WINTER CAMPING/STRESS/ANXIETY/TRAVEL
I’d Like To Have a Solid Winter Plan For Our RV Camping This Year
Last year, we had a very busy and memorable winter (not all in good ways)
If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know that this will be our second winter this year in the RV. In our first winter, we had to buy the RV at the beginning of winter because our tiny home no longer ran. That was both traumatic and difficult to deal with. We had to transition from living in a box truck tiny home that we spent over a year trying to get functional after purchasing the truck in 2018 in Chicago.
This year, we thought we had some options to stay in the area. None of those have worked out at this point. At least last year after we came back after surviving the historic blizzard in Buffalo, we were able to stay unbothered for most of the winter months until we were harassed by the new incoming manager at a truck stop that had previously welcomed our business.
We won’t have that luxury this year. The two main reasons are that the manager unceremoniously launched some choice words at us that I don’t care to repeat. The other part is that I don’t want to give that place business ever again. It’s sad too because that place was perfect for us. We had access to a store, a restaurant, showers, laundry, and a bathroom. And we were spending plenty of money in all of those areas.
We would like to stay in Genessee County, New York ideally. It’s centrally located between Buffalo and Rochester and is just a short drive to any amenities we’d like during the winter. In fact, we even have a mailbox rented in Batavia, the largest city and the county seat of Genessee County. We’ve been camping at Darien Lakes State Park for most of the camping season this summer and it’d work out great if we could just stay put.
Mike has an idea that we could go back to the campground that we went to in March 2022. It was one of the cheapest in the region but it’s back in Pennsylvania. We still have a mailbox there but I don’t like Pennsylvania or the Erie area nearly as much as I’ve enjoyed Western New York. I feel like this is where we should be but there are no viable options for us this winter to stay here.
I’ve thought of trying to offer someone with some land money for the winter to allow us to stay there. That will pose its own problems though as we will need to leave consistently to get gas, food, and supplies and that can be hard sometimes in the winter, depending on how often the person maintains their area. I don’t want to feel trapped because someone can’t or doesn’t plow snow. I would offer to help if I were able but I’m clearly not able-bodied.
The other option is to give the business to the remaining two truck stops right next to the one we’re not giving business to. I would prefer not to do this since I don’t like bothering one of them as often as we have already. The Speedway is more designed for big rig trucks and is cumbersome for even a several-day stay for an RV.
Winter will definitely complicate things. The lot will fill up a lot more when the thruway is shut down. The TA Travel Center welcomes our business but we haven’t been there a ton lately since we can stay away for weeks at a time in the campground. Winter won’t afford us that luxury. There is a Walmart in town that will occasionally allow us to stay overnight but that is a 15-mile drive into town from the truck stops.
We know that we’re going to probably have to go to that campground in Pennsylvania for the winter. It will be cheaper after all but it won’t feel as convenient as staying in the area. I’ve also thought about us possibly going to another state more south for camping until we can come back up here. Ohio might be an option for us as it is relatively close to Pennsylvania and the part of New York we want to go back to.
I was looking at sites tonight as it’s now August 28th and camping season ends in 48 days. I know that’s still a while away but it’ll speed by before we can blink. Last camping season passed by just as quickly only because we felt safe like we did this year.
Winter went by much slower because of all of the problems we had with the truck, having to purchase the RV, having to leave one truck stop after a deadly blizzard, and then going to another. Then surviving a homophobic verbal attack from someone who is supposed to be professional.
This year, I want the winter to be a lot less eventful but I also want to be assured that our plans will be better than last and that we will make it through the season long enough to come back to Western New York if we have to leave next camping season.
If anyone has any alternative ideas, I’m open to them. I’d just want to feel safe but also have somewhere we can stay where we won’t be bothered and where we can make it to next spring.
