National parks, natural beauty and a bit of Disney wonder! COMPLETED - Page 34 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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I gotta say I love the look of the Tetons NP! Really pretty. You seemed to have exceptionally good weather - is that common there in September?
I don't think it is. I think I put in my pre-trip report (all that time ago now... back in August 2011 ) that there was, at one point, snow in the forecast at the end of August for Yellowstone and I know that they do start to shut the parks down in September. I think we were just exceptionally lucky with the temperatures and weather we got during these few days.
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Isn't that crystal clear lake water beautiful? It's amazing how clear it is! Bummer you didn't have time for a boat ride. But you're right, that was a very long drive ahead of you, wow!
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Great updates!
Where did you get your National Park Passport? Did you order it? I want to get one before our trip this summer so we can get our stamps
You'd have to ask Terri that, as it was a present from her... although I did see them at most of the National Parks shops we went to - and incidentally that's usually where you get the stamps as well.
Sunday 11 September – part four: off back into the “real” world
Our final stop in the Grand Tetons was at the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Centre. My guidebook told me that this was a dazzling building and, as we neared it, I could clearly see that. It was stunning.
Inside, it was just as breathtaking. This is really the first stop they want you to make as you enter the park, giving credence to my theory that coming from the south and then heading to Yellowstone is the way to go. It’s a great introduction to the Grand Tetons and I particularly liked all the animal identification sections, where you could feel their fur. Some didn’t feel nearly as nice as I thought it would.
I got my passport stamped and, after a final restroom stop before hitting the road we were off on our long journey.
It took a while before we left the national park proper and on the way, oddly, we saw Jackson Hole Airport. Not what you expect to see in a national park – and they had full size planes on the ground as well!
We were soon entering Jackson, Wyoming and you could immediately see the difference, the second you were outside the park boundary. I’m sure this is how both Yellowstone and Grand Tetons would’ve ended up, had they not been protected. It was a bit like Disneyland, if you’ve been there, you’re suddenly outside the park and there’s the outside and “real” world waiting for you...
As we were back in the “real” world, Mark took the opportunity to fill up with gas at the bargain basement price of $57 for a full tank of gas. I’m sorry, but that is bargain basement, when you’re used to paying $110, trust me...
Great visit to the Grand Tetons--I don't know why but your TR has me envisioning an RV in my retirement future!
That would be so cool, wouldn't it? Actually I can't help but think that now I understand the attraction of getting one, as it would be great on a trip like this.
You know, if you start forgetting to do your daily updates you're going to end up on Princess Sharon's list of slackers! Anyway, the water in Jenny Lake was so clear. Just makes you want to jump right in! Can't wait to hear about the next leg of your trip.
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I think I put in my pre-trip report (all that time ago now... back in August 2011 
) that there was, at one point, snow in the forecast at the end of August for Yellowstone and I know that they do start to shut the parks down in September. I think we were just exceptionally lucky with the temperatures and weather we got during these few days.
note to self - do not let real life interfere with PassPorter life again! 
although I did see them at most of the National Parks shops we went to - and incidentally that's usually where you get the stamps as well.
Anyway, the water in Jenny Lake was so clear. Just makes you want to jump right in! Can't wait to hear about the next leg of your trip.
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