Boondocking on the way home

After the Strataca tour, I began my journey back home to Maryland. Decided to try boondocking at parking lots, mainly because I could not find good campgrounds along the route. The plan was to spend the night at a Cracker Barrel parking lot because they allow RVers to park there. The first night was in Independence, MO but the restaurant's parking lot was too quiet. At the same time, inclement weather was predicted after midnight, with the possibility of strong winds, hail, even a tornado. So I got back to the driver's seat and started driving again, looking for a 24 hour gas station that may provide shelter if a tornado were to strike.

That was how I ended up spending the night of April 12 at a Pilot gas station parking lot, next to the store and relatively sheltered from the wind. There were other vehicles parked, and on the truck side of the gas station, a number of trucks were parked for the night as well. I felt pretty safe and slept well that night!

April 13 was a day of straight driving. There was nothing interesting I wanted to check out and the weather was cold and rainy. I stopped at another Cracker Barrel near Columbus, OH for dinner. Again the restaurant parking lot was very quiet, it was right next to a number of motels, just off I-70. Instead I went across the road to the Walmart that was surrounded by other big box stores, including a Home Depot on one side. There were also a few big trucks and an RV parked at the edge of the parking lot. I parked right next to the RV, went inside Walmart to use the restroom, bought some produce, then went to sleep in the minivan. It rained heavily during the night but I had no trouble getting a good night's sleep.

April 14 - the weather has improved - I made the drive back to MD, stopped by an Asian grocery store to do some shopping and got back home by 6 pm. Whew, what a trip! I have been away for about 1.5 months and it was quite an experience!

And now, on to planning the next trip to Winnipeg, Canada, in June.