Parks L-Z
MAMMOTH CAVE
Season 6 Park
Featured in Episode 103 and Episode 104
The largest known cave system in the world, Mammoth Cave is awe inspiring. Not only are there over 400 miles of explored cave within the system, the main parts of the cave are quite literally mammoth, making you feel incredibly small as you wander through the vaulted passages. A reverence for nature and it’s power are definitely a pre requisite for visiting.
Dusty and Mike visited Mammoth Cave National Park in the summer of 2021 as a part of a much longer five week road trip. Having visited Wind Cave National Park prior to this on the same road trip, they were blown away from how vastly different these two cave systems were from one another.
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Mammoth Cave National Park is on the traditional and stolen land of the Cherokee, Shawnee, and Yuchi people.
MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK
Season 3 Park
Featured in Episode 45, Episode 46, and Episode 47
Located in southwestern Colorado, Mesa Verde is a park steeped in the history of the native people original to the area, the Pueblo. With the passage of the 1906 Antiquities Act, Mesa Verde became a National Park that highlighted not only the incredible landscape but the “works of man” within the park. While many archeological sites are well preserved within the park, there are scores near by at the Canyon of the Ancients National Monument which only underpin the vastness of the Pueblo in the area.
Dusty and Mike visited Mesa Verde National Park in the spring of 2019. Over their two days in Mesa Verde they were able to hike and explore some of the sites of the Pueblo people, including Cliff Palace.
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Mesa Verde National Park is on the traditional and stolen land of the Dine Bikeyah, Pueblo, and Ute people.
NEW RIVER GORGE NATIONAL PARK
Season 5 Park
Featured in Episode 83, Episode 84, Episode 85, Episode 86, Episode 87, Episode 88, and Episode 89
Originally designated a National River, New River Gorge National Park is a park for the outdoor enthusiast in you. There miles of trails to hike and miles of river to raft down. Not only that but mountain biking, rock climbing, and zip lining are also popular sports within the parkland. The New River, from which the park gets it’s name is 320 miles long and one of the most scenic rivers within the country. Home to hundreds of ecosystems the park affords visitors a beautiful experience no matter the time of year or the reason for visiting.
There are few parks that we have visited that we have been fortunate enough to return to twice, let alone twice in the same year. New River Gorge is one of those parks. Dusty and Mike got the chance to hike and explore the park in the Spring of 2021 on a joint road trip with their friends Brian and Tino. They also had the amazing pleasure of getting to see the park again that fall with Brad Ryan and Grandma Joy, of Grandma Joy’s Road Trip.
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New River Gorge National Park is on the traditional and stolen land of the Moneton, Tupelo, and Yuchi people.
PETRIFIED FOREST NATIONAL PARK
Season 3 Park
Featured in Episode 51
Located in northeastern Arizona, Petrified Forest National Park truly is The Land Before Time. Along with an impressive array of geological features and landscapes, the national park is known and preserved for it’s petrified wood. While it isn’t everywhere within the park, where you do find it will set your mind ablaze with wonder. If that isn’t enough, the park butts right up to the Painted Desert National Monument, which gives you an even greater appreciation for these beautiful desert landscapes.
Dusty and Mike visited Petrified Forest National Park in the spring of 2017 during their first ever national parks trip which included Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches, Canyonlands and the Grand Canyon National Parks.
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Petrified Forest National Park is on the traditional and stolen land of the Dine Bikeyah, Pueblo, Zuni, and Hopitutskwa people.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK
Season 1 Park
Featured in Episode 16, Episode 17, and Episode 18
Rocky Mountain National Park is a breathtaking way to investigate a part of the largest mountain chain in the United States. The main sections of the park are near the towns of Estes Park and Grand Lake, both of which are on opposite sides of the park. Traveling along Trail Ridge Road connects you to both sides and provides you with unparalleled views of the Rockies, that is of course if the road is open. Prepare for snow, wildlife, and incredible vistas no matter the season.
Dusty and Mike acclimated quickly to the altitude and made their trip to RMNP in the spring of 2019. Trail Ridge Road was closed when they were there, so they had a day of long driving to get from one side of the park to the next.
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Rocky Mountain National Park is on the traditional and stolen land of the Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Ute people.
SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK
Season 2 Park
Featured in Episode 34 and Episode 35
Established in 1890 as a way to preserve the sequoiadendron giganteum (the giant sequoia tree), Sequoia National Park contains some of the largest living plants on the planet. This includes the worlds largest tree (by volume), The General Sherman. A network of trails emanate from the area around the General Sherman which meander you through a land of giants, both named and unnamed. Take a stroll through history on the Congress Trail or test your fears while summiting Moro Rock or get a permit and hike the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States, Mount Whitney. You won’t be bored and you won’t stop lookin up as there is plenty to do in this woodland kingdom.
Dusty and Mike visited Sequoia National Park in the spring of 2018 while on a larger California road trip that included Joshua Tree, Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Channel Islands National Parks.
