WalMart parking -- run that dog!

Quite often the subject of WalMart parking comes up on the RV lists. Today was such a day that it once again came up. Have I done that? Why yes I have! Do I ask permission? Why yes, I do. Do I stay for more than one night at any given WalMart? No. Have I stayed elsewhere while traveling? Yes. I've stayed at Cracker Barrell's, with permission. I've stayed at rest areas, some even have security.  I've pulled over in church parking lots to relax for a few hours. Even stayed at one in Ms during one night when I got too tired to go any further, was on a parkway that didn't have businesses, so just had to sleep. Then when I woke up, found it was a wonderful place, that had a point of history & interest to the area, so toured it as well. Really neat place. I've stayed at truck stops where RV's are allowed to park for the night. The idea though is to do this only if you feel comfortable. If your comfort level is not there, then move on. Ideally, you want to stay safe. It's best to take precautions, keep your entry doors in full view of public areas. Keep yourself in view of the security cameras. Sleep with an airhorn (canned air), whistle, mace, whatever makes you feel more comfortable. Get a door alarm that you can switch on when you go to bed at night that will sound off if anyone tries to open your door. Please feel free to leave comments in the comment section to share your ideas as well.

I went to a state park in Ganado Ms, but got there late. It was very dark. I tried to park my rig into one of the campsites, but it was so blasted dark that I could not see a thing around me! So I guess I hit a post or something by trying to back up into a site. No one around to help or spot me, it was much later than I would have preferred to try to pull in for a site, but it was what it was...so I felt I had hit something. Yep, a post, no damage to the post, but damaged a side clearance light. Darn, I had just replaced all those lights too! Oh well, at least that's all the damage I did. But after that, I left the campgrounds (was planning on staying an extra day too, but that plan didn't happen). Went back into town & parked at WalMart instead. I parked in the area that they had set up for RV's & trucks. Being small really was a neat little perk at that place. Got a cool little spot there. Although my entry door did not open to the public side, I had a security camera on that side, so I was still good to go. Before I pulled in there, I parked closer to the store, went in, did some shopping, then came back out & found the perfect spot for the evening.

The nose of my RV against the nose of trucks.

My little spot in the world that night at the WalMart parking lot. See the big ClassA to the left of my little rig? There were two of those parked there that night, along with the big trucks.

Being a small rig does have it's advantages! This is a 22' rig.

It's like this spot was made for us huh?

After Hurricane Ike hit our area, we got stuck in Conroe Tx, trying to make it back to Galveston county. But we were too low on gas. No power for the stations to pump. No gas to be found. So we asked to camp behind the Cracker Barrell there. The management was in the store clearing out foods & such to prevent bad food sitting in the freezers & fridge units. He graciously allowed us to park there, so we were there for 3 days. We did set up chairs, pulled out the awning, but parked sideways to the grass & treed area. We had to pull out the awning to keep the sun from beating the side of the RV & beating us with heat. We were afraid to run the generator for more than an hour a day till we could be sure to get gas. I was sure grateful for their generosity at that trying time! Having an RV really helped save us too, as after Ike, I pretty much moved into the RV as there were damages to my house & I could no longer live inside of my own home. I will always be grateful for Cracker Barrell, plus it was nice & quiet there as well!

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OK, so for what I did today. As you know, I have dogs. One of the events we do with sighthounds is lure coursing, so we went coursing today! Sighthounds hunt by sight rather than scent. Lure coursing is like a mock type of hunting trial where a plastic bag is tied onto a string & the string is ran through a battery operated lure machine. The dogs hunting instinct kicks in & they love chasing that lure! I tested one of my young dogs today, Birdie, & she ran very well for her test! So I might get her certified tomorrow & enter her in the trial if she passes the certification.

Here are a few pics I took of today.

Entrants getting ready to slip their Afghan Hounds on the Tally Ho!

Two of the Afghans running the lure. Note the happy face on the light colored dog. The black dog wears a muzzle because he gets too nosey with the other dogs & interferes without it.

What? Another plastic bag?? One day, I just know I'll find a bunny instead! I'm sure of it! (not)

Two young Salukis watching the lure. They are brothers & they had a good run off together. The cream one beat the grizzle one by a point, thus winning Best of Breed for Salukis on this day.

It can be quite rewarding to get your dogs out & do events with them! Do what they were bred for, find what they like to do & treat them from time to time. It will make you feel good too. :-)

As always, be kind to your pet, clean up after them on your travels & respect your neighbor.