Arizona conjures up images of desert washes, enormous saguaro cacti with arms stretching to the sky, and endless sunshine regardless of the season. But if you travel north to Flagstaff, the environment changes dramatically. Situated at nearly 7000 feet elevation, Flagstaff is surrounded by Coconino National Forest. The many varieties of evergreen trees in the forest color the area green, even in the winter: spruce, fir, pine, cypress, and juniper – multiple types of each. Snow falls in abundance here, as evidenced by the blizzard of 2023.
From a national park perspective, this area is dominated by the Grand Canyon in many people’s minds. But a plethora of other National Park Service sites fill this part of the state.
Nestled on the outskirts of Flagstaff is a pair of national monuments accessed for a single entrance fee. Located seventeen miles apart, Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument and Wupatki National Monument preserve two vastly different worlds: cinder fields versus limestone and sandstone pueblos.
Written by Lauren Eisenberg Davis
Hosted by Jason Epperson
Sponsored by LLBean www.llbean.com/guide and Campendium www.campendium.com
In this month's national park news roundup, we're covering all the delayed openings and closures caused by the unprecedented winter snowpack in the West. But it's not all bad news — lakes Mead and Powell are rising, and the Colorado basin states have finally come to an agreement over how to manage their water use. We also share some concerning animal-human interactions in national parks and take a look at an illegal pot farm discovered in Death Valley, an occurrence that happens more often than you might imagine.
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In June 2022, the rivers of Yellowstone's Northern Range unleashed a devastating flood, shattering century-long records and leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. This natural disaster not only disrupted park operations but also raised important questions about its cause, the likelihood of future floods, and the need for early detection. In this episode of America's National Parks Podcast, we dive into the aftermath of the flood and explore the efforts to understand, predict, and mitigate such events in Yellowstone National Park.
Written By Chris Linn
Hosted By Jason Epperson
Sponsored by LLBean www.llbean.com/guide and Campendium www.campendium.com
This week, we're setting sail for Alcatraz, the infamous island prison once deemed inescapable. But in 1962, three men dared to challenge this notion and embarked on a daring escape that continues to captivate the world to this day.
Join us as we delve into the lives of these audacious inmates, explore their meticulously planned breakout, and dive into the icy waters of mystery that surround their fate.
Did they make it to freedom, or did the relentless San Francisco Bay claim their lives?
Written By Chris Linn
Hosted By Jason Epperson
Sponsored by LLBean www.llbean.com/guide and Campendium www.campendium.com
In this episode of America's National Parks, join host Jason Epperson as we delve into the lesser-known figures of American history and the National Park Service sites dedicated to their lives and contributions. Explore the stories behind the Thomas Stone National Historical Site, Charles Pinckney National Historic Site, Roger Williams National Memorial, George Rogers Clark National Historical Park, and Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve. Discover how these historic sites provide unique insights into the lives of these individuals and the impact they had on the nation. From founding fathers and revolutionary heroes to pirates turned patriots, uncover the lesser-known stories that shaped America and the importance of preserving these sites for future generations.
Written By Lauren Eisenberg Davis
Hosted By Jason Epperson
In this episode, we share the news about upcoming closures at Yosemite National Park due to flooding concerns from snowmelt. Plus, Death Valley goes cashless, condors are dying from a new bird flu, how to get reservations for the annual synchronous firefly viewing at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and more. *****
Dive into the rich history of rock climbing in Yosemite National Park, from its pioneering beginnings to its modern status as a world-class climbing destination. In this episode, we explore the iconic routes, legendary climbers, and groundbreaking techniques that have shaped the sport of climbing in Yosemite. We'll also examine the ongoing challenge of balancing recreation and conservation, as climbers and park officials work together to protect this cherished natural treasure for future generations.
Written By Chris Linn
Hosted By Jason Epperson
Theme Music By Peter Xiong
Join us as we explore the enigmatic life and mysterious disappearance of Everett Ruess, a young artist, poet, and adventurer who vanished without a trace in the remote wilderness of southeastern Utah in 1934. We'll delve into Ruess' life, his love for the rugged landscapes of the American Southwest, and the enduring fascination with his unsolved disappearance. We'll also discuss the modern-day search for answers, the tantalizing DNA evidence, and how you can follow in Ruess' footsteps by visiting Capitol Reef National Park.
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and by Campendium | www.campendium.com
Discover the beauty of accessibility at America's National Parks in this episode. From scenic drives and picturesque vistas to innovative adaptive activities, we dive into the wonders of national parks for people with mobility disabilities, families with young children, and anyone seeking less strenuous outdoor experiences. Join us as we explore how the National Park Service is committed to providing equal opportunity and unforgettable adventures for all.
Written by Lauren Eisenberg Davis
Hosted by Jason Epperson
Sponsored by LL Bean | www.llbean.com
and by Campendium | www.campendium.com
- Explore a variety of national parks with accessible trails, including Yosemite, Zion, Acadia, Great Smoky Mountains, Congaree, Glacier, Denali, Shenandoah, and more
- Learn about the National Park Service's commitment to accessibility and the America the Beautiful Access Pass
- Find out about adaptive activities offered in national parks, such as sand wheelchairs at Great Sand Dunes National Park, guided adaptive climbing at Devil's Tower National Monument, and accessible canoe and kayak launches at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
- Discover historic refurbished bus tours in Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks
- Hear about the accessible beach in Grand Teton National Park and its adaptive sports programs
A new bill in the U.S. Senate is poised to make major changes to federal lands recreation. In this episode, we have all the details. Find the press release, along with the full text of the bill here: https://www.energy.senate.gov/2023/3/manchin-barrasso-introduce-bipartisan-america-s-outdoor-recreation-act
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and by Campendium | www.campendium.com
This episode of America's National Parks Podcast delves into the fascinating world of the Northern Elephant Seal, including its near-extinction in the 1800s due to overhunting and the subsequent discovery of remnant populations in Mexico. Protective legislation was eventually put in place, allowing the species to rebound and return to the California coastline to breed.
Written by Dr. Charlotte Hacker Edited by Peter Xiong Hosted By Jason Epperson
Sponsored by LL Bean | www.llbean.com
and by Campendium | www.campendium.com
In the grassy High Plains of Northwest Nebraska, the landscape is punctuated by flat top buttes, and a few isolated landforms reminiscent of the badlands. A layer of sandstone builds the foundation of the area, sitting over a remarkable bonebed.
The grasslands provided good grazing, and James Cook acquired his ranch here, where the wetlands meet the prairie. Unbeknownst to him when he purchased the land, as his cattle grazed on the nodding heads of grain, beneath their feet lay a remarkable history of animals that came before them, the mammals of the Miocene Epoch.
Dinosaur fossils tickle everyone’s imagination – but other, more recent (albeit still ancient) paleontology discoveries give rise to a continuum of long extinct animals indigenous to a region. As much as we tend to think of museums as focusing on dinosaurs, with examples such as the Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton named Sue, which is housed at the Field Museum in Chicago, museums also have extensive displays on the history of the rise of mammals.
Agate Fossil Beds tells the story of a treasure trove of mammal fossils in America’s Midwest.
Written By Lauren Eisenberg Davis Audio Editor and Theme Music: Peter Xiong Host: Jason Epperson
Sponsored by LLBean www.llbean.com/guide and Campendium www.campendium.com
On today’s episode of America’s National Parks, the comeback story of North American elk.
Written By Dr. Charlotte Hacker Audio Editor and Theme Music: Peter Xiong Host: Jason Epperson
Sponsored by LLBean www.llbean.com/guide and Campendium www.campendium.com
In this month's news roundup, the National Park Service has set its budget priorities for the year, including repairs from last year's extreme weather events and prevention measures to help keep them from happening again. Plus, a daring helicopter rescue at Zion, and more.
Sponsored by LLBean www.llbean.com/guide and Campendium www.campendium.com
In the stillness of winter, the waves still roll in and out, in and out, slicking the sandy shore of Assateague Island, a narrow thirty seven mile long barrier island which spans both Maryland and Virginia between the Atlantic Ocean and the Sinepuxent Bay. The wind can be sharp this time of year, rustling the sand into small ever changing dunes, and the temperature is nippy. In the cold of the Mid-Atlantic winter, no swimmers sluice through the water, no sunbathers lie on blankets or towels strewn across the shore. The beach stretches as far as the eye can see, an inviting expanse of sand and ocean treasures brought in on the tide.
The famous horses roam the island even in winter, grazing in the tall marsh grasses on the bay side of the island, trotting along the beach, nosing around the trash receptacles in the picnic areas and campgrounds. They are ever present on the island, and the reason that many people visit Assateague, combining a beach camping trip with the novelty of wild horses all around. Drawn by the annual Pony Penning, also known as the Chesapeake Pony Swim, or nostalgia for Marguerite Henry’s beloved book Misty of Chincoteague, throngs of people descend on Assateague Island in the spring and summer. But in the winter, without the crowds and their noise, without the smell of picnics, without all the distractions that high season brings, Assateague offers up a different kind of experience, full of quiet discovery.
By Lauren Eisenberg Davis Script Editor: Kelsey Skonberg Audio Editor and Theme Music: Peter Xiong Host: Jason Epperson
Sponsored by LLBean www.llbean.com/guide and Campendium www.campendium.com
Bats have survived shifting continents, mass extinction events, rapid anthropogenic expansion, and supervolcanic explosions. But can an important North American subset of bats survive the latest threat to their existence?
By Dr. Charlotte Hacker Script Editor: Kelsey Skonberg Audio Editor and Theme Music: Peter Xiong Host: Jason Epperson
Sponsored by LLBean www.llbean.com/guide and Campendium www.campendium.com
In this month's national park news, we share some changes to timed-entry reservation programs at Glacier, Yosemite, Arches, Zion, and Rocky Mountain National Parks. Plus, there's some new funding for parks, and what destinations might become national parks in 2023.
Since 1916, the National Park Service has worked to preserve our country’s natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. U.S. National Parks inspire more than 318 million visitors per year, and these unimpaired landscapes provide safe refuge to more than 600 at-risk species.
Unfortunately, they also provide safe refuge to some highly unwelcome wildlife.
By Dr. Charlotte Hacker Script Editor: Kelsey Skonberg Audio Editor and Theme Music: Peter Xiong Host: Jason Epperson
Sponsored by LLBean www.llbean.com/guide and Campendium www.campendium.com
While the creation of the Shenandoah National Park was the successful result of persistent collaboration between business owners, local park advocates, the state of Virginia, the federal government, and the young National Park Service, it also resulted in the forced displacement of thousands of individuals residing within the new park bounds.
By Sophie Poux Script Editor: Kelsey Skonberg Audio Editor and Theme Music: Peter Xiong Host: Jason Epperson
Sponsored by LLBean www.llbean.com/guide and Campendium www.campendium.com
Sweeping wildflower fields, brilliant fall foliage, cascading waterfalls, black bears, and songbirds. Mountain hollows. A meandering scenic drive stretching over 100 miles across the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Shenandoah National Park in Central Virginia has attracted visitors since the 1930s when the park first opened to the public. While the creation of the park was the successful result of persistent collaboration between business owners, local park advocates, the state of Virginia, the federal government, and the young National Park Service, it also resulted in the forced displacement of thousands of individuals residing within the new park bounds.
By Sophie Poux Script Editor: Kelsey Skonberg Audio Editor and Theme Music: Peter Xiong Host: Jason Epperson
Sponsored by LLBean www.llbean.com/guide and Campendium www.campendium.com
In this episode, we're taking a look at all the "Interagency" America the Beautiful passes that are available to give you access to national parks and other federal lands, often with some great discounts. We'll also cover the brand-new LIFETIME military pass.
Order your passes online here: https://store.usgs.gov/recreational-passes Get the Every Kid Outdoors 4th & 5th Grade Pass here: https://everykidoutdoors.gov/index.htm
Along the Anacostia River, thousands of years ago, a vibrant Native American community thrived, relying on the natural resources of the land and the water that bisected it. Lush foliage, cattails, fish, and wild game made the region self-sustaining for the Nacotchtank people. They understood the importance of balance between using and protecting the resources of these wetlands, which fell into a devastating period of overuse with the arrival of European settlers.
However, in the 1930s, a dredging project on the Anacostia River resulted in the government issuing a notice of condemnation of the land. Helen Fowler fought the action, and eventually persuaded Congress to protect eight acres of water gardens by annexing them to Anacostia Park.
It's time for our monthly park news round-up. This time, there are two new park units, a new study shares how some people really are "mosquito magnets," and some new science shows that Yosemite is much younger than we previously thought it was.
Today's show was sponsored by L.L.Bean, follow the hashtag #beanoutsider, and visit LLBean.com to find great gear for exploring the National Parks.
And by Campendium. Find listings and reviews for thousands of campsites for your next national park adventure at campendium.com.
Make sure to follow the America's National Parks Podcast on Facebook and Instagram, and join us on the RV Miles podcast the hear our travel stories as we journey across America.
It’s that spooky time of year again when the leaves are turning orange and red, the days get shorter and the nights longer, and there seems to be a ghoul hiding around every bend on the trail. Which means it’s also the perfect time of year for a themed episode. Today, we will be traversing the country to hear about some obscure hauntings and a curse that has been verified by multiple visitors.
