The Great American Road Trip?

Summary

Today, Explained – “The Great American Road Trip?”
Episode Date: May 19, 2026
Host: Sean Rameswaram
Guests: Will Gottsaken (The Atlantic), Stephanie Pearson (journalist/author), Micah Meyer (National Parks explorer)

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Episode Overview

This episode examines the controversial “Great American Road Trip” undertaken by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and his large family—a YouTube reality series pitched as a celebration of America’s 250th birthday. The podcast explores the motivations, funding, and ethics of the road trip, as well as the current state of the country’s national parks amid cutbacks. Featuring reporting from The Atlantic, first-hand park experiences, and a roster of experts and travelers, the episode brings together politics, media spectacle, and national heritage.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Sean Duffy’s Road Trip: The Premise and Purpose

• Sean Duffy and his wife Rachel (both with reality TV backgrounds) take their nine children on a filmed cross-country road trip for YouTube, set up in the name of celebrating America’s 250th birthday.
• The series includes meeting American icons, slices of family drama, and a pitch for national unity via the open road—delivered with heavy doses of reality-TV flair.

“Ostensibly, it's to celebrate America's 250th birthday.”
— Will Gottsaken (03:01)

2. Who Paid for the Road Trip? The Ethical, Political, and Practical Questions

• The show’s funding came not from taxpayers, but from a nonprofit called The Great American Road Trip, itself backed by major transportation industry firms Duffy oversees, including Boeing, Toyota, United Airlines, and Royal Caribbean.
• Marketing materials offered explicit perks (branding, speaking roles, media placement) for various donation levels.

"Platinum partners get logo placement in up to 10 produced video features, opportunity for strategically placed speaking roles... branding across media placements, stuff like that, right? There’s a kind of explicit—like, this will be given to you if you give us X amount of money."
— Will Gottsaken (06:47)

The Conflict of Interest

• Debate: Is it appropriate for industry beneficiaries to fund a public official's family road trip series, even through a nonprofit?
• Potential violation (or at least blurring) of ethics rules meant to prevent regulators from accepting gifts from industries they oversee.
• Two perspectives:
  • It’s preferable that industry pays, not taxpayers.
  • But that’s precisely what’s problematic—the creation of a quid pro quo dynamic and lack of government accountability.

"The question of whether it's legal is, I think, less relevant than this sort of like perennial blurring of the line... between kind of public and private funding."
— Will Gottsaken (09:18)

3. Timing and Public Reaction

• Context: Gas prices are at historic highs ($4.50+/gallon) because of the Iran war and closure of the Strait of Hormuz, making such road trips unaffordable for many Americans.
• Duffy’s show landed poorly with segments of the public, who couldn’t relate to a lavish, industry-sponsored adventure during a time of economic stress.

“Americans might see this and say, I want to take a road trip, but it's too expensive. They can't.”
— Will Gottsaken (05:02)

• Questions also raised about Duffy’s focus—during his tenure as head of transportation, airports have faced chaotic shutdowns and major crises (staff cuts, crashes, and more).

“He was also filming this promo video at the same time as these shutdowns were going on, at the same time that airports were in crisis.”
— Will Gottsaken (11:12)

4. The Political Messaging and Cultural Warfare

• Duffy marketed the series as wholesome Americana, railing on social media that criticism came from “Marxists” who supposedly hate patriotism and family values—a polarizing rhetorical tactic.

"For decades, our kids have been told they should be ashamed of our country and its founders. It's time to push back on those Marxist narratives."
— Duffy tweet, cited by Will Gottsaken (12:19)

Memorable Exchange:

“Who needed a reminder that you can get in your car and take a road trip? If anything, people can't do it because we're at war with Iran.”
— Sean Rameswaram (12:38)

5. The State of National Parks in 2026

Massive Budget Cuts

• Large proportion of National Park Service staff (over 4,000, about a quarter) cut under the Trump administration.
• Major slashes to facilities, support staff, and resource stewardship—over 50% in some categories.

