There’s a reason to visit Olympic National Park any time of year. While summer is best, each season offers visitors a chance to enjoy this incredibly diverse natural resource. Regardless of how often we visit Olympic we always leave wanting to go back as soon as we can find another couple of free days.

Olympic National Park might be more popular than most people realize. In 2023, it was the tenth most visited U.S. national park, with 2,947,503 visitors. Yet despite the number of visitors, it doesn't feel as crowded as some of the other national parks.

Places on our top ten list include,

·     Hurricane Ridge,

·     Devil’s Punchbowl,

·     Lake Crescent Lodge,

·     Marymere Falls,

·     Sol Duc Falls,

·     Rialto Beach,

·     The Hoh Rain Forest,

·     Ruby Beach,

·     The lodge and beaches in the Kalaloch area, and

·     Quinault Rain Forest

Check out our companion blog post for this episode here. You’ll find a summary of the items we discussed in this episode, a few photos, and a map.

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The best way to support our podcast is to become a member of our Patreon account. Follow this link to check it out.

Subscribe to The Dear Bob and Sue Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen, and if you’ve enjoyed our show, please leave us a review or rating on Apple Podcasts. Five-star ratings help other listeners find our show.

Follow us on Instagram at @mattandkarensmith, on Twitter at @mattandkaren, on Facebook at dearbobands, or check out our blog at www.mattandkaren.com.

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Are you looking for a break from the cold, gray days of winter? We have a perfect solution: a road trip loop through the American Southwest that will take you to four national parks with some bonus stops along the way.

We start and end the road trip at the Las Vegas airport. From there, we drive east to the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park before heading south to the red rocks of Sedona for a couple of days. Continuing on, we make our way down to the Tucson area, where Saguaro National Park is waiting with its incredible desert landscapes.

We also discuss the many other public lands and cultural attractions in and around Tucson before driving west to Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California. From there, it’s north to Death Valley National Park for a couple of days before returning to Las Vegas for our flight home.

Not only can you escape the frigid temps up north, but touring this part of the country during winter is the perfect time to visit many of these places that can be extremely warm later in the year. 

To see the detailed outline for this episode, check out our companion blog post here.

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The best way to support our podcast is to become a member of our Patreon account. Follow this link to check it out.

Subscribe to The Dear Bob and Sue Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen, and if you’ve enjoyed our show, please leave us a review or rating on Apple Podcasts. Five-star ratings help other listeners find our show.

Follow us on Instagram at @mattandkarensmith, on Twitter at @mattandkaren, on Facebook at dearbobands, or check out our blog at www.mattandkaren.com.

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In our Mailbag! episodes, we answer questions from listeners about the national parks, ranger-led tours, road trips, hiking, camping, backpacking, gear, relationships, and pretty much whatever anyone wants to ask us.

In this episode, we cover these topics:

·     An overview of recent national park news,

·     A discussion about our trip to Italy and our experience in the beautiful Dolomites,

·     Our opinion about what not to miss on a visit to Cuyahoga National Park,

·     Whether it’s worth visiting Yosemite National Park in April or May,

·     Ideas for a family vacation in the Southwest during March or April,

·     And more!

The best way to support our podcast is to become a member of our Patreon account. Follow this link to check it out.

 Subscribe to The Dear Bob and Sue Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen, and if you’ve enjoyed our show, please leave us a review or rating on Apple Podcasts. Five-star ratings help other listeners find our show.

 Follow us on Instagram at @mattandkarensmith, on Twitter at @mattandkaren, on Facebook at dearbobands, or check out our blog at www.mattandkaren.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Glacier National Park is considered the “crown of the continent” because of its pristine beauty, rugged wilderness, and magnificent wildlife. While the park is open all year, summer is the primetime for visitors. However, the window to visit while the park is relatively snow-free and the main roads are open is narrow.

With a limited number of days to experience all the park offers, competition for lodging and activity reservations is keen. In this episode, we give an overview of what you need to know to plan a summer trip to the park and offer tips to provide you with the best chance at being prepared once you get there.

We talk about the various areas of the park, details about the Going-To-the-Sun Road, the park’s free shuttle, popular trails, lodging options inside and outside the park, campsites, and more.

Here are a few links related to this episode:

• Glacier National Park’s webpage regarding the free shuttle system
• Glacier National Park’s webpage about the historic lodges and chalets
• Granite Park Chalet’s website
• Sperry Chalet’s website
• Learn more about boat tours in the park at Glacier Park Boat Company

·     Link to our Patreon account

The best way to support our podcast is to become a member of our Patreon account. Follow this link to check it out.

And don’t forget to check out our new online merch store and www.dirtlander.com.

Subscribe to The Dear Bob and Sue Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen, and if you’ve enjoyed our show, please leave us a review or rating on Apple Podcasts. Five-star ratings help other listeners find our show.

