Boon Dockers: A journey through America one Walmart at a time

There are so many people boondocking now, theres no longer any peace and quiet in it. You have to find places where others have camped before you. Boondocking is for people who are too cheap to pay for camping. You'll have homeless people for neighbors. You can request to stay for free on private property owned by our wonderful Boondockers Welcome hosts. You can ask permission to park overnight in the private lot of a restaurant or other business where you've spent money.

Talk to locals and ask for suggestions. That is what it is all about, sharing what you have and meeting new friends. We even had folks from Germany and have an invitation to visit them there. We started a scrapbook with the first guest and each has contributed to it. Thank you Marianne for boondockers welcome! During our circumnavigation of the U S last winter we met so many wonderful new friends. One woman in California is a dog groomer and noticed our dogs needed toe nails clipped.

They were clipped, filed and given treats in minutes and she refused payment. So we gave her a jar of homemade Mulberry jam! Our 3-year membership has already paid for itself after just 3 nights. We spent two nights in the Missouri countryside with a wonderful Christian couple who we went to church with and enjoyed it so much. Amazing, and we are just getting started. We have really enjoyed meeting the Boondockers that stay at our site as well as those we have hosted us as we have traveled.

It is really great to be able to connect with other RVers who enjoy traveling as we do and being able to share our RV site with them. Thank you for your efforts in creating and maintaining the web site! I signed up this spring. It is now the end of the first week of July. I am hosting my fourth family tonight and have another scheduled for tomorrow night. All of the boondockers that I have hosted are simply wonderful people. I feel that my life has been enriched in some way by every one of them.

Every one of them is invited back and would be welcomed with a smile on my face and joy in my heart. I have yet to stay overnight at a Boondockers Welcome host site but plan to take a long trip this summer to the black hills. I think it is a wonderful thing for these hosts to simply open their hearts and say "Please come stay at my place". Once I allowed cookies on my iPhone I discovered a wonderfully fast easy to navigate website Thanks Marianne and Anna for your help.

1. La Communauté: Tome 2 : La rébellion des femmes  (- SDE) (French Edition).
2. Everything a Parent Needs to Know About Punishing Children.
3. See What Everyone Is Saying About Boondockers Welcome....
4. Boon Dockers by Ardun Ward?
5. Most Popular.
6. Elusive Peace: How Modern Diplomatic Strategies Could Better Resolve World Conflicts;
7. Dependence and Interdependence in Education: International Perspectives (Routledge Library Editions: Education).

Very glad to be with you. Windmill camp Camp Verde AZ. May last year while crossing Australia we met fellow Australians, also Boondockers, at Ceduna, South Australia miles from anywhere who happen to be 1 of only 6 Boondockers- 'Woodgate Wanderers' registered in Australia. Small World After having spent 6 months each year for 5 years travelling in USA and meeting so many wonderful people through Boondockers Welcome we have finally been able to repay some of the great hospitality we experienced in America.

This week we hosted our very first Boondockers at our home on Phillip Island, Australia. TruthAndTravels who happen to be American. They were introduced to Boondockers Welcome by, would you believe it, 'Woodgate Wanderers' while they were travelling in US What an amazing time we had exchanging US and Australian travel stories, recommending all sorts of Aussie destinations, tips, and even taught Tim to throw a boomerang.

Thanks heaps Boondockers Welcome. I have now located in another Boondocking space. But the beauty of Wayne's space was that I was granted permission to boondock there before I left home in AR. We've been a member since the very start. I've had the pleasure of two folks staying at our place. Although We've not used Boondockers welcome, I always feel comfortable knowing that somewhere close there's a place to stay.

Drop by and see us, close to Yosemite Park, Bill. We have been Boondockers Welcome hosts since and have been so blessed with having three wonderful guests. Boondockers Welcome has opened a door of opportunity to us to meet these wonderful people. Marianne Edwards has been so encouraging and patient with our membership application and we are so thankful for her understanding. I have enjoyed having many RV's since joining "Boondockers Welcome". Many visitors are from abroad: I enjoy hearing bout their travels as well as sharing some of mine.

I also enjoy meeting people and this is a great way to do that. We hosted our first BW guests this past April - what a lovely couple! I was so excited and had a great time visiting with them. We were so fortunate to spend five of those nights with BW hosts. It was a busy trip and we didn't have a lot of time visiting with our hosts, but every one of them was more than welcoming and accommodating - couldn't have asked for a greater experience! I'm so very happy and grateful that BW was created - I have been a member since it originated and truly enjoy being hosts and guests.

Your website is so easy to navigate and your communication with members stays current We have been members of the original Boondocking Books site also. Joined in August and have been on 9 week journey visiting friends and national parks. Every one of our boondocker stops has been incredible!

• Blog: Debunking Boondocking Myths, Part #2 - Boondockers Welcome.
• Inside the Danger Zone: The U.S. Military in the Persian Gulf, 1987-1988;
• See a Problem?!
• About ardun ward.

It's not just a place to stay, you meet so many great people. We have had everything from levelling blocks made in their workshop, loan tools, fresh bread and garden produce, local sightseeing trips in their cars, to fishing and boat trips, but always great company and conversation. And all the travel tips to help plan our journey. Its added so many special memories to our trip. BW is a life experience you have to part of, sign up now, you will not regret it.

Our family has stayed with about 13 Boondockers all across the country over the past year. We not only have never had a bad experience but every host has went above and beyond to make us feel at home. We have made friends for life. A membership to boondockerswelcome was one of the smartest purchases we made while traveling! One night at a Boondockers property more than pays for the membership!



