What to do at Sunrise

Beggars Can’t be Choosers

Our last night in Fairbanks, we wanted to be on the road fairly early to head toward Valdez.  After discussing various options, we decided to join a throng of other campers in the Wal Mart parking lot.   Wal Mart encourages this, figuring they have built in shoppers who appreciate having a safe place off the road.

This is our second such experience, the first being our first night ever in the camper – New Years Eve – just north of Phoenix.  That is a long story, but it was a unique and kind of fun experience, toasting at midnight and listening to Christmas Carols over the loudspeakers in the parking lot.  But, I digress.

This time in Fairbanks, it was a little different.  I heard this strange noise, like a motorcycle with a cough.  The sound went around the parking lot twice, and then stopped right by us.  Annoyed, I got up to see what was going on.

It was just turning daylight – 2:30 am, and a worker was painting lines and arrows in the parking lot.  Either he was unaware that the place was full of sleeping people, or those were his normal work hours, but he proceeded to paint the whole parking lot.  Note the sunrise cloud colors in the background.   All I could think of was beggars can’t be choosers. We had paid nothing for the space, so who were we to complain?

This may be our last Wal Mart camping experience.