Trail Tales 93: ASStronauts, Butt Foam & Getting Too High

Summary

---

National Park After Dark

Trail Tales 93: ASStronauts, Butt Foam & Getting Too High

Released May 7, 2026

Main Theme & Purpose

In this episode, hosts Danielle and Cassie share a round of listener-submitted stories in their recurring “Trail Tales” format. As always, the stories range from the hilarious and absurd to the poignant and intense, all centered around experiences in public lands and national parks. Themes in this installment include: quirky small-town drama, coping with grief and the healing power of nature and dogs, wild family trips, freaky outdoor encounters, and the importance of listening to intuition (and your spirit guides). And, a recurring motif: butts—statues, cycling foam, full moons—abounds, all recounted with the duo's trademark warmth and irreverence.

---

Key Discussion Points and Stories

1. ASStronauts on Route 66 (02:55–08:25)

• Listener Story: Kimmy from Weatherford, Oklahoma
  • After hearing a previous NPAD episode about Route 66, Kimmy shares her town's unique commemoration: replacing a beloved but rarely discussed gazebo with... a 30-foot-tall astronaut statue boasting distinctly pert butt cheeks, honoring local hero and NASA astronaut Thomas P. Strafford.
  • Facebook outrage ensued, with residents lamenting the loss of the gazebo—now a site of her own engagement. She recounts:

    "Now I can endlessly chuckle. For the place where we committed to love each other for the rest of our lives is now directly under this 30 foot astronaut's perky little butt."
    —Kimmy, (06:53)

  • The civic saga escalates to national news following a town gas leak, with locals blaming the spaceman statue (jokingly).
  • Danielle & Cassie riff about the value of a toned astronaut posterior and the "can't spell Cassie without ass" running joke.

    "They couldn't not. You have a really nice ass. You can't spell Cassie without ass."
    —Danielle (08:53)

2. Route 66 & Pop Culture Confusion (09:17–10:47)

• Tangent on the movie Cars and how many Gen Z listeners know Route 66 through this Pixar film. Cassie is bewildered that Danielle hasn't seen it.
• Lighthearted banter about generational references.

3. "Lost Partner Club" — Grief, Dogs, and Renewal (13:38–20:03)

• Listener Story: Nikki
  • A moving, detailed account of love, devastating loss, and the cyclical nature of healing:
    • Nikki’s partner, Chase, dies in a tragic accident camping on Mount Hood. Details include the emotional rollercoaster of getting a dog soulmate, the experience of grief amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and the slow path back to love and hope—culminating in meeting her new partner, who shares Chase’s exact birthday.
    • Highlights the role of pets in survival through loss and a moving sense that lost loved ones send signs to those left behind.
  • Danielle shares this on-air to mark the anniversary of her own partner Ian’s passing.
  • Quotes:

    "One thing I think they all have in common is that it never really hits, settles, or feels real. Is that because we innately know we will see them again? I think so."
    —Nikki (14:20)

  • Cassie:

    "Another example of there's no such thing as coincidences."
    (20:03)

  • Both express immense gratitude for the vulnerability and depth shared in Nikki’s story.

4. Butt Foam and Virginia Wine Country – Cycling Horror (22:55–31:06)

• Listener Story: Jacob
  • In response to a previous call for "foaming pants" stories, Jacob describes a grueling, wet college bike race near Monticello.
  • Cycling in rain leads to comical yet disgusting "butt foam" spraying from competitors’ spandex shorts, which ends up in riders’ faces:

    "My teeth are getting gritty, I'm wiping dude foam from my face and I'm still cold even after all this pedaling."
    —Jacob (26:38)

  • Race drama intensifies with a slippery crash (“some foamy, to attempt to avoid a collision...”) but thankfully no major injuries.
  • Ends with an anecdote about inadvertently sounding cocky while passing fellow racers:

    "See you at the top!"
    (29:08)

  • He earns sixth place and survives, concluding with a plug for a song about the Kentucky Pack Horse Librarians (a callback to an older NPAD episode).

5. "Another Dad Story: Pre Rolls and Glacier National Park" (31:15–43:07)

• Listener Story: Q.C.
  • Follows a family’s non-traditional, weed-fueled national park adventure ("the very antithesis of cool people in REI outfits").
  • Highlights include:
    • Dad’s refusal to prep for hiking (preferring cigars over stamina).
    • Obligatory visit to a Montana dispensary, where he buys "10 pre rolls" (which do not last all week).
    • Hilarious attempts at bear safety (e.g., “What if I shook a bunch of Tic Tacs at them?” —38:07).
    • TikTok-worthy attempts to deter wildlife and a climactic grizzly sighting ("Amazing how one bear four football fields away is going to pack hunt us... yet Tic Tacs were the answer five minutes ago." —41:12).
  • Danielle and Cassie revel in the energy of a dad "thriving" in the wild; the episode continues its unofficial "butts" theme with tales of bear shenanigans.

6. Nightmare on the Trail: Frozen Bodies & Full Moons (45:12–52:58)

• Listener Story: Casey
  • A paramedic and firefighter recounts a chilling real-life experience:
    • While shooting video for a college project at a Maryland state park, Casey stumbles across a corpse frozen in the lake.
    • Calmly follows protocol, calls 911, and ends up with the police confiscating her camera—a move that dramatically saves her college grade ("I emailed my professor and told her... the cops took my project footage... I accidentally filmed a dead body. She never replied. However, I did see she auto populated my grade and I got an A. Way better excuse than the dog ate my homework." —51:28)
    • Story’s title references both the corpse and an accidental “mooning” caught on camera during a previous family ski trip, which cops definitely saw.
  • Danielle and Cassie note the cool professionalism—“only a paramedic/firefighter would react that way.”

7. Always Listen to Your Spirit Guides (55:42–60:10)

• Listener Story: Marty
  • A therapist recalls a harrowing personal experience:
    • Ignoring intense intuition after a late shift at a psychiatric hospital, she heads home—unaware that a patient has hidden in her car and trunk ("I heard a faint ouch... Figured I was just hearing things because I was tired..." —58:15)
    • The patient is later apprehended after attempting to break in, all only discovered when coworkers call to warn her the next morning. Dogs (again!) save the day.
    • She concludes, "I truly believe my angels were with me that night... This experience taught me to always listen to my body, my angels and check my surroundings."
  • Cassie and Danielle emphasize how this fulfills a universal fear ("It happened to you! ... that's like a fear that so many of us have when you get in a car that someone's gonna be in your backseat." —60:18)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Town Outrage:

  "It truly felt like a Parks and Rec episode and I was just waiting for someone to pop out with the cameras."
  —Kimmy (05:51)

• On Cars/Route 66 Confusion:

  "For the first handful of comments, I was legitimately very confused... I had no idea it was based on Route 66 or had anything to do with Route 66."
  —Danielle (09:31)

• On Sixth Place in the Butt Foam Race:

  "I don't know. Not trying to knock you, but if it's like out of 10, it's not great. You're sorry."
  —Danielle (29:40)

• On Fear of Someone in the Car:

  "I always look in my backseat even though my car is locked, even if it's in my driveway, you know, anywhere. I've just been conditioned to check."
  —Danielle (60:33)

• On Family Rumors:

  "So my stepdad starts a rumor about me to my mom that I'm smoking or I'm vaping because my glass shatter thing is on my visor... and the cartridges were... car fresheners."
  —Danielle (65:18–67:49)

• On Episode Themes:

  "This has been a butt episode. Now that you mention it, I've had three stories that included butts today."
  —Cassie (68:57)

---

Timestamps: Important Segments

• [02:55] — "ASStronauts" story begins
• [06:53] — Gazebo engagement (memorable quote)
• [13:38] — Lost Partner Club (grief, love, and healing)
• [22:55] — Butt foam: cycling race saga
• [31:15] — Weed and Dad misadventures in Glacier NP
• [45:12] — Frozen body found in the lake
• [55:42] — Spirit guides, intuition & the trunk stowaway
• [68:57] — Closing ("butt episode" realization and sign-off)

---

Style, Tone, & Takeaway

• The episode seamlessly weaves humor, heartfelt reflection, and practical safety reminders, with both hosts riffing naturally and threading each story with warmth, self-awareness, and a genuine appreciation for listener vulnerability and wild tales.
• Recurrent motifs: butts and body functions, dogs as emotional anchors, the strange ways the natural world intersects with personal drama, and the deep bonds formed and tested in wild places.
• The sign-off summarizes:

  "Enjoy the view, but watch your back."
  —Danielle (69:21)

---

Final Impression

This “Trail Tales” installment delivers everything NPAD fans crave: laughter, goosebumps, a few tears, and a reminder that adventures in nature rarely go as planned—but always make for great stories.

