So this is going to be my last blog about my road trip through California and Arizona and I want to spend it letting you know how amazing of a job the National Parks Service is doing. I am always amazed how well our National Parks are given the limited budget the Federal Government gives them and I applaud each and everyone that works for and volunteers for the National Parks Service. Yea!
Whenever I visited one of the units (be it a park, monument, memorial, historic site, etc) I try and see the visitor center first and if they ask me if I would like to see the short video that was made for that unit my answer is always an enthusiastic YES PLEASE! These videos are well done and give a great wrap up to the entire place and gives you an idea of where you want to spend your time and investigate yourself.
The other bit of advice I want to give you is to get the NPS Annual Pass. This pass cost $80 and good for either the car you are in or you and three other people (depends on how the particular park charges) and can save you money very quickly since some of the big parks cost $25-35 each to get into. The other huge advantage is that a lot of the more popular parks there is a separate lane for Annual Pass holders and you can get in a lot faster!!!!
Before I sign off I want to share a bit of info I found out and found interesting. Do you know the difference between a National Park and a National Monument? Well it is not size since there are some massive National Monuments and some very small National Parks. The difference is who designated it. If Congress did then it is a National Park and if a President did then it is a National Monument. Isn’t that interesting?
