Temps overnight mid 40's & daytime highs averaging near 70
We left Cloudland Canyon State Park in Georgia early Tuesday morning (17 May).....had to break down camper in between rain showers but managed to get it done without getting too wet. We left there with a goal of getting near (or past) St. Louis, Missouri which is a long travel day (475 miles) pulling an RV. We gained an hour as we crossed into central time zone and that helped. We traveled through five states that day - Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri. Beautiful (but rainy) scenery in all states.
Walmart Camping Experience:
We finally settled down for the evening in a Walmart (that's right) parking lot just west of St. Louis in a town called O'Fallon Missouri and walked to a nearby Applebee's for dinner. This was our first experience at Walmart camping and using our new generators with the rig. We went to sleep with only one other rig near us in the parking lot and woke up in the morning with three or four others camping near us. The price was right but it was a bit noisy.....luckily we were tired enough that we still slept ok. Lesson learned - find a better corner spot in the parking lot to avoid all night traffic and bright lights. We will do it again - need plenty of free camping to pay for the generators.
After making coffee for our large cups and the thermos we got on the road again headed for the Kansas City/Independence Missouri area for a two night stop and some sight seeing. We used an app on the iPhone called "Oh, Ranger" to locate a county operated RV Park called Blue Springs in Lee's Summit, Missouri. Great park and a great place to operate from while in this area. We arrived early enough to get a visit in at the Truman Library and Museum that we really enjoyed. We had visited Truman's little white house in Key West earlier this year and love the history surrounding his presidency.
Thursday (today) plans included lunch at a hole in the wall (but locally famous) Kansas City BBQ joint called LC's. Reminded me of something we might see on Drive-ins, Diners and Dives. The food was great and plentiful and I took photos both inside and outside to share with you.
After that we visited the #1 tourist activity in Kansas city (according to trip advisor) which is the World War I museum. It is a very nice museum with great exhibits and history of WWI....recommend it if you are in the Kansas City area. Photos below are the museum itself and a shot of the Kansas City skyline from the observation deck of the museum.
Resting up this evening with plans to depart for South Dakota in the morning (rain predicted again for our breaking camp time). Current plans are to drive to Sioux Falls for an overnight (maybe Walmart again) and continuing the next day to the Rapid City area where we will do some sight seeing.
On Boondocking: 1. Did you have to speak to W-M manager prior to parking? 2. Did W-M assign your overnight spot? 3. Were their restrictions; i.e. not opening slides, generator hours, etc.? 4. W-M have stated arrival/departure hours? 5. Will you be trying Cracker Barrel too? Read Bass Pro Shops, Cabela's also often welcome Boondockers. Curious at Opa's Mountain!
ReplyDeleteAt Walmart we did ask permission....they said they don't give permission but then told us where to park. We had slides open and only used generator sparingly.
ReplyDeleteStaying at Cabells tonight in Mitchell South Dakota....great set-up.
having fun following your trip! Love all the pictures!
ReplyDeleteThanks Amie!
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