<div dir="ltr">I feel as though I'm missing something here. Yes, there are people, gazers among them, who live close enough to the park to make frequent visits, and do so on a shoestring; been there, done that, for years as a student. But isn't that exactly what annual Interagency Passes are for? The one-time expenditure isn't trivial, but it's not THAT high, and for the frequent NPS visitor, it pays for itself quite quickly. The cost of that pass is remaining stable, to the best of my knowledge (guess I'll find out if that assumption is warranted, as it's time to renew ours). Is there something about the current proposal that increases the cost to the Pass-equipped visitor beyond the backcountry permit increases?<div><br></div><div>I get the issues with the cost of in-park lodging, transportation, etc., but that's somewhat beyond the pale of increases for NPS-specific services and fees.<br><div><br></div><div>-- Bill Johnson</div></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Nov 24, 2014 at 5:33 PM, Karen Webb <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:caros@xmission.com" target="_blank">caros@xmission.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"> <div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000"> <font size="-1"><font face="Comic Sans MS">From my corner, Paul has been crabbing about the rate hike since it ballooned past $7-10 a year, and we do have an issue with how insane prices for lodging have gotten. It's frustrating that it's not like you can say anything that will make a difference. If we don't go, the rooms won't go empty. Writing to at least some of our congresspeople is likely to be wasted effort, as one of them was leading the charge that led to the closures last year (while he still took home his 6 figure salary).<br> Karen<br> <br> </font></font><div><div class="h5"> <div>On 11/22/2014 11:05 AM, <a href="mailto:mmjustus@mmjustus.com" target="_blank">mmjustus@mmjustus.com</a> wrote:<br> </div> </div></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><div class="h5"> <div dir="ltr"> <div style="FONT-SIZE:14pt;FONT-FAMILY:'Calisto MT';COLOR:#000080"> <div><font size="4">I disagree wholeheartedly with this, especially for people who live within a reasonably short drive (say within a tank of gas) and make trips to the park on a shoestring. Or who have to save pennies to make trips to the national parks. Every dollar counts. This is how I visit national parks, and I will tell you that yes, doubling the entrance fee would make a huge difference to people like me. And there are a lot more of us than those making this argument seem to think there are.</font></div> <div> </div> <div><font size="4">Meg Justus</font></div> <div style="FONT-SIZE:small;FONT-FAMILY:'Calibri';FONT-WEIGHT:normal;COLOR:#000000;FONT-STYLE:normal;TEXT-DECORATION:none;DISPLAY:inline"> <div style="FONT:10pt tahoma"> <div> </div> </div> <div> </div> </div> <div style="FONT-SIZE:small;FONT-FAMILY:'Calibri';FONT-WEIGHT:normal;COLOR:#000000;FONT-STYLE:normal;TEXT-DECORATION:none;DISPLAY:inline"> <div> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;FONT-FAMILY:'Calibri','sans-serif';COLOR:#1f497d">I agree with Ben. The cost is a real bargain—Disneyland and Disney World charge $100 per day. It seems to me highly unlikely that the small rise in entrance fee would prevent any but the most casual potential visitor from coming, considering the cost of travel and other expenses.<u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;FONT-FAMILY:'Calibri','sans-serif';COLOR:#1f497d"><u></u><u></u></span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;FONT-FAMILY:'Calibri','sans-serif';COLOR:#1f497d">Ralph Taylor<u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE:11pt;FONT-FAMILY:'Calibri','sans-serif';COLOR:#1f497d"><u></u><u></u></span> </p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <br> <fieldset></fieldset> <br> </div></div><span class=""><pre>_______________________________________________ Geysers mailing list <a href="mailto:Geysers@lists.wallawalla.edu" target="_blank">Geysers@lists.wallawalla.edu</a> <a href="https://lists.wallawalla.edu/mailman/listinfo/geysers" target="_blank">https://lists.wallawalla.edu/mailman/listinfo/geysers</a></pre> </span></blockquote> <br> <br><br> <hr style="border:none;color:#909090;background-color:#b0b0b0;min-height:1px;width:99%"> <table style="border-collapse:collapse;border:none"> <tbody><tr> <td style="border:none;padding:0px 15px 0px 8px"> <a href="http://www.avast.com/" target="_blank"> <img border="0" src="http://static.avast.com/emails/avast-mail-stamp.png"> </a> </td> <td> <p style="color:#3d4d5a;font-family:"Calibri","Verdana","Arial","Helvetica";font-size:12pt"> This email is free from viruses and malware because <a href="http://www.avast.com/" target="_blank">avast! 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