The quick overnight.... How do we find a place?

Our favorite tool on the road so far has been Campendium. It allows you to search for all sorts of camping venues, both pay to camp parks and free spots. You can filter your preferences (free/paid, memberships, state parks, stores, truck stops, etc). I found that as I zoomed in on the map, I found many more stores along our route than initially showed up. The app is free to download and use. You can also just Google it and use the online browser to search.

Our first two nights traveling, we used Campendium to find free "store" type parking, so I was seeing Walmarts, Cabelas, Bass Pro Shops, and Cracker Barrels mostly. The app reports other camper reviews, whether that particular Walmart (or other store) accepts overnight parking (not all do!), as well as the address and phone number.

The day we departed Maine, when Mike was getting tired of driving and it looked like the sun was getting ready to set, I searched Campendium and found a Walmart a few exits up the road. Since the location was reported as accepting overnights, but the review was posted several years ago, I quickly called them from the road, confirmed they would accept us and where they preferred us to park. It was that easy. We tucked ourselves away where we had been asked to park, did a little shopping, ate dinner, watched some TV and went to bed. We felt fairly safe there. We were just a bit away from the loading dock, so there were trucks coming and going most of the night. There was even another person (in a limo...) who parked near us during the night.

The second night, same situation, Mike had been driving two days straight now, so a bit earlier in the afternoon, I found a Cabelas down the way, made the call, and we had our evening destination. The Cabelas was much nicer. They had an area out back intended for campers and truckers to stay. They had a dog kennel, potable water, and a dump station. We had heard that some Cabelas required a code to dump that could be obtained by making a purchase inside. This particular store had an automated machine where you scanned your debit or credit card, paid the $5.00 and the dump cap released to allow you to hook up. We had not yet de-winterized, so we didn't take advange of the water or the dumping. But the pups took advantage of the kennels and seemed to really enjoy being outside and stretching their legs while we set up for the night. We were parked next to a trucker and during the night, another camper joined us. Our crew were all awake by 7:30am and both of our neighbors had already left before we woke up.

I was nervous about my first inquiry call. Even though we had watched dozens upon dozens of YouTube videos about the process, you never know who you will get on the phone, you know? An associate answered the phone and quickly handed me off to a manager. I was definitely not the first person to call and inquire. Both the Walmart and the Cabelas we stopped at were very welcoming to us. I don't think I will have any worries the next time I need to call for a quick overnight.

A few rules about staying at the stores...some written, some just commonly held by the camping community to ensure the privilage to stay is not revoked. You aren't "camping," you are just parked for the night. So just like the longhaul truckers, you are expected to remain in your camper (no lawn chairs, no awnings, no grilling, no tents or fires, even if you do contain it to a barrell...). You are expected to remain hooked up to your tow vehicle and not drop any stablizers. Unless there is an area specifically for pets outdoors (like we found at Cabelas), you should keep your pets with you inside and not tie them out. And lastly, leave the area you stayed in better then you found it (pick up your trash and anything else you find around your spot, pick up after your pets, etc).

Both of our experiences in the store lots were good. We felt safe. The dogs felt safe (I know this because I asked them of course... no, really, I just assume that since they weren't barking...). The only downfall we found at Walmart was that their "just-in-time" inventory system keeps their loading docks busy around the clock, and that is where we were asked to park. Mike had some trouble blocking out the noises in order to sleep. Cabelas was a far better experience, we felt like we were generally supposed to be there because of their set up.

Next update... How we found our sweet spot in Florida... Stay tuned!