As hosts we are having a ball meeting all the wonderful folks that have stopped here. Everybody has an interesting story and have shared their great experiences!

Random books from JimV's library

It would be impossible to meet the variety of folks whom have Boondocked here any other way that I know. Have already scheduled Boondocking ourselves.

RV Travel Life - Boondocking at Walmart

Just a warning to anyone who does not like to park under a huge shade tree, on a newly mowed lawn enjoying a pastoral view do not visit Martys. Seriously, just her chocolate with banana brownies alone is worth the trip. He too is as friendly and helpful as anyone might be. We enjoyed our first Boondockers experience, Thomas and Sally.

We joined your group thinking we might be able to make use of a few host properties for an overnight stay while travelling. We met some incredible people who welcomed us into their homes, shared great adventure stories and encouraged us to stay with them longer than we had planned. Your system is amazing and we brag to everyone we meet that we are part of a great organisation - and that they should join too. Thanks for starting this growing concept! I just had a couple stay with me "sundowner". I can not tell you how much I enjoyed having them as guests! This was one great experience for me, having them stay on my property was like getting a great Christmas present in April!

We recently spent two nights boondocking at the home of Travlngary in Floresville, Texas. We cannot say enough about how welcoming they were Giving us tips on the area, etc and even welcoming our little Charlie into their home. We felt safe and they were very generous in offering us power, water and even dumping. Thank you once again, Gary and Val, for your generosity We have been offering our spots to BW folks for a bit over a year. We have met some fascinating people who share their travels and some come bearing gifts.

We have shared our favorite places plus a map app that I find indispensable. Travel is an activity that broadens your education and outlook. It is refreshing to meet fellow explorers who are as excited about learning about the world as you are. Thanks for offering this opportunity. Stayed at Wildside winery on our way out to Kansas. Beautiful level spot with wifi. Got a good night's sleep before heading off. Just wish we could have met our hosts.

We're new RVers and new to this site. Traveling across country from FL to OR soon to visit with our adult children and stumbled upon this site. Joined and within 24 hrs had two invitations to boondock. How great is that? Wanted to say a big thank you to all who offer to host people like us, new at this and not sure what we're doing or how to do it. It takes a lot of the pressure off while we're learning the ropes. Hopefully, we'll be able to return the favor some day. Life can surely be wonderful when you meet the right people along the way.

I had my very first Boondockers Welcome experience a few days ago. Newtown, CT Bella was welcoming and the site, although small, was right on a river so I could hear water and night sounds. I was invited to swim which I loved and enjoyed the experience. I will go back again next month for I volunteer near there.

Thanks, Boondockers Welcome and thanks again Bella! Without exception all have been wonderful and all my hosts were great people to spend some time with. All were very helpful and cooperative with valuable information as a visitor to there area. I used them because they always know the area that you are visiting better than Anyone else. The information is something you will not always get for a Hotel or a Motel, and to me I find that this helps with my vacation. So for anyone that is considering Boondockers, do it and join it is very good.

This was not sulisited by anyone from me. And they stayed Sunday night - so cheerful and welcoming. They were on the way to the Grand Tentons and next Yellowstone. Our boon docking is in a great spot for travelers on the way to Jacksonhole Wyoming. We are right off , 60 miles away.

Well we enjoyed making new friends and sharing a toast of wine with them. Thanks again Nigel and Sandra. I love this site. It was a condition of getting their permit from the city of American Canyon that Walmart could not allow overnight transients in their parking lot. I'm sure that would be true at the Napa Home Depot as well. Their website seems to be down but you can call Thank you so much for your help!! I will continue to try to find alternatives as have always wanted to see the area -- neither of us are vets and do not belong to any clubs.

We were not planning to set up residence - just pull in and shop at Wal-Mart, park for the night, enjoy the attractions and events during the day, buy gas and move on. I can only speak for us I don't think Walmart makes their money on gas - they are usually below local market rates and selling gas is something of a loss leader. They make their money on what is bought in the store. The reason that so many local areas ban the Walmart camping are myriad. Where I live, there was so much crime in the Walmart parking lot at night and still is that local ordinances that apply to parking buildings were also applied to their parking lots.

There's often a 2 hour limit sometimes only at night. The parking lots became places for all kinds of people to hang out at night, and since so many people have RV's and don't want to park them in their front yards, they let their families use them and there was an awful lot of RVs with local youngsters using them as weekend party retreats. The other problem was the fact that there were no hook-ups. One woman went on something of a crusade in SoCal to show that WalMart campers were in fact responsible for illegal dumping that was going on in her near-beachside neighborhood on a regular basis there are lots of sandy vacant spaces in most beach neighborhoods, RVers were sneaking in at night and dumping - a minority of course, but still spoiled it for the rest.

But, where I live, the various city councils are very strict on where homeless people can spend the night. RV dwelling people are regarded as transient and the police say over and over that communities where "free" camping is allowed require way more patrolling and law enforcement. True boondocking staying in places that might not be set aside for free camping is still quite often seen in SoCal towns - if you only stay one night in some random parking lot, the police are unlikely to catch you.

Same is true for 16 wheelers. There are many reasons for these rules, but certainly WalMart is not alone in trying to manage the problem so as not to effect their own business. I can think of lots of ways to circumvent local ordinances and sneak a stay in Northern California - but that's not what TA is for, and it is against policies here to encourage ways of breaking local rules. I don't know of any specific locations in this region, but it's worth investigating if you're traveling a lot in your RV.

There is also a lot of info on the internet about RV boondocking.