MC: I feel like I need to learn how to wake you up early in the morning Emily because we have to do a whole new podcast just about how to get up early to explore because that’s not my forte at all.
DS: Meredith, you can find things of interest as you get closer to dusk as well. If morning isn’t your time frame, there are some lovely things that also happen when dusk falls on us.
THE: Okay love that approach.
MC: I speak my language exactly. We talked about it at the very beginning – and it was brought up throughout the episode – but we’re talking about national forests, state parks, things like that, if you want to go somewhere that isn’t necessarily a Yellowstone or a Moab or something like that. Which non-national parks do you prefer to call out that you think people haven’t seen yet and that they absolutely need to see?
EP: I think the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada is really spectacular. This is a scam, but the Redwood State Parks that border the national park are better than the national park in my opinion.
MC: Take hot.
EP: There are two or three of them that form a tapestry around the Redwood National Park proper. But I can also highly recommend this one. Don’t just go to the national park if you want to go up there. And I think Mount Hood is a state park in Oregon too. It’s definitely not a national park, those would probably be my favorites.
DS: I have a few in a few other states, I love Custer State Park near Custer, South Dakota which is just right there in the Black Hills. But not far from Custer State Park is an area where I grew up. This is part of what we talked about and enjoy about the outdoor experience, Keyhole State Park. And it’s in a nice little loop through the Black Hills National Forest. It is 20 miles from Devil’s Tower National Monument. The Belle Fourche River flows through there, the geology and color of the earth with those red iron-rich walls that run along the banks of the Belle Fourche River are just spectacular. And that’s one of my favorite places in Wyoming, sentimental and beautiful.
But another area that is just a little gem in central Wyoming is Hot Spring State Park, a natural hot spring with healing waters and just a beautiful, beautiful area with lots to see and do in and around. This is in a town called Thermopolis, Wyoming, which is a gate to a gate. Thermopolis is a gateway to Cody, Wyoming that is a gateway to Yellowstone. But just a great place to experience the spas, natural hot springs and a city with just one traffic light. a great place to visit.
MC: I love a name like Thermopolis with thermal pools. This is just the cook’s kiss.
THE: Plus, the sound of a city with only one traffic light sounds heavenly after being trapped in a city for just over a year.
EP: Diane just reminded me of one of my other favorite national forests. Not actually a state park, but the Eastern Sierras – and Lone Pine is literally a one-light city, so you might find your solution. The Eastern Sierras are on the opposite side of the Sierra Nevada from Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Yosemite National Park, which obviously get very crowded because they are very famous. But there are so many amazing hiking trails and alpine lakes to hike to and delightful little wild west towns and activities on the opposite edge of the same mountain range.
