National Parks Traveler Podcast

The beauty of the National Park System is that there are more than 400 units that you can choose to visit, and each has a unique perspective showcasing the United States' history, natural beauty, or cultural richness. Fort Larned is the best-preserved Civil War-era fort in the National Park System and has more than a few stories held in the stone walls of its barracks, officers' quarters, commissary, and other buildings.

Though Nancy Hershberger might be dismissed by "traditional" quilters, her patchwork designs capture a setting deserving a spot in an art gallery, or a wall in your home. True, her quilts won't cover your bed or keep you physically warm on a cold night. But they likely will bring a knowing smile to your face and possibly remind you of a place in time from your wanderings through the National Park System.

There are 423 units in the National Park System, but a surprising number of people focus on about two dozen parks. Last year, when roughly 300 million visited the park system, just 25 units – the Yellowstones, Grand Canyon's, Zions, Cape Cods, Blue Ridge Parkways – got 50 percent of the traffic. There are so many overlooked units in the National Park System worthy of a visit. They might not be your final destination, but they're certainly worth becoming a destination on your traveling itinerary. For example, let's walk the tallgrass prairie at Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve.

The Oregon Trail stretched roughly 2,170 miles from Missouri to Oregon's Willamette Valley. It rambled across prairie, sagebrush desert and mountains. From the 1840s into the 1880s, hundreds of thousands of immigrants made the challenging journey, and not all survived. Today more than 120 historic sites, auto tour routes, and markers show us where the Oregon Trail traveled. One of the choke points, if you will, is in western Nebraska at a place preserved today as Scotts Bluff National Monument. Here the Oregon Trail runs across Mitchell Pass, a low spot squeezed by buff-colored bluffs that tower to the north and the south. Today a state highway runs through the pass, but back in the mid-1800s, it was a narrow wagon trail that Conestoga wagons and covered wagons followed. Traveler Editor Kurt Repanshek recently visited the monument and walked part of the trail with Ranger Eric Grunwald.

There really are few days that aren't great for paddling on Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park, whether you're in a canoe or a sea kayak. During a short getaway in early June my wife and I did just that. Embed the picture that accompanies this post in your mind, then listen as I paddle the lake and describe the setting.

NPT Ep 176 Spot List - Run Time - 41:40 :02 National Parks Traveler introduction :12 Episode Intro with Lynn Riddick :34 The Road Scholar - Bill Mize - The Spirit of South Dakota :44 Eastern National Passport 1:27 Interior Federal Credit Union 1:45 Washington's National Park Fund 2:18 Wild Tribute 2:39 Great Smoky Mountains Association 3:04 Kurt's Travels with Lynn Riddick 28:33 Black Woods - Nature's Symphony - The Sounds of Acadia 28:54 Grand Teton National Park Foundation 29:22 Potrero Group 29:48 Yosemite Conservancy 30:08 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation 30:27 Everglades Foundation 30:39 Friends of Acadia 31:11 Kurt's Travels with Lynn Riddick Continues 39:19 The Horsemen - Randy Petersen - The Spirit of South Dakota 39:42 Episode Closing 39:58 Orange Tree Productions 40:29 Splitbeard Productions 40:39 National Parks Traveler footer

The impact of the Covid shutdown in the National Park System is well-known, and we regret that many park-related businesses in the gateway communities may not have made it. The National Parks Traveler circled back to one particular business that we had featured in an article in May 2020 –- Southern Yosemite Mountain Guides. -- to see how it has fared ever since.

Waking up in the middle of the night in the backcountry of a national park can often be an interesting, or even unnerving, experience. What was it that caused you to wakeup? Fourteen years ago, deep in the interior of Yellowstone National Park it was the howling of a wolf that woke me, and when I think about it, it still seems like it was just yesterday. The melodic howl hung in the air, seesawing up and down as the wolf sang his song. We go into national parks to view spectacular scenery, hike, and see wildlife. But have you ever just stopped to listen? As much as a national park's scenery catches you, the sounds you can pick up during your park visits are just as memorable. And, in the case of a howling wolf, bellowing grizzly, or bugling elk, I would suggest that they're more memorable. This is Kurt Repanshek, your host at the National Parks Traveler. This week, we're doing away with talking and focusing on listening. NPT Ep 174 Spot List - Run Time - 35:31 :02 National Parks Traveler introduction :12 Episode Intro with Kurt Repanshek 1:06 Beyond the Reef - Tim Heintz & Grant Geissman - Seascapes: A Musical Journey 1:16 Interior Federal Credit Union 1:35 Yosemite Conservancy 1:55 Eastern National Passport 2:38 Great Smoky Mountains Association 2:58 Friends of Acadia 3:25 Listening to the Parks - Yellowstone 15:27 Listening to the Parks - Rocky Mountain 21:15 Listening to the Parks - Everglades 24:35 Listening to the Parks - Hawaii 31:23 Episode Closing 32:04 Wonder Lake - Various Artists - The Spirit of Alaska 32:12 Orange Tree Productions 32:44 Wild Tribute 33:08 Grand Teton National Park Foundation 33:36 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation 33:56 Washington's National Park Fund 34:28 Everglades Foundation 34:39 Potrero Group 35:05 Splitbeard Productions 35:15 National Parks Traveler footer

The natural and wild environments of our national parks offer the unsurpassed protection and diverse ecosystems that birds need to thrive. And that makes our parks equally great places for you to see birds. This week the Traveler's Lynn Riddick talks to birding expert Nicholas Lund of Maine Audubon, who believes that whether you consider yourself a full-fledged birder or just someone who simply likes birds, when it comes to our national parks, there's always a bird in the air, in a tree or along the water's edge to see, hear, and learn about.

Memorial Day Weekend is the official kickoff to summer. There's no doubt that many of us have already been to a unit of the National Park System in 2022, but this weekend is the traditional kickoff to venturing into the park system. If you don't know where to go, or what to do, I've invited Kim O'Connell, a contributing writer at the Traveler, and Lynn Riddick, our masterful podcaster, to help sort through the options.