Parklandia

iHeartPodcasts
  • 4.0 (436)
  • PLACES & TRAVEL
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A married couple packed up everything from their Chicago home and bought an RV to travel the country full-time, with one goal: to visit as many national parks as possible. With each stop in each park, Brad and Matt Kirouac immerse themselves and the listeners – and the Kirouacs' dog Finn! – in these beautiful, larger-than-life places. They share discoveries about what makes the national parks truly special, from the intimidating wildlife of the Everglades to the cinematic lore of Redwood. It's all that and a dash of what it’s really like to live in an RV full time.

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  1. EPISODE 14

    Our Only Kind Of Terrifying Visit to Cumberland Island

    It's a New Year and a new season of Parklandia! To kick it off, we're doing our first episode on a National Seashore, Cumberland Island off of Georgia's southwestern coast. Things got pretty dramatic for us there, with torrential downpours and a terrifying lightning storm, but it wasn't all terror! We has a pretty great time exploring this beautiful island which is truly unique among all the national parks we've visited, with its wild horses and ruined mansions. Grab an umbrella and join us! Follow Parklandia on Instagram @parklandiapod, join the Parklandia Rangers Facebook Group and Like our Facebook page! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    55 min

  2. EPISODE 15

    The Mary-Kate and Ashley of Arches National Park

    When it comes to iconic images from the national parks, Arches is right up there with the Grand Canyon, Old Faithful at Yellowstone, and the bat cave at Carlsbad Caverns. Especially the Delicate Arch, which is so popular that it’s featured on Utah’s license plates. Arches National Park in Utah was a bucket list priority of ours once we first started living and traveling in the RV. It was actually one of the first national parks we visited once we made the official leap from Chicago condo to RV. This episode, we recount our time there among these natural wonders, each with their own unique personality—from Delicate Arch to the Parade of Elephants to the park's own twins, Double Arch. We'll also talk about our visit to the city of Moab. Follow Parklandia on Instagram at @parklandiapod, join the Parklandia Rangers Facebook Group and Like our Facebook page! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    44 min

  3. EPISODE 16

    The Grand, Gloomy, Peculiar World of Mammoth Cave

    When most people think of Kentucky, they might think of bourbon, horse races, fried chicken... all fitting, but what about the largest cave system in the world? Mammoth Cave National Park is not only the longest cave on Earth (or in Earth), but it is fascinating to learn about all the weird and wild ways this cave has been used over the years, from burial site to gunpowder manufacturing, to whiskey distillery, to church, to hospital...and more. This episode, we explore this bustling park, both below- and above-ground! Follow Parklandia on Instagram at @parklandiapod, join the Parklandia Rangers Facebook Group and Like our Facebook page! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    50 min

  4. EPISODE 17

    A Sky The Size of Forever In The Rocky Mountains

    When it comes to big-time national parks, it doesn’t get much more iconic than Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. I mean, really, these mountains are featured on Coors Light cans. That’s big. This park really is just larger-than-life and overwhelming in the best way, with some of the mightiest mountains in the country. So it’s no wonder why Rocky Mountain is not only one of the most visited parks in America, with more than 4 million annual visitors, but also a symbol of the national park service in and of itself. And in addition to the mountains themselves, this amazing Colorado park also features many other incredible sites, from some of the most pristine lakes and rivers to hotels both haunted and dreamy. After all, this is the kind of place that inspired Stephen King to write The Shining. And any park influential enough to inspire Stephen King and Coors Light is sure to be memorable, to say the least.  We'll recount our visit, plus welcome our very first guest ever to the show! Our friend Elena Kherson joins us to talk about her Matt's first visit to the Rockies. Follow Parklandia on Instagram at @parklandiapod, join the Parklandia Rangers Facebook Group and Like our Facebook page! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    1h 7m

