On the Road & Safely Spending the Night

[flyfisherman]

The thread on spending the night in a Wal-Mart parking lot got me to thinking about the times I've been on the road and just needed to spend a night. Since I've never "camped" for the night at Wally-Mart's, I have however, spent the night in the back lot of Cabelas at Dundee, Michigan. That Cabelas lot, as I understand it, is for employees and over-flow from the customer parking lots, if needed. AND that's where Cabelas invite camper/customers to stay so they might have more time to shop until they drop!  How I found out about it was I stopped off on a late Sunday afternoon and asked at the information desk about direstions to a campground not too far away and was told I could spend the night in their back lot ... so I did! Mostly TT's and 5th wheelers, but there was a pick-up truck with a slide in camper, and me ... the only popup! Was told the next day it was not all that uncommon for a popup to show up from time to time. By the way, they have  security people who keep their eye on things during the night.

The way I figure it, that's why I have a camper, such as it is, to spend the night in the thing when on the road. What's more, those Starcraft bunks are comfortable, and I sleep better in  one of them than I do a strange bed. Only twice have I (and we) stayed in a motel enroute and that was because of bad weather. Even if you could make a campground, who wants to set-up, personally exhausted and in a downpour?

Usually when traveling a distance where a night or two is needed to lay over, I try and plan the thing out and maybe pull ionto a K.O.A. (or simular) just for the night, and then do just a minimal set-up so I can get back on the road bright & early next morning. I have, too, got caught in traffic (and who knows what all) and got just too tired to travel on, pulled off in a national forest on to a secondary road, and then found a place to back into. There I'd do just a minimal set-up and be back on the road real early. I suppose, too, one could just lay down as best you could in the TV's seat and take a nap ... if there was no other choice!

Was wondering what other ingenuous camping methods have been put to use by campers on this board.


Fly

[ForestCreature]

We have stayed the night in a rest area along the Ohio Turnpike, had planned on a NFS CG just inside of PA. We get there to find it closed due to flooding. It was about 1 AM and we were tired, so we back tracked to a rest stop we had passed not far before. Parked behind a semi and popped up the A. Slept about 5 hrs, woke up and hit the road.

We also have spent the night in the van along the shores of Lk Michigan in scenic turn outs. But so far, not in a Walmart..I have doubts we'll do that...we drove past one that night in OH and never gave it a thought.

Then there is the night we were traveling in WV and getting tired, about 10 or so...found a small private CG on the road, pulled in and poped. Woke to the wonderful sound of train wheels screeching and chugging along side a mountain across the river we were camped on. Too bad cause the setting was rather nice...noisy, but nice.

We tend to wing it on the road for the longer trips. The ability to pop fast or to sleep in the van makes us quite flexable and the Aliner perfect for road trips.