When I hitched up at Flaming Gorge to leave, I received a “low tire
air” warning light. Sure enough, my rear driver’s side tire was down 20
percent. This was a good opportunity to use my portable air compressor
for the first time. Actually, a better opportunity would have been to
use it before leaving Wisconsin so that I knew how it worked.
Anyway, after a few struggles and tries, I figured out that the
compressor’s tire fitting was threaded, which once screwed on to the
tire valve, actually allowed air to enter the low tire. Once that was
completed, I drove to the Walmart in Rock Springs to resupply and see if
the tire air was holding. I suspected a slow leak. That same tire had
been repaired about six months ago for a nail hole.
Now my wife and I have never been very big supporters of Walmart,
which has driven many small independent businesses out of business. One
nice thing that Walmart does do (sometimes) is to let recreational
vehicle users stay overnight. Walmart figures they will spend some money
resupplying, and it’s a cheap overnight for people on the road. Many
Walmarts, in response to pressure from private campgrounds and local
city councils , have stopped offering the service as ordinances are
passed prohibiting overnight stays in parking lots.
Some of this is understandable, as there are always people who take
advantage of the situation: staying for weeks, taking prime parking
spots, leaving trash and worse behind, and generally treating the
parking lot as their personal free campsite instead of just an overnight
sleepover.
Thankfully, the Walmart in Rocks Springs, Wyoming, still allows
overnight stays. When I asked for permission, the manager, seeing my
shopping cart full of provisions, told me that it was ok to stay
overnight but to park in the back of the parking lot (which I had
already done). Knowing that I was going to Utah (where watered down beer
happens), I stocked on beer, food, toiletries, and miscella-neous items
(including ice cream). I took Elvis on long walks to make up for leaving
him alone while I shopped, read, caught up on email and the blogs, and
generally relaxed. That was the good part.
The bad part is personal to me. I need darkness to sleep. The
security lights at Walmart make it seem like broad daylight at 3 am. I
slept quite poorly. I know that I should have black-out curtains or an
eye mask or something, but I think that I will make my overnight trips
to Walmart infrequent. In the morning, I was glad to see that the tire
was holding it’s pressure at 35 psi. I also checked the trailer tires
which also were holding pressure. All good for the next adventure. To
Salt Lake and beyond!
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