Most Expensive RV Site Ever

[John&Vicki]

And it's free! I'm in Lincoln City on the Oregon Coast on my way to an Airstream rally in Cannon Beach starting tomorrow. I told Vicki that we should just stay over here in the Chinook Winds Casino free RV parking area for the night. Kind of a challenge to level side to side and front to back, and no hookups, but hey it's free.

Wait, what's that sign say about a pass being required? Oh, you need to join the Winners Circle (don't you just love that name?) and accumulate 40 points and you get a free pass for your dashboard. Well, I'm a little tired from the drive (you wouldn't believe where the Google GPS sent us this time), so Vicki said no problem, I'll go down to the casino and get our pass.

Two hours pass. I'm starting to wonder just what is involved in accumulating 40 points. Then Vicki shows up with the pass and I asked her what was involved. She said that her first try resulted in her being informed that she only had 37 points and she would have to park in the pay lot. She decided to accumulate the additional points, got the pass for our free site, and it only cost $80.00! What a deal.

Two lessons learned today: use the real GPS that is sitting at home and stay in a real RV park or campground.

Cheers,
John

[prairieschooner]

Wow, how fortunate!!!! 3 points and $80.00 later hope you guys get a good sleep and dump your tank before heading out, Whoops I didn't mean to leak that!

[moosetags]

That's a bummer. I'll write casinos off of my free parking list and stick with Wal-Mart. Thanks for this info.

Brian

[DKB_SATX]

Perhaps the most expensive FREE site ever, but friends of mine stayed across the campground road from me at a KOA in Fort Collins, CO a couple weeks ago. They had a "Deluxe Patio Site with Hot Tub." $100/day. I didn't feel like I needed a hot tub.

[Thiss]

Man bummer. My grandpa, he is in deep with them and lives in the neighborhood there, got is a spot in the park last year for their 15th Anniversery firework show. A bunch of our family came out. He said getting a spot in the park was harder than getting a suite in the hotel.

Enjoy the rally! Cannon Beach is due north on 101. Don't let your GPS lie to You and get you on the county "Three Scenics Route." You will get a view with a 12% grade!

Think to stop in Neskowin for a little beach time in the morning! There is an easy parking lot and a great little grocery store with Espresso and baked goods.

[MarkR]

just make sure your wife understands "the nest egg principle" before you go near another casino . . .

[Stefrobrts]

What the heck? It used to be free - we stayed there last year, in the busy season, no charge. My husband went and played at the casino in the evening, had a great time. I wouldn't be surprised if he could rack up however many points they want, he loves playing slot machines, but still, it was nice having a free spot for the weekend either way.

[wahoonc]

TANSTAASFCS? (There Ain't No Such Thing As Free Camping Spot)


Gleefully robbed from TANSTAAFL

BTW WM comes at a cost too... ask my wife!

Aaron

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Thiss

Don't let your GPS lie to You and get you on the county "Three Scenics Route."

I avoid "scenic routes" and "scenic byways" as a rule. As a solo traveler, a scenic byway isn't scenic at all if you don't date look away from the road long enough to see the vistas! Scenic byways are only scenic if you're not the one doing the driving.

[DanB]

I've stayed in several casino lots. On occasion I've paid $10 per day (power/water) but am usually comped that while registering. Heck, some in the UP pay me and give me free drink coupons to stay.

I'm not a "big spender" either. $25 per night is huge for me. I spend more in the restaurants.

http://www.casinocamper.com/ is my friend.

Still confused on how 40 "points" cost $80? (1 point is equal to $1 in slot play) Also, that 40 points earns you 3 days. Obviously not too many times do you stay for 3 nights, but I have! I used Indian casinos as a basecamp while exploring the St. Ignace area.

[AWCHIEF]

Amazing how much those FREE casino comps cost. I live in a casino town and have not stepped foot in one in almost 10 years. They have one purpose and that is to separate fools from their money.

[DanB]

Originally Posted by AWCHIEF

Amazing how much those FREE casino comps cost. I live in a casino town and have not stepped foot in one in almost 10 years. They have one purpose and that is to separate fools from their money.

I guess I'm a fool then!

I spent three nights at the Kewadin Casino in St.Ignace. The charge for power/water/dump site was $10 per night. That was returned to us in free play cards.

We had full roam of the hotel property including indoor pool and hot tub.

From there we visited Soo locks, Whitefish Point, and Mac Island.

What was I thinking........

[Denis4x4]

Durango Riverside Resort (the old KOA north of town) has 50 amp sites on the river for a mere $125.00 and not a slot machine in sight!

[FCStreamer]

Wow, and I thought Ft. Wilderness at Disney was expensive @ $100 per site!

[treeair]

MarkR,
Nice "Lost In America" reference.

[fwjumper]

We have a good story about "free" parking in Las Vegas, in a lot nearly full with about 50 rvs and a very nicely dressed lady in high heels, evening dress and all, walking to her car while saying "what is that awful smelling blue stuff?" When our neighbor gave her the answer in the crudest, 4-letter word term, the screech she emitted was epic! I still laugh out loud when I think of it. Since then, we pay.

[Aunt Bea]

Originally Posted by fwjumper

We have a good story about "free" parking in Las Vegas, in a lot nearly full with about 50 rvs and a very nicely dressed lady in high heels, evening dress and all, walking to her car while saying "what is that awful smelling blue stuff?" When our neighbor gave her the answer in the crudest, 4-letter word term, the screech she emitted was epic! I still laugh out loud when I think of it. Since then, we pay.

Las Vegas .... the city built by losers.

[Streamracer]

Sam's Town and Hollywood at Tunica, Ms. are like $20 a night with full hookups or you can boondock in the parking lot for free on the asphalt. Play a little and you get comps for free rooms in the hotel. You can trade your room stays for nights in the campground. (2 nights camping for 1 night hotel) They usually don't tell that. We use that for basecamp and then run to Memphis to the sites we like to see. If you are into casinos, there are 9 within about 5 miles of each other and 3 campgrounds.

[Anders79]

We were also just in Lincoln city yesterday (as well as last week). Stayed at Devils Lake State park. Nice place - and with vacancies.

[EvelynDickinson]

But not all casino RV sites are bad news...

We always stay at 7 Feathers when we are heading south on I5 waiting for the Siskiyou pass to be perfectly clear.

It's cheap. Super clean. And they have and indoor pool and hot tub.
http://www.sevenfeathersrvresort.com/home