Host: Jason Epperson
Narrator: Abigail Trabue
Written by: Rachel Ryan
Edited by: Peter Xiong
Species and population declines persisted during this time despite the existence of several federal laws, including The Lacey Act, the Migratory Bird Conservation Act, and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. A heavier-hitting piece of legislation was needed, and thus the Endangered Species Preservation Act came to be in October of 1966. Aimed at conserving, protecting, and restoring select species of native fish and wildlife, the Act and its purpose soon outgrew itself and, by 1969, was replaced with the Endangered Species Conservation Act.
But President Richard Nixon wasn’t satisfied. He called for even more comprehensive legislation, signing into law one of the nation’s, and world’s, most significant and strongest environmental laws.
Today’s America’s National Parks, the United States Endangered Species Act.
Written by Dr. Charlotte Hacker
Edited by Peter Xiong
Narrated by Abigail Trabue
Hosted by Jason Epperson
We often think of visiting national parks as a visual experience, the scenery drawing us in, the spectacular sights, where every moment presents yet another photo opportunity. And certainly this is true, even at Death Valley National Park. Every harshly sculpted desert landscape is a unique vista, a marvel of nature. But the conditions at Death Valley in the summertime remind us that the national parks can be experienced through senses other than sight. We primarily think of parks as something we see, but truly, if we’re experiencing a place fully, we should engage all five senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. This episode of America’s National Parks podcast is not a story, but rather a sensory journey.
Written By: Lauren Eisenberg Davis
Narrated By: Abigail Trabue
Edited By: Peter Xiong
Hosted By: Jason Epperson
In this episode, a Mexican earthquake caused a strange reaction 1500 miles away in death valley, the longest cave in the world is officially 6 miles longer, a new policy will more closely involve indigenous people in federal land management, and a former director of the National Park Service has died.
Today's show was sponsored by L.L.Bean, follow the hashtag #beanoutsider, and visit LLBean.com to find great gear for exploring the National Parks.
And by Campendium. Find listings and reviews for thousands of campsites for your next national park adventure at campendium.com.
Make sure to follow the America's National Parks Podcast on Facebook and Instagram, and join us on the RV Miles podcast the hear our travel stories as we journey across America.
A few million words could be written about Jimmy Carter and his influence on America and the world — but today, two of Plains, Georgia's lesser known residents, the folks that would raise or 39th president — the first to be born in a hospital.
Today's show was sponsored by L.L.Bean, follow the hashtag #beanoutsider, and visit LLBean.com to find great gear for exploring the National Parks.
And by Campendium. Find listings and reviews for thousands of campsites for your next national park adventure at campendium.com.
Make sure to follow the America's National Parks Podcast on Facebook and Instagram, and join us on the RV Miles podcast the hear our travel stories as we journey across America.
The pristine landscape of Alaska’s Glacier Bay stretches as far as the eye can see. Heading out from the serenity of Bartlett Cove, the bay opens into a wide waterway dotted with islands, and flanked by snow-capped mountains that disappear into the clouds, and thick forests of spruce and hemlock, cottonwood, and alder. The bay fills a basin carved out by the Grand Pacific Glacier, which has retreated north over the last two hundred fifty years, leaving behind a frigid bejeweled body of water fringed by a series of tidewater glaciers.
Anwar Mamon is an award-winning Executive Producer with over 20 years’ experience in TV production who has filmed in some of the most remote locations on the planet, pushing the boundaries of technology to bring viewers closer to nature and our planet than ever before.
And Ben Wallis has made films all over the world for prestigious outlets such as BBC, Disneynature, Netflix, Discovery and PBS.
Anwar and Ben are a part of Wildstar Films and the team behind National Geographic’s new series “America’s National Parks” premiering on the National Geographic channel and on Disney plus.
Our new book, the National Parks Journal for Kids!: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1685394477?maas=maas_adg_2783358EB9FED180A107AAC11500D118_afap_abs&ref_=aa_maas&tag=maas
In this episode, we cover the big reductions in water allocations to several states in order to save two of America's biggest dams, we update you on closed parks due to water damage, and so much more!
For the new explorer, planning a visit to a national park, or even several on a big road trip can be a daunting task. Today on America’s National Parks, we're talking with Jennifer Melroy, a national park lover who has visited nearly all of the 63 main parks and shares her tips and advice over at NationalParkObsessed.com. I talked with Jennifer about the broad strokes of planning a national park visit, pitfalls to avoid, and her resources for helping you get the best out of your trip.
Make sure to check out Jennifer's blog at nationalparkobsessed.com, and you can get her Ultimate National Park Planning Bundle through this link: https://nationalparkobsessed.store/collections/new-releases/products/ultimate-national-park-travel-planning-bundle
Amidst the rolling hills of Baltimore County, a two-lane road cleaves the sixty-two acres that remain of a former grand estate and plantation that once covered twenty-five thousand acres. The mansion sits on the north side and the remnants of the farm to the south. It’s a storybook picture, set in the middle of what is now a busy suburb of Baltimore. But, as most plantations go — the horrific enslavement of humans mars the earth that helped a new nation prosper.
Today's show was sponsored by L.L.Bean, follow the hashtag #beanoutsider, and visit LLBean.com to find great gear for exploring the National Parks.
And by Campendium. Find listings and reviews for thousands of campsites for your next national park adventure at campendium.com.
Make sure to follow the America's National Parks Podcast on Facebook and Instagram, and join us on the RV Miles podcast the hear our travel stories as we journey across America.
In this episode, we share the news about Hyperion, the world's largest tree, and the attempts at Redwood National Park to keep people from making the dangerous trek to visit it. Plus, Lake Mede is receding, which is creating some interesting surprises, including possible bodies of mobsters at its depths. All that and more on this edition of our National Parks News Roundup.
Today's show was sponsored by L.L.Bean, follow the hashtag #beanoutsider, and visit LLBean.com to find great gear for exploring the National Parks.
And by Campendium. Find listings and reviews for thousands of campsites for your next national park adventure at campendium.com.
Make sure to follow the America's National Parks Podcast on Facebook and Instagram, and join us on the RV Miles podcast the hear our travel stories as we journey across America.
National Monuments are some of our nation’s most controversial lands. On April 26, 2017, President Trump signed an executive order to review twenty-seven national monuments, calling them “superstitious land grabs” and “an abusive use of the Antiquities Act,” suggesting he might reduce or abolish them completely. He went on to issue proclamations that reduced two national monuments, Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears, and shortly thereafter, President Biden reinstated the former boundaries of both monuments when coming to office,
Today on America’s National Parks, we talk with McKenzie Long, whose book This Contested Land: The Storied Past and Uncertain Future of America’s National Monuments, shares her visits to thirteen national monuments established within the last twenty-five years.
Today's show was sponsored by L.L.Bean, follow the hashtag #beanoutsider, and visit LLBean.com to find great gear for exploring the National Parks.
And by Campendium. Find listings and reviews for thousands of campsites for your next national park adventure at campendium.com.
Make sure to follow the America's National Parks Podcast on Facebook and Instagram, and join us on the RV Miles podcast the hear our travel stories as we journey across America.
Skagway earns its fame in an enthralling story, as the gateway to the Klondike Gold Rush, nearly fifty years after the California Gold Rush of 1849. It’s easy to get caught up in the daydream of the myriad pioneers and adventurers who made their fortune passing through Skagway to the abundant troves of gold waiting in the wilderness beyond. But the story didn’t actually unfold that way.
Today, Skagway is home to the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park. The Visitor Center resides in one of the restored buildings, right on Broadway, close to the docks. Many of those Wild West buildings are, in fact, part of the park, and the stories of the fortune- seekers – adventurers and scoundrels alike – are housed within their walls.
Yellowstone National Park turned 150 this year, but of course, the national park moniker is just a human designation for this exotic landscape. a massive Caldera formed from a volcano that last erupted 631000 years ago. There are few places on Earth that display the power of nature so eloquently as Yellowstone. A place where the only constant is change. That power recently showed its face in the form of devastating floods that ravaged much of Yellowstone and beyond. On this episode of America's national parks the path forward for Yellowstone after a 1 in 500-year event.
In this month's edition of News from the Parks, a late-breaking story out of Yellowstone, all 5 entrances are closed due to flooding and dangerous conditions. Also, the Interior Department is banning the sale of single-use plastics, a woman gets gored by a bison, and more.
The America's National Parks Podcast episode on California Condors: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/california-condors/id1353308883?i=1000409126037
Yosemite was once a wild land ruled by grit. In the 1870s and 80s, only the hardiest of travelers braved the rumbling wagon road and the twenty-mile trek into the valley on mule or horseback. These were folk acclimated to the wild, people who had lived in mining towns or mountain villages their entire lives. Yet, tucked away in the packs of some of these rugged, hardened adventurers was beautiful, delicate china, artisan soaps, fragile full-length mirrors, and fresh crisp towels. Across the treacherous terrain strapped to stubborn scratchy mules, employees of the Cosmopolitan Bathhouse & Saloon brought luxury to the valley in a juxtaposition that defined so much of this era.
What do a brownstone in the heart of New York City, a site near the Canadian border in Buffalo, a forested island in Washington, D.C., and the sprawling North Dakota Badlands have in common? They are all units of the National Park Service named for Theodore Roosevelt.
On a picturesque estate in historic Woodstock, Vermont, carriage roads crosscut the property, through fields, flanked by stands of trees, providing scenic views of the estate, the adjacent farm, and the surrounding area. Historic buildings lie scattered across the estate: the mansion, the carriage barn, the wood barn, the horse shed. This idyllic setting, filled with old hardwood trees, open pastures, stone walls, and covered bridges, is the Marsh Billings Rockefeller National Historical Park.
In this month's news, we're sharing the proposed "parking tag" that the Great Smoky Mountains National Park may implement, the Brown v. Board of Education site is expanding, and more.
You can comment on the Smokies fees here:
Visit https://parkplanning.nps.gov/GRSMfeeproposal2023
On Thursday, March 31, the oldest working National Park Service Ranger Betty Reid Soskin retired after a decade and a half of sharing her personal experiences and the efforts of women from diverse backgrounds who worked on the World War II Home Front.
Today on America’s National Parks, the new Our Great National Parks Series premiering April 13th on Netflix, and how these wonderful nature documentaries get made. Our guests are Executive Producer James Honeyborne, who produced the incredible award-award-winning "Blue Planet II," the most-watched wildlife documentary series for over 20 years. And award-winning fimmaker Sophie Todd, the Series Producer of Our Great National Parks. She also wrote, directed, and produced for Netflix’s "Formula 1: Drive To Survive."
The dizzying thrum of the water-powered textile mills in Lowell, Massachusetts drowns out everything else. It is, in a word, deafening – so much so that the floor of the mill vibrates with intense ferocity.
Set along the Merrimack River, its tributaries, and canals, the city of Lowell had easy access to great quantities of rushing water to power the many mills of the city, which led to its swift success in the early days of the American Industrial Revolution.
Today on the America’s National Parks Podcast, Lowell National Historical Park, and the women who made it work.
Decades before Henry Wadsworth Longfellow would call the house on Brattle Street home, a General, tasked with leading the nation to freedom, would take up residency, and an enslaved couple would have a lasting and profound effect on Cambridge, Massachusetts.
In this month's national park news roundup, we share info about the newest unit in the National Park Service system, the Amache National Historic Site. Plus, we cover things you might want to know about visiting a park this year — from new mask rules, to cashless payments, to prescribed fires, and we share some striking news about humpback whales in Glacier Bay National Park.
150 years ago, the National Park idea was born, in a place called Yellowstone. That idea was helped along in part by a painter, Thomas Moran, who brought images of early Yellowstone exploration to the world, convincing Congress to take action.
In the heart of Pennsylvania coal country, trains had their heyday. As freight transportation matured beyond the canals of the early industrial days, railroads became the predominant means of moving goods, including anthracite coal, from the region.
The time: the turn of the twentieth century. The place: the Lackawanna Valley. The woman: a young socialite named Phoebe Snow, whose surname, Snow, conjures up the exact opposite of the black dirt of the steam railroad.
Today's Sponsors:
L.L.Bean: https://llbean.com for all the gear to fuel your next outdoor adventure.
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For all of the heroes of the National Parks we’ve covered on this podcast over nearly 200 episodes, it’s a wonder we haven’t spent time with a photographer who brought the beauty, grandeur and spirit of nature to the world - showing the need for preservation and curating a desire for a nation to visit them.
Ansel Adams is, to be sure, the most famous photographer ever. And his contributions to the natural world rival his innovations and artistry in his medium.
Welcome to this month's "News from the Parks" our monthly roundup of top stories from the National Parks. The official overall NPS visitation number has yet to be released, but some parks have already turned in their reporting and the numbers at some of our most popular parks are staggering. Plus, project improvements continue, the sad fate of Lake Powell, Judge rules in favor of the Endangered Species Act. the USS Constitution sees a change in command and a first for the ship, Canadian doctors see the health benefits in National Parks, and more.
In the 1800s, the Lackawaxen region of the Upper Delaware River was a bustling area, punctuated by industrial transportation. The canal era provided access to water transport where there was no natural river or lake. John Augustus Roebling, a civil engineer with an innovative approach to suspension bridges, was hired to build four aqueduct bridges that became the basis for modern bridge construction still used today.
