[A/S] Gila Bend, AZ

["Terry Tyler" <tylerbears@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

In case you didn't know.

Over the years, this town has become known to RVers as the place where each year brings a new
change. For awhile, different businesses encouraged boondocking. Each year, we'd look forward to
seeing which one it was. Sometimes, late in the afternoon, a parking lot would suddenly fill up with
RVers and everyone would troop into the store to spend lots of money. We never knew what prompted
the decision to choose that parking lot, but we joined in, parked there and spent our money there.
Then, there was the year McDonald's had a separate area set aside for overnighters. They used
fiberglass rods and pink surveyer's tape. Their store opened for breakfast at 6am and the RVers were
gone by 9am. 

Those days are gone. There is now a bonafide campground in Gila Bend. When we rolled into town this
year, we wondered what would be new, different and geared directly at RVers. Burger King's parking
lot is a monstrous one, which means RVers often stop there. 

It didn't take long to see action in the parking lot. RVers were congregating around a man handing
out flyers. Curiosity got the better of me. He was inviting RVers to visit any one of five
campgrounds for free (4 days and 3 nights), if they'd listen to a 90 minute sales pitch designed to
have you join his membership campground -- plus, he'd give each family a $40 dollar voucher for
gasoline or diesel fuel.

That sort of "deal" occurs all over the country. Some years, we listen to several pitches. The "come
ons" are often luncheons, dinners or happy hour parties. We've had steak and champagne. The closest
we ever go to "buying in" was at a park in Alabama. They were smooth and we really liked the
convenience to where our son was stationed. That one was to stay a week on a full hookup site for
$20 (averages to $3 a night). We generally average $5 a night for full hookups. Boondocking is free.
  

This year, two of the five parks being trumpeted are in cities we plan to visit (Yuma, AZ and El
Golfo, Baja North, Mexico). Maybe we'll take the 90 minute tour or maybe we'll give away the flyer
to the first Airstreamer we see.