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National Parks Traveler Podcast

National Parks Traveler Episode 25: eBikes And Dutch Oven Cooking

National Parks Traveler Episode 25: eBikes and Dutch Oven Cooking
eBikes are among the topics making the rounds in the National Park System, as the debate over where these motorized bikes should be allowed to travel is not without controversy. Those cycles, and topics ranging from the lack of a permanent director of the National Park Service to reorganization of the Interior Department, are among the topics Traveler discusses this week with Kristen Brengel, vice president of government affairs for the National Parks Conservation Association, and Phil Francis, chair of the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks. We also take a look at mealtime in the parks, with a focus on Dutch oven cooking.

National Parks Traveler Episode 23: Photography in the Parks, Schoodic, and Arizona Monuments

In this week's episode, we talk with Gemina Garland-Lewis, a photographer, EcoHealth researcher, and National Geographic Explorer about her work in the parks, and how that has changed the way she experiences parks themselves.

Next, we pay a visit to the Schoodic Peninsula in Acadia National Park, a quieter part of the National Park System. Finally, we end with a look at Walnut Canyon and Montezuma Castle national monuments, which are easy day trips from Flagstaff, Arizona, that open windows into past cultures.

National Parks Traveler Episode 22: What Do You Know About Capitol Reef National Park?

The Capitol Reef Reader Dives Deep Into The Park's Geologic And Cultural Backgrounds
The Capitol Reef Reader is not your typical national park guidebook. No trail, dining, or lodging information. Rather, The Capitol Reef Reader offers an incredible wealth of information in the essays Stephen Trimble has pulled together for this collection. Essays by the likes of Clarence Dutton who traveled the Southwest with Major John Wesley Powell, Ed Abbey, and that literary conservation giant, Wallace Stegner.

National Parks Traveler Episode 21: Can Guns Protect You Against Bear Attacks?

Tom Smith, a professor of wildlife sciences at Brigham Young University and a member of the National Rifle Association, discusses how effective guns in backcountry locations are in defending against bear attacks. What he says might surprise you. This episode also looks at the Volcanic Legacy Highway that ties Lassen Volcanic National Park and Crater Lake National Park together.

National Parks Traveler Episode 19: Parks As Classrooms, And Katahdin Woods and Waters

Using national park settings as a backdrop for these programs can serve double duty – the resources are the perfect educational tool, and the settings can really connect youth to nature. These settings seem to resonate with students', teachers', and adults' innate thirst for nature. Saul Weisberg, who helped found the North Cascades Institute in 1986, has seen students from every walk of life positively affected by their experiences in North Cascades National Park and other public lands that the Institute uses as outdoor classrooms. Saul joins us today to talk about the benefits of these outdoor programs.

National Parks Traveler Episode 18: Staying Safe In Bear Habitat, And Thomas Moran And The Parks

National Parks Traveler Podcast 18: Staying Safe In Bear Habitat, Thomas Moran And The Parks
Kim Titchener, the founder of bearsafety.com, discusses how humans can stay safe in bear habitat, while Erika Zambello visits Washington, D.C., and tracks down some of Thomas Moran's famed paintings of national parks. In his commentary, host Kurt Repanshek suggests that the National Park Service be pulled out of the Interior Department and set up as a freestanding agency

National Parks Traveler Episode 17: A Discussion About National Parks And Rejuvenation

National Parks Traveler Episode 17: Finding Rejuvenation In The National Parks
Independent filmmaker Tom Huang discusses his new project, Find Me, a movie that uses national parks as a backdrop for a story about personal reflection and rejuvenation in nature. It also touches on the issue of cultural diversity in park visitors. With the official start to summer on June 21, we also offer some tips for staying safe in parks, and look at the gateway town of Estes Park, Colorado.

National Parks Traveler Episode 16: Sooty Terns And National Park Guidebooks

National Parks Traveler Episode 16: Sooty Terns And National Park Guidebooks
Are you familiar with Sooty terns? It’s an interesting seabird species with mysterious travels. In this week's National Parks Traveler podcast, Erika Zambello speaks with Dr. Ryan Huang about a decades-long research study on Sooty Terns in the Dry Tortugas. After they nest in the spring, where do they go? What do they eat? What will they face in the future?

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