Parks & Travel

The Congo Basin absorbs more carbon than any other tropical forest on Earth, yet it receives just 11 percent of international tropical forest funding. Professor Lee White, Special Envoy to the Science Panel for the Congo Basin, joins Lisa D. Smith on this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Nature Connection" Podcast just after New York Climate Week, where he launched a new brief on funding tropical forests.

Hear why the Congo Basin and the Amazon are the two chambers of the Earth’s green heart, how trees keep cities cooler and kids healthier, why science funding matters, and how modern farming can protect the forest. Also what happens when ecosystems fall out of balance, and what each of us can do.

LINKS & RESOURCES:

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Visit us for more episodes in the Big Blend Media House: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com 

On this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Lost Angel Travel Adventures" Podcast, travel writer and author Linda Ballou takes us to Moab, Utah, the red-rock gateway to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. She shares how a chance meeting in an airport led to her first kayak trip down Labyrinth Canyon on the Green River, and how much Moab has changed in the twenty years since her first visit.

Along the way, Linda explores Highway 128 along the Colorado River and the film museum at Red Cliffs Lodge. They talk about Thelma & Louise, John Ford, and the outlaws and moonshiners who once hid in Labyrinth Canyon. Then it’s on to the wonders of Arches, from Park Avenue to the Courthouse and the Three Gossips.

Hear about Edward Abbey's book "Desert Solitaire," his fight to stop the damming of Glen Canyon, and the toll of the uranium mining days. Then, a reflection on what a river can teach us about going with the flow. Linda offers options for every visitor, from half-day river trips to Jeep and photography tours, and a gentle reminder to tread lightly on the fragile desert.

MORE ON MOAB:

FOLLOW LINDA:

Celebrate America 250 in upstate South Carolina! On this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Jo Goes Everywhere" Podcast, travel writer Jo Clark takes us to Ninety Six National Historic Site, a backcountry crossroads where 12 roads met and later the site of the longest land siege of the American Revolution, from May 22 to June 18, 1781. This park also turned 50 this year.

Jo walks us through the Star Fort and Kosciuszko’s brick-lined mine tunnel. She also tells the tale of the engineer who got shot in the butt, poses for a selfie with the big replica gun, and explains why the kids’ tunnel is such a hit. She shares what it’s like to hear reenactments and cannon fire (earplugs recommended!) and why Lake Greenwood State Park is worth adding to your trip.

Then it’s time to eat and stay. Jo takes us to Break on the Lake and Indigenous Underground, where Chef Erica “Trudy” McCier serves soul rolls and Black Eye Pea Gumbo. She also stops at Main Street Coffee Co., The Rough House and 96 Pecan Company (don’t miss the Lemon Crunch!), and spends the night at The Veranda on Main. At the end, Jo toasts with her Spooktacular Halloween Cocktail.

RESOURCE LINKS:

Follow More of Jo:

What happens when a comedian walks into a volcano? In this return visit on this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Toast to the Arts & Parks" Show with the National Parks Arts Foundation (NPAF), Lisa D. Smith catches up with stand-up comedian Ben Miller, the scientist-turned-comedian who became the first stand-up comedian ever selected as an NPAF artist in residence, at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park in February 2023.

That month on the Big Island, spent learning from volcanologists, entomologists, archeologists, and local Hawaiians, became "Volcano," a science comedy hour that has toured 70+ cities internationally and is now available to watch on YouTube. It was filmed at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, the first stand-up comedy special ever taped at a science museum, and it carries what may be the longest bibliography in comedy history: 281 sources.

In this conversation, Ben talks about taking "Volcano" from the Edinburgh Fringe to Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and New Zealand. He describes writing an hour of jokes in a single month, performing in national parks and even a cave, and why he cites his sources on stage. He also explains how he writes jokes that are funny without being cruel, including how he approached Mount St. Helens, and shares what's next: a new hour of science jokes and a tour for next year.

Along the way, the conversation wanders through ʻōhelo berry pies, a 3 a.m. croissant disaster, silkworms and monarch way stations, lava crickets and invasive earthworms, Pompeii's ancient bread, and the persistent myth that a volcano gave us Frankenstein. It's also a reminder of why arts in parks matter: more storytelling means more preservation, conservation, and interpretation.

MORE:

It's October in California's Sequoia Country, and there's a lot going on. On this shared "California Sequoia Country" episode with the Sequoia Tourism Council, Big Blend Radio host Lisa D. Smith is joined by Holly Streit of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and Suzanne Bianco of Visit Visalia to kick off fall.

The episode starts with an anniversary: on October 1st, 1890, General Grant National Park was established to protect the General Grant Tree, the second largest tree in the world and the nation's only dedicated living shrine to service members. Holly explains how that four-acre park became part of Kings Canyon, what's closing for the season at Cedar Grove and Mineral King, and how the park's December wreath ceremony at the nation's Christmas tree works. It's also bear season, so Holly shares what to do if you see one, including keeping 50 yards back and storing food and scented items properly, and why fallen sequoias and dead trees matter to the forest. Plus, October 27th is a fee-free day for Teddy Roosevelt's birthday.

Then Suzanne walks through October in Visalia and Tulare County: the Tulare Crush Party on October 9th, the Exeter Fall Festival on October 10th and the downtown Scarecrow Contest, Visalia Pride, Books & Brews and the Taste The Arts street festival on the weekend of October 17th, and the Sequoia Symphony playing Pirates of the Caribbean at the Fox Theater. You'll also hear about Cosmic Creeps at the Planetarium on October 23rd, the city's Halloween house map, mini pumpkindishes at the Vintage Press, a few ghost stories, and a visit to the Tulare County Museum for Global Diversity Awareness Month.

