Everybody's National Parks

Although notoriously difficult to get to (and, in Bryan’s case, off of), Isle Royale National Park rewards visitors with acres of solitude and Superior vistas. Park Ranger Liz Valencia, the park’s Chief of Interpretation and Cultural Resources, joins Bryan to discuss the island’s mystique and why it’s rugged beauty is more approachable than you think. Discussion Includes the Following: 0:02 - Past episodes listening suggestions: Ken Burns interview, Biscayne National Park, Crater Lake National Park, Everglades National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Olympic National Park, Saguaro National Park, Shenandoah National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, Zion National Park 1:10 - Park Ranger Liz Valencia, Chief of Interpretation and Cultural Resources at Isle Royal National Park 1:26 - Minnesota or Michigan? Getting to Isle Royale by boat: Ranger III, Isle Royale Queen IV, Voyageur II, Sea Hunter III 4:03 - Daytripper strategies: Grand Portage, MN and C

Getting to Isle Royale National Park proves easier than getting off the famously difficult to reach island for Bryan and his buddies. In this episode, he’s joined by brother Dan and Dr Jeff Greenberger, their former-teacher-turned-honorary-highschool-buddy, for a post-trip recap. Danielle closes the show with a look at riding out an Isle Royale storm from ENP headquarters. Discussion includes the following: [0:46] Past episodes listening suggestions: Ken Burns interview, Biscayne National Park, Crater Lake National Park, Everglades National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Olympic National Park, Saguaro National Park, Shenandoah National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, Zion National Park, and 2019 Year In Review [01:52] The adventure begins:: Grand Marais, MN, Grand Portage, MN, Sea Hunter Ferry, Isle Royale National Park [05:00] First impressions, lasting memories: Windigo, Washington Harbor, Lake Superior, The SS America [07:00] A first-name bas

Bryan talks with Jonathan Waterman about his new breathtaking hardcover published by National Geographic, Atlas of the National Parks, his passion for the parks, as well as the role humans play in their survival. Jon also shares his list of favorite off-the-beaten-path parks you should visit. Jon Waterman is an award-winning author, filmmaker, and former park ranger. This is the latest resource for Everybody’s National Parks trip-planning to national parks. DISCUSSION INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING: [1:49] Books by Jonathan Waterman: Running Dry and In the Shadow of Denali: Life And Death On Alaska's Mt. McKinley [2:20] Beyond a guidebook: National Geographic’s role in creating the National Park System (NPS) [6:15] Climate change chips away at natural wonders large and small: Tidewater glaciers, Everglades National Park, pileated woodpecker, Burmese python, cheatgrass [8:03] Landscape fragility study: University of California, Berkeley Institute for Parks, People, and Biodiversity [10:45] Dire NPS budget cuts for 202

Description: Hello, brand new year! Since hindsight is 20/20, Danielle, Bryan, and the girls take this episode to reminisce on their 2019 park travels and look ahead to what they’ve planned for 2020. They add to their already extensive bucket list and answer a listener’s question about budget planning for a national park visit. And, of course, this wouldn’t be a family episode if it didn’t end with a joke or two. Discussion includes the following: 1:19 - South Florida Itinerary: Everglades National Park and Biscayne National Park 2:15 - Government shutdown: what effect a shutdown can have on the NPS and how South Florida volunteers stepped in 4:41 - Bryan discovers the beauty, diversity, and chickee huts of Everglades National Park 5:47 - Biscayne National Park: from boat excursions to paddleboarding adventures in Jones Lagoon 6:25 - Saguaro National Park adventure (by of a snowstorm-thwarted Petrified Forest National Park visit) and bucket list items for the future 7:58 - Shenandoah National Park and Yorkto

We want to wish everyone Happy Holidays from Everybody's National Parks. This short episode features some fun jokes from our 2 pink junior ranger girls. We also offer a sneak peak for 2020 and a quick overview of our podcast archive. We wish you all a Happy, Healthy, Safe Holiday Season and fun National Park adventures in 2020! To check out our 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

