a camp host site that the camp host wasn’t using, so the Rangers put me over here next to the lake.
Storrie Lake was higher than I’ve seen it in years. I don’t know where all the water came from, maybe It’s snow melt.