Unusual places you have stayed the night.

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I submitted this question to a motorcycle / camping website and received several interesting stories about where people have spent the night. We are of the same ilk; my 6 1/2 foot motorcycle trailer folds out to a 13 foot Pop-up, with a king size bed.

Some of the more interesting ones were in the median on I-65 North of Nashville. Self-Serve car washes are not generally used during a rainstorm and provide more protection than a freeway overpass. One young kid in the Army spent the night on a California beach, and was hauled in to see the judge. He was fined $50. He explained that if he had $50 he would have gotten as room. Sometimes just going to the County Mounty they will let you use a cell.

So what are some of the unique places you have spent the night?

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’94 GL 1500 SE Extras: SIRUS Satellite Radio, Garmin GPS, SADDLEMAN Road Sofa and Touring Luggage, Touring Floodlights, Multiple Deer Whistles.
Pulling an ’80 Eagle 1 Trailer or ’12 Roll A Home (wide bed, brakes)

[NC_Roamer]

We crossed into Canada at Niagara late one afternoon. I pulled up to the entrance of the parking lot adjacent to Horseshoe Falls and asked the attendant what time the lot closed so we could be out by then. He told me but then added that we could spend the night if we wanted. So we camped beside Horseshoe Falls that night.

[fill]

I did part of my growing up in Wray Colorado. It’s on the plains and we could see both Nebraska and Kansas from the farm. I knew that it may have changed in 65 years but I didn’t realize how much.

I stopped at the police station in town and asked about camping. They told me to use the local city park, and that it was safe … and because I was there they would have more frequent patrols. It was beautiful.

It rained all night and in the morning when I awoke one of the joggers going through the park was our old neighbor, who had moved to town. He suggested checking with the Yuma County Court House about a deed.
My Dad had inherited land from his mother. I am now part owner of 1400 acres of Colorado grazing land.



We were in Sioux City and it had been a long day and we were ready for bed. Unfortunately there was a convention in town and hotel rooms were not readily available.
We were directed to a downtown hotel with the understanding that it had been very classy IN ITS DAY.
They had rooms and we checked in, then asked where we could safely leave the bikes. The night manager asked if they leaked oil. We said they were all Hondas and never leaked. His response was ‘Bring’m in here’. All 5 bikes fit easily in the huge lobby and we used hotel towels so that we wouldn’t mar the real wood floors.
Next morning the day manager was most upset, and our friend was now an ex-employee.

It was dark, cold and rainy in the road construction around Sheridan Wyo. I finally found a motel & pulled in. Because of the construction crews and travelers no room was available. They said it wound be OK to open up my motorcycle camper BEHIND THE BUILDING & BE GONE BEFORE DAY SHIFT CAME IN AT 07:00. The all-night rain stopped at 06:00.

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’94 GL 1500 SE Extras: SIRUS Satellite Radio, Garmin GPS, SADDLEMAN Road Sofa and Touring Luggage, Touring Floodlights, Multiple Deer Whistles.
Pulling an ’80 Eagle 1 Trailer or ’12 Roll A Home (wide bed, brakes)

[IndyCamp]

When I was a teenager (only child), my parents and I traveled all over the country (48 states) in our little camper .

Our old camper finally gave out and my parents decided to trade it in on a new one in Butte, Montana.

We found a dealer and spent the night behind their locked gate with the night watchman, who lived there on the lot with his old dog in an old trailer. Great people and a fun story to tell.

This was probably 1990 or so.

My parents are both still alive and are retired and carting their little trailer around the west right now.

[jkwilson]

In the driving lane of a state highway somewhere in eastern Kentucky. Tooling along hauling about 9pm pulling a 36' gooseneck loaded with construction equipment. I was trying to get to the Interstate to make it to Lexington for a hotel. I saw blue lights ahead, and could see people turning around, but I was past every turn-off opportunity.

Somebody had hit the superstructure of a bridge with a high load, and it was closed. I couldn't cross, and the road had guardrails on both sides with narrow shoulders so I couldn't turn around. They just had me park it right there and I slept in the driver's seat. Not a good night.

