Kingman Wal-Mart–No Overnight Camping

With the repair work finished we were finally able to pull out of the Phoenix area again on Thursday. We weren’t actually sure where we were going but after mulling it over for a bit, we finally headed out. We were on our way to the SKP park in Congress. That’s where we were headed. It was only going to be a short 87 mile day. We hadn’t really planned a destination for the day so that was a good fill-in plan. It’s hard to sit down and plan something when you have company and more company and more company. And, company we did have.

Tuesday evening we had guests until late, also had out of town family visiting the area on Wednesday and then had more company that evening. This time we didn’t get rid of that company until Thursday morning because she spent the night -- but we were glad to have her. However, it was kind of hard to figure out our travel plans when we were so busy doing other things.

With pretty brisk winds in the area and more expected in the direction we were hoping to head, we knew we needed to be on top of it. Thus, our destination for the day was only going to be as far as Congress …. just enough to get us on the road and out of the Phoenix area. However, as usual, we scraped that plan once we were within a few miles of Congress and scurried on to Kingman. The winds were still blowing and the mountains in the distance that normally are visible were hidden behind the blowing dust. The winds weren't as strong as the day before so we decided to continue northward bound.

Terry has come to the conclusion that no one works anymore. Why else would the freeways be so full of cars? They were packed. Even though the trusty little GPS usually directs us via Hwy 60, we never ever go that route. It might be a tad bit shorter but it is certainly much slower with a traffic light every few blocks for just about 14 miles. We always head north on I17 and cross over to Hwy 93 via Hwy 74 and the Lake Pleasant area. The road is a two-laner part of the way and a four-laner the rest of the way and there is usually a lot of car and truck traffic on that route. At times it can be frustrating but it’s still a gorgeous drive. The Joshua Trees are spectacular and this time even yellow and orange flowers covered the landscaping along the road. Even some of the small cactus plants were in bloom.

Since the Kingman Wal-Mart wasn’t on our list of Wal-marts allowing overnight parking, we called before we headed to their parking lot and were told it was okay but only for one night. Upon arrival we noticed all the “No Overnight Camping Allowed” due to a city ordinance signs. Once again we checked inside the Wal-mart and were again told it was okay for one night as the city rarely enforced that ordinance. As we went to sleep for the night, we hoped that was truly the case. There were at least half a dozen other RVers around us and I’m sure our neighbors hoped for the same.

We lasted the night at the Wal-mart. Police didn't show up or kick anyone out. The little security car hired by the store kept good care of us as he watched over us through the night. Now with daylight here we're ready to head just a tad bit farther north ... just a tad bit. It'll be a pretty short day.