Lazily, luxuriating in a nameless roadside room instead of spending a glorious day at the prettiest lake in the U.S. I need a break but if I get a room, I will stay through late check-out. Courtesy Photo My First Experience Boondocking in a Walmart Parking LotĪt some point, I realize it’s late and I’m tired. Find a quiet corner of the Walmart parking lot for a few hours of sleep. Still looked like I was in the loneliest corner of the Pacific Northwest. Not worried yet, but the map looked a little lean on towns.Īfter driving for a few more hours, I saw a mountain lion. So I continued to drive and hoped for the best. I enjoyed a peaceful day exploring before I realized I was in an Oregon national forest without cell service. And I lost track of time and Timberline Lodge at Mt. Then the skies cleared and Mount Rainier National Park called my name. I dropped my kids off at the Seattle-Tacoma airport to attend a weeklong camp in California and I needed to get to Lake Tahoe fast. No lasting side effects from this experience. But unlike that camping trip 15 years ago where I got a cute, little souvenir 9 months later. I didn’t wake up in the morning and announce to the world, I’m boondocking today. Walmart provides replacement camping gear and everything I need for a classic cookout. As a national parks travel writer, I spend a lot of time in a rugged wilderness without much more than a dusty convenience store.Īfter driving across the lower 48 to explore the jewels of the continent, I see Walmart as a beacon of civilization with supplies beyond the basics of gas, ice and bread. So I’m sharing my miserable nights of pseudo-sleeping in the Walmart parking lots and pull-outs. Though I’m an adventurer at heart, especially when the kids aren’t looking. The it’s just for vacation excuse wins again.Īs a gingham-shirt wearing, PBS binge-watching and PTA-volunteering Mom, I look like the last person you would expect to roll out of the back seat of a SUV in a Walmart parking lot at 5:15 a.m. Next, the nutritious snacks loose the snack war and the kids grab all the sweet and salty snacks. And really, if the teachers aren’t there to smell them, does it matter that splashed around in the pool instead? I just can’t muster the energy to fight with my boys any longer. It’s exhausting and I’m over selling good behavior when June rolls around. It’s not fun being the good mom all the time. I’m a normal Mom who has driven across the lower 48 with her three kids. Summer road trips offer me the opportunity to relax. Read More Top 75 Road Trip Snacks 100 Household Items to Pack for a Road Trip 8 National Parks a Road Trip away from LA Who am I? I usually try to avoid the area though I was ferrying an RV from LAX to Reno and forgot it was the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. Then there was the time that I lost hours in LA traffic. I needed to get there fast so I pulled into a Walmart parking lot for a few hours. Then I got a week to work in peace at the location of my choice, Lake Tahoe. Places where kids can make smoke signals easier than find a Wifi signal.Īfter a spending nine weeks exploring the national parks of the West Coast alone with my three kids, I shipped them off to summer camp for a week. With all the talk about reconnecting as a family and decompressing while unplugging, I head to the most remote areas of the continent, like the national parks. From a handful of Walmart parking lots to road side pullouts, I have boondocked hear and there. It’s a holiday and you forgot that RV spots would sell out.įor me personally, I always have an itinerary though I am guity of the rest. It’s a drive day and you need to be on the road at first light. You’re tired and you need to stop and rest. Top 30 Things to do in Lake Tahoe during the Summer.3 Day Itinerary for Olympic National Park in Washington.Do’s and Don’ts for Walmart Boondocking.My First Experience Boondocking in a Walmart Parking Lot.8 National Parks a Road Trip away from LA.100 Household Items to Pack for a Road Trip.
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