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Dear Bob and Sue: A National Parks Podcast

Dear Bob and Sue: A National Parks Podcast

By: Matt and Karen Smith
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 In Dear Bob and Sue, authors Matt and Karen Smith share stories of their travels to all of the U.S. National Park as well as other spectacular public lands. From adventures gone awry to memorable moments and Q&As from readers, get to know the couple behind the books and get inspired to go on some adventures of your own.© Copyright 2020-2024 | Matt and Karen Smith Biological Sciences Science Social Sciences Travel Writing & Commentary
Episodes
  • #170: Yosemite’s Curry Village: The Good, The Bad and The Scary

    #170: Yosemite’s Curry Village: The Good, The Bad and The Scary
    May 19 2025
    Nestled below the granite cliffs of Yosemite Valley is a village bustling with visitors year-round. For over a century, Curry Village has welcomed guests who want to stay in this magnificent valley yet are looking for an affordable option to the other pricier accommodations nearby, namely The Ahwahnee Hotel and Yosemite Lodge. With over 500 rooms and tents, several eating options, a grocery store, a mountain outfitter, and more, visitors have everything they need to enjoy the valley without having to venture out of the park to find a place to stay. On our recent trip to the park, we spent a couple of nights in one of their cozy tents (ours had an optional heater) while we hiked to the nearby gushing falls during the day. While the place was packed with visitors, our experience was better than we expected, and we will for sure go back again. In this episode, we discuss the good, the bad, and the scary of Curry Village, including: - An overview of all the accommodations at Curry Village, - What our tent and the adjacent facilities were like, - The eating options within the village (spoiler alert - there were many, and all fantastic), - The proximity of the village to many of the activities in the valley, - Some of the aspects of the village that could have been better (the bad), - A couple of events from the past that might put a fright into even the most intrepid travelers, - And more! We now post ad-free versions of our episodes on our Patreon account (search for mattandkarensmith). If you are interested in joining, 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 Facebook at mattandkarensmith, or check out our blog at www.mattandkaren.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    51 mins
  • #169: Our Most Excellent Northern Arizona RV Adventure

    #169: Our Most Excellent Northern Arizona RV Adventure
    Apr 17 2025
    This episode is sponsored by GO RVING™ Nothing says “All American Road Trip” more than loading up an RV, hitting the road, and having an adventure. And that’s exactly what we did recently with the help from our friends at GO RVING™ In the spring of 2025, we rented an RV in Phoenix and drove up to Page, Arizona where we spent five days and four nights enjoying the Roam America Horseshoe Bend campground and exploring this incredible part of the Southwest. The trip was an epic adventure, and in this episode, we’ll discuss our experience as newbie RVers, the activities we did in the area, and some of the camping recipes we enjoyed cooking at our site. All this and more, coming up next! Activities we discuss in this episode include, · Touring Cardiac Canyon (part of Antelope Canyon), · A visit to the Navajo Bridges on Highway 89A, · Kayaking the Colorado River from Petroglyph Point below Horseshoe Bend to Lees Ferry, · Seeing petroglyphs at Petroglyph Point on the Colorado River, · Hiking in Waterhole Canyon, · Viewing the dam from the Glen Canyon Dam Overlook, · Visiting the Carl Hayden Visitor Center at Glen Canyon Dam, · Hiking the Beehive Trail, (also known as The Wave 2), · Snaping our pic at the Shell Sand Cave, · And a few more suggestions for activities on Lake Powel! Links to organizations and activities we mentioned in the episode: · GoRVing.com (our sponsor for this episode – check them out!) · RVShare (the site we used to rent our RV for this adventure) · Taadidiin Tours (for the Cardiac Canyon hiking tour) · Kayak the Colorado (for the kayak rental and backhaul taxi service on the Colorado River) · Roam America (we stayed at their “Horseshoe Bend” campground in Page, Arizona) · Lake Powell Resorts & Marinas (for the Rainbow Bridge boat tour) · Carl Hayden Visitor Center (at the Glen Canyon Dam) ----- If you would like to support our podcast, please consider becoming 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, TikTok at @mattandkarensmith, or on Facebook at dearbobands. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    41 mins
  • #168: Mailbag!

    #168: Mailbag!
    Mar 10 2025
    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 alternative to visiting the Hoh Rain Forest in Olympic National Park while the road is closed due to flood damage, · Road trip suggestions for visiting the Washington and Oregon coasts, · How to deal with crowding in the parks and the consequences of reservations becoming so difficult to get, · Which district of Saguaro National Park we’d choose to visit if we only had one day, · Whether you need bear spray when visiting Washington State’s three national parks, · And more! We now post ad-free versions of our episodes on our Patreon account (search for mattandkarensmith). If you are interested in joining, 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
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    54 mins
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