Right at the end of the outcropping where the Patuxent River meets the Baltimore Harbor sits a star-shaped fort that had been instrumental in the War of 1812, and which led to the writing of our national anthem. But Fort McHenry carries other stories, too, few more striking than its use for imprisoning prominent Southern-leaning citizens of Maryland during the Civil War, including members of the Maryland legislature and journalists.
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Will you need to make a reservation when you visit a national park this year? America’s 400+ National Park Service sites have seen a surge in visitation during the pandemic, and it’s expected that 2022 will be no different. Across the country, you may run into reservation systems, closures, increased fees, and other changes at National Parks.
In this episode, Abby breaks down what you can expect in 2022.
In Connecticut's only National Park Service site visitors have an experience unique in the system — a place to create art, steeped in over 100 years of tradition.
It's time for this month's National Park News episode. The National Park Service has a new director, fires have killed up to 19% of giant sequoia trees in California in just two years, the body of a man who went missing in the 80s has been found in Rocky Mountain National Park, and more.
One of the very few women architects of her time, Mary Colter blended her lifelong love and respect of Native American arts and rustic elements with a fierce perfectionism: all to create a beautiful and singular aesthetic that left her imprint on the look of the modern American Southwest.
Beneath the rolling grasslands of Badlands National Park lies an intricate housing system and social network. Black-tailed prairie dogs pop in and out of their burrows in the prairie dog towns, chattering and gesturing. But amid all the prairie dogs, if you’re a keen observer, you may also notice what appears to be a small owl emerging from the burrows. These species – the black-tailed prairie dog and the burrowing owl - have a unique type of symbiotic relationship, and ultimately may experience a shared demise.
In this episode, a park superintendent Aaron Mahr tells us what makes a national trail special, and difficult to manage.
Welcome to this month's "News from the Parks" our monthly roundup of top stories from the National Parks.
If you dare, dip your feet into the icy water of St. Mary Lake. The glacier-fed water adds a new twist to the term “refreshing.” It’s one of many sensory experiences at a park that attracts more and more people who want to see the glaciers before they are gone.
Glacier National Park, in northern Montana, is a crown jewel of the United States. Its pristine landscapes draw millions of visitors a year, to see its majestic mountains, jewel-colored waterfalls, carpets of wildflowers, and wildlife ranging from bald eagles to mountain goats and bighorn sheep to grizzly bears. But mostly people come to see the glaciers, these fields of ice that – by definition – move under their own weight, picking up rocks and debris that sometimes stain their brilliant blue hue with a hint of grey.
Joshua Tree National Park in southern California encompasses parts of both the Mojave and Colorado Deserts. This unique ecosystem conjures images of the iconic trees, desert washes, wondrous boulders, rattlesnakes, and cactus blooms. But long before it became a national park (or even a national monument prior to that), this area was home to people, from Native Americans to pioneers – cattlemen, homesteaders, and miners – and where you find people, you find music.
Nestled between the San Bernardino and Coxcomb Mountains lies the confluence of the Mojave and Colorado Deserts, where the wind rushes through the rocks and valleys. At night it’s the only sound, other than the occasional hoot of an owl and the sound of your own breath. This is the soundtrack of Joshua Tree National Park.
There's a newly nominated candidate for NPS Director, a position that has been vacant for more than 4 years. Meanwhile, well over half of Lassen Volcanic National Park has been burned by the Dixie Fire. It's time for this month's National Park News.
In early June 1912, residents of southeast Alaska began to feel earthquakes daily. Earthquakes are common in this region, which is well-known for its geologic instability, though these were getting stronger. The remaining two families at Katmai village evacuated, and they were just in time. On June 6th, the largest volcanic eruption of the twentieth century exploded. The skies darkened and the sun disappeared for more than 60 hours, and the aftermath of the explosion was felt hundreds of miles away.
This week on America’s National Parks: the Novarupta volcano in Katmai National Park.
As fires rage across the west in what will likely be the worst year for wildland fires on record, brave people face them head-on, to save our structures and our lives. The fraternity of American firefighters has always been a boys club — today only about 4% are women. And wildland firefighters even more so. In the early 1980s, one woman was among the first to join the Arrowhead Interagency Hotshots, an elite National Park Service crew, stationed at Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks in California.
The text of today's episode comes from Women’s Voices: Women in the National Park Service Oral History Project and the audio comes from an oral history interview conducted by Lu Ann Jones and Leah Baer of the National Park Service Park History Program earlier this year.
Under the light of the moon, shelled creatures emerge from the ocean and make their way onto the sandy shoreline. They drag their bodies through the sand until one by one, they stop. Each migrant reptile will use her back flippers to dig a hole in the sand, depositing up to 100 eggs before covering them again for protection. The new mother will then follow the moonlight back into the safety of the ocean. It's early summer along this seashore, and something spectacular is occurring: it’s sea turtle nesting season along the Outer Banks in North Carolina.
A couple of months later, tiny turtles will emerge from the sand and their shells and begin the seemingly impossible journey back into the ocean, on the same sand their mother did years or even decades earlier. Although they face many challenges, these magnificent creatures are worth protecting.
This week on America’s National Parks: the sea turtles of Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
Hottest days on record, new mask-wearing requirements, Congress has hearings on park crowding, lightning strikes several visitors to the Grand Canyon, and a whole slew of terrible park visitors.
It’s time for the latest in National Park News.
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Situated within the spray of the picture-perfect Nevada Fall stood a pioneer hotel that, for almost 20 years, welcomed guests to Yosemite National Park. Named La Casa Nevada or The Snow House, owners Albert and Emily Snow, like so many innkeepers of the late 1800s provided a valuable service to those wanting to escape city life in search of nature’s stunning beauty and peace. If you were willing to make the trek, there was a moderately comfortable bed and a warm meal waiting for you. But as romantic as that all sounds, life as a Yosemite innkeeper was not for everyone. It was tough, rugged, work in a landscape that required determination not many could withstand.
The sun can rise and set on this island nation in the middle of the Pacific. Known for its rainforest paradise and tropical reefs, these islands were originally settled by Polynesians more than 3,000 years ago, and continue to carry traditional Polynesian culture today. Colorful tropical reefs are part of the 4,000 acres of National Park that is underwater, though even reefs are threatened by human-caused climate change. Though we love to travel by RV here at America’s National Parks, this one is only accessible by plane.
This week on America’s National Parks, we take a deep dive into the American Samoa.
A flash flood tears through Zion, Karens build Cairns in Petroglyph, endangered frogs are gettin’ it on without any assistance in California, Grand Teton gets one BIG Teton of a new dump truck, a drunken kayaker gets 60 days in Jail and a 5-year ban from Yellowstone, a massive bear spray recall, and more. It’s time for the latest in National Park News.
Resources Mentioned: https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/news/inde... https://rvmiles.com/major-bear-spray-... Pictured Rocks video: https://fb.watch/6tY-I0B1PF
If you've never been there, when you think of Michigan, you may not imagine miles of sandy beaches, turquoise waters, and bluffs that tower more than 450 feet above one of the four Great Lakes that border the state.
There are also inland lakes, lush forests, an island lighthouse, coastal villages and picturesque farmsteads. All of these fantastic features can be found in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
Winding through Acadia’s forests and mountains are 45 miles of historic roadways that are only for pedestrians, bicyclists, horseback riders, and carriages. These roads were carefully designed to follow the contours of the landscape and reach scenic vistas. Though enormously popular for recreation today, until recently it was not well-known who had the most prominent role in the development of these roads: John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
Yellowstone and Grand Teton shatter April attendance records, Zion sees a four-hour wait for its most popular hike, Biden’s 2022 budget sees the largest appropriation for the National Park Service ever, an Instagramer apologizes, and so much more.
It’s time for this month’s news round-up episode of the America’s National Parks podcast.
In the middle of North Dakota, one of the least visited states in the nation, sits one of the smallest and least visited National Park Service Sites. It’s the place where Earthlodge people, the Hidatsa and Mandan, who lived along the Missouri River and it’s tributaries, hunted bison and other game. The site was a major Native American trade center for hundreds of years prior to becoming an important marketplace for fur traders after 1750.
Today on America’s National Parks, the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site, and the story of Buffalo-Bird Woman, one of the last Hidatsas born in the Knife River villages, in her own words, as portrayed by Grace Henry in the park film.
In 1680, one of the earliest Western accounts of coordinated fireflies flashing was recorded by a Dutch physician while traveling down the Meinam River in what is now Thailand. He wrote, “A whole swarm of these insects, having taken possession of one Tree, and spread themselves over its branches, sometimes hide their Light all at once, and a moment after make it appear again with the utmost regularity and exactness.”
More than 300 years later and the synchronized flashing of fireflies is still a mystery.
Point Reyes National Seashore has recorded more than 450 species of birds, including 38 that are threatened or endangered. There are multiple factors that make it such a popular and birdy destination. For one, it has many unique habitats that provide food and shelter, such as coastline, forest, wetland, and open fields. The park’s peninsula also juts out into the ocean, scooping migrants into the park as they travel along the coast. Due to these special features, the National Audubon Society has also named it an Important Bird Area.
It might not be common knowledge that the Yosemite Valley one of the crown jewels of the American landscape, known for towering natural splendor in its pristine condition, has a sister valley, within the National Park, that was flooded to create a water reservoir for the city of San Fransisco.
For over 100 years, Hetch Hetchy canyon, named with an indigenous word for a type of wild grass, has been called Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. And while turning back is a real possibility one day, Hetch Hetchy is still an amazing place to visit. Or it would be if it were a little easier.
Restore Hetch Hetchy is an organization with a plan to do just that, and Executive Director Spreck Rosekrans is our guest today on the America's National Parks Podcast.
In the late 1800s, Hansen’s disease (also known as leprosy) was reaching epidemic proportions in the Hawaiian islands. Bacteria cause nerve damage in patients and can lead to crippling of the hands and feet, paralysis, and blindness. At the time, there was no cure and no known effective treatment, and health officials had no idea how the disease was spreading. This frightened officials in Hawaii, and in a desperate act to save their native populations, isolation seemed to be the only answer.
On this episode of the America's National Parks Podcast - Kalaupapa National Historical Park.
Some National Parks will require entry reservations this summer — in this episode, we'll tell you which ones, and break down all the details.
It was, literally, earth-shaking; so much so that a seismometer thousands of miles away picked up the vibrations. It contained enough force to push debris a mile under water, heaving it uphill onto the opposite shore, and generate a tsunami high enough to rival Seattle’s Space Needle.
But this was no earthquake.
Today on America's National Parks, they Icy Bay Landslide, a 60-second deluge of boulders, earth, and trees in a remote slice of Alaska’s Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve on October 17, 2015.
One of the most significant land conservation measures in our nation’s history was an act that protected over 100 million acres of land, doubled the size of the country’s national refuge system, and tripled wilderness areas. It created or expanded nine national parks and preserves, six national monuments, sixteen national wildlife refuges, twenty-five wild and scenic rivers, and two national forests, including our nation’s largest: the Tongass in Southeast Alaska. This legislation also created a compromise between the needs of development and conservation and the competing interests that fought for them. While it was not perfect, it has shaped the history of our public lands and the National Park Service system itself.
This week on America’s National Park: the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, or ANILCA.
A collared Yellowstone wolf has been killed...by the governor of Montana, Yellowstone is seeking to improve communication services, Glacier National Park has re-opened the East entrance after over a year of closure, a man is sentenced for stealing over $3000 from Grand Canyon, Wind Cave tours resume, and more. All on this episode of National Park News. Public comment on the Yellowstone communications plan can be submitted here: parkplanning.nps.gov/fiberEA
Hundreds of thousands of people around the world are spending their free time counting birds, measuring water quality, or monitoring pollinators. They may also be counting asteroids, collecting bugs, measuring air quality, reporting wildlife sightings, or tracking monarch migration. The amazing thing is that these people are not career scientists. They live in the city and in the country, go backpacking or have picnics in the park. They vary in age and it doesn’t matter what their job is. They are community scientists.
Community science is the practice of data collection by everyday people, that is, people who aren’t scientists. Community scientists volunteer their time to help collect data, analyze results, and solve problems about important issues facing our natural world, and that includes our national parks.
Sometimes, the best and easiest way to collect data is to involve volunteers. For example, if a park manager needs to know what areas of the park need better protection, they may need to know where rare plants are blooming each year. A mobile app can support volunteer scientists to record when they see those flowers, and if hundreds of people get involved in the project, there will be more data than if the single scientist tried to explore the entire park alone. This can also be a great way for visitors to learn, get excited, and be involved in something important. By taking part in real science in the park, visitors can learn to appreciate their national parks in new ways.
This week, on America’s National Parks Podcast, we’re exploring stories of community science in our national parks.
Lindsey Taylor's blog: https://curiositychroniclesblog.wordpress.com/
On June 17, 1775, New England soldiers faced the British army for the first time in a pitched battle. Bloody fighting took place throughout a hilly landscape of fenced pastures that were situated across the Charles River from Boston. Though the British were victorious, the psychological toll inflicted by American soldiers from Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire was staggering. Of the 2,400 British Soldiers and Marines engaged, 1,000 were wounded or killed.
Today on America's National Parks, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and the Bunker Hill Monument, part of the Boston National Historical Park.
