How do you make it to 100?
Perhaps the real question is what do you do with the next 100 years? That’s the question alive for me during the National Park Service’s much-celebrated centennial year. I had a great time writing several stories for Outside magazine’s beautiful May issue, devoted entirely to national parks. I reported on Erik Lindbergh’s plan to build a silent aircraft for tours over Grand Canyon and other beloved parks, a Park Service division that is doing pioneering research into noise pollution, and how innovative public-private partnerships are helping the venerable, if often under-funded, institution stay on its feet. Plus: How webcams are helping to engage and interest people (Millennials!) who never knew they wanted to visit a park.
There’s been quite a bit of fanfare with the centennial, and a couple weeks ago, radio host Tom Ashbrook interviewed me and a couple of my awesome, well-spoken Outside magazine colleagues live for On Point, an NPR radio show out of Boston. Public speaking, yikes. Check out the podcast version, “Beyond the Scenic Drive: New Ways to Explore National Parks,” from April 26.