SEASON FIVE PARKS
In season five we hike and explore four very different parks across a wider range of America. In the Eastern United States we sink our teeth into the beautiful and sprawling New River Gorge. In the Mid West, we trudge through the sand of Indiana Dunes National Park, see some of the most amazing wildlife in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and are bedazzled by yet another alien world in Badlands National Park. Stay tuned for yet another season of adventures, learning, and growth.
NEW RIVER GORGE NATIONAL 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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Click to learn more about New River Gorge National Park.
New River Gorge National Park is on the traditional and stolen land of the Moneton, Tupelo, and Yuchi people.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT NATIONAL 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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Click to learn more about Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park is on the traditional and stolen land of the Mandaan, Hidasta, Arikara, Metis, Assiniboin, Cheyenne, Ochethi Sakowin and Hunkpapa people.
BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK
Featured in Episode 95, Episode 96, and Episode 97
Badlands National Park has a feeling of loneliness and desolation, but in that there is a great beauty. The rock formations which tower above in gnarled spectacles give way to open vistas leaving you wondering where in the world you might be. While there is beauty in this desolation the landscape once played host to a giant shallow inland sea, its only remnants are in the plentiful fossils to be discovered within the parkland and the dead ocean floor which you now hike across.
Dusty and Mike visited Badlands National Park in the summer of 2021 as a part of a much longer five week road trip. During their day within the park they hiked the trails, were awed by the desolate beauty of the badlands, and learned a great deal about fossils.
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Click to learn more about Badlands National Park.
Badlands National Park is on the traditional and stolen land of the Cheyenne, Ochethi Sakowin, and Mnicoujou people.
INDIANA DUNES NATIONAL PARK
Featured in Episode 98, Episode 99, Episode 101, and Episode 102
An unexpected beauty, Indiana Dunes is nestled at the tip of Lake Michigan not far from the bright city lights of Chicago, in fact the city can be viewed from the shores of the park. Like the dunes of Great Sand Dunes National Park, this landscape is actively moving and changing which makes the parkland even more interesting. A product of the glacial retreat that formed Lake Michigan and the rest of the Great Lakes, Indiana Dunes National Park is more than just a day at the beach. With miles of trail, historically preserved homesteads, and various ecosystems, there is plenty to discover here.
Dusty and Mike visited Indiana Dunes National Park in the summer of 2021 as a part of a much longer five week road trip. This was the first park of their road trip and it did not disappoint. Miles of trail, lake front walks, and boardwalk strolls through marshes were just some of the beautiful sights they saw.
Follow along with our episodes with our photos by clicking here.
Click to learn more about Indiana Dunes National Park.
Indiana Dunes National Park is on the traditional and stolen land of the Kickapoo, Peoria, Kaskaskia, Potawatomi, and Myaamia people.