One and a half million acres of shallow-water marine habitats, freshwater marshes and prairies, saltwater wetland forests, and pine and hardwood forests provide refuge for threatened and endangered animals in the Gulf of Mexico. The green sea turtle, American crocodile, West Indian manatee, Everglade snail kite, and piping plover all depend on critical habitat within Everglades National Park. 1.3 million acres of the park is designated wilderness, making it the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States and the largest wilderness area east of the Mississippi River.
Visitor statistics have been released for 2020, and visitation to parks was down about 1/3, thanks to park closures. There's a new National Park Service app, new rules for anyone taking video in parks, and Hot Springs National Park is about to celebrate a huge milestone.
More than a thousand years ago in the Upper Midwest, indigenous people were moving mountains—literally. The Mound Builders changed the landscape by piling earth into tall shapes that could only be truly appreciated from up above. In our time, one Ho-Chunk woman lived a special life in this area, and one National Park Service superintendent went to prison for stealing the bones of her ancestors.
This week on America's National Parks, a great mountain of the west, and conservation lessons learned over the course of a century.
Much of the western United States was once blanketed in hundreds of feet of sand. The unforgiving sun beat down on the landscape for 20 to 30 million years during the early Jurassic period. Thin layers of rock allowed water to collect even in the dry desert, though sometimes it was hidden a few inches below the surface. Dinosaurs and other animals were able to survive the harsh conditions, and as the sand slowly turned to sandstone, traces of these animals were caught and preserved in the rock, creating fossils.
More than 150 million years later, a man named Earl Douglass was born in Medford, Minnesota in 1862. He didn’t know it yet, but his fate was already entwined with the dinosaurs that once roamed the earth.
This week on America’s National Parks: Earl Douglass and Dinosaur National Monument.
It's time for this month's "news from the parks" episode. Today, we cover President Biden's new executive order requiring masks-wearing on federal lands, and a landmark ruling from a judge striking down the National Park Service's commercial film permit rules.
With wolves decreasing at Isle Royale, the moose population could decimate the forest and vegetation communities. Neither species is native to the island, but a multi-agency wolf translocation strategy may save Isle Royale.
Swirling between the borders of Canada and Minnesota is a vast maze of interconnected water highways – a wild space comprised of lush forests and isolated islands. Its history is fueled by the Native Americans who called it home, and the french fur traders known as Voyageurs. Peaceful islands dot the waters, but they also hold a secret. A golden secret. On this episode of America's National Parks - the story of Voyageur's National Park's Little American Island and the 1890's Gold Rush.
In the heart of our nation lies a riverway that has been federally protected for more than 50 years and stewarded by Native Americans for thousands of years before that. ItThis river carried logs piled so high they caused jams two miles long. It witnessed the first steamboats, a Minnesota firestorm, and even a briefly booming pearl button factory. The onset of the fur trade, European settlement, and urban development began to threaten these once-pristine waters. The unique habitat for aquatic life and recreational opportunities such as fishing and paddling was enough cause for people to rally for the water’s protection.
This week on America’s National Parks: the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway.
If you take the time to stop in West Virginia's New River Gorge, our newest national park, and listen, you may hear intertwined within the sound of birdsong, flowing water, and the wind billowing through the trees the whistle of a train. Today on America's National Parks, the legend born from the Gorge that would echo through generations to come. A man named John Henry.
New Lava eruptions in Hawaii have people doing dangerous things, a harrowing evacuation of the records of two national parks in danger of being lost to wildfire, and our 63rd National Park.
This week on America’s National Parks, we journey to Gates of the Arctic, Yellowstone, and Glacier for three stories of survival from the wildlife that call them home: Arctic Ground Squirrels, Bison, and Clark’s Nutcrackers.
Should the whitebark pine be listed as a threatened species? The USFWS will consider public comments received by Feb. 1, 2021. Comments may be submitted electronically at www.regulations.gov by searching under docket number FWS–R6–ES–2019–0054 and clicking on the “comment now” button.
Shortly after midnight on June 12, 1963, civil rights activist Medgar Evers was assassinated in the carport of the home that he shared with his wife Myrlie and their three young children in Jackson, Mississippi. His death, the first murder of a nationally significant leader of the American Civil Rights Movement, heightened public awareness of civil rights issues and became a catalyst for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Today on America's National Parks, our newest National Park Service Unit, the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument in Jackson, Mississippi.
Mountains that tower over beaches, temperate rainforests, ice fields, tidewater glaciers, and marine depths welcome the visitors that make the trek to visit this off-the-beaten-path destination. These habitats provide homes for mountain goats, moose, shorebirds, salmon, and bears, but the easiest way to get around in this national park is not by foot. Nearly 1200 miles of shoreline curve around inlets and islands. One endangered animal has thrived in this environment, swimming here to feed for the summer before returning to tropical waters near Mexico and Hawaii every winter. This week: the humpback whales of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.
Hiking has arguably become the most popular activity in 2020, but as more and more people take to the trails, rescues are on the rise in National Parks putting a strain on resources, In Utah, a mysterious monolith appeared sparking all kinds of theories, and just as people were rushing to be some of the first to snap a photo with it, it disappeared. The National Park Service finds itself in a 270 million dollar wrongful death lawsuit after a woman lost her life in one of the most shocking ways we’ve ever heard of in a National Park. It’s time for this month’s National Park News.
The “peace pipe,” as it’s often called by those who only know it as a symbol of the hundreds of peace treaties signed between the federal government and Native American tribes, is a valued tradition that dates back thousands of years. And today, on a 1-square-mile plot of land, that tradition continues in the modern world, ever changing yet firmly rooted in the past. Today on America’s National Parks, Minnesota’s Pipestone National Monument.
There are about 60,000 free-roaming horses in North America, and while we call them “wild,” they more accurately fit the definition of feral, which means they are free-roaming descendants of domesticated horses. Regardless, their majesty is impressive to behold anywhere you find them.
Domesticated horses were introduced into North America beginning with the Spanish conquest. Escaped horses then spread throughout the Great Plains. But it’s clear that centuries of domestication didn’t alter their instincts too much, as they quickly reverted to ancient behavioral patterns in the wild. On Assateague Island, horses have lived wild for over 300 years species, but managing the herd is critical to the continued protection of the seashore ecosystem.
Too often we look at our symbols and see them as the enduring legacy of our past, when in reality, symbols have always been mirror for us to reflect our current moments in, in order to inform our life’s direction. In the united states, the American Flag gets a lot of play, as does the Statue of Liberty, and the bald eagle. But there’s one symbol that we all know, but doesn’t always immediately come to mind as a representation of the American experience. And that’s a shame, because it’s a better representation of America than planned and designed effigies like the flag and Lady Liberty. Today on the America’s National Parks Podcast, the Liberty Bell.
The world's longest fossilized footprint tracks have been uncovered in the White Sands of New Mexico, the National Trail system has grown by more than 1300 miles, two YouTubers are fined $1000 for filming in parks without a permit, a hiker lost in Zion for 12 days has been found, but questions abound about her disappearance, and a big change in policy will allow America’s more than 20 million veterans access to National Parks for free. It’s time for this month’s National Park News.
When you ask Americans to list some of our country's most famous poets and short story tellers, you’ll rarely hear mention of one of the most well-known authors of all time. Perhaps it’s because most think he was British, or perhaps it’s because most of his macabre stories seem a genre all of their own. Today on America’s National Parks, Philadelphia’s Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site, and his masterpiece, "The Raven," just in time for Halloween.
National Park sites, even the natural ones, have seen many uses over the history of America, often due to the unique features that make them worth preserving in the first place. From its thunderous ocean breakers crashing against rocky headlands and expansive sand beaches to its open grasslands, brushy hillsides, and forested ridges, Point Reyes offers visitors over 1500 species of plants and animals to discover.
Today on America’s National Parks, the historic RCA/Marconi wireless stations that sent morse code across the pacific during one of the most difficult times in American history.
On last week’s episode, we took a look at early road planning and design in the parks, and we’re continuing with the theme this week, by looking at the history of National Park Campgrounds.
You might not realize it, but so much of modern campground design, whether it be state and federal parks or privately ran facilities, was developed through the National Park Service throughout the 20th century. And now, the park service is taking a fresh look at campground design. Not to re-invent them, or turn them into gaudy spaces for glamping. The new national park service second century campground strategy is all about making camping spaces more user friendly, efficient, and inclusive, all while respecting the natural resources of the given park. You can comment on the Second Century strategy here:
https://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?parkID=415&projectID=97629&documentID=106910
As the National Park idea began to inspire Americans far and wide, a major problem arose: how to provide safe access to these often wild and dangerous places, especially as the automobile began to make cross-country travel easier and more affordable. Today on America’s National Parks, two roads that taught the National Park Service some of the major lessons that have been applied to park design over the past century: Trail Ridge Road and Old Fall River Road in Rocky Mountain National Park.
It's time month’s News from the Parks episode of the America’s National Parks Podcast, where we round up the latest happenings at America’s Greatest Treasures. On this episode, we have 2 new National Park Service units, bear attacks, fire & hurricanes, a terrible vandalism to a cave, news from National Parks in other countries, and so much more!
This week we learn about reducing impact on the environment when visiting National Parks and other public lands, along with a lesson on what to do when nature calls out on the trail from rangers at Yosemite National Park.
In Yellowstone National Park's Upper Geyser Basin sits an unassuming store, one that's lasted for nearly all the park's human history. It's famed owner wallpapered his office in the most unusual way—with hundreds of cancelled checks. This week, the Million Dollar Room in the Lower Hamilton's Store at Yellowstone National Park
A man gets jail and a $500,000 fine for sneaking into Canada’s National Parks during the coronavirus, a tanker truck overturns in Yellowstone, a veritable novel is graffitied onto a popular lighthouse, and Wolverines have been spotted in one National Park for the first time in over a century. It’s time for the latest in National Park News.
It's now clear we’re dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic for the long haul, and instead of just staying inside, many Americans are wanting to figure out how to recreate responsibly. And what could be a better place to socially distance than a National Park, right? Well, it’s not so simple.
This week, we’re sharing with you an episode of a different podcast: "Everybody’s National Parks." Hosts Danielle and Bryan do an excellent job taking us on deep dives into parks through their trip reports as well as interviews from expert to help us get the best out of their visits. Jason sat down virtually with Danielle to chat about visiting the parks during the virus, and Joining was Brad from the new "Hello, Ranger podcast." Brad and Matt Kirouac formerly hosted the "Parklandia" podcast, and now, they’ve started a whole community of park lovers that includes a great app and Park Ambassadors to help you navigate your National Park experience.
On the border of utah and colorado sits a place where the wild rugged land has been used for centuries to carve out a modern human existence, long before it was found to contain the world’s greatest collection of dinosaur bones. Here one woman lived for nearly a century, as the world modernized, she kept this place as a link to the past.
It's time for another "News from the Parks" edition of the podcast. This week, we'll learn about how the funds from the Great American Outdoors Act will be used, how the Cuyahoga River is flowing more free than ever, and some strange blue-square graffiti that has rangers puzzled and cleaning at Zion.
Today on America’s National Parks, we travel to California’s Sequoia and Kings Canyon, where decades of research show us how the world is changing, and help us to figure out what to expect next.
Perhaps no city in the United States exceeds Chicago in the number, breadth, intensity, and national importance of labor upheavals. One of our most recent national park service sites celebrates and remembers the contributions to American society of an ingenious entrepreneur, but more importantly, the workers who made his dreams happen, and their battle for fair pay. Today on America's National Parks, The Pullman National Monument.
As far as atrocities against Native Americans by westerners, it’s hard to pick the worst. But there’s one that certainly ranks up there. Surely the horrific, predawn mass murder of at least 150 unarmed people, mostly women and children, who were flying the American flag fits the bill. Today on America’s National Parks, we revisit the dedication of Colorado’s Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site.
On this month's "News from the Parks" episode, we talk about new closures, even as most parks have reopened. Plus, a new, 6-year celebration of America's 250th birthday kicks off in the parks.
On average, there are only one or two non-lethal bear "incidents" in a given year at Glacier National Park. And there have only been 10 bear-related fatalities in the history of the park (all of those have occurred since 1967). Only three of those fatalities involved hikers. Still, human-bear encounters can end in death and injury, no doubt, and the attacking bear is often euthanized. So, bear safety is incredibly important.
Today on America’s National Parks, we head to Glacier for a lesson in bear safety.
About 1,400 years ago, long before Europeans explored North America, a group of people living in the Four Corners region - where today Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet - chose what is now called Mesa Verde for their home. For more than 700 years they and their descendants lived and flourished here, eventually building elaborate stone communities in the sheltered alcoves of the canyon walls. Then, in the late A.D. 1200s, in the span of a generation or two, they disappeared.
Today on America’s National Parks, Mesa Verde, a spectacular reminder of this ancient culture - and so much more.
On today's episode, we explore the pending legislation entitled the "Great American Outdoors Act" with Pew Charitable Trusts' Marcia Argust. The act promises to reduce the $12 billion maintenance backlog in the National Park Service.