Description: This episode, number eight in our Yosemite National Park series, is for the geology geeks and climbing enthusiasts. If neither of those monikers interests you right now, just wait: you’ll want to pick up a rock hammer or clip yourself to a rope by the end of the show -- possibly both! To start, Bryan chats with Park Geologist and Ranger Greg Stock on the forces that shaped Yosemite’s stunning scenery and the toll our warming climate is having on the park. Then, Danielle dives into mountaineering with Dave Bengston, director of Yosemite Mountaineering School, to learn about the highs and lows of this perennially popular park activity.   Discussion includes the following: 0:01 - Introduction to the episode’s guests: Yosemite’s Park Geologist and Ranger Greg Stock and Dave Bengston, director of Yosemite Mountaineering School, plus Danielle reads a sweet note from a listener. 2:54 - Bryan exposes a geologist’s best-kept secret and gets to know Greg Stock 4:08 - Fatal rockfalls and shifting attitudes

Description: Danielle speaks with Nick Mock, owner of TripPossible. They are experts in vacation planning and travel advice and they specialize in planning trips to the national parks. Nick shares his tips and time-saving advice about travelling to a national park like Yosemite.  He planned a trip there with his family in May 2019 and wants to help you make the most out of your visit there. (This episode is sponsored by TripPossible) Discussion Includes the following: 2:04 - TripPossible: how it started, what it is, and why you should consider using it for your next trip 3:35 - Encountering the National Parks via the slow lane 5:31 - Variety + Flexibility = when & where to go 8:09 - Yosemite in the spotlight: perception vs reality 10:29 - Best kept secret: Yosemite West lodging options 12:14 - Editing your must-see list down to a less-is-more trip 14:29 - Inside the park lodging options from Yosemite Hospitality: Curry Village, Ahwahnee Lodge, Wawona Hotel 15:36 - The principles of packing for a four sea

Description: Danielle gets tips and recommendations for visiting Yosemite National Park in every season from Adonia Ripple from Yosemite Conservancy, the park’s official nonprofit partner and Lisa Cesaro from Yosemite Hospitality, the park’s concessionaire. A winter stay at the Glacier Point Ski hut and a summer backpacking trip around the High Sierra Camps are on the bucket list. Discussed in this episode: 3:25 - Adonia RIpple of Yosemite Conservancy describes her background 5:07 - About Yosemite Conservancy 9:21 - Description of Yosemite National Park and the different regions of the park 12:13 - Hetch Hetchy 12:55 - Tom Bopp interview and Ken Burns Interview 13:29 - How long to visit and how to avoid crowds 16:51 - Spring itinerary 23:09 - Summer itinerary 28:05 - Fall itinerary 32:53 - Winter itinerary 35:03 - Yosemite Conservancy Programs 43:06 - Yosemite Conservancy Bookstores 45:22 - Climbing Cathedral Peak and the wisdom of this timeless environment 47:38 - Lisa Cesaro talks about Yosemite Hospital

Description: Bryan speaks with Park Ranger Shelton Johnson and Sergeant Elizy Bowman, a Buffalo Soldier in the 9th Cavalry in Yosemite (portrayed by Shelton Johnson). Sergeant Bowman discusses what it was like to be a Buffalo Soldier, the name given to African-American cavalry troops of the U.S. Army who were among the first park rangers. Ranger Shelton talks about diversity in the national parks. This is episode number 19.5. This is the fifth episode in our series on Yosemite National Park. In this episode, For complete show notes, visit everybodysnationalparks.com. If this is your first time tuning in, go back and listen to the other episodes in our Yosemite series including our trip report, a conversation with park naturalist Erik Westerlund, Tom Bopp sings for us while recounting the 1903 camping trip with President Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir, and a wonderful conversation about Ansel Adams’ Legacy with his son, grandson and internationally known photographer and Ansel’s last darkroom assistant, Al

