Do You Remember

[arcamedies]

I remember when State and Federal parks were free to roam and campsites were $7 a night.

Now Assateague Island Maryland charges $46 with a macadam pad, no electric, no water, no, you get the point.

I stopped at Cape Henlopen in Delaware for a bike ride and a picnic and had to pay $8 just to get in.

Any fond fleeting memories of camping days of yore?
(I know gas was $.32 a gallon back then too, I think I'm old.)

[FreshAir]

One advatage to being a 'senior' is half price fees at govt. campgrounds and FREE at National Parks. Oh, when I began driving gas was 19 cents and that was for Ethyl. You are 'old' if you remember Ethyl......especially if she was your first one.

[driftless]

Since this is Labor Day weekend, this thread reminds me of our anual Labor Day camping trip to Madison S. Dakota. That would have been in the late 1950's and I was in grade school. I believe it was a state park, you picked out a tree and set your tent up under it. No fees, no rangers, no check in or out, not many campers. I was designated waterboy and I had to pump it as well as cary it. Still many great memories of those days that began my life long enjoyment of camping.

[bertro]

I found this old permit in the safari and framed it. Amt. Pd. for the site in 1973 $2.50

[arcamedies]

Originally Posted by bertro

I found this old permit in the safari and framed it. Amt. Pd. for the site in 1973 $2.50

Wonder what that cost today if the campground still exists?

[r carl]

Originally Posted by FreshAir

One advatage to being a 'senior' is half price fees at govt. campgrounds and FREE at National Parks. Oh, when I began driving gas was 19 cents and that was for Ethyl. You are 'old' if you remember Ethyl......especially if she was your first one.

Ya know what,,,,, I have a feeling you lived through the best generation yet and to ever be. I feel so very lucky to have been part of it.

[Lumatic]

Originally Posted by arcamedies

(I know gas was $.32 a gallon back then too, I think I'm old.)

My owners manual for my 71 has instructions for digging a cat hole for black water.

I remember back country ranger stations in the Adirondacks and trash dumps at campsites. Both long gone.

Does that make me older?

[ibgl6]

I am just a youngen. I remember gas at .53 cents per gallon. If I remember correctly that was in the early 70,s I was in my teens then...SAM

[Ganaraska]

The good old days before the government ran out of other people's money.

[Aage]

I can recall when an Imperial gallon of gasoline was 32¢ Canadian. That was in the mid-'50s.

It is also my feeling that costs of many things were about 1/10 of what they are now.

If that's true, arcamedies, your $46 to park at Assateague Island Maryland was a good deal!

[Jim Foster]

In 1958 I worked at a Shell station. Gas was 27.9 and 31.9. I got paid $1.50 per hour.

Here is a menu from Bob's Big Boy on Van Nuys Blvd, from about that same time.

[Gene]

Parks have to be paid for either by fees or taxes, or both. The choice in recent decades is fees and little in the way of taxes. That is true of others things too, such as higher education at state schools, and in some places, toll roads. I would not be surprised if the public libraries will go that route too.

Federal campgrounds are being contracted to concessionaires who make some improvements, collect profit, and jack up the fees substantially. At a campground in Colorado we stayed at, the senior pass cut the camping fee in half, but the charge for electricity was not halved. Strange. The senior pass sometimes gets a discount, sometimes doesn't and I can't figure out how it is determined. There are national forests where you have to pay to enter, but it seems very difficult to figure out which ones and whether the senior pass can be used. I asked the feds for a list of ones, but just got a non-answer including to ask at a ranger station (they are often closed) or the headquarters, even though I may be planning a trip from a thousand miles away. Until the early '80's, national forest maps were free, then they started charging for them and the fee keeps going up. And in western Colorado a lot of federal campgrounds seem to have been closed to save money.

State parks are being closed in some states, notably Arizona, or made so expensive, we avoid them. I see reports on the Forum of Cal. CG's costing more than $40. Sometimes there's a separate fee for everything—in Colorado, showers are extra, for example.

I always thought some things, like libraries and parks, are too important to not be free (i.e., paid through taxes), but apparently I'm losing that battle.

Gene

[Mike Leary]

I agree with Gene. Being full timers, we see all sorts of different rates for campgrounds, from cheap to out of site. I don't mind a KOA or such when we need laundry, showers, wi-fi and such, but paying over 25 bucks a night for a crummy site with MAYBE power is pushing it. No wonder the Parks are claiming financial problems; no one goes there anymore. Or the ones that do stay (we've been camp hosts) leave early in the morning.

[arcamedies]

Originally Posted by Jim Foster

In 1958 I worked at a Shell station. Gas was 27.9 and 31.9. I got paid $1.50 per hour.

