What is “Stamp Cramp”…? (Our National Park Passport Story)

As we start our journey with Park Trips and More, we thought that we would let you know right away what “Stamp Cramp” is, and why Jason and I have made it a part of the site.

It all started with our very first National Park trip (yes, every great National Park addict story seems to begin this way)…

Our first National Park trip together was to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2011. This park is consistently one of the most visited parks in the National Park Service (NPS) system. It is huge, spanning the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, and there is a ton to do there from hiking and fishing to scenic drives and historical tours.

We stayed in Gatlinburg, TN, and enjoyed the charm of the town against the backdrop of unimaginable beauty! We were so excited to enter the park, but hardly knew anything about the park beyond what little reading we had done in preparation for our trip.

We were, without a doubt, novice travelers. We threw our clothes into some cheap luggage, filled plastic grocery bags with toiletries and hit the road. We decided that we wanted to go check out the park because we were looking for a quick weekend trip that we could take before Jason started his new job.

We had talked about visiting a National Park for some time. As a City and Regional Planning student, I was attracted to them after exploring them in my coursework and learning that I was probably the only student in my program that had never been to a National Park. Jason was on board because, like most Americans, he had heard of the larger National Parks – think Yellowstone or the Redwoods – and thought that they would be neat to explore. Also, he had some fond memories of visiting his grandfather as an early teen in Pigeon Forge, TN. Yet, two-years after setting our sights on our park mission, neither of us had made the time to visit one.

On the morning that we planned to enter the park, we stumbled across the Sugarlands Visitor Center and decided to pull off due to the promise of a map and clean restrooms. Though this first trip to a NPS Visitor Center was “accidental”, it ended up being the best thing that we could have done!

As an aside, we have found the Visitor Centers to provide a ton of value to the park goer as it provides direct access to Park Rangers, educational videos, maps, information, and neat exhibits and bookstores. We have also learned about the Junior Ranger Program that takes place at many parks. This program gets kids involved in learning and exploring the parks, rewarding their efforts with a badge and great memories of becoming a Junior Ranger. Hitting up the Visitor Center is something that we now do by default every time that we visit a National Park. I feel sad for the people that I see drive past the Visitor Centers in the park because they are missing out on so much of the park experience… but I digress.

In the Visitor Center, we watched a film that acquainted us with the park and looked through some of the displays. Before we left, we visited the bookstore. There, Jason noticed a cute sticker with a black bear on it. We needed something to commemorate our trip, so we decided to purchase it. Next to the sticker was a little book display that announced the 25th anniversary of the National Park passport program. We picked this up as well when we realized that it was intended to be the home of the black bear sticker that Jason discovered. We had no clue that we were venturing into uncharted territory: that there was an entire culture built around the passports, stickers and stamps, and that we were about to suffer the greatest addiction to knowledge, peace, and travel that we could ever imagine!

Upon checking out with our new passport books and stickers, we started chatting with one of the friendly Park Rangers about what we should do with our time. After getting a map and some advice, we thanked the Ranger and were about to head out to the car to start our day.  We now felt armed with the information and education that we needed to enjoy our vist. We thanked the Ranger and turned to leave, excited about the day ahead.

“Excuse me. One more thing.”  We turned back, recognizing the voice of the Ranger. “With your passports, you might be interested in getting your cancellation stamps at the station right over there”. The Ranger pointed us to a desk only a few steps away that had a couple of golden ink pads and good, old fashioned rubber stamps.

Jason and I briefly exchanged glances and then a mischievous smile spread across our faces. Heck yes we were interested! As if the stickers and passport book were not enough, there were stamps to boot. What a great idea, I thought. How did we miss out on this for 25 years?

Since that time, we have shared our love of the National Parks with each other, with our friends and family, and with anyone that we come across that cares to listen. We are huge fans of the Passport program, and even bigger fans of the learning, experiences and fulfillment that we gain each time we visit an NPS unit. We evangelize the passport program so much that our sister-in-law, Missy, branded us with the name “Stamp Cramp” because we share our trip plans to the parks with so much zeal. “So, I see you’re going to get some Stamp Cramp”, she will lovingly tease.

We now set out on our vacations to visit as many park units as we can, and with over 400 sites (and even more stamps), the adventures that await us are many and varied. There are so many beautiful and historical places that are in this great country of ours just waiting to be discovered and experienced. This is the origin of Stamp Cramp!

Thanks for reading! We encourage you to join us in getting Stamp Cramp! Check out the eParks store to start your National Park journey today. Purchases that you make through eParks go to support our Parks!

We want to know: Do you have Stamp Cramp? How did you find out about the passport program? Let us know by leaving a comment below.