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Sequoia National Park is on the traditional and stolen land of the Western Mono people.
SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK
Season 2 Park
Featured in Episode 29, Episode 30, Episode 31 and Episode 32
A stones throw from Washington DC, this incredibly vast national park (over 100 miles long) is an awesome sight to behold. Established in 1935 as the east coasts second National Park, it encompasses parts of the Blue Ridge Mountains and has the iconic Skyline Drive to show off the length of its splendor. A park for all seasons, Shenandoah offers something different during every time of the year. Make sure that when you plan your visit you allow for lots of time to explore the dazzling heights and deep woodlands of this beautiful parcel of natural wonder.
Dusty and Mike visited Shenandoah National Park in the summer of 2017 and the autumn of 2019. Because of a relatively close proximity to home, Dusty and Mike plan on several more adventures in this jewel of Virginia.
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Shenandoah National Park is on the traditional and stolen land of the Monahoac people.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT NATIONAL PARK
Season 5 Park
Featured in Episode 90, Episode 91, Episode 92, Episode 93, and Episode 94
The landscape of Theodore Roosevelt National Park is vast, open, and beautiful. While the park is technically considered to be badlands (heavily eroded, uncultivable land) it also shares some aspects of the grassland and prairie. The landscape was attractive to the 26th President, who fell in love with the space on a hunting trip there in 1883, returning often and setting up ranch units, which became part of the parkland when it was established. It’s not hard to see what Roosevelt saw in this space as the beauty of the landscape is matched in equal by the exquisite range of wildlife within its borders.
Dusty and Mike visited Theodore Roosevelt National Park in the summer of 2021 as a part of a much longer five week road trip. Over their two days in Theodore Roosevelt they were able to hike and explore both the north and south unit of the park and have some of the best wildlife sightings of their entire lives.
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Theodore Roosevelt National Park is on the traditional and stolen land of the Mandaan, Hidasta, Arikara, Metis, Assiniboin, Cheyenne, Ochethi Sakowin and Hunkpapa people.
WIND CAVE
Season 6 Park
Featured in Episode 111 and Episode 112
Nestled in the Black Hills of South Dakota, not far from Badlands National Park is Wind Cave National Park. Boasting both prairie trails with flora and fauna to delight the eyes and guided cave adventures through narrow passages with beautiful cave formations, Wind Cave National Park offers visitors a unique experience no matter how you decide to visit.
Dusty and Mike visited Wind Cave National Park in the summer of 2021 as a part of a much longer five week road trip. Of the three major caves within the National Park system, Wind Cave National Park had some of the most intricate of cave formations that they have seen.
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Wind Cave National Park is on the traditional and stolen land of the Cheyenne and Ochethi Sakowin people.
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
Season 4 Park
Featured in Episode 63, Episode 64, Episode 65, Episode 66 and Episode 67
Although part of Yellowstone National Park’s boundaries are within the state of Montana and Idaho, the vast majority of this sprawling park is within the state of Wyoming. As the nation’s first national park, this space set the tone in many ways for the parks that would come after it. While these parks could in no way match the landscape or geothermal features within the Yellowstone, they matched the caliber in their own ways. Along with trails, and geological spectacles, Yellowstone National Park boasts sprawling landscape and is home to incredible wildlife, including buffalo.
Dusty and Mike visited Yellowstone National Park in the summer of 2021 as a part of a much longer five week road trip. Over their three days in Yellowstone they were able to hike and explore the incredible geothermal features within the park.
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Yellowstone National Park is on the traditional and stolen land of the Eastern Shoshone, Crow, and Cheyenne people.
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK
Season 1 Park
Featured in Episode 1 and Episode 2
Prepare yourself with a long love affair with Yosemite National Park. Located in Central California, Yosemite is home to some of the most spectacular sites of the National Park System. From the peak of Half Dome, to the rushing waters of Yosemite Falls, to the tranquility of Tuolumne Meadows, the park truly has a lot to be in awe of.
Dusty and Mike made their trip to this California wonderland in the spring of 2018 and its one park they consistently talk about revisiting.
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Yosemite National Park is on the traditional and stolen land of the Miwok people.
ZION NATIONAL PARK
Season 1 Park
Featured in Episode 9, Episode 10, and Episode 11
The lushness of the desert canyon is almost hard to believe as the snaking Virgin River feeds and nourishes the land. The high canyon walls dazzlingly change a panoply of colors throughout the day, creating a ballet of light and shadow across their surfaces. While the most daring adventurers will climb to the top of Angel’s Landing or plod through the Narrows, those who view the park from the canyon floor will be enraptured by all that this Eden has to offer. This is Zion National Park.
Dusty and Mike made their trip to this aptly named Utah park in the spring of 2017 after sleeping in Las Vegas for five minutes the night before.
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Zion National Park is on the traditional and stolen land of the Southern Paiute and Pueblo people.