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National Parks Traveler Podcast

National Parks Traveler Episode 30: Hiker Trash, Fishing Great Smoky, "Acting" Directors

"Hiker Trash," a new book that examines hiker life along the Appalachian Trail through the sketches of a graphic artist, is the topic of our interview with author Sarah Kaizar. We also examine the fisheries of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and comment on the long-running vacancy of a permanent director of the National Park Service.

National Parks Traveler Episode 29: Refugia in Acadia, Fall Park Destinations, And eBikes

How will climate change impact plants and animals at Acadia National Park? This week we talk with Dr. Jennifer Smetzer, who has been mapping areas of the park that could serve as refugia for many native species. We also take some time to look at some great park destinations for fall, and question the process Interior Secretary David Bernhardt took to expand access for eBikes in the National Park System.

National Parks Traveler Episode 28: Seven Months In The National Parks, Visiting Joshua Tree

Lauren and Steven Keys wanted to see national parks, so they took seven months off from the daily routine and headed out on a 34,000-mile journey that took them through the National Park System. We ask them how they did this, what they saw, and how they afforded it. We also take a look at visiting Joshua Tree National Park, and raise a question of why the National Park Service continues to pursue capital projects when it struggles under a roughly $12 billion maintenance backlog.

National Parks Traveler Episode 27: Blue Ridge Parkway Needs, Acadia's Falcons, And Black Canyon Of The Gunnison

As with many units of the National Park System, there are many needs along the Blue Ridge Parkway, a 469-mile-long ribbon of bucolic landscape linking Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains national parks. And without the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, many of those needs would go wanting and fall into neglect or worse.

National Parks Traveler Episode 26: Segregation In The Parks, And Winter In Everglades

Dr. Erin Devlin, a professor of American history from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, discusses her research into sites in national parks in Virginia that were associated with segregation during the first half of the 20th century. Host Kurt Repanshek also takes a look at Everglades National Park and why it's a great park destination during the winter months.

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.

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