Everybody's National Parks – Details, episodes & analysis

Everybody’s National Parks returns to family park travel and with that, the podcast after a long hiatus during the pandemic. Hear what we’ve been up to and upcoming episodes to look forward to including Cuyahoga Valley, Indiana Dunes and Glacier National Parks.

Yes, you can enjoy the national park system and stay safe during a pandemic. Danielle celebrates the 104th birthday of the NPS with guests Jason Everson of RV Miles Network and Bradley Kerouac of Hello Ranger. The trio explores pragmatic strategies for family travel in an otherwise unpredictable year.

Discussion includes the following:

[00:02] Introduction: National Parks Service Founders Day, Bradley Kerouac/Hello Ranger, Jason Everson/RV Miles, Soul Trak Outdoors

[03:39] Reports from the road: Dinosaur National Monument, Mesa Verde National Park, Saguaro National Park, Mount Lemmon, Yellowstone National Park

[08:17] Logistics and locations: Glacier National Park, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Canaveral National Seashore, Yosemite National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Arches National Park

[11:37] Choose your (safe) adventure: Yellowstone National Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado Springs, Pikes Peak, Garden Of The Gods, Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park, Curecanti National Recreation Area, Dinosaur National Monument, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Blue Ridge Mountains/Shenandoah National Park

[18:45] Inside jokes

[20:00] Practical tips for making your choice

[27:28] Backyard parks and return visits: Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Glacier National Park

[33:15] Park safety: Mesa Verde National Parks, Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park, Dinosaur National Monument, Dinosaur Quarry, Zion National Park, Big Bend National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Allegheny State Park

[41:00] Before you RV…: Cruise America

[46:23] A final word on safety

[47:04] A final word on places to visit: Selma To Montgomery National Historic Trail, Freedom Riders National Monument, Pullman National Monument

[48:57] Guest contacts: RV Miles, The RV Miles podcast, America's National Parks podcast, The See America podcast, Hello Ranger

Actions:

Subscribe to our podcast.

Tell your friends about Everybody’s National Parks

Visit our website https://www.everybodysnationalparks.com/

Send us your national park stories, recommendations, comments, or questions to Hello at everybodysnps.com.

Support us on Patreon

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook

Please tag us from the parks you are visiting at #everybodysnationalparks and @everybodysnationalparks

Celebrate Parks to Kids Day on May 16, 2020 with the National Park Trust from your home. Due to COVID-19, the National Park Trust has developed many ways to bring the national parks to kids this year. Hear all about the activities they have available on their website and all of the virtual experiences available on the ParkPassport app. The National Park Trust teamed up with Blue Star Families to bring over 500 virtual park experiences from the app.

Visit https://kidstoparks.parktrust.org

Share your activities.

Follow and Tag @NationalParkTrust and @everybodysnationalparks

#ParksToKids #BuddyBison #everybodysnationalparks

“Half the Park is After Dark.” Think your park day is over once the sun sets? Think again! Tyler Nordgren, PhD, joins Bryan for an illuminating look at the Night Skies program. As a Night Sky ambassador, Dr. Nordgren supports The National Park Service’s efforts to ensure that the celestial landscape remains visible to future generations. And speaking of young park-goers, stick around after the Carl Sagan story and travel tips as Everybody’s National Parks special junior ranger correspondents ask a few hard-hitting astronomical questions of their own.

Discussion Includes the Following:

[00:54] - Introduction: Night Skies program, Big Bend National Park

[01:17] - Dr. Tyler Nordgren: Cornell University and Carl Sagan

[02:46] - International Dark Sky Association and Dark Skies sites, the Milky Way, Natural Bridges National Monument

[03:51] - Ancient skies, ancient stories: Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, John Muir

[06:02] - Evening Ranger programs: Around the galaxy, through the seasons

[08:41] - Astronomical math

[10:22] - The Drake equation

[11:06] - Teaching insignificance via a grapefruit and sundae sprinkles; Big Bend National Park, Kuiper Belt; Alpha Centauri

[14:29] - Native American oral traditions and the story of Ursa Majoris; Corona Borealis

[17:18] - Dr. Nordgren’s seasonal tips for travelers: Grand Canyon National Park, Acadia National Park, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Isle Royale National Park

[20:41] - Eclipse events: Mapping out the five years; Crater Lake National Park, Great Basin National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Lake Powell National Recreation Area, Mesa Verde National Park, Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Niagara Falls National Heritage Site

[24:05] - Letchworth State Park

[24:30] - Carl Sagan’s 'Cosmos'

[24:47] - Questions from junior rangers

[26:35] - Our collision course with Andromeda Galaxy

For complete show notes and archive, visit everybodysnationalparks.com.

