Walmart Overnight in Windsor, Ontario

After our tour at Grand Design we headed for the border, crossed over and stayed at the Windsor Walmart location at 7100 Tecumseh Rd East. We called ahead to make sure it was Ok to park here and were told that it wasn't a problem just please park on the perimeter. So we did.

In the morning we woke up to find that overnight the whole parking lot had been repainted...excepted for the spaces we were covering. If they had told us that we could have parked elsewhere. I felt kind of bad.

We left here and headed to Bronte Creek Provincial Park where we will stay a couple days to transfer over everything from the Surveyor to the new 367BHS! So excited!

Gardendale, Alabama, Walmart for the night

This Gardendale Alabama Walmart at 890 Odum Rd was a great place to stay for the night.

We parked up from the gas station on the side of the driveway where the trucks were parked. Then we went in to ask where they would like us to park to stay for the night. They normally ask people to park on the other side of the building but they said if we were already parked here we were fine to stay where we were. Our slides easily opened up to the grass hill behind us as we only have slides on one side. The door did open up to the driveway so we did have to use extra caution when entering and exiting. We had cars passing us all night but it wasn't too loud and we had Walmart Wifi from here.

 This is our second time passing through Alabama and we still can't add it to our travel map.

Next time we really have to work on changing that. This time we were passing through to head straight to Mammoth Caves National Park from Florida. We only add to our map when we stay somewhere or experience something with in the state. Some people would classify staying at Walmart as done, or even just passing through but we like to have a memory of something we have done in the State before we add the State sticker.

As you can see there are many places on our map we have travelled through getting from one place to the other but if we just drove through it's still empty. Hopefully the next time we are in Alabama we can have time to actually do something here and check it off our map.

REVIEW Goose Pasture Boondocking, Suwannee River Water Management District, Florida

Goose Pasture was our first experience staying at a water management area and we LOVED it!

To get to Goose Pasture from Perry, Florida: Travel 22 miles West on US 98 to Powell Hammock Rd. Turn Right and travel North for about 4 miles and then turn left onto Goose Pasture Rd. Travel West for about 2 1/2 miles and the tract is on both sides of the road (Fork in Rd, keep Left). Continue another mile and you end up at the campground.

One note of caution this area is subject to flooding. There was a flood warning while we were there and we didn't think too much about it as we kept our eyes peeled on the river level and there was no rain in sight. Flooding can and DOES occur on the roadway in, even when the river is fine. If the road floods you are stuck here until the water subsides and the road dries up. We spoke to one fisherman who was stuck once for close to a month. When we finished camping and were on our way to Tallahassee this fork in the road pictured below was under about a foot of water and looked like a mini lake. I was freaking hoping we made it without water damage and didn't stop to take a picture but I should have.

I heard mixed reviews about about the size of trailers that can park here too. Some places said no RV's, some said small RV's so I called the district office and they assured me we should have no problem finding a place to fit so we gave it a try. It's first come first served camping area so you have to drive there in order to find out if there is space or not. It is free to camp here and you can stay for 10 days but you do need to fill out a form when you arrive which is available at the self serve Kiosk. ***Note this Campground does close during hunting season so be sure to check the website for closure dates.

VALUE 5/5
Being free (10 night limit) it doesn't get any better then that!

SITE QUALITY 5/5
Our site was level, large had a fire ring and picnic table provided. It was off to the side and private with no near neighbours.

FACILITY FUN 5/5
If you love nature you will think this site is a lot of fun! There is so much wildlife to observe, river to kayak on, trails to bike on, areas to walk, and there is a boat launch if you want to head out on the river to fish. Keep in mind if you want to go out for dinner or a show this won't be the place for you.

NATURAL SURROUNDINGS 5/5
Being in the middle of no where you are in the heart of nature. Mature trees, river, trails...100% natural. Dark night skies, clean, fresh air.

BATHROOMS 3/5
Port o'potties on site for tent campers. No potable water so make sure you bring enough with you. They were very clean when we were there and easily accessible.

STAFF ???
We didn't speak with a ranger while here. The ranger did drive through a couple times but he didn't stop to chat. The person I called to ask about RV size and our ability to fit was very friendly.

LOCATION 3/5
It is way out of the way on roads that aren't great to travel on when you are towing a 36' trailer. The roads are bumpy and muddy in places and really not meant for large RV's. It is about an hour from Tallahassee. If you needed to run for groceries there are a couple closer towns but who wants to drive over those roads more then they need to.

OVERALL 4.5/5
We LOVED it here! We were surrounded by nature, it was quiet and calm. It did get a bit busier as the weekend approached and more campers arrived. Most of the time it was fisherman and kayakers coming and going. There is no noise here, only the sound of nature for miles. The sky is dark and the stars are bright. The wildlife is abundant, the trails are great for bike rides. We hope to be back again. Did I mention there is an RV dump station here? No potable water but dumping our tanks before heading down the bumpy road again was a nice surprise.

Entrance to the campground and Kiok for permit behind the sign

Map of Goos Pasture campground

The view of our camping area from the road

River inlet from our campsite. This area was where we
had a small alligator basking in the sun daily.

Mr Alligator

Another campsite right on the river.
It's for tents only as rocks block trailer access.

Close up of the river campsite. 

Boat launch

River view

Another campsite

More campsites around Goose Pasture

MOTE Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, Sarasota, Florida

We loved our time at MOTE! Regular admission was $19.75 adults and $14.75 for children ages 4-12 however this was another FREE excursion for us due to the  AZA Reciprocal program ( a savings of $69). See how we got our savings membership HERE.

We arrived just in time for a shark feeding.

Then it was off to the touch tanks.

Next up was the Explorations Gallery.

Then we went to the Florida Bay Habitats Exhibit.

Intrigued by the puffer fish

Then we headed to the Skate touch tank.

Sierra learning about the Ray's stinger.

A stinger on display

Oh NO we almost lost the girls to  great white!

 A few photos from the creatures of the reef exhibit.

Then we crossed the road to the other section that houses the manatees, sea otters and sea turtles. The otters were sleeping and we weren't able to see them but the turtles are always fun to watch.

We watched the manatee for awhile and then saw how we measured up in size to a manatee.

With all this exploring we worked up an appetite and had to head out for lunch but we loved MOTE! We wished the otters were awake to watch them play but heck we can't complain.