“You're proposing a 38% cut to parks facilities, operation and maintenance. ...Over 50% of funding for resource stewardship. To me, that is just a recipe for disaster.”
— MIDI Health Rep (18:40)

Effects on Visitors and Conservation

• Fewer scientists, biologists, and infrastructure staff; scientists now cleaning toilets and checking in guests.
• Heavy strain on remaining workforce; visitor experience less affected so far, but major risk of system degradation and loss of natural/cultural resources.

“In aggregate, is the fracturing of the foundation of the national park system that is entrusted with the democratic ideals of our country.”
— Micah Meyer (20:24)

Overcrowding and Mismanagement

• Removal of reservation systems at major parks (Yosemite, Glacier) expected to worsen crowding.
• Real-time traffic management and shuttles as stopgaps, further burdening reduced staff.

“For these iconic parks, where everyone seems to want to go all the time, there's going to be a lot of people ... So just come prepared or maybe go in the fall.”
— Stephanie Pearson (21:40)

6. Why Visit? The Emotional and Civic Value of Parks

• Despite the challenges, guests argue passionately for the continued value of national parks—as spaces for connection, history, and discovery.

“It almost makes me tearful. ...I am really hopeful that people understand the value of these places and really use their voices.”
— Stephanie Pearson (22:12)

• Examples of bipartisan resistance to incursions (like a border wall through Big Bend), showing lasting, cross-ideological public support for parks.

7. Where To Go: Real Road Trip & Park Recommendations

Micah Meyer, who’s visited every National Park Service site, offers unsung highlights by region (23:37-27:29):

• Northwest (23:53): John Day Fossil Beds (Painted Hills Unit), OR — colorful geologic formations, no crowds.
• Southwest (24:20): Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, AZ — unique cacti, epic hikes.
• Southeast (24:36): Buck Island Reef National Monument, USVI — turtle nesting, underwater snorkeling trails.
• Midwest (25:05): Mississippi National River & Recreation Area, MN — everyday access to nature along the river.
• Northeast (25:36): Northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail in Maine, share the trail's final triumphs.
• Favorite (Utah) (26:04): Dinosaur National Monument — “the best in the entire national park system,” hands-on paleontology, stunning views.

“Every single state and territory in America has at least one National Park Service site. So before you do anything else this summer, go visit your local in state or in territory parks and then think about the far places you have to pay a bunch of gas to get to.”
— Micah Meyer (27:29)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• “I don't have a car because I'm a Marxist.”
  — Sean Rameswaram, tongue-in-cheek (13:18)

• “Give them a hug or, you know, a high five or something... their jobs are really hard right now.”
  — Stephanie Pearson, on park rangers (20:35)

• “I think too often we feel like we have to take a flight out west or go somewhere far flung to experience an amazing piece of nature.”
  — Micah Meyer (27:29)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:01] – Why Sean Duffy is taking this trip; reality show as “civic celebration.”
• [04:20] – What the trip would cost an average family; impact of gas prices.
• [06:47] – How the trip was funded; perks for corporate partners.
• [09:18] – Ethical concerns and executive branch rules.
• [11:03] – Duffy’s transportation leadership amid recent crises.
• [18:26] – State of national parks – funding cuts, staff loss.
• [20:11] – Litter, delayed trash removal, scientists doing janitorial work.
• [21:07-21:40] – Lifting park reservation systems, risks of overcrowding.
• [22:12] – Stephanie Pearson’s emotional case for parks.
• [23:42-27:29] – Micah Meyer’s top underrated park recommendations.

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Summary

The episode frames the Duffy family’s road trip as emblematic of America’s ongoing negotiation between public service, private interest, and national identity, highlighting the complexities and contradictions in contemporary political spectacle. Simultaneously, the fragility and enduring wonder of America’s national parks provide both a cautionary tale and a source of hope, with experts urging listeners to reconnect with these spaces—while they still can.

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For listeners seeking to understand current controversies around government-media crossover, corporate influence, and the challenges facing national parks today, this episode offers a pointed, entertaining, and informative snapshot.

