Poaching? Maybe

Went out for a ride this evening, figuring I could make my usual early morning loop through Thunderbird. When I got to the park entrance, the ranger was closing the gates. Yeah, the ones with the signs that say something like, "Park Hours Sunrise to Sunset." Rather than try to outrun him in his truck, I rode on by and turned around when he took off back into the park. He left one gate open, so I rode on in. I headed around to the south like I do in the early morning hours, keeping an eye out for the gendarme. As I came over the hill that overlooks the 59th Ave parking lot, I stopped, turned off my light, and looked around to see if maybe he was hanging around looking for trail poachers. Didn't see him and started down the hill. I thought about continuing around to the north and back west, but I figured the trail on that side is mostly visible from the park road. I have no idea whether the Rangers ticket folks for being in the park after it closes, and I decided I didn't really want to find out. When I got to the bottom of the hill, I cut southeast along a trail that pops out next to 59th and headed back to the apartment.

What I can't quite figure out is, when I get to the park entrance at 5 am, the gates are open. Dawn is still two hours off, but somebody came through at O-dark-early and opened up the park. If they can fudge by 2 hours in the morning, why not in the evening? Another great imponderable, kind of like, "If quizzes are quizzical, what are tests?"