"Camp Wal-Mart" Hall of Shame, Part III

We are at the Wal-Mart in Cody, Wyoming (map).

Long-time readers will recognize from today's title that I am about to launch into one of my trademark rants. First, however, a short update: We had a nice drive here from Eagle Creek, stopping briefly to check out the North Fork Campground in Buffalo Bill State Park, which was nice, and a bargain at $12 for non-residents, but I was feeling like we really needed to get to town for provisions.

A few miles further along we stopped at the Buffalo Bill (née Shoshone) Dam visitor center. The concrete arch dam was quite impressive -- the world's highest dam at the time of its construction, at 325' (since expanded to 350'), and the first "Reclamation" project in the west. With the river raging, the spillway was in full operation, creating a spectacular spray at the base of the structure. Unsurprisingly, there was a lot of debris against the upstream face -- tons and tons of wood, some of which we had witnessed making its way downstream (and one pool noodle -- no word on whether there had been a child attached).

We arrived here at Wal-Mart mid-afternoon and situated ourselves in the darkest and most remote corner of the lot, next to an unladen flat-bed semi. In addition to a gargantuan $200 shopping spree (see, I told you we needed provisions), I wandered around the lot taking the photos that follow. We had a decent, if pricey, dinner at iconic local eatery Cassie's Supper House, which is right across the street, before retiring to our living room for a movie (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest) which we rented from the Redbox dispenser right here in Wal-Mart.

This, by the way, is the first Wal-Mart where I have ever seen live lobsters for sale in the grocery department (and their diminutive brethren in the tropical fish department):



Now about that rant... I know I've said all this before (here and here), but it still torques me every time. In four years of living full time on the road, we've stayed at hundreds of Wal-Marts, and it is always disappointing when we come across one that, for whatever reason, does not permit it. Tourist destinations, in general, are the places where such is most likely to be the case; often, this is due to lobbying on the part of local RV park operators.

RV park operators claim they are losing revenue and that they have made extensive investments to ensure RVers have an appropriate place to park with proper facilities to enjoy their stay. The counterargument that RV travelers and their lobbyists (FMCA, Escapees, Good Sam, and others) have made, often successfully, is that sometimes all one needs is a safe place to park for the night while "passing through." Such travelers have no need of camping "facilities" and the requirement to pay for such unnecessary facilities is likely to simply cause the traveler to continue on to a different town. As part of the extensive lobbying effort, these varied organizations have even cooperated to produce this statement on overnight parking etiquette.

Cody is exactly the sort of place where this war is likely to be waged. It is something of a tourist destination in its own right, as well as being the gateway to Yellowstone. I can see two different RV parks right from my seat here as I type, and research shows around a dozen in town, including a KOA franchise, that arch-nemesis of Wal-Mart parking.

With that as a backdrop, these clowns come along and make liars of the rest of us:



These two rigs pulled in just across from us late in the afternoon. They immediately put the awning out, set up several tables and a half dozen or so chairs, and proceeded to have a barbeque in their private little patio area. Later, their several children used sidewalk chalk to draw an extensive hop-scotch area across three parking spaces. They had Wisconsin plates -- I'm guessing that this behavior has been the norm for them in a half dozen Wal-Marts across the country.



This couple has set up camp. They have their awning, mat, chairs, and table out, the dog (who later ran loose through the parking lot) tied up, and their tow vehicle detached for those sightseeing trips.



Later on, they hauled out the noisy little contractor generator on the other side of the rig. I'm glad we were not anywhere near them.



No word on whether these two rigs are traveling together. But when we arrived in the afternoon, the tow vehicles were nowhere to be found -- out sightseeing, perhaps in Yellowstone, is our guess. The rigs are set up for camping -- all the jacks are down. At least they put some wood under them.



This "hybrid" (hard-sided trailer with canvas pop-outs) is also clearly "camped." Popping the canvas parts out is somewhat of a gray area -- it's the only way to sleep in the rig (OTOH, when we used to travel by motorcycle, a tent was the only way to sleep; we would never have considered Wal-Mart an option with that mode of travel). But the lawn chair and the bicycles bespeak a different intent.

Now, I've showed you just six rigs out of over a dozen that were here last night. The remainder of the rigs looked to be more or less in "passing through" mode, with the exception of another couple of older travel trailers that appeared to have been "dropped" in the lot, and another detached fiver. But rest assured that the next time this matter comes up for debate at the city council meeting, one or more of the campground operators will come armed with dozens of photos just like these, as irrefutable evidence against the claim that people "just need a safe place to park for the night." Sadly, they will be right.

Incidentally, Wal-Mart's friendly parking policy is legendary; many long-haul truckers occasionally will stop at a Wal-Mart for their mandatory rest period. Here in Cody, I also spotted this bus:



This custom-modified Mercedes 0404 is owned and operated by "Rotel," which is an acronym for "Das Rollende Hotel" ("The Rolling Hotel"), a German tour company that offers budget tours all over the world in similarly equipped vehicles. This coach has 24 passenger seats and 26 sleeping berths (the two extras are for the driver and the guide). On the curb side across from the berths is an extensive drop-down "camp kitchen" set up.

We often see these coaches in the National Parks; Rotel often books a group campsite for the coach. People familiar with Rotel sometimes ask us if our German-built Neoplan is or was ever a Rotel coach -- odd question, since there is really no mistaking the extensive and unique sleeper/kitchen arrangement that constitutes the back half of every Rotel rig.

The Rotel left later in the afternoon -- I am guessing the customers were deposited at the museum or wherever, and the driver was here catching some rest or maybe stocking up on groceries and supplies for the evening. These tours, BTW, are offered exclusively in German, with German tour guides.

Sometime later, this nice Arrow Stage Lines Setra coach showed up in its stead; again, I am guessing the customers were at some attraction and the driver needed a place for some downtime.



Now that we are fully provisioned, we will continue east on US14A toward Bighorn Lake.