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If you are planning to #vanlife, you are probably going to spend a winter in Quartzsite, Arizona. While there are great places to park for the winter in Quartzsite (like LTVA Parking), grocery options are not so fantastic. There is a rather expensive grocery store in town, and a tent store that sells a variety of foodstuff, but both of those are rather limited. At some point, you are going to make the 30 mile trip to the town of Parker. Whether you prefer Wal-Mart or Safeway (which is right across the street), you may want to park overnight. Thankfully, the Wal-Mart has you covered.
After COVID-19 (and the messes that happened because of new – or part-time – vanlifers), lots of Wal-Marts across the country have started banning overnight parking. Thankfully, the Wal-Mart in Parker still allows it – and even welcomes it, to an extent. Considering that the town of Quartzsite has a summer population of just around 3,500 and a winter population of roughly 250,000 (most of which are RV/vanlifers), it’s no surprise that the nearest Wal-Mart has no problem accommodating for overnight stays.
When you hear the massive amount of people that are suddenly swarming the area in the winter, you might think that the Wal-Mart may be a disaster (like after, say, a Black Friday sale). Instead, visitors are welcomed to a much more pleasant experience than most Wal-Marts offer. The view (with palm trees even) is actually quite peaceful, and without the constant roar of semis running (they tend to park elsewhere). Sure, the lines inside may get a bit long at times, but the parking lot outside is big enough (as long as you don’t park near the main entrance) that you don’t feel hemmed in or crowded at all – even on weekends.
Sure, there are a few drawbacks. No showers available, and, since Wal-Mart closes at 11pm, you’ll have to make other plans if you have a bathroom emergency after that. And, it is still a parking lot, so you can’t expand your living space outside of your vehicle.
All in all, however, it’s one of the more pleasant parking lot overnight stays we’ve experienced so far.
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