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Old 10-25-2013, 10:38 PM   #521
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We've never stropped at a parking lot (Walmart, Flying J, etc.), .....

Parking lots do not feel like part of a vacation or road trip to us. Maybe decades ago it would have been fine, but we have gotten used to creature comforts.

Gene
We think of it only a place to get some sleep. We wouldn't pull into a WalMart late in the afternoon (or early evening) and stay there overnight. That would be weird to us also. But, on the other hand, when one of us has to work on our departure day, it is nice to get there very late in the evening sometime around 11:00 pm - 12:30 am, sleep until 6:00 or 7:00 am and hit the road bright eyed and bushy tailed and arrive at our campground in the late morning to mid-afternoon. This works for us, YMMV.
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Old 10-26-2013, 05:44 AM   #522
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I haven't stayed at a Walmart yet but believe it is and should be an option. My concern though is misinformation. I talked to the manager of one of our Walmarts in Fort Myers, FL and was told that the county passed an ordinance banning parking of RVs anywhere that was not a campground. He then shared how that campers left trash out and emptied water out on the lot so it was no loss. Of course I took the pro camper stance but did not matter to him. I contacted the county and was told there was no ordinance that the person I spoke with was aware of. A year earlier I saw a class C parked in the Home Depot lot across the street from Walmart. The only thing I can think of as a reason for ordinances is to prevent people from parking anywhere. Interestingly when I served on a HMA board in the same county, we were told that the county had no jurisdiction over our streets in ownership (for paving) as they were owned by the association and, that association rules governed them - speed limit, rights, etc. yet in the by-laws they are referred to as public (perhaps by use).
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Old 10-26-2013, 10:03 AM   #523
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The only thing I can think of as a reason for ordinances is to prevent people from parking anywhere.
------
Yes. I think these kinds of "no camping" ordinances are driven by the same rationale as the many new kinds of vagrancy laws. Like, "no sleeping on public benches" and other such things passed by many big cities to control people who roam and have no official home. "They make a mess!" is going to be the battle cry of those in favor of these laws. "They're not hurting anyone!" will be the reply.

I've read there is considerable concern about the growth in the number of people who are, shall we say "rootless," and are wandering around the country a bit like "gypsies." It's an economic problem. The national ethic is not friendly to such ideas in general, so there will be a lot of movement to control it. If you wander in an RV and can pay $50 a night for a resort, and eat in local restaurants, that's wonderful. If you don't have $50 a night and just want the wandering part, that's going to be made into a crime. That kind of free spirit stuff is not part of our national ethic, IMO. I am against all such laws, although I realize that "private property" is perhaps the single most sacred idea in all of western civilization. I favor opening public space for more public use.
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Old 10-26-2013, 12:15 PM   #524
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wandering around the country a bit like "gypsies."
c'mon mstephens, I started mandolin lessons right after getting the airstream - Horray for the Gypsies!
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Old 10-26-2013, 07:54 PM   #525
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c'mon mstephens, I started mandolin lessons right after getting the airstream - Horray for the Gypsies!
Hey, I am all for Gypsies - really. If I could, I'd be one.
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Old 10-31-2013, 08:51 AM   #526
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Ran across this article in the Santa Fe Reporter:

http://www.sfreporter.com/santafe/ar...lmartians.html


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Old 10-31-2013, 10:57 AM   #527
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We've been boycotting Wally World for months now and it's like having a new lease on life. They allow it and encourage it locally. Unfortunately, there are some Wal Marts that you couldn't pay me enough to stay in their parking lots.
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Old 10-31-2013, 11:05 AM   #528
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We've been boycotting Wally World for months now and it's like having a new lease on life. They allow it and encourage it locally.
They allow and encourage you to boycot Walmart?
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Old 11-01-2013, 06:25 AM   #529
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They allow and encourage you to boycot Walmart?
By their actions they certainly do. And don't get me started.

I'll give you that one.
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Old 11-01-2013, 07:36 AM   #530
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By their actions they certainly do. And don't get me started.

