[Last Revised: 22 Aug 2013]
Elk Creek CG, Curecanti Natl Rec Area, CO
During the last 33 months of travel initially on the west coast and now in Texas and the Rockies I only briefly had a working cell phone. Otherwise I've depended on finding free WiFi both to communicate with relatives and update this blog.
Since libraries are most likely to have WiFi I often look up the website of the next county seat's library along my planned route. But if I neglect to do that, there are four national chains from which either to look up a library or each other. Here are The Big Four.
- McDonalds
- Starbucks
- HomeDepot
- Lowe's
While Lowe's has the strongest WiFi, mainly because that's needed to cover their large parking lots, I've listed McDonalds first since one often sees their billboards when approaching a new town or city.
Also, you can sometimes see the "Golden Arches" in case you missed their billboard.
While Starbucks parking lots are often crowded around noon and again in the evening and they usually have two handicapped parking spots in front of their stores, their WiFi is usually as strong as McD's, if not stronger.
While I've used HomeDepot's WiFi the least of the four, their large buildings sometimes have parking alongside where one can avoid parking in the hot sun.
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Prior to some point in 2012 one could download a list of all of a state's McDonalds restaurants with WiFi by clicking on "Find WiFi Hotspots" on their homepage.
Now, however, if one wants such a list, he has to "roll his own" by looking up restaurants with WiFi at the following link and then saving them to a text file.
....
http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/services/free_wifi.html
....
While I've not made such lists for the other members of "The Big Four," I sometimes look them up ahead of time if I'm headed for a city which is large geographically.
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But there are substitutes for the Big Four which I'll call the "Big Four Subs." They include the following.
- Visitor Information Centers
- Some Grocery Store Chains
- Senior Centers
- Some Regional & National Restaurant Chains
- Some Hotels & Motels
I was told at Judge Roy Bean's Visitor Center in Langtry, Texas, that all of their Vistor Centers have WiFi. Colorado's Ft Collins Visitor/Info Center had a desktop one could use for 20-30 min but no WiFi for my laptop. Utah's Visitor Center at Dinosaur Rd and US40 had WiFi, but I only learned that by asking -- which is what I suggest you do when you stop at a Visitor Info Ctr in any state.
Safeway is the dominant grocery store chain in California and on the west coast. Their stores built or remodeled in the last 6-7 years usually have WiFi -- especially if they have a Starbucks counter/kiosk in the store. Ditto for their Vons stores in Southern Calif. & Arizona.(It may be that Albertsons stores with Starbuck counters or kiosks also have WiFi.) Finally, only about 5% of Safeway/Vons' stores have 110v a.c.; if, like me your laptop battery is nearly comatose, you'll have to look elsewhere.
The advantage of Senior Centers is that you're just as likely to find them in a small town as in a bigger city. For instance, I've used the Baggs Senior Ctr WiFi twice while they were closed. Of course, you may have to "come in through the back door" by logging onto their router, usually Linksys or NetGear. In both Grand Coulee, WA, & Kemmerer, CO, I didn't use their WiFi but asked them where the library was.
While I have gotten on-line while parked outside a Wendys, Burger King, Dennys, Hardees, WhatABurger, & Golden Chick, I don't believe any of those have a policy of WiFi at every restaurant except perhaps Dennys.
The last two are chains in Texas or the southeast where the franchisee decides whether or not to offer free WiFi.
A contractor named Tim Kelly, whom I met in Las Cruces, NM, told me about the WiFi at HomeDepot & Lowe's. He also pointed out that not all motels or hotels have passcodes. [In fact, recently I parked behind one to get the address of the Gunnison, CO, Library; then I used Mapquest to find my way there.]
A Few Words about Libraries
It would be convenient if all libraries left their WiFi's on 24/7 and did not use passcodes. But, skinflint that I am, I would likewise turn the routers off when the library closed if I were the librarian.
And why is it that the smaller towns have libraries with passcodes whereas libraries of larger cities rarely use them? As I told the librarian at the Big Pine, TX, library, "You would think the libraries in larger cities have more secrets to hide than do those in small towns." And why is it that I arrive in small towns with closed libraries which have passcode-protected WiFi on Sundays when some big-city libraries are open?
Do you have corrections, suggestions, or additions? Send them to my Hotmail e-mail address and after I check them out I shall add them to this article giving you credit. Especially want to find more companies like "The Big Four."
Links:
- Lifehacker's Top 10 Ways to Get Free Wi-Fi Anywhere You Go
- Kim Komando's 5 Ways to Find Free Wi-Fi Wherever You Go
- Andrea Eldridge's "You Can Find Free WiFi (Almost) Anywhere" on the Huffington Post
- Geek-Beat.tv's How to Find Free WiFi When You're Traveling
Return to Top of Page
T 13 Aug Actual Route: Walmart - VA Med Ctr - Grand Jcn Lowe's - Colo Natl Monument CG
W 14 Aug Actual Route: Colo Natl Mon CG - Grand Jcn - Delta Lib - Montrose Walmart
Th 15 Aug Actual Route: Montrose Walmart - Black Canyon of the Gunnison Natl Pk
F 16 Aug Actual Route: Black Canyon of the Gunnison Natl Pk - Curecanti Natl Rec Area CG
Sa 17 Aug Actual Route: Curecanti NRA CG - Gunnison Lib - Crested Butte bd
Su 18 Aug Actual Route: Crested Butte bd - Carbondale - Glenwood Springs Walmart
M 19 Aug Actual Route: Glenwood Springs W/M - Glenwood Sprs Lib - Carbondale Lib - Glenwood Springs W/M
T 20 Aug Actual Route: Glenwood Springs W/M - Glenwood Sprs McDs - Gypsum Lib - Eagle Lib - US6 bd
W 21 Aug Route: US6 bd - Eagle Lib - US6 bd
Finding Campgrounds:
- RV Campgrounds from TrailerLifeDirectory.com
- Family Camping Directories from Woodalls.com
- Free campsites website
- Info on finding BLM Campgrounds
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