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!

Walmart boondocking through Indiana

After leaving Mammoth Caves National Park Campground we headed to Grand Design for a factory tour. The other day our tour got switched to Monday so we had a bit of extra time to get there so we drove extra slow, didn't rush and gradually got there staying at Walmarts a long the way.

We stayed at Walmart in Seymour Indiana at 1600 Tipton St and it had a new ALDI going in across the road. I fell in Love with Aldi when we were in Florida.

 Then we slowly made our way to Kokomo Indiana at 1920 Markland Ave for another night at Walmart.

We had planned on staying in Goshen but when we arrived and asked them where they would like us to park the lady said, "I'm really sorry but recently we changed our policy at this location and I have to tell you, you can't park here" so we continued on into Elkhart. We ended up at the 30830 Old US 20 Walmart for the night. It wasn't the greatest as there were a lot of trucks but it did the job. I guess it was busier then normal since the other locations nearby are banning over night parking.

Now we are up and headed to Grand Design for our tour of the factory where our new 367BHS which just came off the assembly line! We missed seeing ours by a day or so as ours arrived this morning at the dealership in Ontario. We will pick it up on the 20th!!!

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

Nature at Goose Pasture, Suwannee River Water Management District, Florida

Goose Pasture offered so many opportunities in nature. I am so thankful for our solar system on our trailer so we can have these natural experiences away from the hustle and bustle of regular parks.

"Those who find beauty in all of nature will find themselves at one with the secrets of life itself"... L.Wolfe Gilbert

There were a large variety of butterflies in the flower patch beside us as well as in the forest areas and out on the trails.

Palamedes Swallowtail

"Until you spread your wings you'll have no idea how far you can fly"...unknown

Cloudless Sulpher? and another Palamedes Swallowtail I believe.

I thought this next one was a Wood Satyr but I am not positive and the next is a Buckeye 

 

I chased this Zebra Swallowtail for 1/2 an hour trying to get a half decent picture and this was the best I could get.

"Important lesson: Look carefully; record what you see. Find a way to make beauty necessary; Find a way to make necessity BEAUTIFL"...Anne Michaele

 There was lots of other wildlife too like damsel flies and dragonflies.

"We spun our dreams like spider webs across the globe, casting webs through countries, spanning gaps over oceans, hoping one day our silk-thread vision would weave the life we always wanted"...board of wisdom

Lots of spiders...

Sierra really wanted to catch this little baby turtle and the Black Racer below but she had no luck.

"Don't let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was"...Richard L. Evans

"Courage is not the absence of fear. It is doing one thing despite the presence of fear"...Michael Hyatt

That didn't stop her from happily trying.

She was so excited to spot this Five Lined Skink but he was way too fast to even think of catching.

So she settled for this Green Anole Lizard and one of his friends.

We kept these two lizards overnight and it was such a beautiful experience. You may think he looks stressed in this picture as he is turning brown but he was actually brown when we saw him, before we caught him. Probably because he was moulting.

You can see in this next picture where his skin is coming loose. He is also eating one of the damselflies Sierra caught for him showing he isn't stressed at all to eat. Catching food, providing water and setting up a natural habitat (sometime that requires some research) is a requirement for even just one night. If Sierra wishes to observe her "pets" for a night or two she must make them a home and be able to feed them or else they will be let go of right away. Luckily we were able to catch many damselflies for these two Green Anole's while we observed them.

"One reason people resist change is because they focus on what they have to GIVE UP, instead of what they have to GAIN"...unknown

In the morning when we came outside to check on the Green Anoles we had quite the surprise. Apparently when Sierra dipped some water out of the river inlet area by our campsite, she scooped up a nymph. We (OK I may have been the most excited) were so excited to see a nymph had crawled out of the water and this beautiful dragonfly emerged. Learn about the dragonfly life cycle HERE.

Then it was time to let the lizards go and pack up the trailer. 

I showed you the alligators in the last post but I have to add one in here too as we enjoyed visiting with them everyday. Watching to see if he left, when he arrived...over and over each day.

So much nature, so much natural beauty and so much fun was had here. We hope to return again someday.

"Time in nature is not leisure time; it's an essential investment in our chidlren's health (and also, by the way, in our own)” ...Richard Louv

Goose Pasture, Suwannee River Water Management District, Florida

We have heard a lot lately about Water Management Districts as being a great free or cheap places to camp in Florida and we decided to finally try one out. This is Goose Pasture and is part of the Suwannee River Water Management District (about an hour South East of  Tallahassee)...and it is WONDERFUL!

The spot we choose was it's own private little area almost. Not only was it a large campsite there was an inlet from the river which came right up to our campsite (see inlet water behind picnic table).

Then to left in the above picture was a point which was covered in flowers but blocked off with boulders so you couldn't drive onto it. This all essentially was our own little private oasis.

We loved that we had alligators visiting us every day. We saw a couple different gators basking in the sun here each day. Some would be scared off by the fact that gators were so close but for us it was a bonus!

There is a boat launch area where Aayla even went swimming and Sierra caught and released minnows. It's places like this that we really wish we had kayaks.

          Wait? What? I let my daughter swim near gators??? How could I? Here is my rational behind it. This area was a busy area with boats coming and going as this is a popular fishing and kayaking destination. Others were swimming here too. She stayed very shallow and I watched her continuously.

Also after visiting Wakulla Springs State Park I learned that they have a swimming area in the same river that we toured and saw about 40 BIG gators. When I asked the boat tour ranger he said that as a general rule alligators stay away and they have never had a problem swimming with gators nearby in the park. I did a risk/experience analysis and swimming won.

We spent four days at Goose Pasture, resting, relaxing, searching for wildlife, crafting and biking. The flower point beside us was a host to many butterflies.

Camping here was the perfect spot for some outdoor art. We painted...

 And sculpted...

There was a lot of gymnastics and jumping and cart wheels but not many pictures of...

There was rock climbing, biking, hiking and frisbee.

And of course I was off taking numerous pictures of the little details.

 

It was such a beautiful, peaceful spot and we hope to return some day (review to follow).

NOTE: If you go here and they call for a flood warning don't assume it's the river that will rise and you will be fine...the road is subject to flooding and you could get stuck here for long periods of time!