Unbelievable to say the least. I am trying to find some decent campground destinations from Minot, ND all the way to Bismark, ND. Most the campgrounds are taken up with "Full Time" ..........."Oil Squatters". I want to go for four(4) nights and can't find anything. Not sure if have to drive down and gamble on what can find or go to a different parking lot every night.
I'm not sure that is why I asked.
I have since called the North Walmart Super Center and talked to the manager. Told him about the problem about lack of campground vacancy. I said we wanted to come down and do some touring, Zoo, shopping, etc. He said no problem they let RV's park at the back end of the parking lot. I said we want to stay four nights. He said sure no problem. I told him I would likely want to run my generator and it is quiet. He said again no problem. Wow.......That's great service.
Well we won't be BBQing or lounging in lawn chairs but at least we can sleep. Maybe once I get down there we'll tour around with the car and find something vacant that's decent.
We had the same issue last winter / spring on our trip to and from Dallas, we left Tucson, returned 7 weeks later to New Mexico and slept in WalMarts along the way. All the RV parks were taken up with the temporary oil workers. Have you checked www.freecampsites.net? That site did help us find some of the city / county / US Federal campsites that were free or very inexpensive for some of our enroute stays.
Wow.....Never new of that Website. I looked around on it but doesn't help me for that area though.
When I spoke to the Walmart manager he said there was also some huge baseball event going on that's one of the largest things that happen in the U.S. That might be why it's so busy/plugged up too. Then 4th of July coming up.........It's going to be crazy. Oh well this may be a start of experiencing drifting around without having to rely on the comforts of an RV Park. I have lot's of water, large holding tanks, good large generator, lot's of propane, 100 gallons of diesel..................What more does a guy need?? Hahaha.
Maybe I'll open a "Shoe Shine Stand" in the WallyWorld parking lot and make a little side cash.
We'll be passing through North Dakota later next month, and have been concerned about that too. Looks like there are some www.HarvestHosts.com up that way that we'll be utilizing our membership for. Staying at wineries (yes, ND has some!) and museums is usually more fun than Walmarts anyway. Not necessarily cheaper once you buy a bottle or two of vino, but fun and unique.
TrailerKing - one more thought, have you checked out any local casinos? We just had our first casino parking experience and it was a LOT quieter than Wally docking and I felt a lot more comfortable leaving the 5th wheel by itself while we ran errands, did laundry, etc. in the truck than I would have at a WalMart and we were allowed to stay up to 7 nights for free. Not sure what might be in the area you want to go, but might be a better option than WalMart.