Transcript

[Sean Ramesh]

Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and his wife Rachel are going on a road trip with all nine of their kids. Evita, Xavier, Jack, Lucia, Belen, John, Paul, Paloma, Maria, Victoria, Margarita, Patrick, Miguel and Valentina. And they would like to bring you along with them.

[Ad Host]

What a beautiful family.

[Sean Ramesh]

Duffy Hill is from reality TV, so of course they're making a YouTube series out of it. You can watch the trailer now. Parts of it look like AI, but it's mostly real.

[Stephanie Pearson]

We're encouraging everyone to go take a road trip to celebrate America's 250th birthday.

[Sean Ramesh]

They meet American icons.

[Ad Host]

Young friend.

[Micah Meyer]

What an absolute pleasure.

[Sean Ramesh]

They meet Kid Rock. I haven't seen everything there is to see. There's drama.

[Stephanie Pearson]

What's going on here?

[Will Gottsaken]

He's in the hospital.

[Micah Meyer]

They put an IV in it.

[Sean Ramesh]

Enough of the sad stuff though. It's going to be fun. But if you're asking, wait, did I, the American taxpayer, pay for our Secretary of Transportation to go on a road trip with his family? You didn't. But on Today Explain from box. You might not like who did. We did it.

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[Ad Host]

Well, it's the great American road trip.

[Stephanie Pearson]

I wore my boots that John Rich gave me.

[Sean Ramesh]

They're very sexy today, explained Sean Ramis Forum here to tell you about Sean Duffy, or as we call him in my house, other Sean Will Gottsage and wrote about him for the Atlantic. We started with the most important question. Can you name all of his children?

[Will Gottsaken]

I can't. He's got nine of them.

[Sean Ramesh]

Why is Sean Duffy taking his nine children and his wife on a road trip across the country for YouTube?

[Will Gottsaken]

Ostensibly, it's to celebrate America's 250th birthday.

[Ad Host]

Happy birthday.

[Will Gottsaken]

When I reached out to the Department of Transportation about this, they were adamant that it was part of Duffy's official responsibilities here. It makes a kind of sense for him to promote the birthday in this way since he has this background in reality tv. That's how he met his wife. Sean flirts with me all the time.

[Stephanie Pearson]

Part of me thinks he likes me.

I still have this physical attraction, and I want to have this relationship with him.

[Will Gottsaken]

They were on the Real world, the quintessential 90s reality show. This is the true story, whatever, of seven strangers. And this thing is pitched as a kind of reality show. 2.

[Stephanie Pearson]

Welcome to Montana.

[Sean Ramesh]

The Duffy's, they've got tons of kids. I think they have like 11 kids.

[Stephanie Pearson]

Nine.

[Sean Ramesh]

Nine or 11 something. Is there a difference?

[Will Gottsaken]

The Duffy family and their nine kids, they go across the country excited about

[Stephanie Pearson]

going up the rocky steps. Oh, I am.

[Ad Host]

I am.

[Will Gottsaken]

They filmed over seven months, and they're there to see the sights and appreciate American landmarks.

[MIDI Health Representative]

How did you live in Boston? But you don't know any, like, fun

[Stephanie Pearson]

things to do in Boston?

[Sean Ramesh]

I believe in your piece, you link to an attempt over at Rolling Stone to tally the cost of Sean Duffy's road trip that he didn't pay for. Do you recall how much this would cost an average American just in terms of gas alone?

[Will Gottsaken]

Right. And gas alone. Rolling Stone is saying that his particular route that he took with his family would cost 1300 bucks in gas money.

[Sean Ramesh]

And if you have, like, nine kids, as he does, and you have to get, what, like, three hotel rooms every time you stop, we're talking about several grand to take this trip that he took and didn't pay for.

[Will Gottsaken]

Yeah, that's a lot of, like, I don't know, string cheese to whatever people eat in the backseat of their cars these days. So I think this reality show has chafed for a couple of reasons. The first is the Price of gas prices are rising as the Iran war creates oil supply shocks. The average price for a gallon of regular topping $4.50, that's about a $30

[Sean Ramesh]

higher than last Memorial Day.