On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka that segregation in the public schools of the nation was unconstitutional. One of the first big tests of that decision came in Little Rock, Arkansas. Nine Black children attempted to enroll in the all-white Central High School. They would become known as the "Little Rock Nine.” Several segregationist councils threatened to hold protests at Central High and physically block the black students from entering the school. Governor Orval Faubus deployed the Arkansas National Guard to support the segregationists on September 4, 1957. The sight of a line of soldiers blocking out the students made national headlines and polarized the nation. On September 24, President Eisenhower ordered the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army—without its black soldiers—to Little Rock and federalized the entire 10,000-member Arkansas National Guard.
As much as it was a momentous occasion in American history, that had ramifications far and wide forever to come, it’s easy to forget that these nine children had to walk into a building full of people that thought their very existence was going to destroy their version of America. It’s easy to forget that the crisis didn’t end with them walking through the doors. These are their stories, in their own words.
As summer begins, the National Park Service is instituting phased reopenings at many parks across the country, allowing visitors various levels of access to amenities. Meanwhile, park officials, concessionaires, and, gateway communities are figuring out how to manage the influx of new travelers amidst a pandemic that is far from over.
Every fall in one of the largest national parks in America, visitation slows to a near halt by the end of September. The ground is already covered with golden aspen leaves and the mountaintops are powdered with snow called “termination dust”. The skies lose up to 9 minutes of sunlight every day and the northern lights dance over the crisp landscape at night. While so much of the park and landscape slows into the winter, there is one group of individuals that eagerly await the snow: the sled dogs of Denali.
While exploring National Parks, Monuments and historic sites across the country, you may have noticed gigantic plaques in a few of the visitor centers, designating them as UNESCO World Heritage sites. Today on America's National Parks, we explore what makes these sites special, and what it takes for an exceptional place to become a World Heritage Site.
Herbert Hoover had been president for less than a year when the stock market crashed. At the next election, he was swept out out the white house and out of public life as a scapegoat that would forever be saddled with a legacy of a presidential disaster. It's time to set the record straight.
Today on America's National Parks, the Herbert Hoover that maybe you didn't know, and his National Park legacy.
The National Park Service manages 84 million acres, in 419 parks, 1 in 4 of which have caves, and 1 in 3 of which have mines. Many of these caves and mines provide habitat for hibernating bats.
Bats are an essential part of many American ecosystems, but they're under threat from a hidden illness called white-nose syndrome. Since 2006, this fungal disease has killed millions of bats in North America. In some caves and mines, 90-100% of bat populations have died.
Parks in more than half of the United States are affected by the presence of White Nose Syndrom. Losing an important predator so quickly may have a drastic effect on the ecology of a given park. As the disease spreads, scientists consider the impact and potential for impact on national parks to be very high.
Today on America's National Parks, Bats of the Greater Yellowstone area - and how National Park Service scientists are working to learn how to protect them.
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.
Known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the National Parks," legendary naturalist John Muir was far ahead of his time, holding ideals that many are just coming around to.
Muir undertook a daring adventure in 1867 that led him to the path of natural enlightenment. He decided that he wanted to explore the world. He left his life in Indiana and walked one thousand miles to Florida. Muir trekked south through Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida with little more than a map, a compass, a brush, soap, and a change of underclothes.
Muir later penned his adventure in "A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf," which has become a classic naturalist text set against the backdrop of the post-civil war south. In it, he makes loads of prescient observations, but none more arresting than his denunciation of the idea that God mad nature as man's personal resource factory. That perhaps, the creator mad nature for nature's sake, and the lives and feelings of every plant and animal matter just as much as our own.
In this difficult time in the world, we look to heroes from our past as inspiration to help us find the resolution to possess even a small fraction of their helping spirit. Clara Barton's life's work has rippled through the generations, and, in fact, the response to today's pandemic crisis might have been very different were she never born.
Today, one of the most decorated women in American history, and the Clara Barton National Historic Site.
In the battle for conservation and the protection and reinvigoration of endangered species, one animal serves as a symbol to remind us of what we've done as a human race, and how we have the responsibility to fix our mistakes. And it all played out in America's first and most famous National Park.
Today on America's National Parks, Yellowstone, and the 25th anniversary of the return of the Grey Wolf.
Just 75 miles from the bustle of Washington, D.C., is an escape to recreation and re-creation. Cascading waterfalls, spectacular vistas, and quiet wooded hollows - 200,000 acres of protected lands are a haven to deer, songbirds, and the night sky. But the history of this land is also the history of the people who gave up their homes for a great national park in the East.
Today on America's National Parks, Shenandoah, and the livelihood of the people who called the mountains their home.
As travel restrictions, shelter-in-place orders, and closures to all but the most essential services sweep the country, the National Park Service has been caught in the middle of wanting to protect people and places, while providing recreational opportunities for Americans to get out and free their minds in nature.
Only a few miles of rough wagon roads existed within Glacier National Park when Congress established the park on May 11, 1910. Many people, including the first Park Superintendent, William R. Logan, wanted to build a transmountain road across the park. Supporters argued that a good road system would enable people to reach the interior of the park even if they could not afford the rates of the Great Northern Railroad and its chalets. And enthusiasm for good roads and automobiling had infected National Park Service officials as much as the rest of the country. But sheer cliffs, short construction seasons, sixty foot snow-drifts, and tons of solid rock made the idea of building a road across the Continental Divide a unique challenge.
Today on America's National Parks, Glacier's Going to the Sun Road.
337,598 acres of colorful canyons, mesas, buttes, fins, arches, and spires in the heart of southeast Utah's high desert. A land where water and gravity are the prime architects, sculpting layers of rock into the rugged landscape we see today in Canyonlands National Park.
In the far west, you can find one of the oldest living organisms in the world. A tree that can live for thousands of years due to its ability to survive whatever is thrown at it. 56 years ago, the oldest tree ever was found, containing nearly 5000 years of growth rings. It germinated before the Egyptian Pyramids were built. Unfortunately, nobody knew it was the oldest known tree until it was gone.
Today, Great Basin National Park, the Bristlecone Pine, and how one man accidentally killed the oldest tree in the world.
This month's news round-up features the temporary closing of Mount Rainier, annual visitation numbers in the park system, and concerns about the coronavirus affecting businesses in and around Yellowstone.
This past Wednesday, Grand Canyon National Park's Interpretive Rangers lowered the flag in honor of one of their own. A ranger who lived and worked at Grand Canyon National Park for the past 20 years, and became a favorite of visitors from far and wide. Ron Brown.
After forty-eight jobs in five states, Ron Brown found his calling as an interpretive park ranger. He passed peacefully in his sleep at his home in Grand Canyon Village.
Ranger Ron's popularity among Grand Canyon visitors was undeniable. One of the programs he was best known for was his portrayal of the tall-tale spinning "Captain" John Hance.
The contributions of immigrants to our great nation are undeniable. Some of our greatest institutions were literally built on the backs of immigrants of all stripes. Our national parks are no exception. In the west, some of the most significant contributions came from the Chinese.
Today, Yosemite National Park, and the incredible contributions to it by Chinese Americans.
Welcome to January's "News From the Parks" episode of the America's National Parks Podcast, our monthly show where we round up for you the latest info about happenings at America's Greatest treasures. On this episode, shark fossils in Mammoth Cave, a massive increase in visitation at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and the 25th anniversary of the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone.
The National Park designation has become one of the most prestigious terms in the English language. National parks have stirred the imagination of Americans ever since they were dreamed up, and a recent focus has been sparked by the confluence of social sharing like YouTube and Instagram, the park service's recent 100th anniversary celebrated in 2016, and incredible documentaries like Ken Burns' "America's Best Idea." But the structure of the National Park System remains a mystery to many casual visitors — some of it's even confusing to the National Park expert.
What exactly makes a National Park?
It's the time of year where people around the world are planning their adventures to America's National Parks, and we thought this would be the perfect time to explain one of the things we most commonly get questions about - Annual Park Passes.
The deep canyons of the west enchant us today as much as they did those who dared to explore them for the first time. They're all unique in their own ways, as nature seems to brag about the incredible might of its gem-cutting rivers. But one Colorado canyon, in particular, is like none of the rest. It exposes you to some of the steepest cliffs, oldest rock, and craggiest spires in North America. Over two million years, a river has sculpted this vertical wilderness of rock, water, and sky that, in parts, only receive 33 minutes of sunlight a day due to its steep, narrow split — giving it an ominous name, The Black Canyon.
Today's episode of the America's National Parks Podcast, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.
It was an international road for American and Mexican traders, until 1848, when the Mexican-American War ended, and New Mexico joined the United States. It became a national road for commercial and military freighting, stagecoach travel, emigration, and mail service. On Today's Episode of America's National Parks, the Santa Fe National Historic Trail.
This month, there's a new national park in the system, fees are increasing at parks around the country, invasive species are threatening the park system, the Narrows trail at Zion will be protected forever, and a whole lot more.
Today on the America's National Parks Podcast, the vision of a D.C. socialite to develop and share a love of the arts with the community set to the backdrop of nature. Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts.
Today, Channel Islands National Park and the original 1982 "Treasures of the Sea" park film. Now in retirement, this version was replaced in 2011 with the currently running film featuring narration by Kevin Costner.
On December 19th, 1777, 12,000 weary revolutionary war soldiers and 400 women and children marched into what would be their winter encampment. They began to build what was essentially the fourth largest city in the United States, with 1,500 log huts and two miles of fortifications. Lasting six months, from December until June, the encampment was as diverse as any city, with people who were free and enslaved, wealthy and impoverished, speakers of several languages, and adherents of multiple religions. Concentrating the soldiers in one vast camp changed the face of the conflict, leading to the long-fought independence the colonies so desired.
Today on America's National Parks, Pennsylvania's Valley Forge National Historical Park.
This month we have news of a cold case that's haunted the park service for over 40 years, an expansion of Rocky Mountain National Park, a National Park Service TV drama in development, and whole lot more!
After the Civil War ended with the surrender at Appomattox, Abraham Lincoln waited two days to speak. He opened, "we meet this evening, not in sorrow, but in gladness of heart." Lincoln was looking ahead to the reconstruction of the nation, but it would take place without him.
This week, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, at Ford's Theater in Washington D.C.
From a seed no bigger than one from a tomato, California's coast redwood may grow to a height of 367 feet and have a width of 22 feet at its base. Imagine a 35-story skyscraper and you have an inkling of the trees' ability to arouse humility. Fires are the lifeblood of a conifer forest, and human development creates the need for prescribed burns for the health and longevity of the forest. This is California's Redwood National Park.
If you've spent a decent amount of time in National or State parks in the U.S., you've probably been in a building built by a federal program that employed nearly 3 million people during the most difficult economic time in our country's history. Their work constructed trails and shelters in more than 800 state and national parks. They built wildlife refuges, fisheries, water storage basins and animal shelters. They built bridges and campground facilities, many of which are still in use today.
Today on America's National Parks, the Civilian Conservation Corps.
One of our most visited National Parks averages more than a half-million visitors per month in the summer, who flock to see massive sandstone cliffs of cream, pink, and red that soar into a brilliant blue sky. It's main feature, a glorious canyon carved by an unassuming yet powerful river.
Unlock the hidden geologic mysteries of Zion National Park on this latest episode of the episode.
Adventurer Jon Waterman is the award-winning author of several books on the American landscape, including several on the wilds of Alaska and the conflicts surrounding the Colorado River. His newest book, commissioned by National Geographic, is called "Atlas of the National Parks," and contrary to the name, it's no road map.
Pre-order the Atlas to the National Parks here: https://amzn.to/2pphBZ0
Welcome to the October "News From the Parks Episode" of the America's National Parks Podcast, our new monthly series where we round up for you the latest info about happenings in America's Greatest treasures.
National Parks play roles in all kinds of American legends, and Yellowstone, our first park, is no exception. It's October, time to dust off the ghost stories and feast on three short pieces of Yellowstone lore, as retold by S.E. Schlosser for her book "Spooky Yellowstone."
In the summer of 1869, an expedition embarked from The Green River Station in the Wyoming Territory and traveled downstream through parts of the present-day states of Colorado, Utah, and Arizona before reaching the convergence of the Colorado and Virgin rivers in present-day Nevada. Despite a series of hardships, including losses of boats and supplies, near-drownings, and the eventual departures of several crew members, the voyage produced the first detailed descriptions of much of the previously unexplored canyon country of the Colorado Plateau.
Today, American Naturalist John Wesley Powell, and the Grand Canyon National Park.
Halfway down the mighty Mississippi, a model of engineering greets the world to the Gateway to the West, St. Louis Missouri. The Gateway Arch is known worldwide; it's probably only second to the Statue of Liberty But how much do you actually know about its history? It's wild, and it parallels much of the 20th century.
Today on America's National Parks, Gateway Arch National Park, and its namesake architectural wonder that is like no other on earth.
With over 420 sites in the NPS, every month offers a new opportunity to Find Your Park. And while we strive to focus on the stories that make these places so special, we also think keeping up-to-date can be useful to support and celebrate these special places.
With that in mind, we’re rolling out a new series called "News from the Parks." The last episode of each month we’ll take a look at what is coming down the pipeline and some of the bigger news to come out of the National Park Service in the previous weeks.
On this episode, a potential new National Park, grants to dozens of historic sites, new park superintendents, the anniversary of the Wilderness Act and more.
In the town of Vincennes, Indiana, stands the largest Beaux-Arts style monument on an American battlefield and outside of Washington, DC. It sits on the former site of Fort Sackville to commemorate a little known battle with tremendous stakes. A rarely told story that dramatically expanded our country.
