Boondocking Humor

We pull into the parking lot of Terrible's Town Casino in Pahrump, NV, and finally relax. It's nearly 1 in the morning and we are wiped. We
know Terrible's because we've boondocked here before.

Simply defined, boondocking in a motor home means spending the night
in a parking lot for free. It sounds awfully wrong, almost illegal,
obviously noisy, unsafe and downright boring.

None of which is true.

Boondocking makes all this traveling around we do in our motor home
affordable. It's legal, as long as we ask permission first, and it's
usually quiet. Most businesses that let us boondock have few customers
overnight and almost always 24-hour security. And it's not borning,
because no matter where we are in our motor home, at night we are
usually inside looking to sleep, not outside looking for fun.

Terrible's encourages boondocking with a large sign that says "Free
Parking." Lots of casinos allow boondocking ... it usually means more
business for them. (They lose with us. We don't gamble.)

As we batten the hatches on our RV, we notice there are a lot of
unoccupied motor homes in the lot. They are the big guys, You know,
the ones that look like buses.

It's amazing how many of these new guys there are. I count them: 8,
10, 12 and more. In our 24-foot Navion, we look like David among a
slew of Goliaths. Undaunted, we pull alongside one of the monsters
and wind down for the night.

In the morning, we awaken to bits and pieces of chatter outside, and I
imagine other boondockers walking up to the casinos to get an early
start on the slots.

We slowly prepare to start our day, hear more chatter outside (which
is unusual), then drive across the street for diesel.

While Allen mans the pump, I look over at Terribles and I see,
immediately, the reality of our overnight stay.

We didn't boondock in a parking lot. We slept in a store.

All those Goliaths in the lot that USED to belong to Terrible's make
up an RV Superstore. And the chit chat we heard? Customers, sales
representatives.

Oh well. No one kicked us out or arrested us for trespassing, OR, come
to think of it, showed ANY interest in buying our little David.

While Allen continues to pump, I see there's still free parking for
Terribles, only it's now next door.

We missed THAT sign.