Plan your visit and get more information:

On this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "English Connection" Podcast, Glynn Burrows takes us for a wander through England's forests — ancient and modern, native and man-made — and what a single tree can teach us about history, health, and home.

On this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Lost Angel Travel Adventures" Podcast, travel writer Linda Ballou shares her latest adventure: six days rafting 89 miles of the Green River through Desolation Canyon, one of the largest roadless wildernesses left in the American Southwest. 

Traveling with OARS Whitewater Rafting, Linda and a group of fellow outdoor enthusiasts — many of them retirees in their sixties, seventies, and eighties — floated past towering sandstone cliffs, ancient Fremont and Ute rock art, and the site where Butch Cassidy once hid stolen cattle.

Linda talks about the rhythm of "river time" — no cell service, no politics, just canyon wrens at dawn and guitar music at camp — and how the trip challenged her physically more than she expected as she continues to rebuild her strength. She also shares the history of John Wesley Powell's 1869 expedition, which gave the canyon its name, and reflects on what six days unplugged in the wilderness taught her about pacing herself and accepting help from others.

Whether you're planning your own rafting trip or just want an armchair escape to redrock country, this episode captures the scenery, the characters, and the quiet magic of one of Utah's most remote stretches of river.

PLAY YOUR ADVENTURE:

🌍CHECK OUT LINDA'S BOOKS & TRAVELS:

Travel writer and advisor Lisa Evans, host of Big Blend Radio's "Journey Jukebox" Podcast takes us to Yellowstone National Park — America's very first national park, marking 110 years of the National Park Service this year. 

This episode picks up right where her Cody, Wyoming visit left off: after basing herself in Cody, Lisa spent a day and a half looping through Yellowstone by chartered bus, and brings back a full rundown — bison herds thick enough to stop traffic for fifty cars, a moose sighting straight out of Lamar Valley, a surprise cinnamon bear, and the bighorn sheep on the way out of the park.

From there we walk through the icons — Old Faithful (which kept everyone waiting an extra thirty minutes), the otherworldly colors of Grand Prismatic Spring and the Midway Geyser Basin, the bubbling mud volcanoes, and dinner at the historic Lake Yellowstone Hotel with a general manager who's spent 40 years working his way up through the park's lodging operation.

We also get honest about the less charming side of visiting a place like Yellowstone: tourists stepping over barriers at Mammoth Hot Springs, walking up to bison for a closer photo, and — in one widely reported case — Pierce Brosnan's own $1,500 fine for wandering off a boardwalk into a restricted thermal area. With national parks already stretched thin on funding and staffing, we talk about why this isn't just about rule-following — it's about keeping the wildlife wild and the parks safe for everyone who visits them.

Along the way, Lisa also looks ahead to her next stops — Clarksville, TN, and a trip up to Anacortes, WA — and shares more of the multi-generational travel trends she's seeing on the road.

🗺️ Plan your own trip: Full Yellowstone travel guide, park links, and resources: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/yellowstone-still-wild-at-110 

- Missed her last stop? Catch Lisa's Cody, Wyoming episode & article: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/cody-wyoming-western-culture 

🎵 Journey Jukebox Music Playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7humUf03LIW04t8LiJSSN9?si=71c11c52c77c4596 

🎧 More about the Journey Jukebox Podcast:

Follow Lisa Evans: 

On this episode of Big Blend Radio's "Jo Goes Everywhere!" Podcast, travel writer Jo Clark takes us to Greensboro, North Carolina — the third-largest city in the state and home to Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, site of one of the most consequential battles of the Revolutionary War.

Jo digs into Greensboro's roots, from the Saura and Keyauwee peoples who lived there first, to the German, Welsh, English Quaker, and Scotch-Irish settlers who followed, to the city's surprising reputation as the "second-holiest city in America." 

Then the Revolution arrives: on March 15, 1781, General Nathanael Greene's Continental Army met Lord Cornwallis's British troops at Guilford Courthouse. Cornwallis technically won the battle — but at such a staggering cost in men that it helped set up his eventual defeat at Yorktown.

Along the way, Jo tells the story of the Hoskins family, who fled war-torn Pennsylvania for a fresh start in Greensboro, only to have the British commandeer their farm and turn their home into a field hospital just three years later. 

Jo also shares Greensboro's literary and broadcast history (hometown ties to O. Henry and Edward R. Murrow), plus where to eat, drink, and stay if you visit today, including Sàigòn Cuisine, Machete, Lewis and Elm, the O. Henry Hotel, Fainting Goat Spirits, and Angels Bed & Breakfast.

Read Jo's full article: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/guilford-courthouse-national-military-park 

Plan Your Visit to Greensboro

Follow More of Jo:

In this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "ABC's of Horses" podcast, World Champion horse trainer Christy Wood is joined by fellow rider Stephanie Callahan Clark for their annual look at the Chief Joseph Trail Ride — a thirteen-year progressive journey on horseback retracing the Nez Perce National Historic Trail across Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana.

 They cover this year's route, wildlife encounters, camp community, horse safety, and why living off-the-grid on the trail is part of the adventure — plus a look ahead to 2027, the 150th anniversary of Chief Joseph's flight.

🔗 EXPLORE MORE