Any Walmart overnighters here?

[danamrak]

Originally Posted by deminimis

Nothing like doing the pee pee dance waiting for the Wal-Mart doors to open at 6-7AM. We also stayed at nice RV parks and hillbilly-squeal-piggy-boy RV parks. The latter were entertaining at least.

We also are porta potty less in our B... Now what the heck is a RV park and hillbilly-squeal-piggy-boy RV park? Definitely need to get more info on this, sounds like quite a story.

[daveb]

Originally Posted by danamrak

Now what the heck is a RV park and hillbilly-squeal-piggy-boy RV park? Definitely need to get more info on this, sounds like quite a story.

Actually there are a few nice ones, then there are the bad ones...

After you meet the clan you know you're in a hillbilly trailer park when…

Their Halloween pumpkin on the front porch has more teeth than who’s living there.

They let their twelve-year-old daughter smoke at the table in front of her kids.

They have been married three times and still have the same in-laws.

They think a woman who is "out of their league" bowls on a different night.

Jack Daniel's makes their list of "Most Admired People."

They think Genitalia is an Italian airline.

They wonder how gas stations keep their restrooms so clean.

Someone in their family died right after saying "Hey, y'all watch this!"

Their Junior/Senior prom had a daycare.

Someone lit a match in the bathroom and their “house” exploded right off its wheels.

The bluebook value of their RV goes up and down, depending on how much gas it has in it.

You overheard: Ya' can't git married to yer sweetheart 'cause there's a dang law against it.

The guy next to you thinks loading the dishwasher means getting your wife drunk.

The toilet paper in the outhouse has page numbers on it.

[Velogeo]

I drove cross country and back last spring. For the most part we "overnighted" in Wal-mart parking lots -- we were looking for speed and low cost, not beauty or adventure. We only had problems in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. We woke up with a $15 ticket on the windshield. It was the only time there were more than a couple other vehicles, also. About 20 RV's woke up with the same orange envelope as well, despite there being nothing posted. It's obviously a cash cow for the town. It bugged me enough to pay a lawyer to go in and contest it for me. We won.

Asking is a good idea. I'm not convinced most folks working there will know it's corporate policy to allow it. We asked after that, on the way back through Denver to Seattle, and were only told no once. Even with such a low quality sampling my impression is it's more likely to be OK in the west than the east.

[Veg Hed]

Originally Posted by Velogeo

We only had problems in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. We woke up with a $15 ticket on the windshield.

That's one ticket that wouldn't get paid....

But at $15 you can't really beat that for a camping spot...Despite being in a parking lot...I've never camped in a Wal-Mart. When I am driving across country and I need a place to catch a few Z's I'll just pull over into a rest area. I've never had one single problem in a rest area...I've even pulled in between semi's on exit ramps and at semi pull overs. Never one problem.

I also like to check out random state park camp sites along the way (The ones designated with a little tent and tree on all the Rand-McNalley maps) as long as they are not too far off the Highway. Last year I drove my old Toyota that had a flip-pac camper on it from Ohio to Utah across I-70. We stayed in a nice camp ground in Indiana, at some reservoir in Kansas and finally Green River, UT before heading out to Zion the following day. It was November, cold and we were the only people at all three campsites. And no one ever came around to collect money. I've also stayed at random state parks up and down the east coast but my favorite one so far was Hayley Bowman Lake outside of Bowman, North Dakota.

[oclv]

We got our Sportsmobile so we would never have to stay at a campground or a Wal-Mart. However we found that there are certain times when finding the solo spot on top of a mountain just isn't practical. For instance at National Parks, you pretty much have to stay in designated campgrounds. Once we pulled into Durango in a snowstorm and too late to head up a back road and find a spot. Rather than do the WalMart, we came up with a different idea. You didn't hear this from me. We stayed in the Durango Hospital parking lot. They have new vehicles coming and going every day and night, so no one noticed our "van". We kept the top down, and just drew the curtains. It worked great for my wife as she got internet service. We also discovered that Hospital cafeterias have great food for real cheap. oclv

[Joanna]

Hospital parking lots! you're right about that.
I did it to solve another problem: had a simple "day surgery" procedure and the dictum was "You MUST have someone drive you home." This was impossible for various reasons, so after recovery, I had the staff call me a taxi, the orderly wheel-chaired me out to the cab, I paid the driver $10 to take me to the other side of the hospital where I'd parked the SMB when I arrived that morning. Got in, fixed a meal, slept for several hours, then made the hour long drive home. Voila!

[Psomaki]

Seems there are lots of merchants who will let you park, if you just ask and don't make a mess. This may be especially true in small towns, at least here in the northwest. We were on our way home from eastern Washington and stopped, late in the day, at the Pendleton woolen mill and outlet in Washougal, WA. That's a VERY small town. We asked where to find the nearest RV park and the nice sales staff told us there wasn't anything closer than a half hour's drive or more. Then one of them said, "Why don't you just stay here?" They have a designated RV area and the local police not only know it's okay, they kind of keep an eye on the area to be sure nobody bothers you. Plus, we got good prices on some great stuff!

[deminimis]

Originally Posted by danamrak

We also are porta potty less in our B... Now what the heck is a RV park and hillbilly-squeal-piggy-boy RV park? Definitely need to get more info on this, sounds like quite a story.

Sorry, I've been neglectful when it comes to my posting duties. Basically its a RV park where there are long-term tenants, on crank, with few or no teeth left. In a nutshell, everyone there is on felony probation. And Burt Reynolds running around with a bow and arrow and a farmer John wetsuit top(which is really weird). Good music though:

[patrick51]

flying J has worked and also, yet tough to find on a national scale when touring are bicycle rails to trails trailheads. Usually stealth camping at one of these is OK and especially with bicycles showing. Anyone know of state to state info on bicyclle trail locations?