[Will Gottsaken]

You have to plan your excursions now, like in advance. Americans might see this and say, I want to take a road trip, but it's too expensive. They can't. Which is largely to do with the Iran war and the energy crisis that has kind of resulted from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. That is for many Americans, directly attributable to a decision made by this administration. One of the things that I think Duffy had said when he was promoting this on Fox and Friends is that road trips can fit into any kind of budget.

[Stephanie Pearson]

You could go for two hours, you could drive for two days, you could do a day trip. It fits any budget.

[Will Gottsaken]

But also he's advertising this like grand experience. And so I think the timing issue kind of chafes for a lot of people. The second issue is the funding aspect of this. It was funded by a nonprofit called the Great American Road Trip. This organization was funded by a group of transportation industry companies that Duffy oversees, which included Boeing, which included Toyota, United Airlines, Royal Caribbean, among others. And in the four minute trailer for this thing, you can see a giant Toyota logo. You can see a cruise ship. Politico got a hold of the pitch deck for the nonprofit, which explicitly pitched potential donors on the perks that they might receive if they gave a certain amount of money. So like, for example, if you give a million dollars, you're a platinum partner. If you give $500,000, you're a gold partner. Let me actually read it out directly. Let me find the quote because it's, it's quite explicit. Platinum partners get logo placement in up to 10 produced video features, opportunity for strategically placed speaking roles within program segments aligned with the narrative and production plan, branding across media placements, stuff like that, right? There's a kind of explicit, like, this will be given to you if you give us X amount of money. And so part of the controversy around this show is, is that it's being indirectly funded by companies that Duffy oversees. And when companies do things that directly or indirectly benefit their regulator, there are questions as to why they're they're doing them.

[Sean Ramesh]

But I guess there's two ways of looking at this, right? It's like, one is this is wildly inappropriate and unnecessary. And the other is like, well, if they were going to do this anyway, better Toyota foot the bill than like me. Where did people land when this trailer dropped and so clearly was brought to you by Toyota.

[Will Gottsaken]

On the one hand, if it's work, which the Department of Transportation is saying that it was, then the American taxpayer should fund it. But right as you're saying, Duffy and the department are saying, don't worry, guys, this wasn't funded by the American taxpayer. But in fact, that's why they should worry. You know, like RFK has a podcast, which is presumably funded by the American taxpayer.

[Sean Ramesh]

We're paying for an RFK podcast.

[Will Gottsaken]

Oh, you didn't know about this? Hey, everybody, I'm Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Your HHS secretary. Welcome to the Secretary Kennedy Podcast. One of the interesting ways that this administration tends to pitch itself is like through the lens of the showman. Right. Like there's a kind of media element to any presidential administration, but of course, to an administration with a showman really in the top job. And Duffy, you know, in some ways, a reality show around a great American road trip makes a lot of sense. Right. Like, Duffy and his wife have this background in tv. Duffy's a charismatic guy. His kids seem great. You know, road trips are great, it should work. But. Right. The questions around the funding and around the timing are just making it a little bit hard to swallow for a lot of people.

[Micah Meyer]

It is an embarrassment.

[Sean Ramesh]

A seven month road trip for the Secretary of Transportation.

[Micah Meyer]

We're paying his salary, he's going to do some work.

[DeleteMe Representative]

He's on a vacation that's filmed and

[Sean Ramesh]

funded by Boeing and Toyota.

[DeleteMe Representative]

We're.

[Sean Ramesh]

Which allegedly gave a million dollars apiece

[DeleteMe Representative]

for them to drive around.

[Sean Ramesh]

Is it legal for Sean Duffy to pay for his family to go on a road trip in a Toyota on a cruise ship that's presumably sponsoring said road trip from a vehicle manufacturer that's sponsoring said road trip. Is this all above board in terms of, I don't know, government ethics, government rules, regulations?

