National Parks: Go Outside and Touch Grass

The National Park System (NPS) is a national treasure. US National Parks represent just about every type of feature and wildlife you can imagine. And it’s not just parks: The NPS includes national monuments, memorials, scenic trails, lakeshores, battlefields, recreation areas, and more.

The concept of a national park is credited to George Catlin, a 19th-century lawyer, painter, and adventurer. His travels took him all over the burgeoning United States, where he met fifty native tribes. He also worried about the loss of wildlife, wilderness, and indigenous people as America expanded westward into the frontier. His solution? A ‘nation’s park’ — land protected by the government for future generations.

That vision became reality in 1872, when Yellowstone, in what’s now Wyoming, became the first national park established by Congress. Now there are 63 National Parks across the US and its territories, from Acadia in Maine to Yosemite in California, Denali in Alaska to Dry Tortugas in Florida, and so many more in between.

In this episode, we explore the almost overwhelming awesomeness of the NPS and take a virtual tour of some of the coolest experiences you can have in nature. We learn about the history of hippos and the Everglades, meet the most dangerous animal in the Grand Canyon, and learn the best place to eat popovers in Maine. Then we recommend five books that took us on big adventures in national parks, including a historical novel in Oklahoma, an adventure story in the Pacific Northwest, a murder mystery in Michigan, a memoir in Arizona, and a Bigfoot tale in Washington.

• Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate
• Wild: A Journey from Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
• A Superior Death by Nevada Barr
• A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon by Kevin Fedarko
• Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre by Max Brooks

For more on the books we recommend, plus the other cool stuff we talk about, visit show notes.

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Transcript of National Parks: Go Outside and Touch Grass

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