Option 1 20181025 Audio Test Ike Waits Reduct Lower Vol

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*Same as Option 2 -- different part!* Option 5 Different Part of the Interview With Enhance and Reduct

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*Same as Option 4 -- different part!* Opt 6 Diff Part With Enhance No Noise Reduction

Option 6 20181025 Audio Test Ike Waits Diff Part With Enhance No Reduct

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The Short Intro Jam to Nat Park Stories Podcast by Hot Sauce Universe!

Short Intro Jam For Nat Park Stories Podcast

Fall back in love with America through stories of strangers in the National Parks. Follow the adventures of a solo female VanLifer exploring the US National Parks, and talking to people she meets about their impact. 

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Welcome to the Nat Park Stories Podcast.

This is a podcast that follows me, Summer Slevin, as I travel to all the National Parks in my home van with my pup and have conversations with the many strangers I met.

In 2015, I went to my first National Park, the Rocky Mountain National Park, and I fell in love.

I bought my National Parks Pass, and traveled in my car for two months talking to strangers and exploring Nature.

A couple years later, after working the rat race and settling into the corporate world, I found myself burnt out and miserable.

I had also witnessed so much division in America that I had started falling out of love with it and looking for international places to relocate.

At the end of 2017, I tried to remember a time when I felt at peace and in love with the country.

My mind went back to being in the National Parks and talking to people about their beauty.

At the beginning of 2018, I decided to create a little home in a van, and set off to all our National Parks for the next two years, in hopes of falling back in love with America. 

I wanted to start it in a big way, to prove to myself and others that I was serious.

In July, I hit the road from my hometown in Central Illinois, and headed to Last Frontier, Alaska.

My first park of the podcast, Denali National Park, blew my mind and instantly I felt myself fall back in love with my country.

My hope is that you will too, through the stories of strangers I meet in breathtaking places.

Each interview will vary — every story is different and inspiring in their own way— most of the time, they will center on what it feels like in that specific national park and why others should visit these protected places.

Sometimes you’ll hear my story of exploring the parks, or the people I meet along the way, but most of the stories are of the people I meet in parks. 

Every month, I plan to release all the episodes from one park, in the order I traveled to each of them.

Every 3-6 months, I will take a break, breaking the podcast into seasons.

During season one, I will talk to strangers at Denali, Kenai Fjords, and Wrangell - St Elias National Parks all in Alaska, as well as Big Bend, Guadalupe Mountains, and Carlsbad Caverns National Park in Texas and New Mexico. 

You’ll hear from park rangers, bus drivers, tour guides, retirees, children, friends of mine, families, couples, single travelers, bird watchers, authors, Americans, international travelers, and so much more.

You can find pictures and stories of the parks, people, and my adventures -and chat with me-, on my Facebook, Instagram, and website.

Just search Nat-Park-Stories.

And if you want to support this podcast, receive post cards from the parks, get behind the scenes content and more, go to Patreon.com/NatParkStories.

Just a note, most of these recordings are captured outside — in the parks, so you might hear quite a bit of Natural Sounds… please bare with me. 

I have also never created a podcast before, so I’m really open to your feedback about what you think will make this podcast even better.

Feel free to reach out to me on Facebook, Instagram, or my website. 

I am really so excited to share this journey with you, so let’s get started!

Introduction to the Nat Park Stories Podcast

Meet the man who has been going to Denali since 1967 and who has literally written the book on the Park.

In this episode we’ll be talking about my first Park of the Podcast, Denali National Park in Alaska, where I went at the end of July 2018 — and we'll talk to a man who’s been coming to the park since the 60s.

The thing that stood out to most people I interviewed is the vastness and isolation of the park.

You can drive 15 miles into Denali National Park, the rest of the park is only accessible by bus or hiking.

While I took an 8 hour round trip bus ride, I interviewed almost everyone that rode along with me, including Ike Waits (WAITs) the man who quite literally wrote the book on Denali.

I honestly couldn’t believe my luck!

He’s been coming to the park since 1967 and has seen a lot of changes since then.

One of the big things that he’s noticed is an increase in the superficial enjoyment of the park.

In 2000, he wrote hiking and photography guide that he hopes will encourage people to get off the bus and explore the park.

I was so excited to chat with him about his experiences in the park, how it feels to hike the vast wilderness of Denali, why he thinks people should get out and explore, and so much more.

As he says at the end, we cover a lot of ground in this interview so buckle up and enjoy, but don’t forget to get off the bus at some point!

Interview with Ike Waits Denali National Park Hiking and Photography Guide Author

A girl and her pup travel the US in their Home Van to find and tell stories from all the National Parks.

Nat Park Stories

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