America's National Parks Podcast

In the late 1840s, the U.S. government seized control of California from the Republic of Mexico and immediately went to work on protecting the new land. Located in the middle of the San Francisco Bay, an island called Alcatraz was identified as a place of exceptional military utility. Nearly surrounded on all sides, it was ideally positioned to protect the entrance to the bay. You may know Alcatraz as the so-called inescapable prison which housed Al Capone and George "Machine-Gun" Kelly, and then was immortalized in the film Escape from Alcatraz, but its history began long before. On this episode, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area's Alcatraz Island, and its role during the civil war. More info and music credits at nationalparkpodcast.com/alcatraz.

In a small section of the painted desert of Arizona, you can find forests of crumbled trees, preserved as stone. Over 200 million years ago, these large conifers were uprooted by floods, then washed down from the highlands and buried by silt. Water seeping through the wood replaced decaying organic material cell by cell with multicolored silica. The land was lifted up by geological upheaval, and erosion began to expose the long-buried, now petrified wood. In the modern age, the trees have their own stories, having become one of the iconic road trip destinations along Route 66. On this episode of the America's National Parks Podcast, Petrified Forest National Park and the curse of the Petrified Forest.  Show notes and more info at http://nationalparkpodcast.com/the-curse-of-the-petrified-forest/

Elevators might seem like a strange topic for a National Park Podcast, but today we're going to talk about a special elevator. In 1931, the National Park constructed what was then the second highest (or shall we say deepest) elevator shaft in the world — descending tourists 754' into the wonders of Carlsbad Caverns National Park — and it's been at the center of some pretty wild incidents.  National Park Service Resources related to this episode, music credits and more at nationalparkpodcast.com/drunken-subterranian-terrorism-carlsbad-caverns

On April 6th, 1846, Dred and Harriet Scott walked into the unfinished St. Louis Courthouse in downtown Saint Louis, Missouri, and in an act of bravery, filed separate petitions against Irene Emerson for their freedom.On that day, one of the most important lawsuits in American history, one that would ultimately hasten the start of the Civil War and divide an already divided country, began. It would take ten years and reach as far as the supreme court before it ended. On this episode of America's National Parks Podcast, the Dred Scott Case, and Gateway Arch National Park. A full transcript, resources for further study, and music credits are available at nationalparkpodcast.com/dred-and-harriet-scott.

In 1896, the highest summit in America was named by a gold prospector in support for then-presidential candidate William McKinley, who became president the following year. Of course, for centuries before, it had gone by a different name. On this week's episode of America's National Parks, Denali, the 20,310 Alaskan summit, and the six million acres of land that surround it in Denali National Park. Show notes, music credits, and more info at nationalparkpodcast.com/legendsofdenali.

The Statue of Liberty stands out in New York Harbor, bearing her torch, welcoming tourists and immigrants with the American spirit of Liberty. Her story is complicated, and many apocryphal tales abound of her sitting disassembled for years while Americans tried to figure out how to assemble it. The truth is much more interesting. Today on America's National Parks, The Statue of Liberty and the history of Liberty Island. Show notes, music credits, and more info at nationalparkpodcast.com/ladyliberty.

There's one natural rock arch that's known better than all others in the US, in fact, it's on the state of Utah's license plate. It had its own postage stamp, and the 2002 Winter Olympics torch relay passed through it. On this episode of America's National Parks, Delicate Arch, and the strange history of attempts to protect it at Arches National Park. Show notes and more info at nationalparkpodcast.com.

In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt ditched his secret service detail to go camping in the woods of Yosemite with celebrated naturalist John Muir. Through his writings, Muir taught the importance of experiencing and protecting our natural world. That camping trip changed the face of conservation in the United States. Together, sleeping on the forest floor below the sequoias, they laid the foundation for the next century of federal land preservation. On this episode of America's National Parks, Yosemite, John Muir, Teddy Roosevelt, and a man who was along for the ride, in their own words. Show notes at nationalparkpodcast.com.

How do you save a species of bird with a population of 22 living? A controversial plan hatched nearly three decades ago has condors soaring over Pinnacles National Park again. How they did it, and why there is still trouble ahead, on this episode of America's National Parks. More info, a full transcript, music credits, and other resources are available at nationalparkpodcast.com/condors-pinnacles-national-park.