Transcript

[A]

Hey, everyone.

[B]

Welcome back to National Park After Dark. We have our trail tales again for you all today and we're so excited.

[A]

Yeah. My name is Danielle. Happy to be here.

[B]

I'm Cassie, also happy to be be part of this. Thank you for having me.

[A]

You're welcome. Thanks so much for joining. And then we have a little special guest today. This is Noah, everyone say hi. Braxton, zoom in on his face, please.

[B]

Yes. If you're watching on, if you're listening and you can't see, Danielle has the cutest chihuahua ever on her lap.

[A]

Yeah, I'm fostering. So if by this episode, by the time it comes around, if you still see him on my personal Instagram, I'm still trying to find him a home. So he's up for grabs to a very loving, sweet home. And he's. He's pretty perfect for a Chihuahua. Who would have thought the day would come that I would have a small dog on my lap before you do?

[B]

I know. It hurts my soul. I just watch you the whole time. We're recording now and just wish I was where you are.

[A]

Yeah, well, yeah. Trail tales today. Let's do it. Who wants to go first?

[B]

I'll go first.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Mine is titled Route 66 and the Giant astronaut. And I have to say that ass is ass and astronaut in all capital letters for context.

[A]

Oh, I thought you were telling us how ass is spelled. Like that is generally how it goes. You're like, I have to say ass is spelled a sronaut.

[B]

I've always known how ass is spelled because it's in my name.

[A]

Oh, yeah, there you go.

[B]

There it is. Hello, Cassie and Danielle. First off, thanks for this lovely podcast and all the stories you've shared. I've listened to you guys for many hours while in the car doing dishes or going for long runs. You have found a wonderful balance of sharing meaningful and timely stories that educate and inspire while also providing episodes with more light hearted entertainment. I know we are all more educated and interesting people for listening to you guys. Thank you. I just listened to the Route 66 episode and I knew I had to write in. As an Oklahoma girl who never lived near anything national park related, I didn't know if I would ever have a personal connection to the podcast beyond enjoyment and appreciation. But alas, my time has come and I have my own trail tale to share. It involves small town drama, my own engagement, and one very large and perky astronaut butt. But first, some background. In your Route 66 episode, Danielle, you ended by describing the grants and work that Is going on along Route 66 in celebration of the 100th anniversary. Well, that is very much true across the state of Oklahoma, and especially in my hometown of weatherford, which sits along Route 66. In summer's past, there would sometimes be visitors and even tour buses passing through Weatherford as they made their way along the mother road. The communities along Route 66 only expect this tourism to increase greatly this spring and summer, as anticipated for the 100th birthday of the highway will inspire vacationers to take road trips and see what there is to see there. Because of this, the state offered some grants to the towns along Route 66 that could apply for and potentially use to beautify and invest their communities. Ahead of this intent, Centennial Weatherford applied and received one of those grants, which they chose to rebrand the town as space city. Since the town's most famous resident was Thomas p. Strafford, an astronaut who flew space missions for NASA in 1960s and 70s, everyone in town was fairly excited about the investment into the community. Until one morning when the demolition of apparently a beloved gazebo took place in the town square at the center of main street. I'm talking excavators, jackhammers, and nothing left. Demolition. Now, I had spent my whole life in that town and I had never really heard anyone talk about the gazebo or express any great pride in the structure. But boy howdy, what an uproar there was on facebook and in the local newspaper. Apparently when the gazebo was built long ago, it was a community effort and many families donated money to pitch in with the construction. Community members got it in their heads that the city council tried to go behind their backs and have the place destroyed and they would not stand for it. Especially when it was announced that a 30 foot spaceman statue would take the place of their quaint gazebo. Oh no, that is much different.

[A]

There's always a facebook uproar.

[B]

I mean, a gazebo versus a 30 foot spaceman statue. I'm just picturing in our neighbor, a town neighboring us, we have a really cute gazebo in the middle of town that people like to sit in. Sometimes they play music up there and if they just tore it down to put in a giant statue, I think people would also be mad.

[A]

But it seems like this gazebo has flown under the radar a little bit.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like maybe it's not as prevalent.

[B]

It's just a cute little spot.

[A]

Yeah. And now all of a sudden that it's on the chopping block, these people are like, I don't think so.

[B]

Not in our town, not up in here. To add some perspective, many buildings on Main street aren't even that tall. Oh, no. So the shiny spaceman really sticks out. Besides the old short brick buildings. Oh, that is weird.

[A]

Ugly.

[B]

That's super weird. Yeah. Anger went unchecked. Opinions, responses, and responses to the responses were published in the local newspaper. The community Facebook group experienced unprecedented levels of disdain. Mothers abandoned their children. Well, maybe not that last part, but the town was calling for the spaceman's blood. It truly felt like a Parks and Rec episode and I was just waiting for someone to pop out with the cameras. Funnily enough, I had people reaching out to me to know my take on the situation, given that my husband actually proposed to me under the gazebo. Weatherford was the town we dated in and fell in love in, so he thought the gazebo would be a cute place to ask the big question. And it was. He strung Edison lights, set up some flowers, and had a photographer capture the moment. It's a cute story that I'll forever cherish. But now I can endlessly chuckle. For the place where we committed to love each other for the rest of our lives is now directly under this 30 foot astronaut's perky little butt.

[A]

No,

[B]

that is a cute place to propose, and that's unfortunate. Now, I'm not sure why they chose to give the butt detail, but they did. You can clearly see two separate cheeks and they are really perky. Not in the weightlifting kind of way, but I think our spaceman must do Pilates. It's honestly kind of inspiring. Since the spaceman was erected, a few bizarre things have happened in the town, including a gas leak which sent many people to the hospital and earned Weatherford a place in the New York Times. Of course, when anything happens, people like to blame the spaceman and say that all bad things started once he showed up. They do this good naturedly, and I think most people have come to accept his existence at this point. We took a trip back home this summer, making the five year anniversary of when we got engaged, and my husband and I posed for a picture on under the perky cheeks, unable but to laugh at how the view has changed since he first put a ring on my finger. Anywho, if anyone is traveling down Route 66 this summer, be sure to stop by Weatherford, Oklahoma and check out the spaceman. If anyone gets engaged at that location from here on out, please send pics. So enjoy the view on Route 66, but watch out for the giant spaceman looking to trample the place. Where you got engaged. All the best, Kimmy. P.S. here are some pics so you can compare how the view has changed since 2020. And see the cheeks for yourselves.

[A]

There are some strong looking cheeks, I will say, but if you're 30ft tall and your butt's going to be that big, it's gotta look nice.

[B]

Imagine a flat ass though.

[A]

I don't know if. Is that astronaut still alive? I don't know anything about that astronaut.

[B]

I don't know anything about the astronaut either. But I would personally be very flattered if they portrayed my ass to be like that.

[A]

They couldn't not. You have a really nice ass. You can't spell Cassie without ass. And thank you. You embody it.

[B]

She said that.

[A]

Welcome. Okay, two things really quick about that story that it reminded me. So we got all these comments after my Route 66 episode about. Because I think I said something along the lines of, does Gen Z know what Route 66?

[B]

Oh, and everyone said that they watch Cars. And I was like, oh, that does mean.

[A]

Well, the way they said it, they were like, yeah, because of cars. And I'm like, yeah, no shit. Cars drive on the highway. I wasn't putting it together because I've never seen Cars.

[B]

Oh, okay.

[A]

The movie.

[B]

I've seen Cars. It also was a TV show.

[A]

Also haven't seen the TV show. So for the first handful of comments, I was legitimately very confused because. Yeah, I understand. I get it. Yeah, you get it because there are cars. Yeah. No, no wonder we've heard of it. Like our kids watch cars or we've seen cars or something.