I'll give you that one.
My kid brother has worked at his local Walmart for the last 25 years. That as much as anything is plenty of reason for ME to boycot Walmart!

Only reason I ever go to Walmart anymore is to get prescriptions filled. Living in an area where hurricane evacuations are possible, getting prescriptions filled at a national chain only makes sense, and my family hometown in Oklahoma doesn't have a CVS or Rite-Aid, and only recently got a Walgreens. Walmart Pharmacy seemed like a good idea.
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Old 11-01-2013, 08:01 AM   #531
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Thinking about the situation in Santa Fe (article linked above), it may be no great surprise that the new superstore permits RVs while the other one does not: Whenever I went to the place while living in SF, it was practically deserted. They have this parking lot that will fit many hundreds of cars, and you'd see maybe 15 or 20. (The good part was that you could go to Walmart and never wait in line for anything.)

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Old 11-01-2013, 08:08 AM   #532
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We have overnighted in Wal-Mart/truck plaza parking lots a number of times. We have done this only when a campground is not a viable alternative. We took a two week long trip to New England in October/November, 2011. We found that once we got north of Virginia, very few campgrounds were still open. It was either Wa-lMart or the side of the highway. We always asked for permission from the store management. We never felt unsafe on any of these stops.

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Old 11-01-2013, 09:36 AM   #533
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I think of Wally as more of an overnighter the same as a rest area, flyn j etc. NOT a campground. A campground is a place with some possible "hook-ups" ie elect h20 etc. Also think of it as saving some $$$ to use at a campground later.
I have not overnighted a Wally, but it is an option.
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Old 11-03-2013, 05:59 PM   #534
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Saw this article about the nomads that live in Walmart parking lots.

Photographing the 'nomads' who call Walmart parking lots home | The Verge

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Old 11-03-2013, 06:40 PM   #535
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Saw this article about the nomads that live in Walmart parking lots.

Photographing the 'nomads' who call Walmart parking lots home | The Verge

Perry
Interesting, and rather sad.

We have come across people in some of the federal sites, who stay their two weeks and move to another for two weeks, and on and on....because it is all they can afford.

We know that because they tell us.



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Old 11-04-2013, 06:23 AM   #536
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Interesting, and rather sad.

We have come across people in some of the federal sites, who stay their two weeks and move to another for two weeks, and on and on....because it is all they can afford.

We know that because they tell us.



Maggie

We haven't yet tried an overnighter at a Walmart when en route to southern climes, although have used Flying J's many times.

But i any event, I suspect the sort of abuse described in this newspaper article may well soon bring about the demise of Walmart parking lots as an option for us.

I can't see Walmart - or any other company - tolerating it for long.

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Old 11-04-2013, 07:19 AM   #537
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Saw this article about the nomads that live in Walmart parking lots.
They don't look much different, and certainly no worse, than a lot of the Walmart shoppers I've seen inside the stores, who can't even blame their scruffiness on being camped in the parking lot.
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Old 11-04-2013, 08:22 AM   #538
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ive been seeing this thread now for over 18 months and have not touched it...mine as well jump in and read this novel.
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Old 11-04-2013, 08:26 AM   #539
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But i any event, I suspect the sort of abuse described in this newspaper article may well soon bring about the demise of Walmart parking lots as an option for us.

I can't see Walmart - or any other company - tolerating it for long.

Brian
This is clearly the exception, rather than the rule.

I suspect Walmart should, and eventually will, limit the number of overnights so they can justifiably ask people to move on at some point.

Walmart gets a ton of income from RV'ers, hard to see them enacting an across-the-board ban.

But, you never know......


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Old 11-04-2013, 09:05 AM   #540
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They don't look much different, and certainly no worse, than a lot of the Walmart shoppers I've seen inside the stores, who can't even blame their scruffiness on being camped in the parking lot.
Yep, bargain shoppers are sometimes (not always) the poorest of the poor, getting much their clothing used from Goodwill, missions and shelters.

Function and price take precedence over style.


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