[Will Gottsaken]

Let me put it this way. The question of whether it's legal is, I think, less relevant than this sort of like perennial blurring of the line that happens in this administration between kind of public and private funding.

[Sean Ramesh]

This is like the road trip version of the ballroom.

[Will Gottsaken]

Exactly right. Trump kind of set the tone for this. Executive branch employees are not supposed to accept gifts from companies they oversee. Duffy is not directly accepting a gift from companies he oversees, but he's accepting a gift through a pass through nonprofit. Um, so there's a question as to whether it violates those rules. I genuinely don't know whether it does, but certainly people are raising the alarm

[Sean Ramesh]

about that is part of the Controversy also that he was doing this instead of, like, I don't know, his job.

[Will Gottsaken]

Well, that's the other aspect of this, right? Is that, like, over the past year, Duffy has been the face of several huge PR fiascos in the American transportation industry. Two government shutdowns.

[Stephanie Pearson]

As you all know, we're going through a shutdown right now. And in that shutdown, government employees don't get paid.

[Will Gottsaken]

Both of which led to widespread chaos at American airports.

[Stephanie Pearson]

Facilities are low staff, which means we

[Will Gottsaken]

have significant delays, huge cutbacks on tsa.

[Stephanie Pearson]

They're doing their job right there. They're screening all the necessary people, but it's just taking a longer period of time.

[Will Gottsaken]

You had huge lines.

[Stephanie Pearson]

The reasons why we have such long, long lines is when we have, you know, more TSA agents that call out

[Will Gottsaken]

than previous issues with flight controllers.

[Stephanie Pearson]

The school that trains air traffic controllers in Oklahoma City shut down and didn't ramp up fast enough.

[Will Gottsaken]

You had a fatal crash.

[Stephanie Pearson]

When Americans take off in airplanes, they should expect to land at their destination.

[Will Gottsaken]

And Duffy was the face of all this. He was the one taking the fall for it as the top guy. He could sort of use the good press is I guess what I'm trying to say. And yet he's not attracting the kind of good press with this that I think maybe he thought he might like. He was also filming this promo video at the same time as these shutdowns were going on, at the same time that airports were in crisis.

[Sean Ramesh]

Let's just, I don't know, give everyone here the benefit of the doubt for a second and, I don't know, assume that this was well intentioned and above board. What are we supposed to take away from this series?

[Will Gottsaken]

He pitched it as, like, a civic experience, and he's right to say that road trips are or can be a civic experience. You see parts of the country that you wouldn't otherwise see. You get to experience this country's great diversity. You know, even, like, eating at a diner with your kids. Like, I don't know, like, it can be a family experience, which I know is part of how he's pitched it, too. What we're supposed to be getting is I think, both sort of like an ad for what makes this country great, the places that make it great, the people that make it great. Duffy, I think, also on Twitter, has said the radical miserable left has noticed our awesome Great American Road Trip trailer, and they hate it. It's too wholesome, it's too patriotic, it's too joyful. Oh, and then in a different tweet. He said taking a road trip in America is a civic experience. For decades, our kids have been told they should be ashamed of our country and its founders. It's time to push back on those Marxist narratives.

[Stephanie Pearson]

What?

[Sean Ramesh]

I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Sean Fellow Sean here. Everyone knows that having a family and taking a road trip is part of the American experience, Marxist or not. Who needed a reminder that you can get in your car and take a road trip? If anything, people can't do it because we're at war with Iran.

[Will Gottsaken]

Right? It's like road trips are great. As you're saying, no one is anti road trip. Where is the anti road trip coalition? I want to see the anti road trip coalition. It's just that, like, people aren't necessarily as able to take a road trip as they might ordinarily be. How's it Tell me about your I want to hear about your road trip experience.

[Sean Ramesh]

I don't have a car because I'm a Marxist.

[Will Gottsaken]

Right, you're definitionally a Marxist if you don't have a car. I mean, listen, cars are expensive. That's a reality.

[Sean Ramesh]

The trailer for Sean's Great American Road Trip suggests that we Americans should be hitting our World cup class national parks this summer. But Sean's Great American Plane boss has been slashing the budgets at said parks. We're going to ask how they're doing in light of the cuts when Today Explained is back. Support for the show comes from upwork. Forget about Downwork because there are lots of clever ways businesses speed up their growth. Sometimes upwork says that just means they delegate smarter. Upwork can help you delegate smarter. By bringing in expert freelance help fast. You can delegate and keep it moving. Upwork is a one stop platform to find, hire and pay expert freelancers. You can find specialized talent across web and software development, data analytics, marketing, business operations and more. You can browse profiles, review past work and get help scoping the role. That way you can hire with confidence. Upwork says they also have Business plus, which gives you access to the top 1% of talent on their platform. With AI powered shortlisting, they say you'll get matched to the right freelancer in under six hours. Impressive. You can go to Upwork.com right now and post your job for free. That's Upwork.com to connect with top talent ready to help your business grow. That's up w o r k.com upwork.com. Support for the show comes from Shopify. Starting something new, like a brand new business isn't just difficult. It can be really intimidating. You're pouring time and energy into something that might not work. But on the other hand, what if it does work out? Ain't that what it's all about? What do you find your instincts were right all along. Shopify says they want to help you get there. They say they're the commerce platform powering millions of businesses worldwide and nearly 10% of all E commerce in the US from established brands like Mattel and Heinz to companies just getting started. They say their design tools make it easy to build the exact online presence you're imagining, with hundreds of ready to use templates to choose from and with built in marketing tools, they say you can create full email and social campaigns in just a few clicks so you can reach your customers wherever they are. You can turn those what ifs into ba bam. With Shopify Today you can sign up for your $1 per month trial today, shopify.com explained you can go to shopify.com explained that shopify.com explained.

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[Stephanie Pearson]

You're listening to Today Explained. Well, I remember I wasn't a kid who took a lot of road trips to parks with my family in A wagon in a station wagon. But I remember distinctly the first time I went to a national park. I did a road trip from northern Minnesota to Big Bend national park when I was a geology major in college. It was the first time I had seen that part of the country. And I was astounded by the beauty of Big Bend and the ability to see into Mexico, which I thought was amazing, having grown up very far from Mexico. So it was a game changer. And, you know, we had little javelinas running through our campsite and just, I, I learned a lot about the geology of the park and that park is famous for its geology. So it was a real eye opener.

[Sean Ramesh]

Stephanie Pearson's trip to Big Bend inspired her to become a journalist. She's been writing for Outside magazine for decades and, and has authored two books on our national parks. We asked her how the parks are doing in light of big cuts from the Trump administration.

[Stephanie Pearson]

Well, it's a moving target. There's a lot happening in parks right now. There is almost a quarter of full time national park staff have lost their jobs. That's more than 4,000 positions.

[MIDI Health Representative]

You're proposing a 38% cut to parks facilities, operation and maintenance. These are the road crews, things like that. A 35% cut for support staff and over 50% of funding for resource stewardship. To me, that is just a recipe for disaster.

[Sean Ramesh]

When you lose a quarter of your park staff, what do you end up losing?

[Stephanie Pearson]

Well, I think a lot of the public facing people will still be there, so people may not necessarily notice it. They're still going to be greeted at visitor kiosks. They're still going to have information people. But where they're really diminishing is in, say, scientists who, biologists who are studying the flora and the fauna or the wildlife. I mean, people who are, who are critical pieces of these parks who are trying to, you know, balance visitation with wildlife, for example.

[Micah Meyer]

The visitor experience is what most people are focusing on. But frankly, I'm much more worried about the condition of the resources, both natural and cultural, and the condition of the infrastructure. And it's not sustainable.

[Sean Ramesh]

If you're cutting a third of the

[MIDI Health Representative]

budget, you're effectively dismantling the protections of this place. You're dismantling a lot of the National

[Stephanie Pearson]

Park Service also infrastructure people, people who are taking care of the parks and maintaining them.

[Sean Ramesh]

The workforce is stretched so thin this season that nearly all staffers, including scientists, are required to take turns checking people in and cleaning campground toilets.