[B]

So did you know it was animated and that like it all came together? The red truck and everything.

[A]

Gun to my head though I would never know what that meant because I haven't seen it. I've seen previews of it. Like, I know that that movie exists, but I had no idea it was based on Route 66 or had anything to do with Route 66.

[B]

So yeah, I didn't even think about that when you were doing the Route 66 episode. But then once I said that I was like, oh yeah. Cause Cars is a little bit younger than us. But I remember when I was a kid, I had a babysitter who had younger kids who watch Cars. So I have seen it. I never again. It was a little bit too young for me, so I didn't pay a ton of attention to it. But I've seen the movie and I've seen episodes of the show that was out before, so I do understand the

[A]

context Well, I did want to address that. And then secondly, this is a little late now because we're recording a couple weeks ahead of time, but I went to see Project Hail Mary last night finally, and just it reminded me because of the astronaut thing. And so funny, because so here I am. I'm like, okay, so I think it's following the book pretty well. At the very end, when they show that, like, the Beatles made it back to Earth, I'm like, well, that wasn't in the book. But I get. You want to, like, wrap it up and be like, oh, yeah, Earth is saved, whatever. And so it finishes. And I wasn't emotional, but it's just like, it was all about, you know, the beauty of Earth and how we should save it. It's worth saving type of thing.

[B]

Yeah. And for context, if you're not part of our book club, we read Project Hail Mary for our book club.

[A]

Oh, right. Yes.

[B]

And you should join.

[A]

Yeah, you should come. So we're. You know, the movie ends, whatever. My mom looks at me and she's like, that was kind of weird. I'm like, well, okay, that's your takeaway of it.

[B]

Like, I hated that.

[A]

All right, well, not for everyone, guess. But I think that if you didn't read the book or knew anything really about it, Rocky was probably a little strange. The alien.

[B]

Yeah. I think Rocky was hard to portray, but I liked him. I thought that he did a good job.

[A]

But is it because you read the book?

[B]

Maybe if you just. I don't know. I don't have a perspective of someone who's never read the book.

[A]

I know. Anywho. Okay, enough about astronauts. I just wanted to say that my mom thought it was weird, but I

[B]

Did you like it, though? You liked it?

[A]

Yeah. I think it did a really good job of mirroring the tone of the book and also following the book pretty well.

[B]

I agree.

[A]

Because I was a little worried about that when reading the book, knowing that it was being released as a movie soon. I was like, oh, my God, this is kind of. How is this going to translate?

[B]

Especially with all the scientific calculations and talk and stuff. How are you going to make it interesting in a movie? And explained. Well, yeah.

[A]

And match the humor, but not overtly funny. Just an undertone of lightheartedness in a really.

[B]

I actually kind of found the. The movie a little funnier than I found the book. I thought that they did a good job. I really enjoyed it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I thought Ryan Gosling did a great job, too.

[A]

Yeah, he's great.

[B]

I like he looks great too. I was like, you look like.

[A]

He looks better than ever.

[B]

I know. I was like, am I falling in love again?

[A]

I think maybe because I felt. I felt the same way. I was like, oh, you were not at the top of my list before,

[B]

but it's your skincare routine.

[A]

Yeah, he just looks. He looks nice. Okay, anywho, my first story I chose because. Not number one, because I enjoyed reading this trail tale, but I wanted to include it today because when this releases, it'll be the four year anniversary of Ian passing away. And I wanted to dedicate a story to him and just remember him for all the beautiful, amazing, wonderful, just the amazing person he was. So, anywho, before I start crying already, I haven't even started. Okay, so this trail tale is titled the Lost Partner Club. Hi, beautiful sisters. I've been meaning to write this for some time, but of course the stars have to align. I must be ovulating and have slept at least eight hours the night before. Luckily for me, the trifecta is occurring. First off, I am a fellow lover of nature, an avid trail runner, and a very proud mama of a chunk muffin American bully named Stoney. I so appreciate your intelligent storytelling, your zest for experiencing life, and the way you've shown your more vulnerable sides throughout your podcasting years. When I first started listening, I quickly understood that Danielle and I had something tragic in common. I too lost a partner very suddenly. The way you've worked through your grief really resonated with me. And I still shed a tear every time you talk about Ian because I feel your pain. Losing a mother, a father, a sibling, a best friend, a child, a partner, they all have a unique effect. One thing I think they all have in common is that it never really hits, settles, or feels real. Is that because we innately know we will see them again? I think so. Chase is his name. I say is because he is still so very present in my Life. I was 22 and he was 24 when we met in Portland, Oregon. I picked him out of a sea of people and just gravitated towards him. We dated for about a year. He was wild, but so soft. Deeply in love with nature, his animals and his family. Being young and crazy, both of us, but mostly him, he made some foolish mistakes and I told him to kick rocks. He never stopped fighting to win me back, though. I moved on to another serious relationship and he moved away for work, I think to better himself. We continued to stay in touch and I always remained close with his three sisters. Fast forward Four years. Chase returns from his work travels. I happened to be single and wasn't thinking anything other than I missed him and wanted to catch up. So I invited him to a small birthday gathering for myself. When he showed up, I was like, damn, you look good, Chase. He had a completely different aura about him. It was clear he had done a lot of self work and I was into it. A few days later my house was broken into and a thousand dollars was stolen from my underwear drawer. The first person I wanted to call was Chase because he was the most protective person I knew. He picked up immediately. I told him what happened and he said, I think it's time for you to get a dog. I know you've always wanted a male bully and my friend has a litter with one male left. It seemed outrageous considering I had just had money stolen from me. But he insisted that when your dog soulmate is in the vicinity, you and the universe just make it happen. So yeah, we made it happen. I went and met Stonie when he was a tiny smoosh faced gargoyle, sat with it for a few days, talked to my family and decided that baby was mine. He came home with me at seven weeks and we've been joined at that hip literally ever since. During all of this, Chase and I started revving things back up. So New Year's Eve 2018, Chase, his best friend since he was 8 and another friend went camping on Mount Hood in their special place they visited every year. Typically they would partake in drinking and some fun party slash mind altering accoutrements. Brandon had recently experienced a few seizures and Chase suggested maybe sitting it out. But Brandon persisted. A few hours in, after thinking things had set in, Brandon unfortunately began having a seizure. Chase got him into his suv, the other friend jumped in and they started heading down the mountain towards the hospital. At some point the other friend said he wanted to get out of the vehicle because Chase was driving erratically. He got out. Chase continued the drive and somehow became turned around. I had called Chase that night and left a voicemail. I didn't think much of it until his sister called me on January 2nd. Chase and Brandon were missing and there was a search party out looking for them. I immediately felt a pit in my stomach. About a day later they found his dog Zeena on the shoreline of the Hood river on the opposite side of the road. I instantly buckled because I knew he would never ever leave his beloved dog's side. Shortly after they discovered Chase's vehicle, they had somehow gone over a cliff into the river and the vehicle floated into a deep pool that happened to be there. They both drowned. My life was rocked on its axis after that. Had Stonie not been there as a needy five month old puppy, I don't know what would have gotten me out of bed. The next year was a blur. Covid hit, my aunt passed because of it. I was drinking far too much as a coping method and ended up with a dui. I couldn't heal in Portland, especially during the pandemic. So I decided to move home to northern Michigan to be near my family in 2021. A few more years of self work and therapy, I asked Chase to send me my person. Soon after I met Shawn, my current partner and soulmate. It wasn't long before I realized that Shawn and Chase shared the same birthday, August 26th. That was my sign from Chase confirming he did some magic up there and is still protecting and caring for me from wherever he is. I could go on and on about psychic readings and the many affirmations that he is still with me, but I know you need no more explanation. They are here supporting us, lovingly guiding us with the knowing that we will all be reunited one day. I'm sorry this was so long. Even if this is just for your personal reading, I want to express my gratitude for both of your vulnerabilities. Danielle, I commend you for your strength and resilience in making something meaningful out of such a great loss. Love you both with warmth.

[B]

Nikki Another example of there's no such thing as coincidences.

[A]

Nope, nope.

