All the rest ...

[floyd]

"All the rest have been wherever I could find a spot".
Davidso used that phrase and inspired a thread idea...
Most of us have aquired a fiberglass camper so that we could travel and still get "all the rest" we need... and still dream of exercising the freedom to do so "whereever we could find a spot"

Where are those spots for you, I mean those free or near nuthin' boondocking spots which you have liked the most or use the most?

Most of mine have been CrackerBarrel, rest areas, Walmarts, and truck stops, My sister's place is on a quiet 10 acres in the country and 300miles from my home so I often stop there and hook an extension cord on to one of her outbuildings,when I travel in that direction. I dream of free boondocking on public land with real woods and solitude.

[h.mike]

Originally Posted by floyd

"All the rest have been wherever I could find a spot".
Davidso used that phrase and inspired a thread idea...
Most of us have aquired a fiberglass camper so that we could travel and still get "all the rest" we need... and still dream of exercising the freedom to do so "whereever we could find a spot"

Where are those spots for you, I mean those free or near nuthin' boondocking spots which you have liked the most or use the most?

Most of mine have been CrackerBarrel, rest areas, Walmarts, and truck stops, My sister's place is on a quiet 10 acres in the country and 300miles from my home so I often stop there and hook an extension cord on to one of her outbuildings,when I travel in that direction. I dream of free boondocking on public land with real woods and solitude.

Good Morning Floyd: I'm always looking for a place to rest, I know about Walmarts but are you saying I could grab a few hours sleep at a Crackerbarrel? Mike

[floyd]

Originally Posted by h.mike

Good Morning Floyd: I'm always looking for a place to rest, I know about Walmarts but are you saying I could grab a few hours sleep at a Crackerbarrel? Mike

Yes, CrackerBarrel welcomes overnighters and is one of our favorites! They have nice parking spots with little curbed in grass and trees. They close at night, so it's nice and quiet. You awaken in the morning to the smell of breakfast cookin'
Many times they even have designated RV parking, But that's not a problem for most of us with fiberglass!

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by floyd

"All the rest have been wherever I could find a spot".
Davidso used that phrase and inspired a thread idea...
Most of us have aquired a fiberglass camper so that we could travel and still get "all the rest" we need... and still dream of exercising the freedom to do so "whereever we could find a spot"

Where are those spots for you, I mean those free or near nuthin' boondocking spots which you have liked the most or use the most?

Most of mine have been CrackerBarrel, rest areas, Walmarts, and truck stops, My sister's place is on a quiet 10 acres in the country and 300miles from my home so I often stop there and hook an extension cord on to one of her outbuildings,when I travel in that direction. I dream of free boondocking on public land with real woods and solitude.

I'll have to remember the CrackerBarrel thing. I've had one of the best breakfasts and one of the worst at CrackerBarrel. Only one really bad one, hopefully that was a fluke. CrackerBarrel aren't out here in Oregon. But we'll be in the sunny southwest soon, maybe as far east as New Orleans. (I'm sure we'll be in New Orleans, Anne really wants to go back there.)
Getting there will be nights in many places including rest areas, Wal-Mart, etc. maybe even a CrackleBarrel.

[HikeSticks]

In the Maritimes and Maine, where I do most of my boondocking, I have pulled into church parking lots in the country. I stay well away from the building and near the road so fewer people will think I'm up to no good. At night, there is so little traffic it's quiet. Also, many of the church yards have night lighting. I also back into old logging roads facing the road. When traveling through small towns, I have parked overnight in the parking lots of closed businesses. I've never had a problem. If I was ever asked to leave, of course I would.
Barrie

[Adrian W]

We have use Wal-Marts the most, OK to Overnight or Not Wally World. The all time best CampWallyWorld was at Cody, WY:

Trinidad, CO was not too bad either:


Have used rest areas & welcome centers (in C-class MH); Have heard about Cracker Barrels, but not done so. Other OverNight Sites.

Free or Almost Free Sites is a good place to find places. The one I found on it at Wheatland, WY was a great find:



I believe Summit Campground is in the above site as well. Badlands Nat'l Grasslands Free Campground 4 or 5 miles south the Theodore Roosevelt Nat'l Park Entrance to the North Unit off the Hwy on a loop road. We checked it out but did not stay there after we left the Park. Nice place to stay. Maybe less bugs there. Up on high ground. Our son & his family have stayed there, Clicky:


As is Datil Well BLM Campground in NM:



Ditto for Aguirre Spring BLM Campground near Las Cruces, NM:

Caution Sign <> A Camp Site <> Another Site <> Road Up to Campground <> At the CampGround

Not as inexpensive as Datil Wells or Aguirre Spring, Valley of Fires BLM Campground is one of my favorite sites, as is the Lincoln Nat'l Forest Sites near Cloudcroft (there are nice free Dispersed sites up there as well). But with my Senior Card, $9 per night wasn't bad.

All the New Mexico State Parks are a pretty good value at $10 per night camping without a daily fee added on. Such as City of Rocks SP between Deming & Silver City. A CampSite

Other New Mexico Campgrounds

FreeCampsites is another good place to find sites.

Bob'sBoondocking is another one which could help.

Boondocking Sites ditto.

[h.mike]

Originally Posted by Byron Kinnaman

I'll have to remember the CrackerBarrel thing. I've had one of the best breakfasts and one of the worst at CrackerBarrel. Only one really bad one, hopefully that was a fluke. CrackerBarrel aren't out here in Oregon. But we'll be in the sunny southwest soon, maybe as far east as New Orleans. (I'm sure we'll be in New Orleans, Anne really wants to go back there.)
Getting there will be nights in many places including rest areas, Wal-Mart, etc. maybe even a CrackleBarrel.

Hi; If your going to be in the New Orleans area, consider the " St. Bernards State Park" clean ,inexpensive, and a short drive to the sights in town. the park is more pleasant than the surrounding area, but they have been through a terrible time. Chalmette is the township. Mike

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by h.mike

Hi; If your going to be in the New Orleans area, consider the " St. Bernards State Park" clean ,inexpensive, and a short drive to the sights in town. the park is more pleasant than the surrounding area, but they have been through a terrible time. Chalmette is the township. Mike

This year we had stayed in Bayousegnette State Park which is in Weswego. A short drive to the ferry, than park, walk on to the ferry which takes you directly into the French Quarter.
You might try St. Bernards this year, but I really don't want to drive around New Orleans.

[mary and bob]

I just emailed Cracker Barrel a few weeks ago about parking overnight, and their reply was that it was not allowed because of security issues. Has anyone actually asked if you could do it, or just pull in after they close for the night? On our upcoming trip south we are considering a night or two at Flying J truck stops. Looking at their website, some, but not all, have RV parking areas.

[DavidSo]

Having a smaller trailer / RV is a true benefit when it comes to campsites! Aside from the obvious advantage of needing less space, you are also much less threatening. People don't seem to mind an egg parked nearby as much as a larger or more conventional trailer. Some Psych professional will have to puzzle that one out .

I've always had a love of traveling on the lamb, so to speak. I once took a 14,389 mile drive circumnavigating the US in a Honda Civic. No motels. I have become rather skilled at sniffing out the places where I can spend a quiet night. Here are a few of my secrets:

Residential streets that run into commercial areas, industriial areas, or vacant lots are often good spots. I park near the last house, but adjacent to the open lot. Nobody ever seems to mind, and passing police are not sure whether the trailer is with the house or not.

Logging roads, ranch roads that are not posted, and railroad access roads are often good bets.

If I'm staying in a "sensitive area", I scout potential campsites before dark, then I return at or near dark, kill the lights and hit the sack. I'm an early riser, so I'm gone before anyone even knew I was there. I've trained my dogs to never make a sound unless someone touches the trailer.

I've spent a few nights in old country cemetaries. The landscping is nice and the other guests are quiet.

I have a few cardinal rules. I never make a fuss, leave a mess, or violate a "no trespassing" sign. A few times I have been confronted by security or police and allowed to stay anyway when they see I'm no trouble. Always put reading glasses on before you open the door. Trust me on that one. Mostly though I prefer the farthest spots I can find. It's a lot harder east of the Missouri river with the exception of some of the Northeastern states, Maine in particular.

Time on the road sharpens your intuition. I will say that over the last 30 years it has become MUCH more difficult to travel without paying a toll,...but I'm pretty commited to it .

I've probably said more than I should have

I love the Cracker Barrel idea! I just hope Floyd isn't trying to bait me in and get me thrown in the slammer

David

[Frederick L. Simson]

Originally Posted by DavidSo

Having a smaller trailer / RV is a true benefit when it comes to campsites! Aside from the obvious advantage of needing less space, you are also much less threatening. People don't seem to mind an egg parked nearby as much as a larger or more conventional trailer. Some Psych professional will have to puzzle that one out .

I've probably said more than I should have

In the internet age, I'm sure that Cracker Barrel's corporate headquarters does not want to open the floodgates to ALL of their parking lots. It could be a regional promotion or even a store-by-store decision that the corporate office does not want to promote, because of discrimination law.

[Adrian W]

From The Adventures of Tioga and George Blog:
TiogaGeorge Guidelines for "Night Camping" or Dry/Boondocking.

George's "Day Camping" Guidelines

George is full-timing in a 1991 27' Tioga C-Class Motor Home, not a Travel Trailer. When we had a C-Class, I felt more comfortable staying at places such as Rest Areas, for if I needed to more, I could do so without having to leave the RV (even if I had a block or two of wood under a tire to level it out a little; I could find a piece of wood somewhere else); just start the motor & go. With the Trailer, I'm a little more leery of places. Might not want to have to get out of it & walk to the pickup in order to leave if in a treating situation. Never have had to....but just in case. Only time I remember moving was in a Home Depot parking lot (off the Loop around San Antonio, TX). We started in the near by Wal-mart but had mover over to the Home Depot were it was very quiet. But around 1 or 2 am, a pickup baseball game started up. The crack of bats and fun talking & laughing work me up. I didn't want to listen to the fun or take a change of a ball coming our way, so I pulled back over to Wal-mart.

We'd stayed a few times in Rest Stops in the MH, but never with the Scamp yet. But I might, depending on the 'feel' of the place. On some of these stays at rest areas, it would be warm & we would leave the generator going, the AC was so noisy, didn't notice the 18 wheelers running.

A Full-Timer in a Casita (on another forum) uses soft ear plugs when in a place where there is noise, such as diesel rigs running.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Frederick L. Simson

In the internet age, I'm sure that Cracker Barrel's corporate headquarters does not want to open the floodgates to ALL of their parking lots. It could be a regional promotion or even a store-by-store decision that the corporate office does not want to promote, because of discrimination law.

Overnighting at Crackerbarrel is "store by store".
I've only stayed a few times, but I have not been refused when I have asked permission, and not been rousted when it was "after hours". Usually we use,rest areas, truck stops and Walmarts.
Walmart being our favorite, especially Super-WalMarts.
Typical stay...
1) pull in late and find a nice quiet corner.
2) go to the deli for a hot meal
3) get a Red-Box video
4) enjoy the evening
5) stay overnight
6) return the Red-Box video, grab something for breakfast.
7) Hit the road refreshed and able to arrive at our destination safe and alert

BTW; I noticed that adrian puts out stabilizers when overnighting. Does anyone else do that? I have never seen that.

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by floyd

BTW; I noticed that adrian puts out stabilizers when overnighting. Does anyone else do that? I have never seen that.

NO. According to site like Yahoo Groups "Walmarting" things like stabilizers, coolers, lawn chairs should NOT be used. One should appear like a shopper rather than an overnighter. When one appears as an overnighter, it's confused with being a "camper". One does not camp in a parking lot, but simply spends a few hours sleeping. When city officials and locals see "campers" in parking lots they get a bit concerned. When they see shoppers that's all good.