Campground fees can sometimes be as much as an Airbnb. If we are going to be living in our RV for a year that really adds up. And what is the point of being self-contained if we don't take advantage of it?
There were 18 nights between staying with Lynne and David Tullis in Osoyoos and parking in Mike and Maren Theilmann's neighbour's driveway in Ottawa. They were:
- 1 mechanic's yard
- 5 roadside parking places
- 3 official campgrounds
- 1 village street
- 4 Walmart parking lots
- 1 wildlife refuge
- 2 truck stops
- 1 suburban railway station
The mechanic's yard was because we suddenly lost the ability to indicate turns. We left the highway at the next town and searched for a repairer. The first place we asked could not help, but they gave us 2 'phone numbers. The first of those invited us to park in their yard (it was now after 5pm) and they would investigate in the morning. We actually had neighbours. Another RV was parked in the yard, waiting on the delivery of some parts. In the morning our electrical problem was found to be a loose connection. It was tightened and we were on our way again.
Roadside parking places are sometimes identified from a great app called Wiki Camps, sometimes from other Internet sources, and sometimes we just find one. If we do, we add it to Wiki Camps. The locations range from gravelled parking areas beside a historic notice to rest areas with toilets, picnic tables and rubbish bins. Unfortunately, most rest areas forbid overnight camping. It's weird. We can pull in at breakfast time, cook meals, use the toilets and have a sleep, but have to move on in the evening. If they are worried about people living there permanently why not limit stays to 24 hours?
Approaching Waterton Lakes Park we were invited to pull off the road and enjoy the view. We did so - and stayed the night.
There was a significant railroad event nearby, "Last Spike at Feist Lake". We suppose that this is Feist Lake.
A rest area beside Lake Superior that did allow overnight parking. Lovely.
This nice large, level space is for followers of a Lake Superior water trail to launch their canoes. Heaps of spare space for a motor home to park. The little hut in the background was originally a toilet, but is now full of rubbish and not fit to use.
The official campgrounds were:
- a village campground that charged $10 to park on their grass and provided a small ablution block with toilets and showers. Sites with a power supply and/or water cost more.
- a village campground that advertised a tariff of $20 for a site with power. We offered $5 just to park (there were no toilets or showers), and when the custodian learned that we were from New Zealand he let us stay gratis. What a nice man.
- a town campground run by the local Lions Club. The only available sites had a power supply, but the charge was a modest $20. The location was very pleasant, by a river, and the ablution facilities were excellent. They also had a dump station where we could empty our waste water tanks.
The Lions Club campground in Neepawa from across the river.
The village street was a last resort. Wiki Camps showed a campground, but it looked to us like private property, so we parked outside an empty building where we would not bother anyone and stayed the night.
Walmart, either because the directors are RVers themselves, or because they reckon it's good for business, usually allow overnight parking. This has the bonus of a store right on hand for food and almost anything else we might want, and sometimes there is Wi-Fi in the parking lot. However, Walmart doesn't always own the parking lot and some landlords forbid overnight parking. Some local authorities won't allow it either. The Walmarts around Quebec City used to allow overnight parking, but it's now against the law. :-(
We arrived at the Oak Hammock Marsh wildlife refuge late in the afternoon, after the shop had closed. But the trails through the marsh were still open, so we did some wildlife viewing. There were no contrary signs in the car park, so we stayed put and walked another trail in the morning.
Truck stops are not ideal, but they are free. Trucks can noisily arrive or depart at any any hour of the day or night, and many of them leave the engine idling, presumably to keep the air conditioning going while the driver sleeps. One of these two had great showers for $7 each, and the cheapest laundry in Canada – only $1 to wash and $1 to dry.
The suburban railway station was the suggestion of an Ontario Tourist Office employee. We wanted to see some friends in Toronto, but there was nowhere to park near their apartment. “GO Transit stations have huge parking lots and you can get the train into downtown Toronto.” The principle was sound, but unfortunately we picked a station with a small and very crowded parking lot. Fitting our mobile home into even two regular spaces at 6pm was a challenge. We met our friends and their little boy, had an enjoyable meal and took the train back to Port Credit, where Gregory was now in luxurious acres of empty space. Five minutes later a transit policeman arrived. Someone was concerned that we were not bona fide users of the parking lot and a tow truck had been ordered! Luckily the special constable was kind and constructive. We had used the train, so we were legal. Sleeping in the parking lot was not a problem so long as we didn't get in the way of the morning commuters. He left his card, and the 'phone number of the Transit Safety and Security Office, which could direct us to a more appropriate station if we wanted to visit Toronto again. We got up extremely early the next morning and were on the road at 6am.
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