  5. EPISODE 18

    Inspiration And Eruption In Yellowstone, The World's First National Park PART 1

    We think it’s safe to say that Yellowstone is the most iconic national park in the country. It’s the first example people think of when they think of national parks, and its most notable features, like geysers and bison and grizzly bears, have come to be synonymous with the National Park Service. Not only is it an American icon, but it’s the second largest national park in the contiguous U.S., it’s one of the most visited parks in the country with more than 4 million annual visitors, and most impressively of all, it’s the oldest national park in the entire world.  For this first-part episode, we’re gonna dive into some Yellowstone history, talk about Matt's first visit, and discuss some of the controversial ecological issues that have played out there. Follow Parklandia on Instagram at @parklandiapod, join the Parklandia Rangers Facebook Group and Like our Facebook page! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    44 min

  6. EPISODE 19

    The District Dudes Explore DC's National Mall

    For season 2 of Parklandia, there are a lot of firsts we were excited about, and new chapters to begin. From the first guest interviews to the first time we called 911 from a national park. And today is another first: it’s our first time covering an urban park! Washington D.C. is just so rich with history and culture. And the omnipresence of memorials and historic sites is inescapable. And while the classical white marble buildings of the National Mall and the memorial parks are a far cry from Yosemite, the city is filled with more national park sites than most states have. In this episode, we'll walk in Nicholas Cage's footsteps, find out what we didn't know about D.C., and indulge in some of our favorite cookies on the planet. Follow Parklandia on Instagram at @parklandiapod, join the Parklandia Rangers Facebook Group and Like our Facebook page! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    49 min

  7. EPISODE 20

    The Literal Deep Breath of Jewel Cave National Monument

    With over 200 miles of mapped passageways (and a mind-boggling amount yet to be discovered), Jewel Cave National Monument is the third longest cave in the world. And all of that lies in just four square miles beneath South Dakota. The folks who named the cave did so appropriately (and not after the singer), because inside lies a dark, ominous cavern lined with shimmering crystals. This episode, we recount our visit and about sharing our RV with our first on-the-road guest, plus, we'll talk with our first honest-to-goodness park ranger, Michael Wiles, Jewel Cave's Chief of Resource Management. Follow Parklandia on Instagram at @parklandiapod, join the Parklandia Rangers Facebook Group and Like our Facebook page! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    1h 1m

  8. EPISODE 21

    I Was Promised Bison: Yellowstone Part 2 Full Throttle

    On our Yellowstone first-parter, we talked about both of our individual first trips to America’s O.G. national park, along with info on thermal features and a supervolcano that you don’t really need to worry about. Now it’s time for the sequel episode, Yellowstone: Full Throttle. Because just like that insane sequel to Charlie's Angels, our part 2 episode of Yellowstone is filled with stunts and sights that defy logic and possibility. And subbing in for Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu, we have the two of us and Finn. And grizzly bears instead of an evil Demi Moore. Plus, we'll sit down with Parklandia's researcher, Jesslyn Shields, to talk about biodiversity! There’s a lot of ground for us to cover. Follow Parklandia on Instagram at @parklandiapod, join the Parklandia Rangers Facebook Group and Like our Facebook page! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    48 min
See All Season 2 (27)

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About

A married couple packed up everything from their Chicago home and bought an RV to travel the country full-time, with one goal: to visit as many national parks as possible. With each stop in each park, Brad and Matt Kirouac immerse themselves and the listeners – and the Kirouacs' dog Finn! – in these beautiful, larger-than-life places. They share discoveries about what makes the national parks truly special, from the intimidating wildlife of the Everglades to the cinematic lore of Redwood. It's all that and a dash of what it’s really like to live in an RV full time.

Information

  • Channel
    iHeartPodcasts
  • Creator
    iHeartPodcasts
  • Episodes
    51
  • Seasons
    2
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    2026 iHeartMedia, Inc. © Any use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from iHeartMedia
  • Show Website
    Parklandia
  • Provider
    iHeartMedia + Entertainment, Inc

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