It got daylight about 6am, so they put a police car at the top of the previous hill and I backed down the road about a mile to a church parking lot and turned around.

[Naio]

A turnout off a mountain road, where the highway department stored their piles of gravel, broken concrete, etc. It had an amazing view! And deer :).

[kccwoodworks]

on the side of the highway between Merritt Island and Coco Beach to watch the shuttle launch the next morning.

[MamaGoose]

We spent a night at the parking lot of the Columbia Icefields Parkway Discovery Centre when we drove the Icefield Parkway in Alberta, Canada last summer. We arrived in the afternoon and parked facing the Athabasca Glacier, awesome view out the front window of the motorhome. Did the touristy things during the day and then spent a relaxed evening...no cell reception, no radio, and no TV since we didn't have satellite dish. There were several other RV'ers spending the night there as well.

Traveling from our home in Canada to our condo in Nevada last November, we spent a total of three nights at truck stops along the way. We kept our slides in and we were cozy between the big rigs. With the engines purring all night around us, we both slept soundly. 🙂

[noplace2]

Not sure the definition of unusual. Been doing this fulltime thing for nearly 14 years. Is pulled along the ALCAN on the way to AK unusual? Possibly for most. How about through Central America and back again without reservations or concerns? Probably unusual for the majority. We've done both of those and hundreds in between.

Go your own way, park wherever you consider unusual (legal would be good)
and desirable and live the rest of your life in the best way you can. As has been noted abundantly before, ain't none of us gettin' out of this deal alive.

[traveylin]

The Atchafalaya swamp I10 stop is a favorite...State police do drive thru at night and it is at a good distance from the other stops. I am there about 4 times a year. The back on ramp access going east does take some acceleration to catch up to the trucks going up the bridge

[W4RLR]

Aside from the occasional Wal-Mart and a Flying J, the DW and I spent a very restful night at Butte LaRose rest area off of I-10 in the Atchafalaya Swamp in Louisiana. They have a separate rest area for RVs and another for big rigs. Slept like a baby.

[lfilk]

I was going through Maryland late at night and bone tired. Asked a gas station attendant if I could park in the back for the night. He said he didn't care but the local sheriff might not approve. An elderly gentleman said I could stay in one of his fields and no one would bother me. Opened a fence up, I backed in and went to sleep. The next morning I got up and the camper was surrounded by cows. He put me in a cow pasture.

[FULLTIMEWANABE]

Nowhere really unusual to us, but so many different places as we love to boon dock and would avoid campgrounds for many reasons. With limited vacation time when working and wanting to "see it all", we'd pull in to overnight at carparks of Zoos, and Attractions we were aiming to see on our RVing trips the next morning/day.

We've overnighted and sometimes longer in many churches, cemetery entrances (they were very quiet neighbours), restaurant car parks, boat launches, Marinas, pull ins besides numerous rivers/lakes, bottom of ski resort car parks, Big Box store car parks, Rest Areas, Truck Stops and little town gravel pull in areas. Some places we would leave a donation of thanks or purchase something.

[musicman54]

back in 85 dw and 2 daugthers pulled our trailer from oregon to texas one night we stopped in parking lot of a motel out in the desert in new meico

[PRodacy]

During my motorcycling days a horrible rainstorm came up and there was too much water running on the ground to pitch a tent, so we threw our tarp across a picnic table and slept on the benches while a small river ran under us. No really strange places (to us at least - some of the places may have seemed strange to others) with the RV.

[traveylin]

Up the Prudhoe haul road well above the artic circle

Under the I10 bridge at the casino in Lake Charles

Desert in Saudi Arabia

among the abandoned mercury mines in town west of Big Bend

along the foundations in coastal south west Louisiana hurricane alley

Where would I like to go camp?? Burning man in Black rock Nevada
On the coastal ferry going west from homer
lots of places in Utah
Down town New Orleans for Mardi gras
Coastal mexico