[B]

What a beautiful story to find your person and they have the same birthday. And I mean that is the clearest sign.

[A]

Yeah, especially after asking for it specifically. And another example of how dogs, I mean, save us all in so many ways. So thank you for sharing. Nikki. That's a deeply personal story, so thank you for sharing it with us. Yes, Cassie and I joke all the time that we love to Bougie Camp and while we've done our fair share of time on the dirt, we also like a little high comfort, low cost option from time to time. And that's why we love Harvest Hosts. And lucky for us, this podcast is sponsored by Harvest Hosts so we get to tell you all about them. With a Harvest Host membership, you get unlimited overnight RV stays at over 9000 unique free overnight stay locations at farms, wineries, breweries, museums and attractions across North America. Simply sign up for 79 per year, book your favorite destinations and enjoy unique RV stays all year long. And I don't have an RV per se. But before I got my camper, I was really hesitant because I thought my options were going to be very limited and kind of boring. But Harvest Host locations have totally opened up my world. Do you love golf? I sure don't, but if you want to stay overnight at a course with Harvest Hosts, you can. A drive in movie theater is more my jam, and guess what? That's an option too. With Harvest Hosts, you can save money and add adventure to your travels, all while discovering new destinations and supporting unique businesses across the country. Aside from the cool location options, they also have a mapping tool and the host locations are vetted, safe and well reviewed, which comes as a comfort to me, but more importantly, my family, who worries quite a bit while I'm out there traveling alone. Head to harvesthost.com and use code NPAD20 for 20% off Harvest Hosts membership. Once again, that's harvesthosts.com for 20% off. And make sure you use our promo code NPAD20 so they know we sent you.

[B]

Close your eyes. Focus. Listen to work getting done with Monday.com relax as AI does the manual work

[A]

while your teams are aligned on a

[B]

single source of truth?

[A]

Feel the sensation of an AI work platform so flexible and intuitive it feels like it was built just for you.

[B]

Notice you're limitless. Now open your eyes, go to Monday.com,

[A]

start for free, and finally breathe.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Please go before I cry. I'm holding it in.

[B]

Okay, well, I think that this story is going in a totally different direction, because mine is titled Wet and the Story of a Memorable Race Through Virginia Wine Country. Hello, you two devious dogs. I don't know if anyone's called us devious dogs before, but I'm here.

[A]

I don't know, but it's saving me right now. It just pulled me in another direction emotionally, you devious dog that I am.

[B]

First off, thank you for keeping me company on my long drives. You guys are my favorite podcast to listen to when I'm driving long hours for work and when I'm on the road heading to my next outdoor adventure. Congrats on five years. And I know you mentioned wanting more foamy short stories in your celebration episode, so I've got a treat for you today as a gift for five glorious years.

[A]

Did we ask for that? I don't remember.

[B]

I feel like we always want foaming pants stories, but these ones sound like foaming shorts stories. Foaming shorts are a pretty common phenomenon in the cycling world. I've seen many people with big suds flying off their rears while riding in groups. I believe this foam occurs because of some aeration interaction between sweat, dirt and porous spandex and and external water getting in. I've only seen this phenomenon happen during rainy rides. The infamous foamy shorts person may have just had some sweat buildup aerie in an unfortunate area. I hope they're doing all right. Now to the story. While in college I participated in some amateur bike racing. Every spring and fall semester the universities in our conference would host a handful of races spread across the semester. This foam filled race happened during a particular cold and dreary Saturday just outside of Charlottesville, Virginia in hills near the National Historic Landmark of Monticello, on the many miles of roads that wind their way between wineries and farmland. My categories race was set to begin at 8am that Saturday morning. I did my typical pre race routine of downing stale hotel breakfast pastries and questionable eggs that could take any story from a foaming pants story to a pooping in the woods story. I then drove 30 or so minutes to a winery parking lot that served as our starting area for the race. As I arrived to the parking lot, an ominous dark cloud appeared above our group along with a light shower of piercingly cold water. This was not ideal as wet roads mean less than safe racing conditions with poor visibility, increased stopping distances and getting absolutely drenched. Which is mostly never fun. But there we all were, a bunch of 20 something dudes shivering in a winery parking lot in wet spandex, moaning complaints to one another about the situation we found ourselves in. But the race must go on. Our race was set to be three laps around the area, with each lap being about 10 miles each. The race started as usual, our large group following a pace car for a mile or so before being left to our own devices. Once we got about half a lap into the race, the foam started and never let up. I noticed multiple guys in front of me starting to form a hefty bit of foam around their butts. Keep in mind that I'm trying to get as close as possible to these foamy butts, not for my own sick pleasure, but to maintain a competitive place in this race. Then it happens. The foam starts flying off the rear end of my competitors and I'm getting smacked in the face with butt foam spraying from tires, kicking, picking up street filth and rain. My teeth are getting gritty, I'm wiping dude foam from my face and I'm still cold even after all this pedaling. Since this was only half a lap in, I just had to accept My fate and settle in for the long couple of hours.

[A]

Pedal faster. Get ahead of them.

[B]

Get ahead of them. Yeah. Or that's. That's some dedication to me in the mouths. If I had butt foam spraying on my face while I was riding my bike, I would leave.

[A]

I would get off my bike.

[B]

Yeah, I would turn around. But you're dedicated, clearly. Then on the second lap, I end up getting dropped by the group because I suck at climbing hills. Oh, maybe that's why they didn't get ahead.

[A]

Oh, yeah, must be it.

[B]

A few miles after getting dropped, I'm cresting the main hill of the track. A spectating teammate yells out to me that I'm about one mile behind the main group. I then say, don't worry, I'll catch them on this downhill. I then proceed to fly down this wet hill as fast as possible to catch back up. Rain and sunglasses don't mix too well, so everything is a watery blur while I'm flying down this hill at Mach 12. Luckily, I survived and ended up catching the main group. Now a bigger issue arises. Crashes. After about 75% through the second lap, a pace motorcycle abruptly slows down in front of our group. This causes about four guys, some foamy, to attempt to avoid a collision. They end up flying into a ditch on the side of the road or stopping in their tracks and get hit from behind by other riders. After a quick yelling match between officials and riders, we end up continuing surprisingly with no major injuries, just bruised egos and some light road rash. The second lap finishes without further incident. The third lap brings more rain, more foam, and a vivid memory of spitting road dirt out of my mouth while simultaneously trying to avoid a foamy surprise. I end up losing the front of the group towards the final segment of the race. But on the final hill, while I'm in about eighth place, I end up passing two riders from another team and say something like, good luck, guys. See you at the top. Which in hindsight kind of sounds like I was bragging about getting in front of them. But I meant it in an encouraging way, I promise. That is funny. You're passing people. They're like, see you at the top.

[A]

Yeah, I would take it not well. I wouldn't receive it as encouragement.

[B]

I think it would give me motivation.

[A]

I'd be like, what?

[B]

Yeah, you will like, I'm gonna beat you. I'm not competitive. Those foamy that. Well, when there's foam involved knocked me out real quick first round.

[A]

Yeah, you'd have been out.

[B]

I end up finishing in Sixth place, I think, and finally get to change into some dry clothes. Oh, you said you struggle on the uphill, but sixth place is like out of how many? I don't know.

[A]

Not trying to knock you, but if it's like out of 10, it's not great. You're sorry.

[B]

I imagine a race brings a lot of people usually and I feel like six.

[A]

I wouldn't. I. Yeah. I'm not saying I would do any better. I ride a peloton. I'm not even moving.

[B]

Oh, okay. So they end up finishing sixth place and change into some dry clothes. No more foamy butts in my face. No more harrowing wet descents. And finally some warmth as I leave the venue. I pass Monticello, but don't really want to stop as I'm sweaty, wet and smelly. Thank you again for doing what you do. I hope to see you on one of your fantastic looking trips or at a live show one day. All the best. Also, I was going through some old episodes and just listened to your story about the Kentucky Pack Horse Librarians. This is kind of a shameless plug, but my absolute favorite musical duo in the world wrote a song about this and they're coming out with a children's book about it soon. I don't have a release date yet, but I'm very excited to not only read the books you guys recommend, but check their new book out as well. When the Time Comes. Abigail by Chatham Rabbits is the name of the song and duo. Jacob. Yay.

[A]

We'll check it out.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Jacob. Yeah, that's gross. I hope you didn't get sick, but foam in your mouth is another level of the foaming pants.

[B]

It is, but we appreciate you sharing it with us.

[A]

Yes. Thank you.

[B]

Someone take it up a notch.

[A]

And I think you're a great bike rider.

[B]

Sorry.

[A]

Yeah, you're got my head. I didn't mean it to be mean. Okay. My next story is titled Another Dad Story Pre Rolls and Glacier National Park. Hey, Danielle and Cassie. I've been listening since 2021. I am currently catching up with 2026 and got to the trail tale about the pizza and hot dog dad in Zion. That story rumbled through my nervous system because hard relate. When the call came for more dad stories, I knew I needed to write mine out. Preface. Feel free to censor any cussing that will get you kicked off the air. Oh, honey, that should have sailed. I left it in because I feel it paints a picture. This is not one big story with a climax as much as a series of Zingers that made our time in Glacier national park the very antithesis of cool people in REI outfits and more like squid lilies but with grizzly bears in the background. Some background for you. We were not a hiking in shape family. I grew up in East Tennessee, camping in the foothills of the Smokies, but more in a my parents were smoking weed and blaring Lenny Kravitz way than a sporty, outdoorsy way. I became a quote unquote hiker later in life. I still don't even feel like hiker is a good word for what I am doing. I go outside and I look at. I like looking at in different states. Sometimes the I want to see only appears after a few miles of walking. My husband and I discovered that we liked walking around looking at when we did so in Arches National Park. We planned a return trip with our family so we could show them how awesome it was and what a fun and healthy hobby this could be for us. I knew his family would probably summit a mountain today without warning and be fine. My dad, well, the way our genetics are set up, he should probably get a warning with a link to some compression stockings. I told him to get some boots and to get his stamina together. He instead picked up a cigar habit. In the months leading up to this trip, he did buy boots, but it was like a week before we left. He gloriously made it to Delicate Arch, but my husband had to tough love him in the parking lot when he saw the hill involved and wanted to go back to the car. This is all just to calibrate your expectations for our upcoming Glacier national park trip. For my dad's 60th birthday, we decided to hit up Glacier national park to celebrate. He had so much fun in Arches after getting over himself that he got excited for Glacier and decided to make walking and hiking a fun new hobby to get in shape. Yes. Hallelujah. However, he did keep up the smoking habit. It grates my damn nerves. We fly into Kalispell and begin the drive to our vrbo. We pass a dispensary called Puffin Kanna. My dad is damn near pressing his face into the glass like a little kid. Wow, how cool. Puff and Kanna. Is weed legal here? Well, looks like it. Are we going to see puffins? No, they don't have puffins here. Boy, we are like 700 miles from any type of coast. Yes, dad. The open range cowboys and puffins are all Montana staples. We get further down the road and pass another dispensary. He started his little Outpouring of awe again. When my husband asked him straight up if he wanted to stop, he said yes. So we pulled over and let my dad go into the weed shop. We don't even have groceries yet, but we are about to have something. We sat in the car for 20 minutes waiting and wondering. He finally comes out holding the door and continuing to gesture, giggle and Kiki with the workers on his way out for like he's known them for years. Weed is cheap here. I got 10 pre rolls. This will last me all week. They would not last him all week.

[B]

Your dad's hilarious.

[A]

We get to the verbo and get settled. We had some changes to our reservation caused by some sort of property exchange with the owners. The lady that owns the place was fantastic and got us all straightened out and even left us some huckleberry goodies on the porch for any perceived inconven we may have faced with our reservation. I don't want to see another huckleberry. Honestly for the next two years at least. I'm huckleberry doubt from our trip.

[B]

Yeah, I still don't know what a huckleberry tastes like. I tried so much. Like there's huckleberry jam, there's huckleberry, every huckleberry, lemonade, all this stuff. I just want to try a huckleberry. I just wanted to know what actually tastes like. Yeah because it's just in everything.

[A]

It's so funny because every single time we had I think we had ice cream, lemonade, margaritas, gummies, pie. What else? Anything that you could ingest that had a flavoring to it. We tried as huckleberry and Cassie every time was like I still don't know what I am tasting right now. What is. Yeah, that's so funny.

[B]

Anywho, I can't get behind it but yeah.

[A]

We didn't have a straight up Barry so we noticed the property is fairly large and there's a middle aged man cruising up and down the road with the windows down, titties liberated from his button down shirt and a little dog hanging out of the window. Goofy but cute. We see him a couple more times when we unpack and my dad wandered out to go hehe haha with him too. He came back into the house talking about I bet I know exactly what happened to our reservation. He goes on with this story about a divorce between the man outside and the former owner of the vrbo. The children now own the VRBO or something and them kids don't want him living in a camper on their property. But I Told him shit. Nobody's gonna care about that. You know, he's pretty damn cool. He would admire the midlife divorcee living in a camper on someone else's property and spreading the family's hot goss to the renters. Hot goss? That sounds like he is causing whatever. Okay, moving on. Our first mission was to go see Lake McDonald. We pull up and start walking towards the lake which is surrounded by other tourists oohing and ahhing. My dad begins to pull out a pocket of these rank ass grape gas station cigars from his pocket. You can't smoke those out here, Dad. I think it's illegal. Nah, it can't be. He looked at me in disbelief. No, I think it is. You can't burn anything. Look, at this point I do not know what I am talking about. These are guesses based on context and I really just needed him to not stink out this highly populated area of outdoor enthusiasts trying to use their senses at a protected national landmark. It would at the very least be rude. Nah, I'm just gonna sit here and relax and enjoy myself at the lake. The bears will smell your fruity cigars and they will come. I warned I got some traction there. Oh fuck bears. I didn't think of the bears. Yeah, they can smell for miles and your stupid cigars smell like their main food source. He immediately puts the cigars away.

[B]

Smart.

[A]

Our next adventure. Our next adventure was a UTV rental. I knew this would be some wild redneck shit. He would eat right up. We had a blast taking turns driving the loop around the Hungry Horse reservoir. However, when it was my husband's turn to drive, I started to smell weed. Are you smoking those pre rolls right now? He gulped what I assumed was supposed to pass for plain oxygen and let out a strained nope. Boy, whatever. Okay. On the way back he requested another stop at the weed store. This story is shaping up to be the Zion Pizza Trail tale. But with the weed store instead of pizza and hot dogs, he had another 20 minute giggle fest with the poor probably flabbergasted girls that work there. And we were on our way. Keep in mind he is 65 and wearing a gigantic safari hat that essentially eclipses the sun. I like your dad, so these are not discreet interactions. We had some more hiking based adventures and I am doing my best to keep us all bear aware. Admittedly I am using the threat of grizzly bears to quell any behavior that I feel is not trail appropriate. Ah yes, threats.

[B]

We like those.

[A]

They work well.

[B]

They do.

[A]

I just want us Walking, talking and making human based noises like what I saw in all the bear safety videos. His paranoia, however, took a turn for the unnecessarily creative. What if I fill a milk jug with rocks and shook them a bunch? You need to hang onto your trekking poles and pay attention. Just talking should be fine since bears generally know what human voices are. Okay, but what if I shook a bunch of Tic Tacs at them? Okay, you better not have some fruity flavored Tic Tacs out here for the bears. Oh no, just do what the video said. Just walk and talk. This did not stop his new desire to clap and clack his trekking poles together, awkwardly tripping and bumbling about because he was paying more attention to new sounds he could make rather than the rocks and roots in front of him. We eventually did see a grizzly. We came up to a group of about 4:40 people on the side of a hill, all looking up the hill with binoculars. I grabbed my Knox and looked up too. You could barely see this bear, it was so far away. He was on a mountainside rubbing his ass on a rock, not giving one single damn about all of us. Oh, my dad says imagine he's high, you know, so like everything is scary and spooky. Yeah, yeah, this is probably fine. Look at all of those people. That bear does not care. And if he did, he wouldn't want to come down here and eat 40 of us. This is our best case scenario for a bear. They don't attack large groups of people. Yeah, but he could probably come down here and split us all up and pick us off one by one, I guess. Could be a possibility.