[Micah Meyer]

Trails are going to have more litter. The trash cans will be Emptied less frequently. You know, these things feel like small

[Sean Ramesh]

things if you talk about them individually, in aggregate, is the fracturing of the

[Micah Meyer]

foundation of the national park system that is entrusted with the democratic ideals of our country.

[Stephanie Pearson]

It's amazing what the National Park Service staff is continuing to do. And anyone who sees someone in a National Park Service uniform should probably go up and give them a hug or, you know, a high five or something.

[Sean Ramesh]

You got to ask before you give them a hug.

[Stephanie Pearson]

Yeah, exactly.

[Sean Ramesh]

You want to make their lives even worse.

[Stephanie Pearson]

Yeah, I'm from the Midwest. I know that's. Yeah, that's probably bad advice. But I think their jobs are really hard right now. But for example, Yosemite National Park, I think the first weekend of May, it took an hour and a half to get to the entrance to the park for people.

[Sean Ramesh]

And.

[Stephanie Pearson]

And so then when they got in the park, what is also happening is they've lifted all the reservation systems in some of these iconic parks. Yosemite being one of them, Glacier national park being another one.

[Sean Ramesh]

Some parks will rely on real time traffic controls, parking limits and shuttle systems instead of reservations. Advocacy groups warn that the change could

[Stephanie Pearson]

strain staff and damage park resources.

[Sean Ramesh]

And critics worry this summer could become pretty chaotic. Park officials say they're trying their best to manage the crowds with more traffic control and shuttles.

[Stephanie Pearson]

There are parks that are in the system that are a lot less. A lot less visited. But for these iconic parks, where everyone seems to want to go all the time, there's going to be a lot of people and a lot of people who want to see the same things that you do. So just come prepared or maybe go in the fall.

[Sean Ramesh]

Do you think this could be an added incentive to get out there this summer and see these parks despite the gas prices? Because it's America 250 and the parks are being ruined, so you may as well see them before they're trashed.

[Stephanie Pearson]

Well, it almost breaks my heart to even think that I still have some hope. I have hope that they will not be trashed. I have hope that people on both sides of the aisle understand the value of these parks. It almost makes me tearful. It does make me tearful. I am a proponent of under understanding our American history because there's so much to offer through these parks. And you're going to gain some understanding when you visit, you know, Ancestral Pueblo and land in New Mexico, you know, or you see the geology of Big Bend national park, you know, so I just, yeah, I am really hopeful that people understand the value of these places and really Use their voices to, you know, like in Big Beg national park right now, I mean, that's a perfect example. People are rallying around the fact that, that they're writing a, trying to build a border wall through it. People have rallied on both sides of the aisle to say we do not want a border wall in Big Bend National Park. And so I think that there is hope that people will rise to this occasion.

[Micah Meyer]

Oh my gosh, is this place real? I feel like I keep asking myself that question.

[Sean Ramesh]

Micah Meyer has been to every single national park in America.

[Micah Meyer]

The guys are loading up the boat so we can head about 12 to 15 miles to the border of Yukon, Charlie River's National Preserve.

[Sean Ramesh]

We asked him on to tell you about some of the most underrated destinations our country has to offer.

[Micah Meyer]

Here we go around the Big Bend.

[Stephanie Pearson]

The Northwest.

[Micah Meyer]

One of my favorites in the Northwest is the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. There's a unit called the Painted Hills unit which has these incredible red stripes that cut through the earth. And whether you live in Seattle or Portland, you can access it within a day's drive. And you're not going to have any of the crowds that you'll experience at Mount Rainier or at Olympic. And it's just one of the most otherworldly places I've seen up there.

[Stephanie Pearson]

The Southwest.

[Micah Meyer]

For the Southwest, I would not go to Saguaro National Park. But if you go a few more hours away to Organ Pike Cactus National Monument, the cactuses are way cooler looking. There's way more epic hikes. There's way more epic vistas and views.

[DeleteMe Representative]

The Southeast.