Follow us on Instagram at @mattandkarensmith, on Twitter at @mattandkaren, on Facebook at dearbobands, or check out our blog at www.mattandkaren.com.

To advertise on The Dear Bob and Sue Podcast, email us at [email protected].

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In our Mailbag! episodes, we answer questions from listeners about the national parks, ranger-led tours, road trips, hiking, camping, backpacking, gear, relationships, and pretty much whatever anyone wants to ask us.

In this episode, we cover these topics:

·     Zion National Park is working on a new visitor use management plan,

·     Issues related to Mount Rainier National Park’s new timed-entry system this summer (2024),

·     Tips on making the most of a visit to Petrified Forest National Park,

·     Where to stay when visiting Yellowstone National Park,

·     When’s the best time to visit both Death Valley and Yosemite National Parks,

·     And more!

The best way to support our podcast is to become a member of our Patreon account. Follow this link to check it out.

Subscribe to The Dear Bob and Sue Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen, and if you’ve enjoyed our show, please leave us a review or rating on Apple Podcasts. Five-star ratings help other listeners find our show.

Follow us on Instagram at @mattandkarensmith, on Twitter at @mattandkaren, on Facebook at dearbobands, or check out our blog at www.mattandkaren.com.

To advertise on The Dear Bob and Sue Podcast, email us at [email protected].

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What’s on your bucket list? It’s a topic everyone is talking about these days, and we have a few suggestions for anyone who loves our national parks and public lands.

Back in the day, our list was simple; visit all the U.S. national parks. But once we checked them all off, we realized our list was longer than when we started. In this episode, we talk about some of the most popular places to see and things to do that people put on their bucket list; what they want to do before they kick the bucket.

Many of the places we discuss we’ve been to before, some we haven’t, and many more we’ll probably keep going back to again and again. From once-in-a-lifetime wildlife viewing experiences to backcountry lodges and more, we share with you some awe-inspiring suggestions you might not have heard of before.

So, get out a pen and paper (or if you aren’t as old as we are, feel free to type some notes into your phone) and join us as we imagine the bucket list possibilities our public lands hold in store.

The best way to support our podcast is to become a member of our Patreon account. Follow this link to check it out.

And don’t forget to check out our new online merch store and www.dirtlander.com.

Subscribe to The Dear Bob and Sue Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen, and if you’ve enjoyed our show, please leave us a review or rating on Apple Podcasts. Five-star ratings help other listeners find our show.

Follow us on Instagram at @mattandkarensmith, on Twitter at @mattandkaren, on Facebook at dearbobands, or check out our blog at www.mattandkaren.com.

To advertise on The Dear Bob and Sue Podcast, email us at [email protected].

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Join us as we take you on an epic road trip to all four of Colorado’s national parks!

These four parks are incredibly diverse, and this trip will have you driving through alpine forests in the Rocky Mountains, hiking up the tallest sand dunes in North America, climbing ladders as you explore cultural treasures, and standing on the rim of a seemingly bottomless dark canyon.

We’ve organized this episode with the road trip starting in Denver and driving clockwise around the state, but you can pick up our trail anywhere along the loop. And we’ve made suggestions for several add-on sites you’ll also want to consider, including Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, Chimney Rock National Monument, and a mountain pass highway in southwest Colorado with million-dollar views.

Summer is here, and it’s time to hit the road. And we have the perfect itinerary planned for you – coming up!

Here are a few helpful links related to this episode:

·     Where to get Mesa Verde NP tour tickets

·     A link to Pike Peak’s website where you can buy visitor and vehicle timed-entry tickets

·     More information about Rocky Mountain National Park’s timed entry permit program

·     Link to our Patreon account

The best way to support our podcast is to become a member of our Patreon account. Follow this link to check it out.

And don’t forget to check out our new online merch store and www.dirtlander.com.

Subscribe to The Dear Bob and Sue Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen, and if you’ve enjoyed our show, please leave us a review or rating on Apple Podcasts. Five-star ratings help other listeners find our show.

Follow us on Instagram at @mattandkarensmith, on Twitter at @mattandkaren, on Facebook at dearbobands, or check out our blog at www.mattandkaren.com.

To advertise on The Dear Bob and Sue Podcast, email us at [email protected].

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Carved by the once-wild Columbia River, the Columbia River Gorge is a dramatic canyon that snakes through the Cascade Range in the Pacific Northwest on its way to the Pacific Ocean. It's an area of stunning natural beauty with endless outdoor adventure options.

Using the town of Hood River, Oregon, as our home base, we recently visited the gorge in search of waterfalls. (The area has nearly 100.) And being that it was spring when we were there, the waterfalls did not disappoint -- especially the famous Multnomah Falls – the most-visited single natural attraction in the Pacific Northwest.

