The dog owners had learned that I was a full time RVer; this brought an explosion of interest from a couple folks: "That's what I want to do!" I never really believe people who say that. In all likelihood they are just excited by the romantic escapist image--the eternal vacation, looking at fabulous scenery.
Naturally I got the old questions about camping, boondocking and the Bogeyman. It is amazing how credulous people are about mere hearsay. Oh I have my own 'camping and crime' story, but it doesn't follow the script they expected...
...A couple years ago, I chose a boondocking site a few miles outside Silver City, at a mountain pass along a dirt road. It was hot and I wanted to stay cool.
One night we were awakened by bright flashlights blasting the front window and the window next to my bed. For a few seconds, while my brain was waking up, I really feared the worst. I jumped out of bed and noticed flashing cop-car lights, as well. Over the howls of my little poodle I could hear them order me to come out of the trailer.
I was angry at them for scaring my dog and I told them that this was 14-day, national forest camping and what was the problem? One of the cops replied, "There was a homicide no more than fifty feet from here."
"You mean, recently?," was my response. It sounded so lame.
They told me that someone had called in to say that they had seen me moving my van in the campsite "like I was trying to hide." That brought a disdainful scoff to my face, and it took some real effort not to respond in the same way. Soon the sheriffs were satisfied and left.
The homicide had taken place a few months earlier, on New Year's Eve. A rancher was on the way home when he saw a campfire at the same campsite that I was currently at. He wanted to remind the campers about the fire hazard. They murdered him. One of the murderers has been apprehended. I don't know if a motive was ever found.
After a couple thousand nights boondocking on public lands and in town, I have never had one thing stolen or had a scary encounter with the Bogeyman. Only these two cops.
