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

By Kurt Repanshek - June 9th, 2019

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.

:02 Welcome to National Parks Traveler
:12 Episode introduction
1:23 Introduction to Find Me with filmmaker Tom Huang
2:17 Interview with Tom Huang
10:42 Washington's National Park Fund promotion
11:20 Yankee Freedom promotion
11:56 Interview with Tom Huang Continues
18:46 RV share.com promotion
19:21 Friends of Acadia promotion
20:27 Tips For Staying Safe During Your Park Vacation
25:00 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation promotion
25:25 North Cascades Institute promotion
25:46 Yosemite Conservancy promotion
26:30 Gateway Towns To The Parks - Estes Park, Colorado
34:54 Orange Tree Productions promotion

National Parks Traveler Podcast

Comments

Submitted by Allan Jaworski on June 13, 2019 - 11:31pm.

it is not simply a job, far from the sense of lucky, commitment for 6 months or 1 year or permanent career there are a few personal wants that visitors overlook. This (these parks) are our home and family, in a way that trash and bad habits need to be left at the entrance of parks. If you see a person dropping a gum wrapper, spit gum, or just leaves lettuce or bread on the ground, please tell them it is 2019 and humans eho are the only species that litter, need to pick up after themselves always. Create better recreation habits, every bit of a cleaner park can restore animal wild habits.

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 327 | Plight of the Parks

So much is happening so quickly to the National Park Service. There have been staff reductions, hiring freezes, spending freezes, orders from the Interior Secretary to make sure that visitors find national parks welcoming, no matter what it takes.

June 1st, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 326 | Environmental Partisanship

Is green a red and blue construct? Put another way, is there a political partisan divide over the environment?

That’s a particularly interesting question, no doubt more so in recent years as the country seems to have drifted farther and farther apart because of our political beliefs. To that point, a reader reached out the other day to say our stories shouldn’t be negative on the Trump Administration because the national parks are going to need the help of all of us - Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and everything in-between - to survive.

May 25th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 325 | Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility

News around public lands these days seems to revolve entirely around the Trump administration. In the case of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, many of the steps the administration is taking with the operational efficiencies of the National Park Service and other land management agencies certainly are keeping PEER busy.

May 18th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 324 | North American Bird Declines

True birders are some of the most determined and persistent hobbyists out there. If you want to call bird watching a hobby. For many, it’s more like a passion. Many look forward to “Big Day” competitions, where individuals and teams strive to see how many different bird species they can spot in a 24-hour period.

May 11th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 323 | Walt Dabney and Public Lands

It’s fair to say that the nation’s public lands, those managed by the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service and other federal land-management agencies are at risk under the Trump administration.

There’s no hyperbole in that statement if you pay attention to what the administration already has done in terms of downsizing those agencies’ workforces, and when you listen to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum say he wants to open more public lands to energy development and mining.

May 4th, 2025 Read More

INN Member

The easiest way to explore RV-friendly National Park campgrounds.

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

Here’s the definitive guide to National Park System campgrounds where RVers can park their rigs.

Our app is packed with RVing- specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 national parks.

You’ll also find stories about RVing in the parks, tips helpful if you’ve just recently become an RVer, and useful planning suggestions.

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks