Ode to Walmart

Walmarts sometimes get a bad rap; Big box stores that pushed out the Mom n' Pop, locally owned stores. Well, I surely understand that, however, as an RV traveler logging tens of thousands of miles traversing the countryside, the convenience of the Walmart has been a saving grace many times.

Not only do Walmarts have every department you might need to stock up on groceries, toiletries,  and some needed extra socks, Walmart offers a fairly legitimate RV section. Here you will find hitches, RV sewer and water lines, leveling blocks, repair kits, patio accessories, and more. Additionally, Walmart usually has a small fast food restaurant located inside, such as a Subway or McDonald's or Starbucks. A Vision Center, CoinStar, Red Box, ATM, hair salon, and even sometimes an arcade may also fill your needs.

Walmart also graciously allows RVers (sorry tenters) to stay the night in their parking lots. Now, we have always been the prepared traveler with a reservation every place we go, however, recently we found ourselves with a campsite that was far too unlevel for us to camp safely in (four rear wheels off the ground is not our style). After searching for nearly two hours to find not one site anywhere within a 100 mile radius, we pulled into the Walmart parking lot. Finding a "site" near other RVers in a shaded part of the lot, we figured,  "How bad could it be?" We walked over and grabbed ourselves some dinner and a DVD movie and returned to our home on wheels.  Settling in for the night we saw a few others had joined us. Falling fast asleep, I had visions of the Walmart sign dancing in my head.
Thank you Walmart for providing all that you do for us weary RV travelers.