Originally Posted by
CB HI
Reading some of his older post, I did find it odd that he thought that a state hiker/biker campsite was free because he defined it as off season and so he did not pay for his three day stay.
Even worse was finding out that the funds for the hotel came out of the pocket of the small town preacher vice the church. Small town preachers live on the margin. With both Ty and his gf working for Nike, I suspect they have far more disposable income than the preacher.
A few state parks/recreational areas are free during the off-season. Usually the day after Labor Day weekend to the day before Memorial Day weekend. Some October to May. We frequent the free ones during that off-season time. Because the weather is so bad here generally during those months we often find ourselves alone. Others charge much less ($6/night instead of $20/night at one nearby) in the off-season. Another on the coast was free during the off-season until this year but they upgraded their hiker/biker sites so they now charge year round. We weren't aware of that when we went earlier this year (late last year?) but we went a few weeks ago and paid the $36 we didn't pay on our last visit since we didn't know until after we'd left. The rangers were nice about it and understanding! There's a really great book series called "Camp Free" that'll tell you which parks are free during the off-season. They're done by area. We have several of them.
You may be surprised how much pastors make. I know because I have a relative who is one in a small town in Georgia. He makes more than Ty and I do combined and we make good money. The people on staff are another story and most of them have jobs outside the church. I'm sure some small town pastors struggle but it's wrong to assume a majority of them do.