On this episode of America’s National Parks, the George Rogers Clark National Historical Park.
80 percent of the world’s population lives under what’s called “skyglow.” In the United States and Europe, 99 percent of the public can’t experience a natural night. Light is helpful to people, of course, but it’s also one of our greatest pollutants. Artificial light brings disastrous consequences to wildlife, especially birds, bats, insects, and sea turtles.
This episode is a little different than most of our shows. Today, we travel to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, where for generations, the night sky helped the original Polynesian sailors find their way across the sea. The audio comes from the park’s Voices of Science audio series, hosted by Brittni Connell, who talks with experts about light pollution and how the park is working to eradicate it.
Who doesn't love a majestic National Park lodge? Splendid craftsmanship on a grand scale surrounded by the wonders of nature. Some lodges are full of just as many stories and secrets as the park that surrounds them. On this episode of America's National Parks, Yosemite's Ahwahnee hotel, and its service in World War 2.
Situated along the shores of St. Augustine in northeastern Florida stands the only surviving 17th-century military construction in the United States, Castillo de san Marcos. On this episode, the many faces of Castillo de san Marcos National Monument, as told by Rangers who preserve and protect this historic fort.
For 18 short months, a group of riders carried letters from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, and they did it in just 10 days. Crossing 1,800 miles of rough western terrain, at breakneck speeds, the Ponny Express tied the east to the west in ways that would become pivotal in the years to come.
On today's episode of America's National Parks Podcast, the Pony Express National Historic Trail and the riders who have become synonymous with the American West.
The Savannah river twists and turns for 301 miles in the Southeastern United States, forming most of the border between Georgia and South Carolina, before it's divided into channels by several islands near Savannah Georgia, and then spills into the Atlantic. The last of those islands holds a storied past, having played a role in both the revolutionary and civil wars, as well as World War II.
Today on America's National Parks, Cockspur Island, and Fort Pulaski National Monument.
In the early days of what is now Denali National Park and Preserve, one park scientist stood out among the rest. He was known for his tough, adventurous spirit, ground-breaking biological research, and inspiring communication. His name was Adolph Murie.
Awe-inspiring giant sequoia trees are among the largest living things on earth, but the opportunity to experience them is rare. Approximately 75 groves exist, and only along the southern Sierra's western slope on moist sites between about 5,000 and 7,000 feet in elevation. Giant Forest, one of the largest groves, was saved from logging by the establishment of Sequoia National Park in 1890. But national park status did not fully protect the big trees.
On this episode of America’s National Parks, the restoration of the Giant Forest at Sequoia National Park.
Being a National Park Service Ranger is a multifaceted job, one that requires you to call on all your skills to bring a park to life. Whether it be through music, research, education, conservation, or day to day administrative work, Rangers give their all to the places they have sworn to protect, which is why every year the International Ranger Foundation sets aside July 31st as World Ranger Day. If you’ve listened to past episodes, you know our “Rangers Make the Difference” series began in part to celebrate World Ranger Day and to highlight National Park Service rangers who have gone above and beyond. Today’s episode, while unique in its focus, is no different.
On this episode of America’s National Parks, the role that the art of music has played in helping our rangers bring the parks to life.
For more than 100 years, no national memorial had been contemplated for any president except George Washington, yet talk of building one to honor the monumental legacy left by Abraham Lincoln began even as he lingered on his deathbed. There was an obvious appropriateness to the concept that Lincoln, the preserver of the Union, should join Washington, the founder of that Union, in being honored on the National Mall.
On this episode of America’s National Parks, the Lincoln Memorial, part of the National Mall and Memorial Parks in Washington D.C.
50 years ago, in 1969, NASA sent astronauts to a remote location in southern Idaho. Their goal? To learn basic geology and study the local, relatively recent volcanic features located there in preparation for potential missions to the moon. On this episode, Craters of the Moon National Monument.
Rising high above the prairies west of the Blackhills stands a tower of astounding geological feature. Considered sacred by indigenous people, it's an impressive and striking monument against the flatlands of Northeastern Wyoming. Hundreds of parallel cracks make it one of the finest climbing areas in North America, and for decades this remarkable wonder has drawn daredevils and thrill seekers alike, all hoping to stand atop the tower's flat summit.
One person, though, took a very different approach, one that hasn't been attempted since.
On this episode of America's National Parks Podcast, the man who spent six days trapped atop Devils Tower National Monument and the attempt to bring hm back to Earth.
The Emancipation Proclamation has been called one of the two most important American contributions to the world by Martin Luther King, Jr., yet was said to possess "all the moral grandeur of a bill of lading" by historian Richard Hofstadter. Its force and form have been the subject of countless books and papers. Was it a meaningless document? Or did it drastically change America? On this episode, a lecture from ranger Dan Vermilya at Gettysburg National Historical Park breaks through the soundbites to shed light on the real significance of this important piece of history.
Nestled at the top of Wisconsin sits a cluster of islands on Lake Superior that is home to what some call the finest collection of lighthouses in the country. Guiding the way for ships on Lake Superior, Nine light stations were tended by keepers. Those that chose to face the winter on their island homes faced unimaginable trials.
One woman faced one such trial when her husband left to go fishing and didn't return for days. On this episode of America's National Parks, the Apostle Islands National Seashore.
The first covered wagons would carve a trail towards Oregon Country in 1836. Among them was a missionary party headed by Marcus and Narcissa Whitman. Narcissa kept a journal at the suggestion of her mother, whom she would never see again. In it, she writes to her family of life on the trail, of the oppressive heat, the difficult terrain, the joys, and her faith. On this episode of the America's National Parks Podcast, the Whitman National Historic Site and our slightly edited version of the August 1836 journal entries from a woman who would hold many "firsts" as she made her way on foot towards the Pacific Northwest.
During the Cold War, a vast arsenal of nuclear missiles was placed across the Great Plains. Hidden in plain sight, for thirty years 1,000 missiles were kept on constant alert; hundreds remain today. The Minuteman Missile remains an iconic weapon in the American nuclear arsenal. It holds the power to destroy civilization, but is meant as a nuclear deterrent to maintain peace and prevent war. Today on America's National Parks, the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site near Wall, South Dakota.
Nestled among some of the most rugged mountains in the southeastern United States is an isolated valley that was home to 1200 people in 1910, who made their living first at farming, and then, as tourism developed, by welcoming weary travelers to the Smoky Mountains. On today’s episode - the Cataloochee Valley in Great Smoky Mountains National Park as told through the people who lived there. The audio for today’s episode is from the short film Cataloochee - The Center of the World, which you can watch on our show notes page at nationalparkpodcast.com.
Barbecued meat has played a surprisingly important role in United States presidential politics over the years. George Washington was a Virginia-style barbecue enthusiast. Recently, archaeologists discovered a barbecue pit on the south lawn of Montpelier that was in use during Madison’s lifetime. After the civil war, and before television, when many Americans weren't guaranteed three solid meals a day, a free barbecue dinner was a compelling incentive to listen to a politician pitch for votes. But one President made barbecue an art form. On today's episode, the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park.
In 2007, a young bald eagle took flight from its nest along the Cuyahoga River. It was the first successful nest in Cuyahoga County in more than 70 years. The eaglet grew up eating fish from the Cuyahoga River, where, throughout most of the 1900s, fish could not survive due to the pollution. Neither could the wildlife that depend on fish as a food source. On Today's Episode, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and the event that helped rally the world to the attention of polluted waterways.
When we think of America’s National Parks, we often don’t think of the oceans or the Gulf of Mexico, but along our shores are some of the most incredible places our country has to offer. Seven barrier islands along the southern coast protect the mainland, nature, and mankind as they form a damper against ocean storms. They’re teaming with life - scurrying ghost crab, majestic osprey, and loggerhead sea turtles, facing their 1 in 1000 survival odds. But humans have made their mark on these places, too, and history is a big part of any visit to these islands on the Gulf shore. One particular historic site, on the end of Florida’s Santa Rosa Island, played its part in our nation’s great internal struggle. On this episode of America’s National Parks, the Guardian of the Gulf, Fort Pickens; part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore.
On May 10th, 1869, in Promontory Summit, Utah, two sets of ordinary railroad tracks met under extraordinary circumstances. Together the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroad companies, building from Sacramento, California, and Omaha, Nebraska, joined to revolutionize travel. Before that day, a single person would pay $1000 to travel from east to west in the United States. On a steam engine train, it only cost $150. More than 1700 miles of track were laid in just seven years, across deserts, over plains, and through mountains. Its completion was one of the most defining moments in our nation’s history.
On today’s episode of America’s National Parks, the Golden Spike National Historical Park, and the nation’s first transcontinental railroad, celebrating its 150th anniversary this May.
When we think about the people that help keep the gears turning in National Parks, it’s easy for us to think about the wonderful rangers that keep us safe and help us interpret and protect these incredible places. But we often overlook the thousands and thousands of other workers that make our visits possible. The cleaning and maintenance staff, the campground hosts, the construction contractors, the trail crews, the lodge employees...On this episode of America’s National Parks, a personal story from author Becky Mandelbaum who served several stints in National Park gift stores, and the price she paid for temporary refuge, immense beauty, and some unforgettable experiences.
The Yellowstone Supervolcano snores through the geysers and mud pots, and restlessly tumbles as multiple earthquakes hit the region nearly every day. We don't hear a lot about Yellowstone earthquakes, but each year one to three thousand hit the park and surrounding area. Most can't even be felt, but there have already been four this year in the lower-3.0 magnitude range. Enough to shake pots and pans on the wall. And a 4.4 hit to the west of Yellowstone just a couple days before this recording—right near the center of the biggest Yellowstone earthquake in recent history, a 7.5. Today on America's National Parks, The Night The Mountain Fell — the story of the Montana-Yellowstone Earthquake of 1959, as told in the book with the same name by Edmund Christopherson.
Mountain climbing is surely one of the most dangerous of the extreme sports. It’s a trial of wills that takes a clear head, teamwork, and unflappable trust in your climbing partners. The challenge is magnified ten-fold when the climb is a rescue operation. On this Episode of America’s National Parks, a harrowing rescue of a climber at Grand Teton National Park.
If you're a National Park buff, and you probably are if you're listening to this podcast, you probably know of some of the famous people responsible for the very creation of many of our greatest parks. People like John Muir, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Teddy Roosevelt, and Stephan Mather. But we're guessing you haven't heard of Minerva Hamilton Hoyt. On today's episode of America's National Parks, Joshua Tree National Park, the California Desert, and the woman who made sure they were protected for many lifetimes to come.
24 years ago, a Ryder truck packed with nearly 5,000 pounds of explosives was parked in front of Oklahoma City's Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. In a matter of seconds, the blast destroyed most of the nine-story concrete and granite building, and the surrounding area looked like a war zone. Dozens of cars were incinerated, and more than 300 nearby buildings were damaged or destroyed. It killed 168 people, among them 19 children—most of whom were in the building’s daycare center. The youngest victim was 4 months old. On today's episode of America's National Parks, the Oklahoma City National Memorial, and one of the largest and most complex cases the FBI has ever undertaken.
On December 8, 1941, the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered his famous “Day Of Infamy Speech." The United States had entered World War II. That evening, his wife would call on all Americans to focus on the war effort and to support the nation’s leaders in the difficult days ahead. She had also entered the war.
On Today's episode of America's National Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt—the only first lady to have a National Park Service Unit in her honor—and her critical role in World War II.
In 1848, gold was discovered in California and people from all over the United States packed their belongings and began to travel by wagon to what they hoped would be a new and better life. It was important to leave Salt Lake City and cross the desert before snow began to fall on the Sierra Nevada, making them impassible. A group of wagons began their journey in October of 1849, much too late to try to cross safely. It was then that they heard about the Old Spanish Trail, a route that would take them on a harrowing adventure that nearly killed them all. On today's episode of America's National Parks, the place that these prospectors would come to call Death Valley.
Surely if you listen to this podcast you've heard the news — America now boasts 61 National Parks. Buried within a massive spending bill protecting public lands signed by the President on February 15, 2019, was a provision that simply stated: Public Law 89-761 is amended by striking National Lakeshore each place it appears and replacing it with National Park. Today's episode—the new Indiana Dunes National Park.
Like Joshua Tree, and Wind Cave, and Petrified Forest, Indiana Dunes National Park is much more than the singular characteristic it's named after. It features more than 1,100 native plants ranking it fourth in plant diversity among all National Park Service sites. It's full of mysterious wetlands, bright prairies, wandering rivers and tranquil forests. You can play on the massive sand dunes, but you can also harvest maple sugar from the park's historic farm. One of the most unique features of Indiana Dunes National Park has little to do with nature at all. It's a set of 5 houses with an interesting past.
The Alamo is certainly San Antonio’s most famous landmark, perhaps even the most famous building in Texas, because of its pivotal role in the 1836 Texas Revolution. But the Alamo was built over a century prior as Mission San Antonio de Valero, by Spanish settlers on the banks of the San Antonio River. Beginning in 1690, Spanish friars established missions in what is now East Texas as a buffer against the threat of French incursion into Spanish territory from Louisiana. The Alamo is a Texas state historic site, but nearby, four sister missions, all still working Catholic churches, are protected by the National Park Service as the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.
