Song said business has picked up, with completion of the road work last month, but it is mostly car travelers who are stopping. We'll see next year how the buses do. Around June is when the buses start coming in. Hugh Carter is no fan of buses, because they do not stop at his small El Portal Market near the park's entrance. Carter's business also was hurt when a number of riverside campsites were closed.
Campers have to come in and replenish their supplies.
The 1997 flooding closed the road completely for five months, leaving the market empty. In the last couple years, business has been off 30 percent, at least. The small general store carries a little of everything to serve campers, along with the 635 residents of El Portal, many of whom work in the park. Without the employees we would really be in trouble. Carter is a National Park Service concessionaire and he said he plans to quit as soon as his contract expires in five years.