thanks NPS

National Park Service Senior Pass cost increases on August 27, 2017 from $10 to $80.

Folks are scrambling around trying to find them everywhere (kind of like the eclipse glasses), us included.

We left Mississippi for a 2 week vacation and tried to find the passes along the way. We tried the office in Blairsville, GA, stopped at the visitor center in the Smokies near Cherokee, NC where the ranger told us he heard the only ones left in the entire Southeast region were at a military park north of Atlanta. We stopped at the Townsend, TN welcome center with no luck. We called Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park in GA, on the recorded message they stated they had No Senior Passes! Our last chance was back in Mississippi at the BLM office in Jackson, MS, where we finally lucked out!  We knew we could go online to get them, but according to the website, it would take months and cost twice as much. 

So why do we need a Senior Pass? The National Parks here in the East do not charge admission, but the ones out West do, so we are just planning ahead, for retirement travel.

But wait - we just checked nearby Mammoth Cave NP and with the Senior Pass we can get discounts on cave tours and camping! And also at our favorite campground in the Smokies - Elkmont, half price campsites discounted from $23 down to $11.50. 

Thanks NPS! I know you need the money hence the price increase, but thanks for announcing the change ahead of time so all of us old folks could take advantage of the lower price.

What's in your wallet?