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Visiting Big Bend National Park and exploring the landscape.

Last week the National Parks Traveler took you to Big Bend National Park in far west Texas. Lynn Riddick sat down with the park’s Chief of Interpretation Tom Vandenberg to learn about the park’s history and its geological and botanical treasures. This week, in part two, Lynn gives us a first-hand, more personal glimpse into this vast remote park with her companion Mary Muenster as they clock nearly 1,100 miles to the park, through the park, and back home again. 

Following Lynn and Mary’s great adventure, Traveler Editor Kurt Repanshek shares a short conversation he had with Charles Sams, the new director of the National Park Service.

 

:02 National Parks Traveler introduction
:12 Episode Introduction with Kurt Repanshek
:37 Escalante - Tim Heintz - The Sounds of Peaks Plateaus and Canyons
:57 Nova Scotia Tourism
1:26 Yosemite Conservancy
1:47 Washington’s National Park Fund
2:21 Friends of Acadia
2:51 Lynn Riddick continues her exploration of Big Bend National Park with traveling companion Mary Muenster.
28:20 The Road Scholar - Bill Mize - The Spirit of South Dakota
28:30 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation
28:51 Interior Federal Credit Union
29:27 Grand Teton National Park Foundation
29:54 Wild Tribute
30:24 Potrero Group
30:52 Traveler Editor Kurt Repanshek shares a conversation he had with National Park Service Director Charles Sams.
34:37 No’Easter - Nature’s Symphony - The Sounds of Acadia
34:51 Episode Closing
35:44 Orange Tree Productions
36:17 Splitbeard Productions
36:29 National Parks Traveler footer

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National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 312 | The Ghost Forest

National parks are home to many iconic trees. Bristlecones pines, Whitebark pines, Sequoias, even mangroves. And, of course, redwoods.

These trees hold many stories. The size alone of redwoods and sequoias are enough to hold your attention. But there are backstories, as well. In the case of redwoods along the Northern California coast, the backstory can be heart breaking. There are chapters of logging fever, of course, as well as of political machinations, and stories of loss.

February 9th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 311 | Keeping Cape Lookout Above Water

Rising sea levels, stronger storms, eroding shorelines, and sinking terrain are taking a toll on the fragile ecosystems and historic resources at Cape Lookout National Seashore on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  A new study by the U.S. Geological Survey takes a close look at these threats and predicts how they will impact the national seashore over the coming years.
 

February 2nd, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 310 | Parks Under Pressure

Here we are, a week into the second administration of President Donald Trump. It’s certainly a time of change, some of which is expected, and some perhaps not. Do we really need to rename North America’s tallest mountain, Denali in Denali National Park and Preserve?

There is much going on in the federal government, and not all is good. Hiring freezes are underway. There’s much talk about reducing the federal budget, which requires cutting agency funding.

January 26th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 309 | Yellowstone Wolves at 30

There are sounds that wake you up out of a deep sleep, only to be dismissed as you fall back to sleep. And then there are sounds that rivet you, make you sit bolt upright.

That was the type of sound that woke us while we were deep in the backcountry of Yellowstone National Park. Sunrise hadn’t yet come, yet we were wide awake, listening to one of the most mesmerizing sounds you can encounter in the wilds: The melodious rising and falling howl of a wolf.

January 12th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 308 | Threatened and Endangered Parks

We’re five days into 2025, and already there’s a lot of news concerning national parks and the National Park Service. Traveler Editor-in-Chief Kurt Repanshek is joined today by Contributing Editor Kim O’Connell to discuss the Traveler’s 4th Annual Threatened and Endangered Park Series and other recent park-related news. 

January 5th, 2025 Read More

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