My dad was really big on camping when we were kids. Through the late 70s and early 80s, we did big long roadtrips. Our last one was in the mid 90s
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I've seen a couple of people camping with rooftop tents and truck tents. They seem like a good idea, especially in places where there might be creepy crawlies on the ground, although to be honest if i had a truck i think just getting a simple camper shell would be less hassle. Although then you can't transport large things in your bed any more
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Something else that may be a big issue with the parks was around the 90s is when they cut the park budgets. Basically, the State Parks in Texas used to be very very cheap (if youw anted electricity) or even free for use (just reserve a spot and go!)
Then the Republicans came into power in the state and decided that only people using the parks needed to pay for them. They reduced the public tax money for it, hiking up the prices at the gate, and the state parks started wanting the Big Money from RV Campers to keep going.
This was also around the time that the State of Texas got rid of all the free picnic areas around the state. Hundreds of little dotted pulloffs where there was a nice table, a BBQ pit, a waste can. Most are gone now, and only a few still exit, mostly at scenic views (https://goo.gl/maps/nZnVTTFNUM6vh3EX7). All in the name of "Less Taxes."
Ugh, this sucks so hard. That's what a fellow tent camper in Oklahoma told me happened there too. It feels so stupid, because what's the point of a (theoretically) government-owned park which isn't accessible to all the people the government represents? I think the same thing happened in Alberta and Ontario in Canada. BC is different - you can just show up at a park, and there are always spots reserved for walk-ins, there are dozens of rec areas around the place, many of them are free... And it's not like there's a lack of land in those other provinces, so it's definitely a political decision. A poor one.
I do like the WA method of parks. They all require a "Discover Pass." Buy the pass, which is only $30 and you have one full years access to any State Park in the state. But if you don't have one, $10 gets you one day's access on-demand at any park and it's transferable to any other park on that same day. There are parks EVERYWHERE, primitive camping is permitted on nearly all of them, and if one place is full, there's likely another camp a mile or two away. And if not, find an empty spot in the woods and just go there.
Getting the "America The Beautiful" National Park Pass ($80) and the Discover Pass gives you free access to all Washington parkland (and there's a LOT out here) for a year. Sadly, there's no Discover Pass style system in Texas, and the America the Beautiful pass is moot in Texas as there are very very very few national parks in Texas.
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Then the Republicans came into power in the state and decided that only people using the parks needed to pay for them. They reduced the public tax money for it, hiking up the prices at the gate, and the state parks started wanting the Big Money from RV Campers to keep going.
This was also around the time that the State of Texas got rid of all the free picnic areas around the state. Hundreds of little dotted pulloffs where there was a nice table, a BBQ pit, a waste can. Most are gone now, and only a few still exit, mostly at scenic views (https://goo.gl/maps/nZnVTTFNUM6vh3EX7). All in the name of "Less Taxes."
Reply
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Getting the "America The Beautiful" National Park Pass ($80) and the Discover Pass gives you free access to all Washington parkland (and there's a LOT out here) for a year. Sadly, there's no Discover Pass style system in Texas, and the America the Beautiful pass is moot in Texas as there are very very very few national parks in Texas.
Reply
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