Here is a menu from Bob's Big Boy on Van Nuys Blvd, from about that same time.

EGADs I remember the melted cheese and fries for $.30 I was a young tyke then

[Gene]

Originally Posted by Mike Leary

No wonder the Parks are claiming financial problems; no one goes there anymore.

I don't know if that's true. Last year, the parks were doing very well because they were cheaper than private CG's and for the usual reasons—nice destinations. This year it appears fees have gone up, perhaps a lot. Because some states have closed a lot of parks, some business will go to other parks and some to private CG's. I Googled 2010 state and national park attendance for this year and there were some reports of increased attendance, but there wasn't much information.

When we were at one of the CG's on Grand Mesa a couple of weeks ago, the fees were $20 for a site plus $4 for electricity. We paid half price for the site since I have a senior pass, so our price was $14/night. Add in $9 for the reservation. On the weekend, the place was full, pretty close on a weekday. Years ago—1970's—the site would have been $6 and no electricity. The site would have been less improved, but adequate. It may not have been as large for a 25' trailer and a full size pickup, but I had a tent and a Honda Civic then. I didn't have a senior pass (if I did, I'd be 100 now).

National Park admission fees are far, far higher than they were 20 years ago. Even at parks with fees years ago, a lot of times no one collected them. Attendance in the several years before the Great Recession at national parks was down but was up last year. The increased fees seem to have cut attendance until last year, especially at the less popular parks. For example, Black Canyon NP now costs $15/vehicle. This is a one trick park and should have been left a national monument, but was promoted to attract more tourism to the area. We live 10 miles from the primitive North Rim and it's the same price as the more attractive South Rim (I've never seen anyone collecting it at the North Rim). The South Rim has a visitor center, more CG sites and a better view of the Canyon. If I didn't have a senior pass, I'd never go there.

One other thing, when you apply inflation adjustment to fees years ago, you may find there's little difference in price. So a $6 camping fee in 1975 would be more than $23 now. I have compared gas prices in the 1940's, 1960's and now, and, adjusted for inflation, there's little or no difference. So maybe it's a question of perception and not reality.

I do remember paying 80¢ to 95¢ for dinner at the Community Diner in Bethlehem, Pa., and then getting a 10% discount because I was a regular while in college around 1960. The indigestion was free.

Gene

[FreshAir]

Originally Posted by r carl

Ya know what,,,,, I have a feeling you lived through the best generation yet and to ever be. I feel so very lucky to have been part of it.

Yes, it was a fun time to be around in. I remind the younger ones noe that "Today", will be your 'good old day' some time, so make it fun now.
Neil

[arcamedies]

Originally Posted by Aage

I can recall when an Imperial gallon of gasoline was 32¢ Canadian. That was in the mid-'50s.

It is also my feeling that costs of many things were about 1/10 of what they are now.

If that's true, arcamedies, your $46 to park at Assateague Island Maryland was a good deal!

I agree using a timeline price increase but when you pay $26.50 for a macadam pad, water, 50 amp electric at a campsite with a lake and beach in a beautiful area (Gifford Pinchot, PA), as an out of state camper to boot, $46 is steeeeeep for nothing but a pad. Assateague is usually pretty empty with a gazillion sites. I've stayed when I was the only rig in the loop on the ocean side, when does someone wake up? Silly me they didn't hear about the recession/depression.

But I'm really looking for fond memories, including today's.

[Ganaraska]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

Parks have to be paid for either by fees or taxes, or both. The choice in recent decades is fees and little in the way of taxes. That is true of others things too, such as higher education at state schools, and in some places, toll roads. I would not be surprised if the public libraries will go that route too.

Federal campgrounds are being contracted to concessionaires who make some improvements, collect profit, and jack up the fees substantially. At a campground in Colorado we stayed at, the senior pass cut the camping fee in half, but the charge for electricity was not halved. Strange. The senior pass sometimes gets a discount, sometimes doesn't and I can't figure out how it is determined. There are national forests where you have to pay to enter, but it seems very difficult to figure out which ones and whether the senior pass can be used. I asked the feds for a list of ones, but just got a non-answer including to ask at a ranger station (they are often closed) or the headquarters, even though I may be planning a trip from a thousand miles away. Until the early '80's, national forest maps were free, then they started charging for them and the fee keeps going up. And in western Colorado a lot of federal campgrounds seem to have been closed to save money.

State parks are being closed in some states, notably Arizona, or made so expensive, we avoid them. I see reports on the Forum of Cal. CG's costing more than $40. Sometimes there's a separate fee for everything—in Colorado, showers are extra, for example.

I always thought some things, like libraries and parks, are too important to not be free (i.e., paid through taxes), but apparently I'm losing that battle.

Gene

And that's why our taxes keep going down. Hey wait a minute.