Among the lodging options you have in the National Park System are cabins, some rustic, some quite nice.

The National Park Service recently issued a prospectus seeking proposals for a 15-year contract providing retail plus food and beverage service in Yellowstone National Park. The anticipated starting date is January 1, 2024. The prospectus covers seven Yellowstone locations and is distinct from the park’s nine lodges and lodge dining facilities currently managed by Xanterra Travel Collection, a major NPS concessionaire currently in the 10th year of a 20-year Yellowstone contract. Facilities under the new prospectus were operated by Hamilton Stores for nearly 90 years prior to the Bozeman-based firm being outbid in 2002 by current operator Delaware Parks and Resorts.

Smudge pots weren't in sight when I visited Flamingo on the southern tip of Everglades National Park, but it was early spring and the mosquitoes hadn't quite worked themselves up to scourge strength. They are legendary when in full biting force, with rumors of cows and mules being killed by vicious, insatiable swarms of the bloodsuckers. And yet, the appeal of Flamingo to anglers and those fleeing winter's snows for a few days make it a popular destination.

A national park vacation can be an expensive endeavor, particularly if you want to stay in a park lodge. Indeed, the cost of a night in a park lodge has been been increasing at approximately twice as much as the Consumer Price Index.