This episode follows four people connected to the Missions: a stonemason, a historian, a descendant, and a former church administrator. Their stories comprise Michael Nye's "Four Voices" exhibit on display at Mission Concepción.
In 1833, a small organization formed with the purpose to fund and build a monument "unparalleled in the world," in honor of once commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and the first President of the United States. Its completion, and its history, not unlike the Statue of Liberty, was fraught with funding issues, construction delays, and outside forces seemingly teamed against it. Today on America's National Parks, the Washington Monument, part of the National Mall and Memorial Parks in Washington, D.C.
During the Indian conflicts on the western plains after the Civil War, Native Americans gave Black regiments of the U.S. Army the name Buffalo Soldiers, after their short, curly hair, which to them, looked like a bison. The soldiers took a liking to the name, and it stuck.
The Buffalo Soldiers contributed to the U.S. in many ways over the course of nearly 90 years, but one of their most important was as the first caretakers of our national parks. Between 1891 and 1913, the Army was tasked with the protection of Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. Buffalo soldiers fought wildfires and poachers, ended illegal grazing of livestock on federal lands, and constructing roads, trails and other infrastructure. In 1903, Captain Charles Young led a company of Buffalo Soldiers in Sequoia and what is now Sequoia and King's Canyon National Parks, becoming the first African American park superintendent.
At the turn of the 20th century, the eastern half of the American landscape looked very different than it does today. It was blanketed in 4 billion towering American Chestnut trees. Over the course of 50 years, they all vanished. Today on America’s National Parks, a tree disease that altered America and a chance at rebirth on the site of one of our nation’s greatest tragedies.
Ridge upon ridge of forest straddles the border between North Carolina and Tennessee, where ancient mountains, covered in pine, glow in purple, pink and blue hues, as a smoky mist rises from their thick cloak of trees. World-renowned for its diversity of plant and animal life, this is also a place to explore what remains of Southern Appalachian mountain culture. This is America's most visited national park — the Great Smoky Mountains.
On today’s episode, the story of 6 sisters who lived off this great land, all on their own.
As we release this episode, the longest government shutdown in American history is still underway, and 800,000 government workers are on furlough, including rangers and other protectors of our wildlife and national treasures. Those that remain on the job, mainly law enforcement rangers, are working without paychecks, and are facing protecting federal lands that remain open to visitors with very little support.
We thought this was an appropriate time to again highlight those rangers and other federal employees in the interior department.
One of the very symbols of our nation is a residence for our highest elected official, designed by Irish-born architect James Hoban in the neoclassical style, using sandstone painted white. When Thomas Jefferson moved into the house in 1801, he and architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe added low colonnades on each wing that concealed stables and storage. Not long after, the house for our Nation's president would almost be obliterated.
Today on America's National Parks, The White House, part of the National Park Service's Presidents Park, in Washington DC.
There are a million conspiracy theories about people missing or turning up dead in National Parks and other public lands. But really, when you break down the numbers, the number of disappearances, murders, and accidental deaths are on par with the rest of the country.
Still, a lot of those unfortunate events do happen. And many aren't what they seem. On today's episode of America's National Parks the tragic death of a hiker at Rocky Mountain National Park that shocked the nation, and the investigator that unraveled a mystery in service to her country.
Each spring, an abundance of winter-weary locals and tourists flock to our nation's capital, hoping to see the blossoming beauty of the famed Japanese cherry trees. You may know that the original trees were a gift from Japan in 1912 symbolizing international friendship, but you may not know that they are also a testament to one woman's persistence and the value of never giving up on a dream.
On this episode of America's National Parks, the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C.
Otto Lilienthal was a German pioneer of aviation who became known as the "flying man." He was the first person to make well-documented, repeated, successful flights with gliders. Photographs of his attempts were published worldwide, sparking a fever over the possibility of powered flight in many, including Orville and Wilber Wright.
Capitalizing on the national bicycle craze, the Wright brothers had opened a repair and sales shop, and eventually began manufacturing their own brand. Wilbur, particularly, toiled day and night at the bike shop over the possibility of building a flying machine, and the brothers began putting the money from their successful business into a research project.
On this episode of America's National Parks, the Wright Brothers, the invention that would change the way we travel, and the National Memorial that bears their name.
In July of 1982, 5 men set out to conquer the highest peak in Texas, Guadalupe Peak at Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Every day, many people take the 8.5-mile trip that summits the 8,749' peak, but this party was different—they were all in wheelchairs. For the next 5 days, they climbed their way to the top, building ramps from rocks and crawling up slopes, dragging their wheelchairs behind them.
The day this episode is released, December 7th, 2018, marks the 77th anniversary of the event that would send the United States into World War II, the devastating surprise attack on Hawaii's Pearl Harbor.
The U.S.S. Arizona, a Pennsylvania class battleship had been moved from California to Pearl Harbor in an effort to ward off the Japanese from attacking the vulnerable island territory. On December 7th, 1941, the Arizona exploded violently and sank, with the loss of 1,177 officers and crewmen.
Each year, thousands gather at a commemoration ceremony, including survivors of the attack and their families. 2,403 service members and civilians in total were killed during the attack, and 1,178 people were injured. As the years roll on, the ceremony is weighed by the fewer and fewer survivors who are able to attend. This year, only five men who were onboard the Arizona are still living, and none will be able to attend, due to age, health, and the stresses of travel.
It's twilight for the survivors of the Pearl Harbor attack, and today on America's National Parks, we honor their memory, along with the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument.
On July 11, 1848, a local newspaper ran an advertisement announcing a meeting that would happen a week later at the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, New York — the first American Women’s Rights Convention. Today on America's National Parks - The Women's Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls, New York.
Despite the minimal publicity, an estimated 300 attendees filled co-organizer Elizabeth Cady Stanton's event. Stanton made her first public speech on the initial day of the convention, and read aloud the Declaration of Sentiments, which was then discussed at length. Stanton quickly became a leader in the crusade for women's rights, as well as for the abolition of slavery.
She gave hundreds of speeches over the course of her life, but it was her final speech, before Congress, entitled The Solitude of Self, that left her with the most pride. Delivered in 1892, the speech declared that as no other person could face death for another, none could decide for them how to educate themselves.
What could be more magical than Christmas at a National Park lodge? Grand log-beamed lobbies, decked out in real pine trimmings, the crackling of massive stone fireplaces, and decadent holiday feasts, while far away from civilization with the glories of snow-blanketed nature in every direction.
On this episode of America's National Parks, we take you back nearly 100 years, to an impending Christmas emergency. Three 6-year-olds came to the rescue of Christmas at Yellowstone National Park.
Even before the California Gold Rush of 1849, prospectors were finding gold in Southern California. As the rewards from the mines in the Sierras began to wither, miners headed toward the deserts, where hot summers, scarce water, limited wood sources, and the difficulty and high cost of transporting equipment and provisions created a challenging mining environment. But a few hardy adventurers endured, and about 300 mines were developed in what is now Joshua Tree National Park.
Few of these mines produced much, but one certainly did — the Lost Horse Mine
In the Black Hills of South Dakota, majestic figures of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln are said to tell the story of the birth, growth, development and preservation of this country.
But how much do you know about Mount Rushmore National Memorial? Even if you think you know the basics, there's a whole lot more that may knock your socks off.
Before dawn on what would become a perfect October day in Utah, I set out to attempt a solo hike. It wasn't the type of hike that would have been a big deal to an avid hiker, but for me, it was bound to be.
On this episode of America's National Parks, host Jason Epperson's ordinary journey up the side of a cliff at Zion National Park.
It’s that time of year. You’re getting pelted with the supernatural from every direction - on TV, at the Movie Theater, in the grocery store. Far be it from us to miss an opportunity for a themed episode. On today’s episode of America’s National Parks - Three stories of the supernatural. Myths from the distant past. Ancient gods of Mount Ranier, the evil Queen of Death Valley, and the banshee that haunts Badlands National Park to this day.
If you listened to The Curse of the Petrified Forest, our episode on the strange happenings surrounding people who stole rocks from Petrified Forest National Park, you know that the park faced a major identity crisis - people thought all the petrified wood was gone. It isn't, of course, it's pretty much all still there - but theft of small stones is still a problem for the park, just as theft and vandalization are problems throughout the National Parks System. On this episode, we take a look at theft in another Arizona park, and how authorities are using old-fashioned detective work as well as 21st-century technology to catch would-be cactus thieves.
On this episode of America's National Parks, At Home With Harry & Bess, the multigenerational story of a home that would come to be known as the Summer White House, now a part of the Harry S Truman National Historic Site.
In 1881, Jesse and Tom Bingham heard a whistling noise coming from a beach-ball-sized hole in a rock formation near Hot Springs, South Dakota. Wind was blowing out of the hole, just as it does today, with such force that it blew off Tom's hat. As the story goes, a few days later, when Jesse returned to show the phenomenon to some friends, the wind had switched directions and his hat was sucked in. The hole was the only natural entrance to a cave...a massive one.
We now understand that the movement of the wind is caused by the difference in atmospheric pressure between the cave and the surface. The place was dubbed the Wonderful Wind Cave, before it became only our seventh National Park of the United States. On today's episode of America's National Parks: three eras of Wind Cave National Park: It's first explorer, the Lakota origin story, and a teenager lost for 37 hours.
Show notes and more info at NationalParkPodcast.com/Wind-Cave
When we left off last time Meriwether Lewis had just looked over the crest of the largest mountain range he had ever seen (or summited), hoping to see the Columbia River, and an easy path to the Pacific Ocean. Instead, there were mountains as far as the eye could see.
Canoes were useless now, and the Corps of Discovery would need horses. It was Sacagawea's moment.
Show notes and National Park Service resources at NationalParkPodcast.com/corps-of-discovery-2.
In 2018, America is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the National Trails System Act as well as the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. The 1968 National Trails System Act created and protected trails that celebrate outdoor adventure, such as the Appalachian Trail and trails that allow us to walk through history, such as the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail.
To celebrate this anniversary, on the America’s National Parks Podcast we’re sharing with you a two-part episode following one of our National Historic Trails — The Journey of Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery from 1804 to 1806 in their quest to explore the newly expanded United States, and search for a route to the Pacific Ocean.
Show notes and more info at nationalparkpodcast.com/corps-of-discovery.
On a Sunday in November of 1864, John Wilkes Booth first made the acquaintance of Dr. Samuel Mudd. The men discussed a horse sale, and Booth was invited to spend the night at Mudd's home. On December 23, the two men met again, by accident, on a street in Washington, DC.
Four months later, John Wilkes Booth shot and killed President Abraham Lincoln. He broke his left leg in the process, leaping to the stage at Ford's Theater. He and his getaway man David Harold knocked on the door of Dr. Mudd at four in the morning for assistance. Mudd set, splinted, and bandaged the broken leg. The two stayed with Mudd for about 12 hours, as the doctor's handyman made a pair of crutches.
Within days Dr. Mudd was arrested and charged with conspiracy and with harboring Booth and Harold during their escape. Though he had met Booth on at least two prior occasions, Mudd told authorities he did not recognize his patient. He was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment, one vote shy of the death penalty.
Mudd was imprisoned in Fort Jefferson, in what is today Dry Tortugas National Park, an isolated Gulf of Mexico island fort. He attempted escape but failed before an epidemic of yellow fever broke out on the island. The fort's physician died, and Mudd took over the care sick. Due to his efforts, he received a full pardon from President Andrew Johnson and was released from prison a hero.
In 1936, a film was made loosely based on Mudd's story called THE PRISONER OF SHARK ISLAND, and then 2 years later it was adapted into a radio drama, starring Gary Cooper as part of the Lux Radio Theater. On today's episode of America's National Parks, we're playing for you that program, which we've remastered and edited lightly.
One of the world's great natural wonders rises from the heart of New Mexico's Tularosa basin. Great wave-like dunes of baby powder-like gypsum sand engulf 275 square miles of desert. Towering mountains ring the spectacular white dunes, crowned with electric blue skies, prismatic sunsets, and mystic moonlit nights. Half a million visitors from all over the world enjoy this beautiful place each year. It's featured prominently in commercials, feature films, fashion catalogs, and music videos. And its neighboring military base has been host to some important events in American history.
On this episode of America's National Parks, three short stories from the glistening dunes of White Sands National Monument: A spirit from the 16th century who roams the dunes after sunset, searching for her lost love, a legendary gunslinger of the southwest, and a daring record-setter who made high-altitude aviation safer.
Show notes, music credits, a transcript and more are available at nationalparkpodcast.com/whitesands
In 1914, four influential men — Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone and John Burroughs — loaded their automobiles with camping gear and embarked on the first of several historic road trips. They called themselves the “Vagabonds,” and they toured places like the Everglades, the California coast, and the forests of Vermont for two weeks nearly every summer for 10 years.
The white-bearded Burroughs chronicled one such trip — the Vagabond journey to the Great Smoky Mountains — in a chapter of his book "Under the Maples."
Show notes, music credits, and more at www.nationalparkpodcast.com/vagabonds.
In the mountains of western Arkansas, there's a place where rain waters are absorbed through crevices in the earth's surface, then warmed and enriched with minerals, percolating deep underground. The water then flows back to the surface in steaming hot springs, filling the cool mountain air with steam in the winter. It's a place that humans have been using for millennia for rest, relaxation, and healing. It's also our first piece of federally protected recreation land.