[B]

This is giving cocaine bear vibes.

[A]

Amazing how one bear four football fields away is going to pack hunt us yet. Tic tacs were the answer five minutes ago. Okay, but what about the pyumas? The what? The pyumas. Ain't they got pyumas out here? I am assuming we are talking about pumas the same way he refers to Moab as Moby. I am so overstimulated by this. I hope there are pyumas out here. We wrap up and head back to the rental. Between the exercise looking for bears and the commentary, I need to get in bed and play dead. I can still hear my husband fielding further commentary out of my dad. My dad has the door to the rental wide open. You guessed it, alternating between grape cigars and pre rolls while he relays more hot goss to my grandpa on the phone right in the doorway. My husband politely tells him to shut the door so we don't smoke up the rental. Oh, he don't care, gesturing out and about, generally referring to that divorced squatter that cruises the road with his little dog he met, the one that definitely does not own this place. I hear the door close for about five minutes. He comes back in and starts manhandling his luggage all around. Man, I don't know how I'm going to fill all this huckleberry stuff in my carry on. I got wine, jellies, sodas. You're not driving. My husband stops him. You can't bring all that liquid onto a carry on. Oh no. I was ready to garnish myself in tuna and wait out in the forest for this damn pyuma to come and take me. And that's where I will end this. There really is no end. Since this is kind of his brand. I hope I made a good trail tale. Once again, shout out the storyteller with a dad on a pizza quest. I felt it. I felt it so much. Enjoy the view. Watch your dad, I guess. Q.C.

[B]

that's so funny. Your dad was thriving. It sounds like he had the best trip of his life.

[A]

Yeah, it just sounds like he was full of wonder, you know, Somewhere he was just totally unfamiliar with and trying

[B]

to get to know friends, smoking the

[A]

wheat, the local weed, getting huckleberry stuff and yeah, yeah. L I v I n I guess.

[B]

Yeah, certainly was. Sounds like a hoot. I don't know about you, but I like keeping my money where I can actually see it. Unfortunately, traditional big wireless carriers seem to like keeping my money too. Between high monthly bills, random fees, and those free perks that somehow cost more, it really adds up. That's why I love Mint Mobile. It's built to fix exactly that. Mint Mobile offers premium wireless plans starting at just 15 bucks a month. So if you're used to paying 60, 70, even $80 a month with big carriers, you could be SA saving a serious amount of money every single month. All plans come with high speed data and unlimited talk and text delivered on the nation's largest 5G network. You can bring your own phone and number, activate an ESIM in minutes and start saving immediately. No long term contracts, no hassle. Ditch overpriced wireless and get three months of premium wireless service from Mint Mobile for 15 bucks a month. If I were switching carriers right now, this is exactly what I choose. If you like your money, Mint Mobile is for you. Shop [e-mail] npad that's mintmobile.com npad upfront payment of $45 for 3 months 5 gigabyte plan required equivalent to $15 per month new customer offer for first 3 months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details. At dsw, we ask the important questions like what shoes are you going to wear? Whether you're prepping for wedding season, festival season, or just planning the ultimate vacay, the right shoes can make or break an rsvp.

[A]

So own the moment.

[B]

You've got big plans and we've got just the shoes at the perfect price, of course. Get ready to get ready with Designer Shoe Warehouse. Head to your DSW store or dsw.com today and let us surprise you. Okay, My story is titled Frozen Bodies and Full Moons. Hey npid. It's taken me forever to write you, but I finally decided to share my story with you all. One of my best friends introduced me to your podcast a few years ago and I've been hooked ever since. In fact, my friend and I came to your Joshua Tree taping and our main joke was we couldn't do something that would end us up on your podcast. Did that stop us from going hiking and squeezing into small passageways that we didn't know where they ended up? Not at all. I just wanted to say thank you for giving us such amazing stories at home and a reason to plan a weekend exploring Joshua Tree national park and experience your live podcast. That was such a fun weekend.

[A]

That was just about a year ago.

[B]

Yeah, May of last year. Crazy.

[A]

Time flies.

[B]

Truly. Anywho, a little necessary background? My name is Casey. Female. It's a pretty gender neutral name, so I figure I should clarify and I am a career firefighter slash paramedic. What you have to understand is I had no intention of joining the fire service like ever. However, my dad has over 40 years in the fire service and he is about five months away from retirement and is currently a battalion chief in the department both my husband and I now work for. I spent my life growing up in the firehouses and loved it, but not enough to do it as my job. However, my aforementioned father signed me up as a volunteer when I was 16, telling me he thought it would be good for me and that I'd enjoy it. And sure as shit I fell in love to get hired. On the career side, you don't need a degree. But education was pushed into my family so I decided to go to college and get my degree in Emergency Health Services and my paramedic certification. I was extremely lucky that one of the closest colleges offered this degree path. So I got to live at home during college. However, since I was going for my bachelor's degree, I had to do four years and the normal college prereqs. My sophomore year of college I was in one of those prereq classes. It studied how modern society influences and is influenced by media and movies. Did I learn anything in that class? No, but I did enjoy watching the Bling Ring in college and getting attendance credit for it. Anyway, the final project was worth over half our grade and it was in place of a final exam and it was the make a trailer for a fake movie or TV show idea. The idea I had was for a nautical themed TV show, so for the trailer I needed to shoot footage of water. The problem is I procrastinated like a lot. It was two days before my project was due and I was, to say the least, panicking. My dad offered to go for a hike in the local state park that has a beautiful lake to shoot some footage. He is where my love of the outdoor comes from, so I really think that offer was twofold. He did want to offer support and help, but he also knew he could convince me to walk the whole park if he came with me and that man will do anything as an excuse to get outside. So off. My dad and I set at 6:30 in the morning on a Saturday in December with my little Kodak sports camera. I am a Marylander so we have intermittent winter weather, but that year it was cold, just constantly bitter wind and cold, so the lake was mostly frozen over. It had also recently snowed and about one or two or so inches were still on the ground. My dad and I made our way down the little trail to a little pavilion that overlooks the lake and he stopped at the rail to look out and see if he could spot some good places to go for the footage. He had also been holding onto the camera and videoing around the lake from his vantage point. I decided to make my way down to the docks they use for the launch kayaks. I was walking down in the snow and was following a set of footprints that went down to the docks. I had looked around but no one else was around that I could see. I thought it was a bit weird that there was only a set walking towards the docks in the water, none of them returning. There is a smaller path that a person could have taken on the opposite side, so honestly I didn't give it a second thought. However, as I was getting close to the steps immediately at the docks, I heard my dad yelling at me to stop moving. My dad is level headed and doesn't yell unless it's legitimate. I froze in place. I slowly turned towards him and looked at him. He had his one hand up in the universal stop signal, his other hand reaching for his cell. To be honest, I have no idea why this thought came to my mind but I looked at him and said do you see a body? He looked puzzled and said yeah, I think so. Just stay there and wait for me. He walked to me and we both made our way back to the docks and looked down into the frozen water. Sure enough, partially submerged next to the dock was a frozen body. Dad was already on the phone with 911 and we didn't touch him as we both had EMT certs and knew he was unfortunately past resuscitation effort. Not only was he face down in the water, but the lake had already frozen over his body so he had been there for a while. The police got there and took our statements. The body was recovered and sent off to the medical examiners. As we spoke with the cops, one of them was drilling us on what we saw when we got there and signs etc. I mentioned to him that we were shooting video and there may be footage of the scene before it had gotten trampled by us and the fire department and cops. He asked to see it and sure enough there was the body in my project footage. The cop ended up confiscating my camera for a while so they could go through it at the station. You may ask. Well Casey, they took your camera on Saturday and your project was due Monday. What did you do? I emailed my professor and told her that while I had done the assignment, the cops took my project footage because it may have evidence and I accidentally filmed a dead body. She never replied. However, I did see she auto populated my grade and I got an A. Way better excuse than the dog ate my homework.

[A]

Okay, you gotta acknowledge that.

[B]

Yes, the classic what do you

[A]

know what I mean?

[B]

It's just like I feel like just

[A]

take the A. I can't even do this anymore.

[B]

The professor was probably like I hate my job job. Just here's an A. Now you may also ask Casey, your title of the story was Frozen Bodies and Full Moons. But you said you went in the morning. Yeah, not the type of full moon I meant. My aforementioned husband was my boyfriend at the time and my family with him had recently gone skiing and I had taken that camera. Unfortunately for both my husband and the cops, the footage on my camera right before the frozen lake. Yeah, that would have Been my husband on the slopes, mooning the camera as my dad had been skiing down, shooting footage in front of him. And I. I like to think that the cops ended up watching that and that's why they returned the camera to me so quickly. Luckily for us, all our footage prior to that day was still there, but they had taken my project footage off. We later learned that the gentleman who passed was ruled as an accidental death. I'm glad my dad and I were the ones that were there and were able to help bring him home to his family. Well, that's my story. Thank you so much for listening. Reading, lol. Keep up all your hard work. And remember, enjoy the view, but be mindful when shooting video, as you might end up capturing potential crime scene footage or a full moon view. Casey.

[A]

Wow. That's. It reminds me. Nataya found a body once.

[B]

Really?

[A]

When she was a kid in Florida. Yeah.

[B]

Wow. I didn't know that. Yeah.

[A]

She was on the beach and she found. It was in like a. What are they called? A culvert? Like, draining onto the.

[B]

Oh, wow.

[A]

Yes. Yeah.

[B]

That's so traumatic.

[A]

I know.

[B]

One of the things that stood out to me in this. In this is that I was thinking only a paramedic firefighter would respond in this way, because you're like, yeah, we saw a body. We called 911. Like, you go through all the steps. And I feel like any other person who does not work in that type of field would have been like, oh, my God, there's a body. What do we do? And kind of freak out. And I just. I felt like through that whole trail tale, I could. I could tell that you guys were first responders.

[A]

Yeah. It followed a very methodical, logical process of what to do.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. And the cops are probably like, okay, we don't need to see any more of this. I also think a lot of times, not anymore, but especially back when we were younger of when we would have the disposable cameras, before digital cameras came to be, and we had a lot of. You would bring them to CVS or whatever and get photos developed. I want to know that the people who worked at Photoshops like that must have seen some weird things.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

You know what I mean?

[B]

Definitely. Especially before sexting was a thing.

[A]

That's what I'm saying.

[B]

And you would take photos and print them out and then, like, give them to your. Yeah.

[A]

What are you supposed to do?

[B]

Do you just ignore it?

[A]

Like, I don't. What do you do?

[B]

Yeah, I guess. I mean, unless you see Something criminal on there. I think you just would put it into those little paper slide packet things and hand them to their owner.

[A]

Yeah. And then you have to go pick it up and be like, yeah, that's. Those are my tits.

[B]

It's like, yep, this one's mine. Thank you. And remember, it would always have that piece of paper that had a summary of all of the pictures. It was like a roll of the film in little tiny squares that all of them. And it would be like on top of it and it'd be like, here's your stuff. It's like, yes, thank you.

[A]

Yeah, that. Those are mine. Yeah.

[B]

They look great, don't they?

[A]

I wonder if any crimes have been reported from that. From. I'm trying to think of what they're called, the photo developers or what. What are they called? I'm not sure. But you think you would. The people who are processing the photos.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

If they ever reported a crime based on what they saw.

[B]

I bet. I bet there were some weird things that were found in there.

[A]

Yeah. Anywho. Okay. My last story is titled Always listen to your spirit guides. Hi, Danielle and Cassie. I've been a long time listener and finally decided to become an outsider. I am so glad I did. Hearing the bonus trail tales from Creeps and Crimes, and Taylor's story in particular, prompted me to share my own. Taylor's account of how her visions and spirit guide helped find someone had me in awe. I am similar to Taylor in that I get visions, audible guidance, and strong nudges that won't leave me alone. While I was initially freaked out by this, I've learned it is a part of who I am. When I get them now I listen. And just for everybody else, backstory. In case you missed it and have no idea what this person is talking about, we did a collaborative trail tale episode with Morgan and Taylor from Creeps and Crimes and we do extended bonus stories on Trail Tales. And for that particular episode, Morgan and Taylor both shared personal stories and Taylor's was about her experience with her spirit guides and some pretty intense stories of things that happened to her after she had this awakening. So that's what that's about. Okay, back to the story. However, there was a time I didn't listen and I want to share what happened when I ignored my intuition. FYI, names have changed because I still get slightly embarrassed telling the story. And also HIPAA. 20 years ago, I worked as a therapist in a psychiatric hospital. One evening, after a long shift with particularly difficult patients, I was desperate to get home My car at the time was a bit of a wreck. The driver's side window didn't go up and the trunk didn't lock, but it ran. I used to park at the front of the lot near the patient windows to make a quick exit before my shift ended. I walked out and threw my lunchbox and jacket through the open window and went back inside to grab my purse. The moment I started driving, I had an overwhelming sense that something was wrong. I had a 30 minute drive to my parents house and ignored the feeling. Ten minutes in, my job called me. I ignored it. They called continuously, but I put my phone in my purse and kept driving even as the gnawing feeling in my stomach grew stronger. As I pulled onto my exit ramp, I heard a rolling sound from my trunk. I dismissed it as fatigue. When I pulled into my driveway, I heard a faint ouch. I glanced in the back seat, saw nothing. Figured I was just hearing things because I was tired and headed inside. My two dogs greeted me, but then a few moments later, they began barking aggressively at the door, a sign someone was in the yard. But I shushed them, thinking it was probably a cat, and went to bed. The next morning a co worker called me, absolutely frantic. She said, marty, don't freak out, but Andy broke out last night and we think he may have jumped into your trunk. Can you check your car? I ran outside to find my trunk open and footprints in my backseat. Worse, there were scratches on our front door and the porch light was broken as if someone had tried to get in. I confirmed with my co worker that he had indeed come home with me, but he was gone. She immediately called my boss. I went inside to tell my mom, who understandably freaked out. Three days later, the police picked up Andy after he called looking for me. He wanted a ride back to the hospital. He later shared with our administrator that he had been watching me from his window, used a fork to remove the screws on his window, put the window back on, ran to my car, jumped through the open window in it and hid in the backseat. When I threw my jacket in, it actually landed right on top of him, so he crawled through the seat into the trunk. He tried to enter my house that night but was scared off by my dogs. For weeks after his return, he would run up to me and say, andy, rack in the back. And would walk off laughing. I truly believe my angels were with me that night. If he had popped out while I was driving, I likely would have crashed. This experience taught me to always listen to my body, my angels and Check my surroundings. I fixed my window immediately after and never parked near the patient windows again. I hope you enjoyed my crazy story. It's funny to me now, but back then I was absolutely mortified. Thank you guys for such a great podcast. It is seriously one of my favorites.

[B]

Marty, that story still scary? That's scary.

[A]

Funny anymore? I don't think it's funny.

[B]

I don't think it's funny either. I think that's so scary.

[A]

I know that's like a fear that

[B]

all that I feel like so many of us have when you get in a car that someone's gonna be in your backseat.

[A]

And it happened to you.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

With a patient from a psychiatric hospital. And that's really, really terrifying.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I always look in my backseat even though my car is locked, even if it's in my driveway, you know, anywhere. I've just been conditioned to check. What would I do if something was back there? I haven't gotten there yet. I don't know.

[B]

I have a vivid. I know what I would do if I was sat there. Because it happened to me once. Not in this type of way, but in a much lighter hearted kind of way. But I remember it's one of my friends or a couple of my friends. I used to work at an ice cream stand in high school and into college and stuff. And it was during the summer and a couple of my friends had come for ice cream and then we were gonna hang out after and I was waiting for them in the truck. But I actually, at the time I only thought it was one of my friends, my friend Sean. And this is actually a really funny memory because my friend has since passed away, but. But I remember he was waiting for me in his truck and he was parked right next to my car and I came outside and he's like, hey, how's it going? Like, laughing, smiling, like stoked to hang out after my shift. And I'm like, great. And I get into my car and I sit down and my other friend, who I did not know he was with, hopped out of my back seat and grabs me. And I was so scared, I freaked out and I hit him in the face and I yelled and then I turned and he start. He's cracking up laughing. And I remember turning to my friend Sean, he has his windows down and he just is laughing so hard. And I have made sure my doors are locked ever since. And I look in the backseat, but it was. It was funny. And it was funny because it was my friends and it was innocent. But now I know that if anyone was in my backseat, my first instinct would be to attack them.

[A]

Good. Yeah, great first instinct. Punch him in the face.

[B]

Yeah, I did. I hit him pretty hard and. But he was just laughing because he thought it was so funny that I got so scared. And they were both laughing.

[A]

But I always think somebody's gonna do that move where they take something and put it around your neck and pin you to the seat.

[B]

Oh, my God. Have you seen those videos online where it's like. This is what you do if that happens and it shows. So funny. Because it's this person who does it and they put something around your neck, and then you're. You take the seat and you push it back so it's not against your throat anymore. And then you, like, do this maneuver and, like, get it. And this one person is like, yeah, great idea. So someone. They have Someone put it around their neck, and then they have one of those ones that slow. It's electric, so it slowly moves. So he pushes it and it's just like super slow.

[A]

I have seen that. Yeah. There are things with the car that I. Driving all around has kind of freaked me out in recent years. Between fear of that. I always have a. It's not a reoccurring nightmare, but it's. Anytime I go over a bridge or something like that, I always think I'm gonna crash into the water. So much so that I got one of those things that punches out your glass if you're to.

[B]

Oh, yeah. You've had that for years.

[A]

No, I. Well, I've wanted it for years, but I just got it.

[B]

Oh, really?

[A]

A couple months ago, I thought.

[B]

I remember you having that when we were working at. In vet teching together.

[A]

Maybe I did have it and lost it and then got a new one. I don't know.

[B]

I can't remember. I've sworn you had one Classic on brand new. Because this isn't new information for me. I feel like.

[A]

Oh, maybe I feel like I've known

[B]

you to have them. Yeah. Maybe you just talked about needing one or something.

[A]

And a seatbelt cutter.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

In case I'm trapped or I need to get out. Yeah. Fun fact about that thing, actually. My parents are gonna laugh if they hear this. I got so mad the other. A couple. About a month ago or so, I dropped my car off. I was going. We were on a trip somewhere, and I had dropped Chaska off and my dog. And my dog. Chaska is my dog. I had dropped Chaska and my car off with them, and then we went on A trip. And I come back, and somehow a couple days later, it gets back to me. I think through my sister that they're like, oh, yeah, Robert, think. My stepdad is like, yeah, Danielle Vapes now. Or, oh, he said it to my mom. He's like, yeah, Danielle Vapes now. I'm like, what? No, I don't.

[B]

Why do we think you vape?

[A]

Okay, Listen to this shit. So first of all, you know how I feel about vaping. So I took big offense to that. Not that I really care. Whatever. Everybody has their own journey, and you can do it.

[B]

No, it's so bad for you. We're shaming, okay? Shaming out of love, not out of judgment.

[A]

Out of love. Yeah. So anyway, I hate it. And of course, I don't, like, really smoking of any kind of. I mean, my dad died from complications for smoking, so I just. It's a sensitive thing. I don't like it. And so, like, why do you think I would be vaping? And my mom's like, oh, yeah, well, he saw your vape in there. And, like, all the cartridges. I'm like, what the. I'm like, what are you talking about? Because he always makes sure my car's running okay and spruces. Spruces it up and stuff, which is very nice things. Yeah. Yeah, very nice. But I'm like, what the fuck? And so I go into my car, like, what could he have mistaken for vape and cartridges? Like, I don't even know what a vape cartridge looks like. Lo and behold, he starts a rumor about me to my mom that I'm smoking or I'm vaping because my glass shatter thing is on my rear or my. What the fuck is it called? Visor. It's like clicked up there and it looks like a little device. And he just assumed it was a vape for some reason. And then the cartridges were the. I have drift for. The company's called Drift. But they're like, car. Why can't I think of anything? I don't know. Like, you know the thing. No, no, I don't. The. They're car fresheners, but not. They're like pieces of wood that have.

[B]

Oh, are they the ones that you stick in your vent?

[A]

They're not on your vent, but they have this magnetic thing. So on my other visor, it's this magnetic thing and they look like credit card size and they're pieces of wood and it has the scent kind of absorbed in it, so it's not as overpowering and artificial smelling as other ones. But Anywho, So I have a subscription, and they come every month with a different scent, and I don't go through them that much, so they're kind of all stockpiled in my center console. And he's like, that's the vape. And there's the cartridges in her. She's vaping.

[B]

Oh.

[A]

I'm like, I'm not. It pissed me off so bad.

[B]

I'm like, did they believe you or did they still think you vape? They're like, yeah, it's a car freshener.

[A]

I don't know. I hope they believe me. But I'm like, you just need to look at the things a little more. I'm like, anyway, so. Anywho. It pissed me off. Started a rumor about me amongst my own family and had to defend myself.

[B]

I like drama. I'm here for it. I love.

[A]

Like, how dare you?

[B]

If I was in on that drama, I'd be like, you know, she has been acting weird lately.

[A]

I was so mad.

[B]

I was.

[A]

I really not. Hurt isn't the word. I wasn't hurt, but I was offended.

[B]

Like, I'm shocked. But, you know, that does really answer some questions I've had.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

So hard.

[A]

Anyway, let's do our bonus stories.

[B]

It's okay.

[A]

Having a hard time.

[B]

All right, thank you, everyone, for hanging out with us. If you are interested, for subscribers, we do have two more stories. Mine is titled the Night a Coyote Saw My Full Moon.

[A]

I'm giving you all the full moon stories.

[B]

The Moonings. Yeah, today.

[A]

And mine is titled Greening out in God's Country.

[B]

This has been a butt episode. Now that you mention it, I've had three stories that included butts today.

[A]

Yeah, it's because you can't spell Cassie without you. Without it.

[B]

So a mantra to live by.

[A]

It had to be done.

[B]

All right, well, thank you guys for joining us. We'll see you on the subscription base if you're gonna come listen. Otherwise, enjoy the view, but watch your back.

[A]

Bye. Bye. I almost said, but watch your butt.

[B]

Thanks for joining us for another episode. We hope you learned something new and have another location to put on your list. If you want more NPAD content, make sure to follow along with our adventures on all socials at National Park After

[A]

Dark for more stories just like this one, with the added bonus of exclusive content. You can join us on Patreon or any Apple subscriptions. If you prefer to watch our episodes, head over to our YouTube channel. And if you're enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate, review and subscribe on your favorite listening platform,

[B]

Frozen bodies and full moons.

[A]

Shh. Sorry.

[B]

I'm telling a story.

[A]

Sorry. It's like, hey, can you shut the up?

[B]

Like, you're being really loud right now and I'm trying to. I'm trying to work here.

[A]

One evening after a long shift with partic. Particularly difficult patients.

[B]

God.

[A]

Particularly different difficult patients. I was desperate to get home. What?

[B]

I said, you got this.

[A]

God fucking damn it. I'm doing it one more time. One evening after a long shift with a particular. Oh my God. Oh, my God.

[B]

We're almost done.

[A]

You're listening to this podcast, so I know you've got a curious mind. Here's a helpful fact you may not know yet. Drivers who switch and save with Progressive save over $900 on average. Pop over to progressive.com, answer some questions, and you'll get a quick quote with discounts that are easy to come by. In fact, 99% of their auto customers earn at least one discount. Visit progressive.com and see if you can enjoy a little cash back. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates national average 12 month savings of $946 by new customers surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2024 and May 2025. Potential savings will vary. Mother's Day has a way of sneaking up on you, but when it does, 1-800-FLowers makes it easy to send mom something beautiful, thoughtful and worthy of everything she does. Right now with Double blooms from 1-800-Flowers. Order one dozen roses and get another dozen for free. It's a bigger gesture with fresh, beautiful flowers arranged to make Mother's Day feel as special as she is. Make Mother's Day feel bigger with double blooms at 1-800-Flowers, com Spotify. That's 1-800-Flowers. Com Spotify.