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P U R S U I N G T H E P A R K S
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© 2020 Morgan Johsnton Made with Adobe CC 2020 Typeface: Futura PT Thank you to Unsplash for ithe images. Images created by: Ashim D’Silva, Balken Campers, Clay Banks, David Daraiche, Jacob Owens, James Lee, James Rathmell, Jonathan Cooper, Josh Carter, Josh Kahen, Nahil Naseer, Regos Kornyei, Revolver Creative Company, Rota Alternativa, Sarah Dokowicz, Saira, Tobias Tullius
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There’s a reason that the National Parks are known as America’s best idea. For a 150 years people have been visiting these breathtaking places. I want people to keep this longtime tradition. So I’m here to give you insight and inspiration to help you on your next National Park’s adventure and get people outdoors. Discover how to pursue the parks.
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T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
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10 4 Reasons Why You Should Work at a National Park This Summer
16 Vanlife- Is It Worth the Hype?
23 3 Reasons to Put Down Your Phone and Go Outside
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4 Reasons Why You Should Work at a
N A T I O N A L PA R K THIS SUMMER Corrine Rogero
What do you have in your backyard? Mine includes the Continental Triple Divide, twenty-five glaciers, a multitude of bears and moose and goats, an enormous seethrough lake, and the US/Canadian border. Needless to say, my weekends are packed with hiking and camping and skimming rocks from the beach. It’s been a year since I picked up and moved all I had to live in Death Valley National Park, Calif. Since then I’ve experienced the most beautiful of changes, both in myself and the places that surround me. Living in Glacier National Park now, I’ve started to realize how much of a privilege living and working in the National Parks is. And I think you should experience it all too. Here’s why:
1. T H E P E O P L E The people you meet in these parks will make you laugh, they’ll make you cry, they’ll hike mountains and skinny-dip and share food and music and moments of silence with you. And they come from everywhere. My time in the parks has brought me friends from Turkey, Thailand, Taiwan, Bulgaria, Germany, Slovakia, Russia, Ecuador, and Japan. They’ve taught me bits of their languages and how to love our cultural differences, and now I have free places to stay and people to show me around in at least nine countries around the world! Life in the parks consolidates things. It requires you to live, work, and play together, and that means getting to know people on a deeper level.Some of the most wholehearted people I’ve met are the ones with whom I’ve shared the National Parks. They’re the ones
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who will spontaneously pull off the road to jump in the lake with you on the way home from town, or who will summit the highest peak in the Lower 48 on an off weekend. People in the Parks are the ones who will stand between you and a bear while hiking over the Continental Divide and who are worth driving eight hours to another Park to visit. They’re inclusive and enthusiastic and become more like family than friends by the time the season’s over. The ones I’ve met have become my hardest goodbyes.
2.THE VIEWS Have you ever visited the Hottest Place on Earth and stood hundreds of feet below sea level? Or have you ever watched grey whales swim with their calves up the Pacific coast? What about watch the Northern Lights, have you ever done that? Working in the National Parks is like stepping into a National Geographic magazine. The places you see on those pages are real, and they’re all yours if you want them. My walk to work every day is against the backdrop of 8,565 ft. Mount Brown, with the crystal blue waters of Lake McDonald in the foreground.For some it’s with a vista of the Old Faithful geyser, and for others it’s along the rim of a dormant volcano. With views like these, who needs vacations?
3.THE CHANCE TO LEARN I’d been in school for seventeen years by the time I moved to my first Park, but nothing compared to the learning and practical experiences I gained from working my first season in Death Valley. Life in the Parks seems to strip life down to its bare bones, and you learn to fend for yourself without the amenities and technology of most places. When you live in isolated places like Alaska or the Grand Canyon, you’ll quickly find your primal instincts being stressed and honed. Things like wildlife safety and how to start a fire when it’s just rained are tactics you might not use in a city, but in the Parks they could be the difference between life and death.Experiential learning is a powerful tool, and by broadening your experiences to include life in the great outdoors, you’ll gain a new repertoire of practical skills and become a more well-rounded person.
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Which leads us to our last point...
4.THE PERSONAL GROWTH I’ve asked a number of people with whom I’ve worked in these Parks, and the results have been unanimous: working in the Parks makes you a better person. I think it’s a combination of the last few points, but there’s something about the seasonal Park lifestyle that builds confidence in a person like few experiences can. It’s something that forces most people out of their comfort zones and challenges them to sync up with who they really are. Life in the Parks is certainly not for everyone, but experiencing places like Yosemite or Arches or the Everglades is something not many people get to do. So whether you’re a high school graduate looking for a gap year before college, or a retired couple wanting to see the country, consider spending a season in a National Park or two.
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VA N L I F E
Is It Worth the Hype? Renee Roaming
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It’s so trendy at the moment to leave behind the mundane 9-5 and hit the road #vanlife style. I am using the hashtag instead of writing ‘van life’ because the word simply didn’t exist before social media (mostly Instagram) made it a craze. People have been living and adventuring in their vans since the 50’s, but the last few years have seen a massive spike in younger generations wanting to give the nomadic lifestyle a try. One month ago, my husband and I hit the road in a Volkswagen Westfalia camper, named Ruby. We are on a 7-month road trip to all 59 US National Parks, partnering with Drink Evolve and Go Westy Campers. The trip involves visiting 39 states, 2 US territories, taking 26 flights and driving roughly 25,000 miles. So far we have covered about 4200 miles, hit up 13 National Parks, and visited numerous State Parks and Monuments. Do we love van life? YES! Do we recommend it? Well that depends…
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W H Y W E L O V E VA N L I F E There are so many things we love about living in the van. Freedom and being closer to nature on a daily basis are probably the top two advantages. My husband, Matthew, and I are both freelance photographers, so being able to work remotely from the van is incredible. Plus it is such a liberating feeling waking up each day in a new place, ready to start another day of adventuring. I would much rather look out my “office” window to a mountain than a concrete jungle. In the van we have desk space, a means to charge our gear, and endless amounts of inspiration from the road. Staying healthy on the road is also reasonably easy due to our fridge, stove, sink and ample pantry space. We find van life to be comfortable, peaceful, and the perfect way to spend quality time together.
W H A T S U C K S A B O U T VA N L I F E Despite having adequate storage and living space in the van, it can still feel cramped somedays. Our bed is the size of a small double, and our “sofa” isn’t exactly roomy Some days we do crave alone time after spending what feels like every waking minute with each other… Other downsides of the van are limited off-roading capabilities and slower driving times. She’s a finicky gal, old Ruby, and likes to give us a good testing. Some things she has kindly taught us is that she doesn’t much like high altitudes and too hot or cold conditions. Oh and she doesn’t care for going above 65 miles on the highways. But we love her.
S O I S VA N L I F E W O R T H T H E H Y P E ? We think so. Prior to this trip we swore by “Frankie”, our Toyota 4Runner with her study roof top tent and off-roading capabilities. We still miss Frankie but feel like Ruby might be our new bae. It’s just so nice being able to cook in the camper, sleep completely inside and easily access all of our belongings. We love the freedom van life gives us in terms of “stealthcamping” and the privacy of being able to shut all the curtains, turn on our fairy lights and feel instantly at home.
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WILL OUR OPINION CHANGE? Maybe! If Ruby breaks down enough times this trip, then I am sure we will second guess our love for van life… or maybe that will just be part of the adventure? Stay tuned.
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3 Reasons to Put Your Phone Down and
GO OUTSIDE Bon Vita
In today’s world, more and more people are searching for strategies that will optimise their level of health. If you’re seeking ways to enhance your current level of mental and physical well-being, you should know that putting the phone down and going outside is a great way to make it happen. Here are three reasons why:
1. I T W I L L D E C R E A S E Y O U R S T R E S S L E V E L S One great benefit of putting down your phone is that doing so will decrease your stress levels. Smartphones can cause a great amount of stress. This is the case for several reasons, including the fact that having these phones oftentimes leads people to obsessively text and check emails. This is time that could have been spent communing with friends or unwinding. When you get outdoors and away from your phone, you’ll likely find that your stress levels drop dramatically. As noted in Prevention, one study found that the levels of the stress hormone cortisol were substantively lower amongst individuals who lived in regions with a great amount of green space. Additionally, these individuals reported lower levels of stress than people who spent more time in urban environments.
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2 . G E T T I N G O U T S I D E FA C I L I T A T E S MOVEMENT In addition to fighting stress, putting your phone down and going outside will help facilitate movement. This process is immensely important because we live in a profoundly sedentary society. We are spending much more time in environments where physical activity is limited. These environments necessitate prolonged periods of sitting. According to this source, schools, work sites, and public spacwes are now being re-engineered in a manner that minimises muscular activity and human movement. The rise of sedentary living is incredibly problematic for health because it makes us more susceptible to a wide range of unwanted health conditions. One of them is obesity. This condition can oftentimes lead to or exist in conjunction with several other life-endangering illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes. Luckily, we do not have to go with the flow and resign ourselves to sedentary living and its dangers. Instead, we can make a point to get outdoors and move around. There are a wide range of fun physical activities you can engage in when you go outside. Some of them include swimming, golf, and football. Also, note that walking to and from work rather than driving is a wonderful way to get in some exercise and breathe fresh air.
3.OUTDOOR THERAPY As many health experts know, getting out in the wild functions as a form of wilderness therapy. In fact, many psychologists now use the wilderness as a vehicle through which to help clients recover from relational, developmental, and emotional struggles. These psychologists realise that the wilderness can be an ideal setting in which to help people learn and grow. It can also guide participants into the development of more self-respect and self-reliance. Whether you’re enrolled in counselling services or not, getting out in the wilderness can help you become a stronger, healthier person. Activities like camping and hiking can enable you to build physical strength while also helping you heighten your sense of efficacy as you learn how to effectively make your way through a new setting. And as noted in Huffington Post, being exposed to fresh air will help boost your immunity and naturally elevate your energy levels.
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D O N ’ T D E L AY : G E T O U T S I D E T O D AY If you’re serious about leading an incredible life, it’s important to know that getting away from your technological device and into the outdoors is imperative. Doing so will help you attain the sense of general well-being and physical health that promotes balance and mood stability. To start reaping these benefits now, consider the value of finding a walking buddy or scheduling a camping trip!
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