On this episode of America's National Parks, the American Spa — Hot Springs National Park.
Show notes and more info at nationalparkpodcast.com/hotsprings
On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted — it was the "deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States," according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, generating “about 500 times the force that the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima,” it killed 57 people and thousands of animals and lopped 1,300 feet off the top of the mountain.
Still, there's another volcano that is much more concerning to volcanologists. On this episode of America's National Parks, Washington’s Mount Rainier National Park, and its namesake volcano’s potential for mass destruction.
The shape of the southwestern edge of Texas is carved by The Rio Grande river, as it tranquilly flows bringing life to some of the most remote regions of the country. Here, the Rio takes a giant turn north, a Big Bend creating the heel in Texas's shape.
The Rio Grande represents something else, though, it's the border between the United States and Mexico, and at a border crossing, one man welcomed Americans to our southern neighbor through songs that floated among the canyon.
On this episode of America's National Parks, Victor Valdez, the singing man of Boquillas, and Big Bend National Park.
Show notes, music credits, and more at nationalparkpodcast.com/bigbend.
July 31st of each year is set aside by the International Ranger Foundation as World Ranger Day to honor park rangers around the globe who are on the front line in the fight to protect our natural heritage. It's also an opportunity to pay tribute to rangers who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
To honor this past Tuesday's World Ranger Day, on this episode of America's National Parks we're highlighting three stories of National Park Service rangers who have gone above and beyond the call of duty.
Everyone knows America's legendary origins — 13 colonies fighting off the tyranny of the British Empire to form our Union — but did you know there was, if only for a brief time, an extra-legal 14th colony? If that blows your mind, you'll be even more astounded to find out its name ... it was called Transylvania.
It was made possible by a famous name, too, a man called Daniel Boone. On this episode of America's National Parks, The Transylvania Purchase, a land which laid its gateway at a gap in the Allegheny Mountains, now known as Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, where the borders of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee meet.
More information, music credits, and a transcript are available at nationalparkpodcast.com/14thcolony
On his 22nd birthday, in 1880, Theodore Roosevelt married Alice Hathaway Lee. Their daughter, Alice Lee Roosevelt, was born on February 12, 1884. Two days after his daughter was born, his wife and mother died on the same day in the same house. Distraught, he escaped to a cattle ranch in the Dakotas.
On this episode of America's National Parks, the 26th President of the United States, and his time in North Dakota, in an area now known as Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
Resources, music credits, and a transcript are available at nationalparkpodcast.com/roosevelt.
Over the past century, the United States has led the world in dam construction. There are at least 90,000 dams over six-feet tall in this country and over 2 million shorter than six feet. More than a quarter have passed their 50-year average life expectancy; by 2020, that figure will reach 85 percent. On average, we have constructed one dam over 6 feet tall every day since the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
On this episode of America's National Parks, the removal of the dams on the Elwha River in Olympic National Park. And if you think it just takes a little dynamite, it doesn't.
Show notes and music credits at nationalparkpodcast.com/elwha.
Strange weather patterns set in 1947 in the state of Maine, as a quick and early spring thaw preceded months of endless rain. Finally, at the end of June, the sun broke through the clouds as temperatures climbed bringing about a warm summer. Mother nature had apparently used up all the rain in the spring, as the state went through 108 days without any appreciable rain. Everything became exceedingly dry in the hot sun and water supply dwindled. Recognizing the dangers of the dry conditions, officials began implementing preventative measures. By the second week of October, a Class 4 state of danger was declared, and Fire watchtowers, normally closed at the end of September, were reopened by the State Forest Service. Mountain Desert Island, home to a glorious National Park, reported the worst drought conditions on record.
On this episode of America's National Parks Podcast, Acadia National Park, and the year Maine burned.
Show notes and music credits available at nationalparkpodcast.com/acadia-national-park.
If there's one place in our travels that has seemed a nearly hidden gem -- a place where hardly anyone goes, yet is full of incredible beauty -- it's the confluence of the northern tip of Grand Canyon National Park, where miles of the Colorado River are protected before they enter the canyon, and the southern tip of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. It's a serene place called Lee's Ferry, where the Colorado gently winds through vermillion cliffs. Rafters hit the first rapid here to begin the 88-mile journey to Phantom Ranch, the historic camping oasis nestled nearly a mile below the rim of the Grand Canyon. Wild horses roam the hills and can be spotted frolicking in the riverbed.
But alongside the glorious beauty of the red rock set against the dark river and blue skies, long before it was the launching point for Grand Canyon rafters this historic place was the gateway to Arizona. It's the only place along the river for 700 miles that the riverbanks are directly accessible by land, making it an ideal crossing point, and today, the only place where you can get down into the deep cuts of the Colorado without hiking in.
On this episode of America's National Parks, Lee's Ferry, part of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
In the late 1840s, the U.S. government seized control of California from the Republic of Mexico and immediately went to work on protecting the new land. Located in the middle of the San Francisco Bay, an island called Alcatraz was identified as a place of exceptional military utility. Nearly surrounded on all sides, it was ideally positioned to protect the entrance to the bay.
You may know Alcatraz as the so-called inescapable prison which housed Al Capone and George "Machine-Gun" Kelly, and then was immortalized in the film Escape from Alcatraz, but its history began long before.
On this episode, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area's Alcatraz Island, and its role during the civil war.
More info and music credits at nationalparkpodcast.com/alcatraz.
In a small section of the painted desert of Arizona, you can find forests of crumbled trees, preserved as stone. Over 200 million years ago, these large conifers were uprooted by floods, then washed down from the highlands and buried by silt. Water seeping through the wood replaced decaying organic material cell by cell with multicolored silica. The land was lifted up by geological upheaval, and erosion began to expose the long-buried, now petrified wood.
In the modern age, the trees have their own stories, having become one of the iconic road trip destinations along Route 66. On this episode of the America's National Parks Podcast, Petrified Forest National Park and the curse of the Petrified Forest.
Show notes and more info at http://nationalparkpodcast.com/the-curse-of-the-petrified-forest/
Elevators might seem like a strange topic for a National Park Podcast, but today we're going to talk about a special elevator. In 1931, the National Park constructed what was then the second highest (or shall we say deepest) elevator shaft in the world — descending tourists 754' into the wonders of Carlsbad Caverns National Park — and it's been at the center of some pretty wild incidents.
National Park Service Resources related to this episode, music credits and more at nationalparkpodcast.com/drunken-subterranian-terrorism-carlsbad-caverns
On April 6th, 1846, Dred and Harriet Scott walked into the unfinished St. Louis Courthouse in downtown Saint Louis, Missouri, and in an act of bravery, filed separate petitions against Irene Emerson for their freedom. On that day, one of the most important lawsuits in American history, one that would ultimately hasten the start of the Civil War and divide an already divided country, began. It would take ten years and reach as far as the supreme court before it ended.
On this episode of America's National Parks Podcast, the Dred Scott Case, and Gateway Arch National Park.
A full transcript, resources for further study, and music credits are available at nationalparkpodcast.com/dred-and-harriet-scott.
In 1896, the highest summit in America was named by a gold prospector in support for then-presidential candidate William McKinley, who became president the following year. Of course, for centuries before, it had gone by a different name.
On this week's episode of America's National Parks, Denali, the 20,310 Alaskan summit, and the six million acres of land that surround it in Denali National Park.
Show notes, music credits, and more info at nationalparkpodcast.com/legendsofdenali.
The Statue of Liberty stands out in New York Harbor, bearing her torch, welcoming tourists and immigrants with the American spirit of Liberty. Her story is complicated, and many apocryphal tales abound of her sitting disassembled for years while Americans tried to figure out how to assemble it. The truth is much more interesting.
Today on America's National Parks, The Statue of Liberty and the history of Liberty Island.
Show notes, music credits, and more info at nationalparkpodcast.com/ladyliberty.
There's one natural rock arch that's known better than all others in the US, in fact, it's on the state of Utah's license plate. It had its own postage stamp, and the 2002 Winter Olympics torch relay passed through it. On this episode of America's National Parks, Delicate Arch, and the strange history of attempts to protect it at Arches National Park.
Show notes and more info at nationalparkpodcast.com.
In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt ditched his secret service detail to go camping in the woods of Yosemite with celebrated naturalist John Muir. Through his writings, Muir taught the importance of experiencing and protecting our natural world. That camping trip changed the face of conservation in the United States. Together, sleeping on the forest floor below the sequoias, they laid the foundation for the next century of federal land preservation.
On this episode of America's National Parks, Yosemite, John Muir, Teddy Roosevelt, and a man who was along for the ride, in their own words.
Show notes at nationalparkpodcast.com.
How do you save a species of bird with a population of 22 living? A controversial plan hatched nearly three decades ago has condors soaring over Pinnacles National Park again. How they did it, and why there is still trouble ahead, on this episode of America's National Parks.
More info, a full transcript, music credits, and other resources are available at nationalparkpodcast.com/condors-pinnacles-national-park.
If you only know the name Geronimo from the call that paratroopers in old war movies and Bugs Bunny cartoons shout, it's a nickname bestowed upon a Native American hero by Mexican soldiers. During repeated conflicts, The Apache warrior attacked them with nothing but a knife, surviving each time despite being continually shot at. The soldiers would plead to Saint Jerome as they faced him. Geronimo is Spanish for “Jerome.”
On this episode of America’s National Parks, Geronimo, and his imprisonment at Fort Pickens, now a part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore in Pensacola, Florida.
Show notes and more info is available at http://nationalparkpodcast.com/island-prison-geronimo-gulf-islands-national-seashore/
On the northern shores of Minnesota lies a remote waterscape steeped in history, nature, and tradition. Named for the wild men who paddled its waterways in the Canadian fur trade, Voyageurs National Park is home to nesting bald eagles, moose, grey wolves, black bear, loons, owls, otter, and beaver.
Most of its hidden waterways are untouched, pristine boreal forest, where on a cloudless pre-dawn morning under the northern lights, you can almost hear the songs of fur traders traveling in their massive canoes.
On this episode of America's National Parks, the Voyageurs, the legendary wild and hearty men who traversed the waterways of the great north for two hundred years.
Show notes and more info on Voyageurs National Park and Grand Portage National Monument at www.nationalparkpodcast.com/voyageurs
Piracy, the act of seizing a ship or its cargo from its lawful owners, has been a plague since people first set sail on the high seas. By the Elizabethan Era, English piracy entered a Golden Age, as pirates plundered its coastal waters unchallenged. As Spain gradually increased its wealth through its own savagery in the New World, English pirates feasted on Spanish ships, eventually spreading piracy to the Carribean Sea.
On this episode of America's National Parks, Pirates, and their role in the creation of America, immortalized at National Park Service units up and down the East Coast.
In fact, there are so many stories of piracy and privateering in today's National Parks, that choosing just one was difficult, so we settled on two centered around Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Fort Raleigh National Historic Site - with many more to touch on in a future episode.
Show notes and more info at http://nationalparkpodcast.com/pirates-and-parks
Two years before the creation of our first National Park, Truman Everts got lost in Yellowstone. He lost not one, but two horses. He set not one, but two forest fires. He waited out a mountain lion in a tree. He slept in a bear's den. He fell through the crust of a hot spring and burnt his hip. He keeled over into his campfire while hallucinating. He spent 37 days making bad decision after worse, and he survived.
On this episode of the America's National Parks Podcast, we present our abridged version of Everts' 10,000-word essay, which shocked the nation - complete with the sounds of Yellowstone from the National Park Service's archives.
Show notes and more info are available at nationalparkpodcast.com/37-days-yellowstone.
At the southern tip of Florida lie the Everglades, a crucial ecosystem to America and the world. Everglades National Park has spent its entire life under siege, with Marjory Stoneman Douglas out front as its chief warrior.
Show notes, a full transcript, and music credits for this episode can be found at http://nationalparkpodcast.com/
Deep within Kentucky's Mammoth Cave National Park, one can find so much more than rock formations. The shale-capped mass of 400 known miles of caverns holds the history of America, told by the Black enslaved cave guides that made it one of the country's top tourist attractions, then and now.
Useful Links:
In Kentucky, a Family at the Center of the Earth A 2014 in-depth interview with Jerry Bransford and New York Times reporter Kenan Christiansen.
Jerry Bransford’s dream is to build a memorial in the Bransford cemetery at Mammoth Cave as a tribute to all the past slave guides and the entire Bransford family, especially Mat and Nick. He also would like to pass on his stories and memories to his future descendants utilizing the cemetery and memorial. You can the website to contribute, and it's also full of much more detailed information on the Bransford family history at Mammoth.
Ranger Lore: The Occupational Folklife of Parks – Jerry Bransford Discusses Family Legacy
A YouTube interview with Jerry Bransford about visiting Mammoth as a child with his family:
Mammoth Cave National Park Website
Info on all of the cave tours, camping, and other activities at Mammoth Cave National Park.
Show notes, a full transcript, and music credits for this episode can be found at http://nationalparkpodcast.com/mammoth-cave-national-park.
Welcome to the America's National Parks Podcast. In the coming weeks, we'll begin to explore our nation's treasures, their history, their people, and their stories. Until then, listen to this, our "episode zero," a preview of sorts.
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