In keeping with our attempts at traveling slower, we pulled out of the Campground Under The Bridge at 10:55 am, just five minutes before the 11:00 checkout time. We didn’t hear too much traffic noise because of running the a/c, but on occasion a really loud truck could be heard rumbling by. I guess I can understand now why Trolls who live under bridges are so cranky. ;c)
Not much to talk about on our travels, nice sunny day except for a five mile long rainstorm, just enough to take the clean shine off the Journey. We stopped at Camping World in Roanoke, VA to pick up a few odds and ends. I try to keep all my chemicals and cleaners fully stocked, as well as adding a tube of self leveling caulk to the repair locker.
I was pleased with the mileage the Journey cranked out, even with all the mountains (okay, hills for you westerners) I averaged a pretty solid 8.5 mpg, which helps take a little sting out of the cost of fuel.
After 325 miles, we pulled in to a Flying J in PA. Since we’re in the Making Tracks mode we don’t really care where we stay the night, home is where ever we are.
Flying J’s usually have a parking area reserved for RVs, separate from all the truck parking. The truckers need to have a place to get their rest and it’s good to keep the RVs out of their parking spaces.
Strangely, this FJ has a RV parking area that is jammed with Bobtail Tractors, (that is the term for the tractor without an attached trailer). They took up almost all the RV spaces and apparently the management doesn’t care to enforce the parking rules and direct them to the truck parking area .
I squeezed the Journey in and was able to open the slides on one side. I talked with the trucker next to me about the slides and he said he’d watch out for them when he pulls out if we’re still here in the morning.
We’ve watched a bunch of RVs pull in and then pull out because there is no space for them tonight. Bummer. Glad we got here early.
We’re not complaining, you get what you pay for, and we’ll be paying quite a bit when we fill up with diesel tomorrow. Keeping it in perspective, it’s still cheaper than overnighting at Walmart! ;c)
Thanks for visiting and feel free to leave a comment.
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Yikes. We're going to have to do a blog post for you on how to find good free overnight spots. I don't see how anybody could possibly like staying at a Flying J, especially one like that. I think I would quit RV'ing if I had to park like that for the night.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why you guys don't sign up for Harvest Hosts or Boondockers Welcome.
www.travelwithkevinandruth.com
Primarily because they are not where we're traveling. We make tracks to get where we want to be and don't relish the idea of traveling out of our way for a spot. Something close to the highway we're on is our primary requirement.
ReplyDeleteWhen the curtains are closed, we're home. So we don't really care. I know how to find good free overnight places when we're in that mode of travel.
We choose to spend as much time as we can at the places we want to stay. We don't want to waste any more time on the road traveling than we have to. :c)
We are like you, at home wherever we park. Flying j's or Walmarts, what ever is convenient its only for one night anyway.
ReplyDeleteOur coach is totally accessible with out opening our slide, so no problem there.
Now I remember why we have never stayed overnight at a Flying J:)
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the Walmarts being expensive. Tonight we had a choice of either Walmart or Cabelas and picked Cabelas. It's nice and quiet except when the train goes by. :-D
ReplyDeleteBummer that they have RV parking but trucks fill it up. Was the truck parking full?? LOL at 300+ miles is slowing down.
ReplyDeleteMan, staying at Flying J's seems to be a hotbed topic ;-) As you know we do the same if we're on the way somewhere and want (or need!) to save money. We are very respectful of CDL drivers, and have even helped a newbie back in to his spot one rainy night. We've never had a CDL driver be nasty to us because we were taking up 'his' spot. Anyway, my rant is over :) We all have different methods to our travel.
ReplyDeleteCan you not stay in the truck area since you're as big as they are, or is that frowned on?
ReplyDeleteWe've never stayed in a FJ and I guess I've never really paid any attention to where the rv's stay at. It would have been a bummer, if it had been full.
Have you ever said at rest areas? Is it allowed?
I have only stayed in the truck area on two occasions, both times there was no designated RV parking area.
DeleteI stayed as far away from the trucks as I could and used spots that were too odd shaped for a truck to fit
in.
Truckers are working and need to have their rest. They have very restrictive work hours, something like only 10 hours a day, then they must be off the road. I will go out of my way to ensure they have room to rest.
Yes, I have stayed in a rest area a few times, some don't allow overnights. Again I try to stay in any spot that might not fit a truck too easily.
When we stayed last night at FJ, we unhooked the toad and parked it in a car space to not take up any more space than necessary.
It is nice to have our own little home with us. We've stayed at a few Flying J's. Some are just fine with special spots for RVs and at others we've felt like sardines but it works. It's a fast in and out with no setup. When we're on the road from one place to another no setup works best.
ReplyDeleteYou are definitely overnighting in some interesting spots!
ReplyDeletewe haven't boondocked (yet). . .do you run your generator when you overnite at FJ?
ReplyDeleteMost often, yes, we run the generator. In the summer, we use our a/c. In the winter, we run electric heat to save on propane.
DeletePlus, running the generator, we can use the a/c fan without running the a/c to give us a nice white noise to drown out any nosey trucks and or cars.
Wow, that's a mighty tight squeeze!
ReplyDeleteOur email address is at the bottom of the blog page.
ReplyDeleteOnly 325 miles, what has gotten into you guys?
ReplyDelete