> >Camp Wal-Mart
> >Much to the consternation of its competitors, Wal-Mart has - quietly and
> >without fanfare - rolled out the red carpet for the approximately 30
>million
> >RV enthusiasts across the fruited plains. ...
>
>What great timing!
>
>This weekend I was thinking that I should start a thread on places to park
>for the night when just passing through. I do more traveling than camping
>so I am always looking for a safe, quiet place to spend the night before
>resuming my travels early the next morning. I would be interested in
>hearing where people like to spend the night when they are just passing
>through. If you have some suggestions as to where you like to park for the
>night, please post them to the list.
When we travel we also spend some significant time getting to and from
specific locations. IF there is a state or federal park on our way that we
want to see, we will make reservations for the night (the GMC come in handy
because it is short enough to fit into most parks). However, California
state parks with RV spots are often filled to capacity months in advance
for the more popular weeks.
We stop at Flying J and Petro quite a lot. Both are truck stops that cater
to RVers. Some of the stops run their PA system all night to announce when
showers are ready. Use ear plugs! Some of the stops have obvious places to
park. Others you'll have to ask soemone at the store where to park. Only
once have we been told that we could only park in a specific place - and it
was full of RVs.
K-mart and Walmart both generally offer overnighting.
There are also folks on the Black List who offer a spot to overnight.
Be aware that some cities have ordinances that prohibit overnighting except
at an RV park. We ran into this outside Indiannapolis at a truck stop. (our
son had the same problem in the area). And yes, I saw a local police
officer marking trucvk tires in the parking lot!
We always ask the store manager where we can park at K-mart & Walmart.
Sometimes they don't care, but often there is a section where RVs will be
out of the way and may have less noise etc. Our goal is to arrive before
they close and shop. This way we can get going before they open with our
fridge full and ready to go.
Other places to consider: Elks lodges sometimes have parking spots, as do
Masonic Temples.
Since we can't take all that much time to get from one place to another, we
tend to drive the interstates between destinations. So, truck stops work well.
Henry
Henry Davis Consulting, Inc / new product consulting
PO Box 1270 / product readiness reviews
Soquel, Ca 95073 / IP reviews
ph: (831) 462-5199 / full service marketing
fax: (831) 462-5198
http://www.henry-davis.com/ http://www.henry-davis.com
atrick
