Day 1 of being a nomad newbie

[vanman2300]

Rode from RI to mid state PA. Oddly, I'm within walking distance of a river. So does that count as living down by the river?? I'm on the move to get over to my first place of interest, the Badlands. So Wally World will have to do. It's a weird feeling as if I'm hiding out in my vehicle.

My hope is to knock off a few more states to clear the high population areas asap. Then find a quiet spot to tweak the way everything is organized. 

I'll be continuing this thread for the sake of having a record of my travels. Who knows it might be a good read every once in a while because trouble sometimes will find me.  Like when I was surrounded by CIA security because I pulled into one of their facilities without knowing it.

 

[Firtree]

You’ll get use to Walmart tho each is different with different noises.

 

[vanman2300]

You’ll get use to Walmart tho each is different with different noises.

It went pretty good and I learned a few things too. For one: if possible try not to park too close to where the truckers park. It wasn't the engines running that bothered me, it was the late arrivals that didn't have a clue how to be just a bit conscientious. I was parked out of the way but this one trucker who came in late pulled almost right up to me and kept his lights on for at least an hour. Then he had rock music blaring too. It must have pissed off the other drivers. It was only a minor thing for me because I sleep real soundly. Anyhow I learned something.

 

[lenny flank]

Former Lehigh Valley PA-ite here. We called that area of PA "Pennsyltucky". It's mostly dead empty. Great for hiking and camping though.


> Like when I was surrounded by CIA security because I pulled into one of their facilities without knowing it.


One day I'll tell you the story of how I was arrested by MPs inside the Pentagon. And surrounded by armed guards at the submarine base in Groton......


> Then he had rock music blaring too.

Sadly, there are a lot of people who treat Walmart lots as their own personal backyard. There's usually some doofus who wants to run his generator all night. I once saw a guy pull into the lot in a van, park sideways taking up three or four spaces, then sit outside all night with the radio blasting, drinking beer on a lawn chair.

It's dumbshits like that who cause us all to be banned from the lot.

 

[vanman2300]

I like that "Penntucky". It could also be Pentucky as well since one of the state prisons is there.

In the meantime I stumbled across a good overnight spot in La Crescent Minnesota. It's right on the Mississippi river near lock 7. They have a viewing platform to watch the lock operating. There's security 24/7 and they readily let me and another guy stay overnight. A plus is fresh water taps outside and access to bathrooms no matter the hour. It's called the Dresbach Information center and it's going in the save for later book.

 

[Tommy N Pippa]

Hey thanks for the post I know the feeling.good luck safe travel.

 

[vanman2300]

Hey thanks for the post I know the feeling.good luck safe travel.

Thx. It doesn't seem that bad as I was planning on. 

I'm keeping busy hitting a few national parks before they get crazy. Next up is Grand Tetons. I need to settle in for a few weeks to a locale so I can make some improvements on my rig.

 

[vanman2300]

Spending another night at Wally World and moving south. Any ideas about a good place to put up around the Grand Tetons? This Wally World is really nice but camping is still so much better.

BTW, I previously stayed at Sage Creek in the grasslands of Badlands NP. Free and really nice. Had buffalo, fox, coyotes, pronghorn and you name it it was there.

 

[Sleep]

Hope travels are going well. What type of rig do you have?
I have been on the road since January, almost 10 months. I have yet to sleep at Walmart, but do like Love’s Truckstop as a quick overnight option. Free campsites.net has been my source for locating good campsites, but once I’m in the general area I expand my search just to see what’s around.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[bullfrog]

It should be getting a little cool at night in the Tetons I betcha!

 

[MrNoodly]

It should be getting a little cool at night in the Tetons I betcha!

10-day forecast for Jackson WY:

<img src="https://image.ibb.co/dVaDrp/Screen_Shot_2018_09_27_at_7_38_40_AM.png" alt="Screen Shot 2018 09 27 at 7 38 40 AM" border="0" />