Nature Connection Radio

Travel writer and advisor Lisa Evans, host of Big Blend Radio's "Journey Jukebox" Podcast takes us to Yellowstone National Park — America's very first national park, marking 110 years of the National Park Service this year. 

This episode picks up right where her Cody, Wyoming visit left off: after basing herself in Cody, Lisa spent a day and a half looping through Yellowstone by chartered bus, and brings back a full rundown — bison herds thick enough to stop traffic for fifty cars, a moose sighting straight out of Lamar Valley, a surprise cinnamon bear, and the bighorn sheep on the way out of the park.

From there we walk through the icons — Old Faithful (which kept everyone waiting an extra thirty minutes), the otherworldly colors of Grand Prismatic Spring and the Midway Geyser Basin, the bubbling mud volcanoes, and dinner at the historic Lake Yellowstone Hotel with a general manager who's spent 40 years working his way up through the park's lodging operation.

We also get honest about the less charming side of visiting a place like Yellowstone: tourists stepping over barriers at Mammoth Hot Springs, walking up to bison for a closer photo, and — in one widely reported case — Pierce Brosnan's own $1,500 fine for wandering off a boardwalk into a restricted thermal area. With national parks already stretched thin on funding and staffing, we talk about why this isn't just about rule-following — it's about keeping the wildlife wild and the parks safe for everyone who visits them.

Along the way, Lisa also looks ahead to her next stops — Clarksville, TN, and a trip up to Anacortes, WA — and shares more of the multi-generational travel trends she's seeing on the road.

🗺️ Plan your own trip: Full Yellowstone travel guide, park links, and resources: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/yellowstone-still-wild-at-110 

- Missed her last stop? Catch Lisa's Cody, Wyoming episode & article: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/cody-wyoming-western-culture 

🎵 Journey Jukebox Music Playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7humUf03LIW04t8LiJSSN9?si=71c11c52c77c4596 

🎧 More about the Journey Jukebox Podcast:
- New episodes air every 3rd Tuesday at 6pm CST: https://journeyjukebox.podbean.com/ 
- Podcast Magazine: https://online.fliphtml5.com/yhwzg/JOURNEY-JUKEBOX---2026/#p=1 

Follow Lisa Evans: 
- https://substack.com/@allabouttravelwithlisa  
- https://writerlisa.com/

Author and adventurer Inga Aksamit returns to this shared Big Blend Radio's "Food, Wine & Travel" show with the International Food Wine Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA) — to take us snorkeling for two weeks aboard the MV Bilikiki in the Solomon Islands. 

From a camouflaged crocodile fish and venomous sea kraits to a floating village market and the Coral Triangle's marine biodiversity, Inga shares what it's like to spend eleven days snorkeling with Snorkel Venture on one of the South Pacific's most remote liveaboard adventures.

SOLOMON ISLANDS SNORKLE ADVENTURE RESOURCES: 
 - Inga's article about her experience: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/snorkeling-solomon-islands 
- Plan Your Own Snorkeling Adventure: https://snorkelventure.com/ 

MORE ON INGA & IFWTWA:
- Inga Aksamit: https://ingasadventures.com/ 
- IFWTWA: https://www.ifwtwa.org/ 
- Follow this podcast: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/food-wine-travel-with-ifwtwa 
- Read its companion magazine: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/travel-food-wine-magazine

On this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Quiltripping Travel" Podcast, travel writer and photographer Rose Palmer shares her epic month-long journey across Southern Africa with her husband — starting with wine tasting in Cape Town, riding the historic Rovos Rail into Zimbabwe, chasing wildlife and waterfalls at Victoria Falls, safari glamping in Botswana's Khwai Private Reserve and Okavango Delta, and ending with a river boatd cruise on the Chobe River.

Rose talks border crossings, elephant migration, the best age to bring kids on safari, and why this trip topped even her Alaska road trip for pure epic scale.

MORE ON AFRICA: 
- Read Rose's full article and see her photos: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/an-epic-month-in-africa  
- More of Rose's Africa stories: https://quiltripping.com/africa/  

KEEP UP WITH ROSE:
- Listen to more of Rose's "Quiltripping Travel" Podcast: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/quiltripping-travel-with-rose-podcast  
- Check out the "Quiltripping Travel" Digital Podcast Magazine: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/quiltripping-travel-magazine  
- Follow Rose's blog: https://www.quiltripping.com

Just 30 minutes from Portland, Tualatin Valley is Oregon's underrated wine country — home to 40+ wineries, one of the state's most ethnically diverse food scenes, tax-free shopping, and a 21-mile paved trail past a giant wooden troll. 

On this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Food, Wine & Travel Show," presented in partnership with the International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA), Sylke Neal-Finnegan, VP of Communications and PR at Explore Tualatin Valley, gives us a conversational tour of the Willamette Valley's northwest corner.

Beyond the vineyards, Tualatin Valley is shaped by a 50-year-old urban growth boundary that protects farmland and keeps its wine country sustainable including some dry-farming. Sylke also digs into the region's thriving arts scene — from the Broadway Rose Theatre Company to the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts — plus year-round outdoor adventure along the Tualatin River, Hagg Lake, and the fully accessible Banks-Vernonia State Trail. It's proof that this corner of the Willamette Valley offers a lot to experience.

Featured image: David Hill Vineyards & Winery, courtesy of Explore Tualatin Valley.

RESOURCES LINKS:
- Plan your visit: https://tualatinvalley.org/ 
- Learn more about IFWTWA: https://www.ifwtwa.org/ 
- Follow the Food, Wine & Travel Podcast: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/food-wine-travel-podcast-ifwtwa 
- Check out Big Blend Radio's "Travel Food & Wine: Digital Podcast Magazine: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/travel-food-wine-magazine

Michael Calhoun, a lifelong resident of Vernonia, Oregon and Board Chair of the Columbia Soil & Water Conservation District, joins this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Parks & Travel" Podcast — timed to National Park Week 2026 — to share the story of the Banks-Vernonia Trail, a 20-mile former logging railroad that became Oregon's first rails-to-trail conversion and later earned National Recreation Trail certification from the National Park Service.

Michael talks about growing up in a town shaped by the timber industry, the community debate that surrounded turning an old rail line into a public trail, and how that decision revitalized Vernonia decades later. He and host Lisa D. Smith dig into the balance between resource extraction and conservation, why community-led certifications like National Recreation Trail status can help protect public lands from development pressure, and how Vernonia is now pursuing Dark Sky community status to protect migrating birds and pollinators.

This conversation covers real, practical advice for any community sitting on an overlooked trail, railroad corridor, or public land asset — and why stacking certifications and designations can build long-term resilience.

Learn more and connect with Michael:
- Banks-Vernonia State Trail (National Recreation Trail Database): https://www.nrtapplication.org/trails/banks-vernonia-state-trail 
- L.L. Stub Stewart State Park (Oregon State Parks): https://stateparks.oregon.gov/index.cfm?do=park.profile&parkId=104 
- Michael Calhoun on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael--calhoun/ 
- Michael Calhoun for Columbia Soil & Water Conservation District on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Michael-Calhoun-for-Columbia-Soil-Water-Conservation-District-100086151820617/