Note: This episode is coming out in spring of 2020 during COVID-19 please be safe and follow guidelines to stay at home in social distance. If you are going to a national park, check the website for specific closures and guidelines for that park. The content of this interview is to inspire future travel once it is safe to do so. Thank you and we hope you and your loved ones stay healthy.

Actions:

Subscribe to our podcast from our website https://www.everybodysnationalparks.com/

Tell your friends about Everybody’s National Parks

Send us your national park stories, recommendations, comments, or questions to Hello at everybodysnps.com.

Support us on Patreon

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook

Please tag us from the parks you are visiting at #everybodysnationalparks and @everybodysnationalparks

Bryan speaks with Moon Travel Guide author Joshua Berman all about camping and visiting the national parks in Colorado. His book Moon Colorado Camping comes out May 12, 2020.

Discussion includes the following:

0:32 Thank you to sponsor, Moon Travel Guides

2:18 Description of Moon Colorado Camping guidebook

5:20 Camping and Visiting Colorado’s National Parks

10:35 Estes Park and other Gateway Towns to Rocky Mountain National Park

12:19 Camping at Rocky Mountain National Park

14:07 Fourteeners and High Peaks of Colorado

14:58 Visiting and Camping at Black Canyon of the Gunnison

18:06 Visiting, Camping or Staying at the Lodge in Mesa Verde National Park

20:15 Dark Sky Certification

20:37 Josh’s Favorite National Monuments: Colorado National Monument and Bent’s Old Fort

23:50 Visiting and Camping at Great Sand Dunes National Park

26:27 Colorado Off-Season

28:05 RV Camping

29:28 Josh Shares a Favorite Colorado Camping Moment

Resources:

Get the updated guidebook, Moon Colorado Camping

Follow Joshua Berman Twitter :: @tranquilotravel Instagram: @tranquilotravel

Website :: http://joshuaberman.net

Note: This episode is coming out in spring of 2020 during COVID-19 please be safe and follow guidelines to stay at home in social distance. If you are going to a national park, check the website for specific closures and guidelines for that park. The content of this interview is to inspire future travel once it is safe to do so. Thank you and we hope you and your loved ones stay healthy.

For complete show notes and archive, visit everybodysnationalparks.com.

Actions:

Subscribe to our podcast from our website https://www.everybodysnationalparks.com/

Tell your friends about Everybody’s National Parks

Send us your national park stories, recommendations, comments, or questions to Hello at everybodysnps.com.

Support us on Patreon

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook

Please tag us from the parks you are visiting at #everybodysnationalparks

This week, we’re doing something a little different. It’s National Park Week, and we’re teaming up with other National Park podcasters, authors, bloggers, and other content creators to celebrate. The theme for Today, Thursday, April 23rd is “Throwback Thursday,” so a few of us podcasts decided to band together for a “best-of” sort of episode. We’re going to play you a clip each from, Gaze at the National Parks, Everybody’s National Parks, Parklandia, and America’s National Parks. These throwback episodes are some of our favorites. We hope you enjoy.

Thank you to America's National Parks for producing this episode.

Discussion includes the following:

• 1:25 We began with full-time RVers Matt and Brad Kirouac, who travel the county with one goal: to visit as many national parks as possible, producing the Parklandia Podcast. We threw back to Parklandia’s first episode ever as they sat down for a glass of wine made in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
• 7:30 In Dustin Ballard and Michael Ryan’s Gaze at the National Parks Podcast, each episode features one hiking trail in one national park, one park at a time. The clip is from Episode 10 – Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park. After getting on the Angel’s Landing Trail right at 7am, Mike and Dusty make it all the way to the top of the Chains. Dusty’s fear of heights keeps him clutching to a boulder while Mike walks to all of the edges and takes all of the photos.
• 13:03 Everybody’s National Parks is an audio guide podcast promoting family adventure in our national parks — like having a ranger in your pocket. Danielle along with her husband Bryan and their 2 junior rangers have new episodes that come out every other Tuesday. Each series of episodes includes a trip report and interviews with experts, tips and insight on what makes that park special. Everybody’s National Parks has in-depth multi-episode series on dozens of parks, along with special guests episodes. We featured a few different clips: An excerpt from the Yosemite trip report from May 2019, a clip of Historian – musician Tom Bopp performing “Yosemite, O Land of Cliffs and Waterfalls,” ending with a clip from their interview with Ken Burns from April 2019. Everybody’s National Parks 8–part podcast series on Yosemite also includes a wonderful conversation about Ansel Adams’ legacy with his son Michael, grandson Matthew and internationally known photographer and Ansel’s last darkroom assistant, Alan Ross, and so much more.
• 16:46 Finally, a clip from the America’s National Parks podcast, produced and hosted by Jason Epperson and Abigail Trabue, as they travel the country with their three boys. They tell stories from the past, spotlight conservation efforts, and bring you the latest news from the parks. The clip came from our episode “37 Days in Yellowstone,” which tells the story of Truman Everts, who was separated from the Washburn expedition that set out to explore the wild and wondrous land that is now Yellowstone National Park. Blunder after blunder led everts to lose both his horse and a supply horse, a pistol, and two knives. He lit the forest on fire twice, accidentally slept in a bear’s den, and spent days in a tree after being chased up it by a mountain lion. Yet miraculously, he survived.

