When you're finishing a long day of travel, chances are that you want to park for a bit, but don't necessarily want to shell out for a campground. There's one particular option that seems quite tempting.
Situated all across the roads of this country, both two-lane and four, rest areas give the driver a chance to take a break. However, most states have been cracking down on their rest area usage. Whether it's lobbying from hotel owners, governments believing the homeless population will increase, or evidence of crime, rest areas have been severely limiting stays, banning overnight parking altogether, or completely closing down these roadside stops. Leniency is shown to truckers because of electronic logs shutting off the engines, but even then it's not always welcome. Thankfully, the state of Kansas still allows overnight stays, although only one night, and as it should be since progress should be made to the next destination.
Many think of interstate highways when it comes to rest stops, and they aren't always in the best of shape with thousands of motorists using the facilities, coupled with limited maintenance, to where they take a beating. When you look at the roads less traveled, you may see somewhere much nicer. Enter the Cherryvale rest area, situated at the US 169 exit off the US 400 super-two highway in Eastern Kansas. Not only is it a fairly quiet place to stop for the night, but if you have a pup with you, there are a few walking trails in between the pollination areas to help bees continue to thrive. It is a bit off the beaten track being nowhere near an interstate highway, but when RVing, these aren't such bad roads to take.
One added benefit to the rest stops in this state, as well as several other midwestern and southern states seen during the escapades of Freedom Rolling, is the addition of dump stations. These are beneficial not only for those with RVs, but also some truckers. Dump stations are offered as part of the cost to maintain the rest area, and typically include a simple sewer manhole with a water outlet. It's not recommended that the potable water be filled with this, since the piping is designed for flushing purposes only, as opposed to drinking. However, if you've just left a campground without a sewer hookup, it's not a bad choice for lightening your load.
So the next time you Follow your Internal Compass, whether on the highways or byways, don't forget to take a break every once in a while, and maybe you'll find a good way to not only completely recharge, but take care of your added carrying.
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