My plan for today was to go back a few miles to see a little of Carlsbad Cavern, then on to Roswell, NM, to see the UFO Museum and Research Center. I got up early so I'd have time to do everything and still make it to Palo Duro Canyon State Park before they closed for the night.
I packed up the RV, then sat down in the driver's seat to set up the GPS. I thought I'd better run to the campground store to see if they had any fuses to fix the turn signals, if that was the problem. I hit the lock button on the driver's door on my way out, and just as the door was shutting I remembered with horror that the keys were still in the ignition! This is why they now make cars just a little harder to lock using the door handle controls. About 2 days ago I did have the thought that it might be a good idea to make a copy of the RV key and stick it somewhere on the outside just in case. Of course I didn't do it.
Well... I headed for the store and bought fuses, and asked the folks sitting around in there if anyone was good at picking locks. I tried calling a locksmith, but got no answer. There was an RV repair shop next door, but the guy with the master keys was out on a call. I then went back to the RV when I remembered that the latch was broken on the driver's side coach window. Yep, I could slide it open from the outside. I sized up the opening of the window, then sized up the size of my hips. No go. Plus the window was about 5 feet off the ground. About that time, one of the ladies who was visiting in the store walked up and asked if I was able to get help. When she saw the open window, she volunteered to climb in for me. We hauled a picnic table over to stand on and I helped boost her up and watched as she shimmied her skinny little self through the small opening, climbed down over the sink, and opened the driver's door. I was free! After thanking her profusely, she said, "No problem, this is the third RV I've broken into this week. There are plenty of folks that get locked out." (Note to self: get a spare key made ASAP.)
Getting into my RV took a while, so I decided to forgo seeing Carlsbad Cavern, and continue on to Roswell. The museum was interesting. It had copies of every news article ever written about the UFO incident, UFO art, and other exibits pertaining to space and aliens. I bought an alien coffee mug in the gift shop and continued on my way.
On my way out of Roswell, I spotted a Ford dealer and stopped to ask about my malfunctioning turn signals. The guy looked at my steering wheel, and said he could fix it. He turned my emergency flashers off, and told me it wasn't my turn signals that didn't work, but my emergency flashers. It seems I had turned on the flashers when I pulled over to fix my mirror, and they didn't work, so I left them "on", and when the flashers are on the turn signals don't work. He said it's a common problem on Ford trucks and vans. So I put my bag of fuses in a drawer, and continued out of town toward the Texas panhandle.
I arrived at Palo Duro Canyon State Park... you guessed it... after they closed.