Find Gaze at the National Parks, Parklandia, Everybody’s National Parks and America’s National Parks on any podcast app. We hope you’ll subscribe to them all.

And please make sure to join in the National Park Week Fun by checking out all of the posts from the National Parks Creative Exchange and the National Park Service on any of our social media accounts, and by following the hashtag #NationalParkWeek.

Actions:

Subscribe to our podcast from our website https://www.everybodysnationalparks.com/

Tell your friends about Everybody’s National Parks

Send us your national park stories, recommendations, comments, or questions to Hello at everybodysnps.com.

Support us on Patreon

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook

Please tag us from the parks you are visiting at #everybodysnationalparks

Celebrate Junior Ranger Day at Home and in Your Own Backyard

Saturday, April 18th, 2020 is Junior Ranger Day and the first day of National Park Week. Unfortunately, we are under a state home orders due to COVID-19 so this is a different sort of Junior Ranger Day and National Park Week that we will be celebrating from our homes and virtually. In this bonus episode I talk with my two little pink junior rangers about being a junior ranger. #nationalparkweek #findyourpark #FindYourVirtualPark

Discussion includes the following:

• Why they like being a junior ranger

• Fun fact about palm trees

• Fun Fact about roadrunners

• Fun Fact about Javelinas

• Responsibilities of a junior ranger

• Favorite junior ranger activities

• Promo for upcoming episode on Night Skies with Tyler Nordgren

• How to celebrate junior ranger day at home

• Junior Ranger joke

• Clip from Shenandoah Trip Report from March 2017 of kids talking about astronomy program and volunteering to save monarch butterflies.

• National Park Creative Exchange collaboration

For Everybody's National Parks Junior Ranger Day Activities go to https://www.everybodysnationalparks.com/juniorranger

Please tag @everybodysnationalparks

For complete show notes and archive, visit everybodysnationalparks.com.

Celebrate National Parks Week with the National Parks Creative Exchange. Each day from April 18 through April 26, 2020 explore the National Parks with a host of podcasters, bloggers, vloggers and parks enthusiasts. Follow along on their websites, with their podcasts, and on their Instagram accounts.

Everybody’s National Parks

Gaze At The National Parks

Parklandia Podcast

America’s National Parks

Our Wander Filled Life

Park Chasers

The Parks Expert

Moon Travel Guide author Becky Lomax

@headalongwithheart

Resources to #FindYourVirtualPark:

Junior Ranger Day Backyard Activities and "Backyard National Park" Badge

America’s National Parks: Virtual Passport Cancellations

Google Arts and Culture: Hidden Worlds of the National Parks

Google Arts and Culture: Explore more from the National Park Service

Google Earth National Park Virtual Tours

Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy: Kid Crafts that bring the National Parks Home

Happy 150th Birthday Golden Gate Park Virtual Celebration

NPS Celebrates: Games and Challenges

NPS Celebrates: Earth Day 2020 Going Digital

NPS: Junior Ranger Programs and Books

NPS: (More) Junior Ranger Books

NPS: Teacher Resources

Parkasaurus: Tracking #NPSLIVE Events

Actions:

Subscribe to our podcast from our website https://www.everybodysnationalparks.com/

Tell your friends about Everybody’s National Parks

Send us your national park stories, recommendations, comments, or questions to Hello at everybodysnps.com.

Support us on Patreon

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook

Please tag us from the parks you are visiting at #everybodysnationalparks

Danielle speaks with author Jason Frye. His updated guidebook, Moon Great Smoky Mountains National Park is available starting April 21, 2020. Jason offers tips for avoiding crowds, how to see the synchronous fireflies and off the beaten path places to explore.

Note: This episode is coming out in spring of 2020 during COVID-19 please be safe and follow guidelines to stay at home in social distance. If you are going to a national park, check the website for specific closures and guidelines for that park. The content of this interview is to inspire future travel once it is safe to do so. Thank you and we hope you and your loved ones stay healthy.