In this episode, we talk about several of the best waterfalls in the area, a couple of breathtaking trails to hike close to Hood River, a state park you won’t want to miss, and some of the restaurants and breweries we visited. We also share a little history of the area.

A few links we mentioned in this episode:

·     KURU Footwear’s website https://www.kurufootwear.com/

·     A link to KURU’s RIDGE Motion shoes

·     Link to our Patreon account

The best way to support our podcast is to become a member of our Patreon account. Follow this link to check it out.

And don’t forget to check out our new online merch store and www.dirtlander.com.

Subscribe to The Dear Bob and Sue Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen, and if you’ve enjoyed our show, please leave us a review or rating on Apple Podcasts. Five-star ratings help other listeners find our show.

Follow us on Instagram at @mattandkarensmith, on Twitter at @mattandkaren, on Facebook at dearbobands, or check out our blog at www.mattandkaren.com.

To advertise on The Dear Bob and Sue Podcast, email us at [email protected].

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Each year, the National Park Service celebrates National Park Week in April. And this year, they’ve planned events from April 20th through April 28th.

In this episode, we highlight some of the activities that will happen during National Park Week, give a brief history of the creation of the NPS, and interview our special guest, Jacob Wolfley, who recently spent a summer as an intern park range at Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota.

Jacob will enlighten us on what it takes to score a job or internship at a national park, what it’s like working as a ranger, and his ambitions for a possible career with the NPS.

So, tune in and get ready to learn about the NPS and all the exciting activities coming up in National Park Week.

Here are a couple of links related to the topics we discussed in this episode:

·     Find out more information about National Park Week here

·     Here is a link to the National Park Service’s jobs site

·     Check out our interview guest, Jacob Wolfley, on Instagram

The best way to support our podcast is to become a member of our Patreon account. Follow this link to check it out.

And don’t forget to check out our new online merch store and www.dirtlander.com.

Subscribe to The Dear Bob and Sue Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen, and if you’ve enjoyed our show, please leave us a review or rating on Apple Podcasts. Five-star ratings help other listeners find our show.

Follow us on Instagram at @mattandkarensmith, on Twitter at @mattandkaren, on Facebook at dearbobands, or check out our blog at www.mattandkaren.com.

To advertise on The Dear Bob and Sue Podcast, email us at [email protected].

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our Mailbag! episodes, we answer questions from listeners about the national parks, ranger-led tours, road trips, hiking, camping, backpacking, gear, relationships, and pretty much whatever anyone wants to ask us.

In this episode, we cover these topics:

·     An overview of some of the closures within the national parks this year,

·     Suggestions for hikes in Guadalupe Mountains National Park,

·     Tips for avoiding altitude sickness when traveling to high-elevation parks,

·     Common mistakes people make when planning a trip to the national parks,

·     Relationship advice for couples who are together 24/7,

·     And more!

The best way to support our podcast is to become a member of our Patreon account. Follow this link to check it out.

And don’t forget to check out our new online merch store and www.dirtlander.com.

Subscribe to The Dear Bob and Sue Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen, and if you’ve enjoyed our show, please leave us a review or rating on Apple Podcasts. Five-star ratings help other listeners find our show.

Follow us on Instagram at @mattandkarensmith, on Twitter at @mattandkaren, on Facebook at dearbobands, or check out our blog at www.mattandkaren.com.

To advertise on The Dear Bob and Sue Podcast, email us at [email protected].

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 One of the most frequent questions we get from travelers is how to plan a visit to Glacier, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton NPs in a single road trip. In this episode, we cover all the details you’ll need to do just that.

Without a doubt, these three parks are at the top of our “most spectacular” list. Each has its unique history and landscape, yet they’re all great places to witness once-in-a-lifetime wildlife encounters. The other thing they have in common is that they all have mountainous regions. Given their elevations, winter weather can sneak up on you anytime during the year, which makes carefully choosing your dates to visit even more important than with many other destinations.

With the current popularity of the national parks, especially these three, embarking on a road trip to see them requires advanced planning. We suggest a year or more before your desired travel date. However, you can do it, and we’ll share all the tips and tricks we know to help you.

The best way to support our podcast is to become a member of our Patreon account. Follow this link to check it out.

And don’t forget to check out our new online merch store and www.dirtlander.com.

Subscribe to The Dear Bob and Sue Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen, and if you’ve enjoyed our show, please leave us a review or rating on Apple Podcasts. Five-star ratings help other listeners find our show.

Follow us on Instagram at @mattandkarensmith, on Twitter at @mattandkaren, on Facebook at dearbobands, or check out our blog at www.mattandkaren.com.

To advertise on The Dear Bob and Sue Podcast, email us at [email protected].

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices