Dear Bob and Sue: A National Parks Podcast

Latest Episodes:

#27: Our Favorite Hikes in the National Parks Jan 28, 2021

Show notes

In this episode we talk about some of our favorite hikes in the national parks. It took us a couple of tries to record this one because we had too many on our original “favorites” list. (We may have to do a follow-up episode someday to talk about all of the other jaw dropping trails we left out.) So grab your notebook because we provide a ton of information about must-do hikes in many of the most popular national parks. If you’re like us, you’ll want to hike many of these trails multiple times. Just be sure you take plenty of water, bear spray, and a headlamp. Do not forget your headlamp! And at the end of the episode, we answer a question from our mailbag.

Some of the hikes we discuss in this episode:

Devil’s Garden-Primitive Loop – Arches NP
Chesler Park-Joint Trail Loop - Canyonlands
Fairyland Loop - Bryce Canyon
Gower Gulch-Golden Canyon - Death Valley
Giant Forest Loop Trail - Sequoia
And many, many more...
In the mailbag segment we talk about whether we have any plans to hike long-distance trails like the Pacific Crest or Appalachian Trails

Links to more information:

To see photos from our travels, visit our
Instagram account, or
TikTok account
Where to learn more about our books and travels
Join the conversation on Facebook

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#26: Death Valley National Park Jan 14, 2021

Show notes

Despite its not-so-enticing name, Death Valley National Park is one of our favorite destinations, especially in the winter months. Being the lowest, driest, and hottest place in North America, you might be surprised that it also has 11,000+-foot, snow-covered peaks. In this episode we talk about some of the best places to see in the park and give some suggestions for what to do if you only have a few days to visit. And at the end of the episode, we answer a biting question from our mailbag.

Some of the topics we discuss in this episode:

How the park got its name
When is the best time to visit
Where to stay, eat, and get gas in the park
The best places in the park to watch the sunset
Some of our favorite hikes
Spectacular backcountry drives
Whether aliens visited the Racetrack (you’ll have to listen to the episode to understand what this means)

Links to more information:

To see photos from our travels, visit our
Instagram account, or
TikTok account
Visit the park’s website for more park information
For backcountry travel, you might want to rent a Jeep from Farabee’s
Where to learn more about our books and travels
Join the conversation on Facebook

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#25: Here and There Dec 31, 2020

Show notes

In this end-of-the-year episode, we talk about many of the topics listeners have suggested to us that aren’t long enough for a full episode. We also try to keep our streak alive of consecutive episodes where Karen cries. You’ll have to tune in to find out if we were successful. It’s been a fun year learning to create podcast episodes and interacting with listeners. Thank you to all of you who’ve supported us in this journey!

Some of the topics we discuss in this episode:

How do we get along while being together 24/7 (Who says we get along?)
Our experiences in the few Canadian national parks we’ve visited
What gear is in our packs. We talk about winter gear and summer gear that we always carry.
Hiking tips for beginners
How we organize our travel ideas for future trips
What our experience has been in this first year of creating a podcast from scratch
A couple of our favorite podcast bloopers from this year
A few of our ideas for future episode topics

Links to more information:

To see photos from our travels, visit our
Instagram account, or
TikTok account
Where to learn more about our books and travels
Join the conversation on Facebook

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

#24: National Park of American Samoa Dec 17, 2020

Show notes

Little did we know when we cavalierly made the announcement ten years ago that we were going to visit every U.S. national park that we had just signed up for a trip to the Southern Hemisphere. The National Park of American Samoa is part of the only U.S. territory south of the equator. So off we went one December on a journey to explore this South Pacific island paradise. In this episode, we talk about our experiences in the park, as well as what we learned about the Samoan culture while visiting with locals about their way of life. We’ll also tell you why all of the TVs on the island were tuned into NFL games the Sunday we were there. At the end of the episode, we answer a question from our mailbag.

Some of the topics we discuss in this episode:

Where the heck American Samoa is and how to get there
A little history about the islands
Why there’s a national park there
Best time of the year to go
Where to stay when you’re visiting
Some of the activities we did on our trip
Our encounter with a flying fox
And a special gift we got from a group of Samoan teenagers. But there’s a twist to the story.

Links to more information:

To see photos from our travels, visit our
Instagram account, or
TikTok account
Visit the park’s website to learn more
Where to learn more about our books and travels
Join the conversation on Facebook

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#23: Dories, Ho!: Floating the Colorado River Through the Grand Canyon Part 2 of 2 Dec 10, 2020

Show notes

In this second part of our mini-series about floating the Colorado River in a small wooden dory boat, we share stories from our second trip through the entire length of the Grand Canyon. We describe some of the breathtaking places along the river that we didn’t see on our first go around, as well as our runs through two of the most extreme rapids in the country. If you haven’t already listened to Part One of this series, you might want to start there. In that episode, we discuss the logistics of a Grand Canyon river trip and what it’s like living on the river. Spoiler alert: both of these trips were adventures of a lifetime. Your bucket list will get longer after listening. And at the end of the episode, we answer a question from our mailbag.

Some of the topics we discuss in this episode:

We start the episode talking about Karen’s idea of what a bucket list is, and some of the adventures still in our bucket. (This sentence will make more sense after you listen to this episode.)
What it was like to float the entire length of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon
Descriptions of our day hikes, including Elves Chasm, The Patio, Havasu Creek, and more
Floating down the Little Colorado River wearing oversized diapers
Our impressions of running two of the biggest whitewater rapids in the lower 48: Crystal Rapid and Lava Falls
How the beach below Lava Falls got its name

Links to more information:

To see photos from our travels, visit our
Instagram account, or
TikTok account
Where to get a copy of our book by the same title: Dories, Ho!
List of concessioners who run commercial boat trips
Where to learn more about our books and travels
Join the conversation on Facebook

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#22: Dories, Ho!: Floating the Colorado River Through the Grand Canyon Part 1 of 2 Dec 03, 2020

Show notes

For years we’d ask people who’d traveled the world, “What’s the best outdoor adventure trip you’ve ever taken?” To our surprise, the same answer came up time after time: floating the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. That’s all we needed to hear. So, with a dry bag filled with a few changes of clothes and a toothbrush, we set off down the river with fourteen of our closest friends for a six-day adventure. And, of course, we had a ten-person team of experienced guides with us, along with four wooden dory boats, three support rafts, and many cans of beer stowed below deck somewhere.

Some of the topics we discuss in this episode:

What a dory is
What the heck Dories, Ho! means
Preparing for our trip down the Colorado River
What it’s like living on the river for six days
The thrill of running whitewater rapids in a tiny wooden boat
And, would we do it again?
Tune in to part two (released Dec. 10) to learn the answer

Links to more information:

- Check out our Substack articles here, and

- Find all our other links here

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#21: One Man’s Wilderness: Lake Clark National Park Nov 19, 2020

Show notes

No state in the Union has more public space than Alaska; nearly 90% of the land is owned by the state or federal government, and amongst the vast, untamed lands are eight national parks. Lake Clark National Park, about 120 miles southwest of Anchorage, is one of the most remote. It’s also where one man spent three-plus decades living as one with the wilderness in a small log cabin he built himself on the shore of a magnificent mountain lake. In this episode we talk about our experience in the park and visiting Dick Proenneke’s cabin; the man who documented his wilderness experience and became an advocate for preserving Alaska’s pristine natural places.

Some of the topics we discuss in this episode:

Where Lake Clark National Park is located
How to get to the park
Where we stayed when we visited the park
How we got to Twin Lakes, the site of Dick’s cabin
What it was like to see the cabin in its restored condition
Meeting the volunteer rangers who now care for Dick’s cabin

Links to more information:

To see photos from our travels, visit our
Instagram account, or
TikTok account
One Man's Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey book on Amazon
Alone in the Wilderness video on Amazon
NPS site about Dick Proenneke
One Man’s Alaska documentary
No Place Like Twin Lakes video
Where to learn more about our books and travels
Join the conversation on Facebook

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Bonus Episode: 2020 Holiday Gift Guide Nov 12, 2020

Show notes

The holidays are fast approaching, and if you have trouble finding the perfect gift for the outdoor enthusiast on your list, you’ll want to check out our bonus holiday gift episode. We discuss many of our favorite travel, hiking, and camping items that make perfect gifts for family, friends, or even for yourself. Enjoy!

For links to all of the items we mention in this episode, visit our online 2020 Holiday Gift Guide on our blog www.mattandkaren.com.

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#20: Scenic Drives Through Public Lands Nov 05, 2020

Show notes

Brilliant, breathtaking, and magnificent are just some of the words we would use to describe the scenic drives we discuss in this episode. That is if we had consulted a thesaurus before recording our discussion about these spectacular drives. But spectacular they are, regardless of how many times we used the word. One of the great things about visiting our public lands is the roads to and through them make the journey worth the trip even if you don’t get out of your vehicle. Here, we talk about a few of our favorite drives that we’ve discovered during our travels and give some tips and history for each.

The drives we cover in this episode:

Going-to-the-Sun-Road (Glacier NP)
Beartooth Highway (Northeast of Yellowstone NP)
Lamar Valley (Yellowstone NP)
Needles Highway (Custer State Park)
Badlands Loop (Badlands NP)
Trail Ridge Road (Rocky Mountain NP)
Million Dollar Highway (between Ouray and Silverton Colorado)
Highway 24 through Capitol Reef NP
Capitol Reef Scenic Drive
The Burr Trail (Escalante NM, Capitol Reef NP, and Glen Canyon NRA)
Skyline Drive (Shenandoah NP)

Links to more information:

To see photos from our travels, visit our
Instagram account, or
TikTok account
Video of engineers clearing snow from Going-to-the-Sun-Road
Info about the Beartooth Highway
Info about roads in Capitol Reef National Park
More about the Scenic Drive in Capitol Reef National Park
Info about the Burr Trail in Utah
Info about the Needles Highway
Info about the Badlands Loop Scenic Byway
Info about Skyline Drive
Where to learn more about our books and travels
Join the conversation on Facebook

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#19: Adventures in Olympic National Park Oct 22, 2020

Show notes

Featuring a park in our home state of Washington on this episode, we discuss some of the highlights and must-sees at Olympic National Park. From the rugged coastline of the Pacific Ocean to the blue glaciers hanging off steep alpine cliffs, Olympic NP has something for everyone. Only a short day trip from the Seattle metro area, you can drive to many of the most spectacular sites within the park in a few hours. If you are a little more adventurous, backpacking through the park gives you a less-crowded perspective on the wild beauty of this “magical” place. We even give you a small peek into what it’s like traveling with us by playing an audio recording we made during one of our more challenging adventures.

Some topics we discuss include:

Yes? No? Maybe? Whether or not we plan to write another book
Four seasons of fun up at Hurricane Ridge
Where to go to see what’s left from the largest dam removal project in history, where you can peer into the canyon below at the newly-freed, rushing Elwha River
The myriad of activities at beautiful Lake Crescent: in the water, on the beach and on the nearby trails.
Our three-day adventure hiking the High Divide / Seven Lakes Basin Trail which started out with some wild weather
The magic of the Hoh Rain Forest
What we found--and didn’t find—during our backpacking trip along Shi Shi Beach on the coast of the Pacific Ocean
And more...
In the mail bag segment, we discuss some of our scariest hikes while traveling to all of the national parks.

Links to more information:

To see photos from our travels, visit our
Instagram account, or
TikTok account
Click here for updated information and park map
Where to learn more about our books and travels
Join the conversation on Facebook

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

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