Discussion includes the following:

0:02 About Jason Frye and Moon Travel Guides

3:23 Jason talks about how Great Smoky Mountains National Park has not changed much since its inception. Every visit brings back memories from his youth.

4:46 Danielle recalls Ken Burns’ interview on Everybody’s National Parks (episode 13) when he talks about how it is equally important with whom you see these places.

7:08 How to see the fireflies at the Great Smoky Mountains

13:12 Description of Moon Great Smoky Mountains National Park

16:02 Suggested weekend itineraries: Tips for Visiting Cades Cove, Abrams Falls

Tuckaleechee Caverns, Townsend, TN; Rocky Top

20:08 Suggested Off the Beaten Path Weeklong Itinerary - Fontana Lake, Bryson City, NC; Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, Cosby, Roaring Fork, Asheville, NC

24:22 Solitude on a Weekend Backpack Advenure around Fontana Lake

27:17 Intro to Family Backpacking with Kids at Catalouchee

30:56 Visiting the Smokies in Fall, Spring and Summer

33:14 Tips to Avoid Cars and Crowds in Fall: Foothills Parkway, Cattalouchee, Blue Ridge Parkway

36:38 Additional Recommendations for Gateway Towns: Knoxville and Gatlinburg

41:27 A Brief Description of the Blue Ridge Parkway

45:59 Jason’s Favorite Moment

Resources:

Follow Jason Frye on Instagram @beardedwriter

Get the updated guidebook, Moon Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Listen to Everybody’s National Parks podcast series on Great Smoky Mountains National Park (episodes 6.1-6.7)

Thank you to Moon Travel Guides for sponsoring this episode. We love Moon Travel Guides. Whenever our family is deciding where we want to go next, we consult our copy of Moon USA National Parks. This is a great follow up to our podcast series on the Smokies that came out in June of 2018: Everybody’s National Parks episodes 6.1-6.7. If you're planning a trip, you'll want to listen to those episodes and get the new moon guidebook.

For complete show notes and archive, visit everybodysnationalparks.com.

Actions:

Subscribe to our podcast from our website https://www.everybodysnationalparks.com/

Tell your friends about Everybody’s National Parks

Send us your national park stories, recommendations, comments, or questions to Hello at everybodysnps.com.

Support us on Patreon

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook

Please tag us from the parks you are visiting at #everybodysnationalparks

Camping is not just in a tent. Danielle talks with Stephanie Puglisi of The RV Atlas podcast and co-author of See You at the Campground: A Guide to Community, Connection, and a Happier Family in the Great Outdoors, about the benefits of staying in a campground setting rather than a hotel during your national park visit. Stephanie shares how there is a camping situation to fit everyone’s needs and comfort: cabin, tent or RV.

Note: This episode is coming out  March 21, 2020 during Covid-19. Please be safe and follow guidelines to  stay at home and social distance. If you are going to a national park, check the website for specific closures and guidelines for that park. The content of this interview is to inspire future travel once it is safe to do so. Thank you and we hope you and your loved ones stay healthy.

Discussion includes the following:

4:25 - Why Stephanie prefers the campground experience.

8:11 - Different types of camping - Find the style that suits you.

15:13 - Staying at campgrounds right outside Glacier National Park with all of the amenities.

15:40 - Examples of selecting camping situation for every trip depends on the situation and research (Badlands, Utah)

18:07 - Unique camping situations in the Pacific Northwest

25:37 - Tips for how to rent your first RV: motorized, small side Class B or C

• Peer to peer rental: RV Share or Outdoorsy - look for best reviews, responsive and supportive

• Cruise America - RVs made specifically for renters and provide a lot of support. More pricey than peer to peer rental.

30:55 - Camping is not necessarily cheaper, but gives you more control of your costs so it can be cheaper

32:34 - How to choose the right campground for your family? It depends on what is important to your family.

35:00 - Stephanie shares some favorite campgrounds around national parks.

37:50 - Packing tips

40:08 - Camp food tips

46:29 - Tips for camping with family and friends who are not campers.

49:52 - Stephanie shares her favorite family national park camping experience at Glacier National Park hiking to Grinnell Glacier.

53:11 - Go to the RV Atlas website to listen and subscribe to the RV Atlas podcast and read their blog. See you at the Campground is available wherever books are sold. They also have a private RV Atlas Facebook group if you're looking for more advice on camping.

Hear our interview, “5 Amazing National Park Lodges” on the RV Atlas podcast.

For complete show notes and archive, visit everybodysnationalparks.com.

We have covered parks including: Biscayne, Crater Lake, Everglades, Grand Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains, Olympic, Rock Creek, Saguaro, Shenandoah, Virgin Islands, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Zion.

We also have special conversations with a diverse group of national park champions.

• (Ep. 13) Acclaimed documentarian Ken Burns took time out of his busy schedule to discuss the creation and legacy of the National Park Service and celebrate the tenth anniversary of his series The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.
• (Ep. 14) Author Becky Lomax chatted with Danielle and Bryan about her guidebook and offered travel tips to lesser-known parks.
• (Ep. 19.5) Ranger Shelton Johnson introduced listeners to the Buffalo Soldiers of Yosemite National Park

Actions:

Subscribe to our podcast from our website https://www.everybodysnationalparks.com/

Tell your friends about Everybody’s National Parks

Send us your national park stories, recommendations, comments, or questions to Hello at everybodysnps.com.

Support us on Patreon

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook

Please tag us from the parks you are visiting at #everybodysnationalparks

Danielle chats with Grandma Joy and her grandson Brad Ryan of Grandma Joy's Road Trip. They started their national park adventure together when she was 85. They have visited 53 national parks - and counting! They share their favorite scenic drives in national parks and their top ten list of national parks for accessibility.

Discussion includes the following:

0:02 - Introducing Grandma Joy Ryan and Brad Ryan: CBS This Morning Interview

1:55 - Reunited: From losing touch to regaining Joy Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Old Faithful, Redwood National and State Parks

5:08 - The adventure begins

6:47 - The life-changing magic of slowing down

10:15 - Age, accessibility, and Grandma Joy’s “best of…” list: Mammoth Cave National Park, Great Sand Dunes National Park, Carlsbad Caverns National Park

13:10 - Shenandoah National Park

15:09 - Driver’s delight: Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona’s Painted Desert, Historic Route 66

17:54 -  Diversity in the desert: Saguaro National Park, Joshua Tree National Park

19:52 - Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park, The General Sherman Tree

21:15 - Saguaro National Park and environs: Desert Discovery Trail, El Paso, TX lodging/Hyatt Hotels, White Sands National Park, Guadalupe Mountains National Park

22:44 - Tales from the passenger’s seat: Badlands National Park, Yellowstone National Park

26:14 - Big Bend National Park

28:30 - Grand Teton National Park

29:47 - Arches National Park, Zion National Park

31:12 - Sunrise over Grand Canyon National Park

33:01 - Glacier National Park, park shuttle service, Going-To-The-Sun Road

33:40 - Fishercap Lake, a moose encounter, and a wildlife reminder

35:42 - A veterinarian’s viewpoint

38:02 - Bear aware, Great Smokey Mountains National Park, Cades Cove Scenic Road

40:35 - Gatlinburg, TN, Clingmans Dome

41:45 - The glittering aspens of Rocky Mountain National Park

43:00 - Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park

43:41 - Assessing accessibility challenges: Channel Islands National Park

46:40 - Practical logistics

48:06 - Trip tips and ranger recommendations

50:09 - A Wind Cave National Park coyote story

51:42 - Bad weather/good mood: Why attitude is everything when travelling

52:15 - Isle Royal National Park misadventure

55:44 - Adventures counted in moments, not N.P.s: Craters Of The Moon National Monument, Dinosaur National Monument

56:56 - Transformative travel rewards

59:02 - What’s next for Brad and Grandma Joy: Brad’s book, National Park of American Samoa, Alaska’s multiple parks and places

1:01:11 - The power of Grandma Joy’s example

For complete show notes and archive, visit everybodysnationalparks.com.

We have covered parks including: Biscayne, Crater Lake, Everglades, Grand Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains, Olympic, Rock Creek, Saguaro, Shenandoah, Virgin Islands, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Zion.

We also have special conversations with a diverse group of national park champions.

• (Ep. 13) Acclaimed documentarian Ken Burns took time out of his busy schedule to discuss the creation and legacy of the National Park Service and celebrate the tenth anniversary of his series The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.
• (Ep. 14) Author Becky Lomax chatted with Danielle and Bryan about her guidebook and offered travel tips to lesser-known parks.
• (Ep. 19.5) Ranger Shelton Johnson introduced listeners to the Buffalo Soldiers of Yosemite National Park

Actions:

Subscribe to our podcast from our website https://www.everybodysnationalparks.com/

Tell your friends about Everybody’s National Parks

Send us your national park stories, recommendations, comments, or questions to Hello at everybodysnps.com.

Support us on Patreon

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook

Please tag us from the parks you are visiting at #everybodysnationalparks