If you only know the name Geronimo from the call that paratroopers in old war movies and Bugs Bunny cartoons shout, it's a nickname bestowed upon a Native American hero by Mexican soldiers. During repeated conflicts, The Apache warrior attacked them with nothing but a knife, surviving each time despite being continually shot at. The soldiers would plead to Saint Jerome as they faced him. Geronimo is Spanish for “Jerome.” On this episode of America’s National Parks, Geronimo, and his imprisonment at Fort Pickens, now a part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore in Pensacola, Florida. Show notes and more info is available at http://nationalparkpodcast.com/island-prison-geronimo-gulf-islands-national-seashore/

On the northern shores of Minnesota lies a remote waterscape steeped in history, nature, and tradition. Named for the wild men who paddled its waterways in the Canadian fur trade, Voyageurs National Park is home to nesting bald eagles, moose, grey wolves, black bear, loons, owls, otter, and beaver. Most of its hidden waterways are untouched, pristine boreal forest, where on a cloudless pre-dawn morning under the northern lights, you can almost hear the songs of fur traders traveling in their massive canoes. On this episode of America's National Parks, the Voyageurs, the legendary wild and hearty men who traversed the waterways of the great north for two hundred years. Show notes and more info on Voyageurs National Park and Grand Portage National Monument at www.nationalparkpodcast.com/voyageurs

Piracy, the act of seizing a ship or its cargo from its lawful owners, has been a plague since people first set sail on the high seas. By the Elizabethan Era, English piracy entered a Golden Age, as pirates plundered its coastal waters unchallenged. As Spain gradually increased its wealth through its own savagery in the New World, English pirates feasted on Spanish ships, eventually spreading piracy to the Carribean Sea. On this episode of America's National Parks, Pirates, and their role in the creation of America, immortalized at National Park Service units up and down the East Coast. In fact, there are so many stories of piracy and privateering in today's National Parks, that choosing just one was difficult, so we settled on two centered around Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Fort Raleigh National Historic Site - with many more to touch on in a future episode. Show notes and more info at http://nationalparkpodcast.com/pirates-and-parks

Two years before the creation of our first National Park, Truman Everts got lost in Yellowstone. He lost not one, but two horses. He set not one, but two forest fires. He waited out a mountain lion in a tree. He slept in a bear's den. He fell through the crust of a hot spring and burnt his hip. He keeled over into his campfire while hallucinating. He spent 37 days making bad decision after worse, and he survived.  On this episode of the America's National Parks Podcast, we present our abridged version of Everts' 10,000-word essay, which shocked the nation - complete with the sounds of Yellowstone from the National Park Service's archives.  Show notes and more info are available at nationalparkpodcast.com/37-days-yellowstone.

At the southern tip of Florida lie the Everglades, a crucial ecosystem to America and the world. Everglades National Park has spent its entire life under siege, with Marjory Stoneman Douglas out front as its chief warrior.  Show notes, a full transcript, and music credits for this episode can be found at http://nationalparkpodcast.com/

Deep within Kentucky's Mammoth Cave National Park, one can find so much more than rock formations. The shale-capped mass of 400 known miles of caverns holds the history of America, told by the Black enslaved cave guides that made it one of the country's top tourist attractions, then and now.  Useful Links: In Kentucky, a Family at the Center of the EarthA 2014 in-depth interview with Jerry Bransford and New York Times reporter Kenan Christiansen. bransfordmemorial.com Jerry Bransford’s dream is to build a memorial in the Bransford cemetery at Mammoth Cave as a tribute to all the past slave guides and the entire Bransford family, especially Mat and Nick. He also would like to pass on his stories and memories to his future descendants utilizing the cemetery and memorial. You can the website to contribute, and it's also full of much more detailed information on the Bransford family history at Mammoth. Ranger Lore: The Occupational Folklife of Parks – Jerry Bransford Discusses Family Legacy A YouTube interview with Jerry Bransford about visiting Mammoth as a child with his family:   Mammoth Cave National Park Website Info on all of the cave tours, camping, and other activities at Mammoth Cave National Park. Show notes, a full transcript, and music credits for this episode can be found at http://nationalparkpodcast.com/mammoth-cave-national-park.