Description: I had the great honor to speak about the legacy of American icon, Ansel Adams with his son Michael, grandson Matthew and internationally known photographer and Ansel’s last darkroom assistant, Alan Ross. We talk about family camping trips, his sense of humor and outlook on life, his passion for nature, photography and conservation and the new book Ansel Adams’ Yosemite: The Special Edition Prints by Little, Brown and Company. (For complete show notes, visit our website.) -- Ready to make your own Yosemite memories? Plan your park adventure by listening to previous episodes in this Yosemite series. Our trip report in episode 19.1 will help you navigate crowds and prepare for seasonal challenges. A park naturalist schools us in the Yosemite’s fascinating flora and fauna on episode 19.2. And singing historian Tom Bopp recounts the famous John Muir/Theodore Roosevelt camping trip of 1903 in episode 19.3. GUESTS IN THIS EPISODE: Michael Adams is the son of Ansel Adams, a retired pilot and physician,

Description: A visit to Yosemite National Park is incomplete without an evening of entertainment listening to musician and historian Tom Bopp perform in the piano lounge of the Wawona Hotel. Tom, Bryan and Danielle talk about the famous 1903 three-day wilderness camping trip with President Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir. The camping buddies sidelined the media. Therefore, what we know about the trip is pieced together from research and anecdotes from government ranger Charlie Leidig, who accompanied the gentlemen on this trip. Tom recounts the trip that took the two naturalists from Mariposa Grove to Sentinel Dome and Glacier Point to Yosemite Valley. Tom has spent a lot of time thinking about the songs the two men may have sung together on their rides on horseback in between campsites. Listen to the podcast to hear Tom sing some of these timeless songs.  Tom Bopp has been performing at the Wawona Hotel and The Ahwahnee since 1983. Tom performs an eclectic range of music as well as programs on Wawona histor

Description: Yosemite National Park in all of its wonder-- from Cook's Meadow and Glacier Point to hiking the Vernal and Nevada Falls Trails and beyond-- is stunning. However, it wasn’t simply the awesome views, granite walls and falls that stunned our family, but the sheer amount of people immersing themselves in the Yosemite National Park experience. Danielle, Bryan and the girls reminisce about their trip in early May 2019 and offer tips and recommendations for others wanting to visit and avoid crowds. Our Discussion Includes the Following: Why Bryan feels that planning is important when visiting Yosemite (2:45) How we spent our time in Yosemite-- after hitting the “weather lottery” (5:23) Challenges to planning your trip in Yosemite (6:32) How adjusting your expectations may help you enjoy the crowds and camaraderie in Yosemite Valley (7:19) Arriving in the park and getting our bearings at the Visitor Center (10:00) Court settlement - original names of several iconic lodging are reinstat

“Part of the experience of Muir Woods [National Monument] is that you are in a primeval forest-- that you’re really in a place where time takes a different pace.” Did you know that not many bugs enjoy eating the wood of a coastal redwood? What is the impact of climate change on our ancient, glorious coastal redwood trees? I had the chance to learn so much about the giant coastal redwood trees of Muir Woods National Monument with ranger Cassie Anderson. Cassie Anderson is currently serving as a supervisory park ranger at Muir Woods National Monument, and has devoted much of her life to our national parks. Cassie helps reiterate why these redwood trees are so phenomenal-- what makes them so resilient and beautiful, and how their many stewards throughout the centuries, from the natives of Mexico to William and Elizabeth Kent and Teddy Roosevelt, helped to protect them. Cassie also helps us to understand improvements made to Muir Woods to help its million visitors per year enjoy the park without destroying the

There are more than 30 National Park Service sites around the San Francisco Bay area. In this Trip Report, Bryan, Danielle and the girls discuss their visits to Muir Woods, the Presidio and Fort Point, and Rosie the Riveter WWII Homefront National Historic Park. Our Discussion Journey: Bryan and Danielle discuss Muir Woods and the sights of San Francisco (2:03) Reservation requirements for visiting Muir Woods (4:55) Who founded Muir Woods? (6:21) What are you going to see as you approach the Muir Woods National Monument (7:54) Bryan and Danielle discuss the experience of Muir Woods and how they interacted with the natural space (8:57) We talk “Tree Talk” adventures and sunrise walks (12:30) Why the redwoods are so captivating (14:15) Exploring the panoramic views and the history of Hawk Hill (16:42) About Fort Point and the Presidio (18:55) The perspective our girls had on Rosie the Riveter WWII Homefront National Historic Site (23:17) Bryan’s take on a valuable lesson Rosie has f

Description: Author of Photographing National Parks and partner with the “National Parks at Night” program, Chris Nicholson’s expertise and advice for both amateur and professional photographers interested in capturing the beauty of National Parks is absolutely indispensable. From the dynamic shoots of Acadia to the stunning coastline of Oregon, Chris shares his journey into photography and tips of the trade as a nature photographer. While sharing personal stories, we learn how Chris ventured into photographing the National Parks and what led him to publish a book on the subject. While my old camera and smartphone may be enough for my trips with family, Chris shares gear that is important for a true photography adventure into the wild. Whether you are just beginning to discover the art of photography or you’re a pro, Chris has fantastic experience to answer some of your pressing questions. How  can you navigate your photography goals? Should your family be there? What gear is helpful when capturing nature?

Description: Abigail Trabue and her family run the RV Miles Network and host the RV Miles and America's National Parks podcasts. As RV enthusiasts who travel full-time with three young boys, Abby and her husband have a lot of great experience and advice for traveling with a family in RVs and balancing reality and expectation while exploring the world. Abby’s wealth of knowledge on RV travels with families and how to make the most out of national parks in almost every area of the country will help any aspiring traveler have a truly memorable experience in our parks. Along with general travel tips for exploring various beautiful national parks in different areas of the country and sage guidance to help families determine if the RV life is a good fit, Abby shares some of her family’s favorite park experiences. From her eldest son’s obsession with a video at the Harry S. Truman Historical Site in Missouri, their recent stay at Zion National Park, to lesser known gems like the Gulf Island National Park Reserve a

“Traditionally, it was believed that the Saguaro [cactus] was a human being.” - Tina Andrew on the Saguaro’s cultural significance to the Tohono O’odham Nation Join Danielle and Park Ranger Tina Andrew on a journey into the native ancestry of Saguaro National Park. Tina Andrew is a member of the Tohono O’odham Nation, hosts the podcast “Cultivating Indigenous Voices,”  and serves as an ancestral park ranger who works to connect youth and the community to the native roots of Saguaro National Park. As both a member of the Tohono O’odham Nation, a tribe native to the lands of Saguaro National Park, and as a park ranger serving for over five years, Tina Andrew offers a complex and unique perspective on the significance of the Saguaro National Park to different communities of people. She brings a deeply personal perspective into the cultural and ancestral significance of Saguaro alongside a keen awareness of the importance of exploration by both native and non-native people, especially youth. As we walk down this

Description: Join Bryan and Park Ranger Jeff Walner on an adventure into the wild history and culture within Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona. As the only full-time, year-round ranger in Saguaro National Park, Jeff shares his insight into the origins of Saguaro National Park, its history, and its inextricable and enduring connection to American culture, Hollywood, and the world.   Discussion includes the following: Ranger Jeff Walner shares his background with Saguaro National Park (3:21) Jeff describes how immigrants led to the unique western ranching culture and history of Saguaro National Park. (4:46) Jeff describes the rise of traditional “cowboy” within Saguaro National Park (6:10) Jeff explains the impact of the arrival of the railroad in Tucson, Arizona (8:03) How did the mix of Mexican, Native American, and American culture influence cowboy culture in Arizona? (9:01) We learn what exactly the cattle were grazing out in the desert (11:04) How did the homesteaders using the la

Description Don Swann, a biologist who has worked at Saguaro National Park for over twenty years, joins Danielle to discuss the evolution of the biodiversity within Saguaro National Park. They discuss how the environment and biodiversity has changed within the national park overtime and how he both teaches and engages the community to investigate change with him as citizen scientists. Discussion includes the following: Don Swann discusses his biology background and his experience with Saguaro (3:05) How visitors, primarily in Tucson, can become “citizen scientists” to help research in Saguaro National Park (3:45)  How do citizen scientists help with biodiversity research of the signature Saguaro cacti? (4:11)  What types of changes have occurred in the Saguaro National Park over time?  (5:20)  How the loss of trees have impacted the Saguaro signature cacti (6:00)  Interesting facts about the saguaro cacti (6:50)  The legacy of National Parks and why it is important to visit (8:20)  The impact of cl