[Micah Meyer]

If you are in the Southeast, I would skip the crowds of the Everglades and hop a short flight over to the Virgin Islands where there is an island off the island of St. Croix which is called Buck Island Reef National Monument. And it's a natural turtle nesting ground that you can actually snorkel underwater down a trail that the park service has made. It's incredible. And it's not going to be crowded because most people, when they go to the Virgin Islands, go to Virgin Islands national park, which is the majority of the island of St. John. The Midwest through the Twin Cities of Minneapolis, St. Paul. There is a 72 mile river corridor called the Mississippi national river and Recreation Area. And it is federally protected riverfront that is full of places to fish and hike and run and see amazing wildlife. And it's one that I actually go on a daily run every day. And I often listen to your podcast, Sean today.

[Sean Ramesh]

Get out of town. Oh my gosh. The Northeast.

[Micah Meyer]

So Acadia is a really popular one, but really close to to there, far from the crowds, is the end of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, which starts in Georgia and runs all the way up to the center of Maine. And you don't have to do the whole thing, but in just one day you could go hike the final few miles to the the center of Maine and you can actually see people finishing their months long trek. And it's this super cool experience just as a day tripper to get to meet these folks, to talk to them. You usually smell them before you see them because they haven't showered in so long. But you get to the top of this mountain and you get to witness people complete a historic National Park Service trail and feel just a little bit of that for yourself. And his favorite My favorite National Park Service site in the whole system is in Utah. And when I wrote a blog ranking all of Utah's Park Service sites, I got a lot of flack because my number one was not Zion, it was not Bryce, it was not Arches. Behind me in Dinosaur National Monument you see some of the most diverse and expansive views of my entire journey so far. But because it's a national monument and not a capital N, capital P National park, most people haven't heard of this site. Like if tomorrow Congress upgraded it to Dinosaur national park, it would get millions of visitors. But that's just because most people think America's park system is only the 63 capital and capital P parks. They don't realize that it's over 400 sites. And so Dinosaur National Monument only gets 7% as many visitors as nearby Rocky Mountain national park or Zion National Park. But I think it's the best that the entire national park system has to offer. All in one less visited site where you for example, can touch a dinosaur bone. If you would like.

[Sean Ramesh]

Sean I would like. Micah I would like

[Micah Meyer]

I think too often we feel like we have to take a flight out west or go somewhere far flung to experience an amazing piece of nature. But every single state and territory in America has at least one National Park Service site. So before you do anything else this summer, go visit your local in state or in territory parks and then think about the far places you have to pay a bunch of gas to get to.

[Sean Ramesh]

Micah Meyer today, explained listener Patriot Stephanie Pearson, who you heard from earlier, is the author of 100 Great American Parks and 100 Hikes of a Lifetime USA. Find him wherever you find your books. And even earlier in the show you heard from Will Gottsaken. He's a staff writer at the Atlantic. He also writes their daily newsletter, the Atlantic Daily. Check it out. Ariana Spuru and Peter Balin on Rosen made the show today with help from Aminah Al Saadi, David Tadashore, Bridger Dunnigan and Gabriel Donatoff. Park Life.

[Will Gottsaken]

Foreign.

[Sean Ramesh]

Support for the program today comes from Vanguard to all the financial advisors Listening Vanguard wants you to listen up. Finding real value and fixed income isn't easy. The bond market is enormous, as you know, complicated as you suspect, and in a lot of cases, not especially transparent. Hmm. Plenty of firms will hand you a few headline grabbing funds and leave it at that. But Vanguard says they take a different approach. Vanguard says their bond offerings are built with institutional quality standards in mind. And for them, that's more than just marketing language. It means giving advisors access to a deep lineup of high quality products, including more than 80 bond funds managed by a global team of over 200 sector specialists, analysts and traders. So if you're looking to give your clients consistent results year in and also year out, Vanguard says you can go see the record for [e-mail] audio that's vanguard.com audio all investing is subject to risk. Ask people Vanguard Marketing Corporation Distributor.

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