Outdoor Diary: How to Build Your Summer Around Spending Time Outside

It’s finally nice outside, but you’re still just as busy as ever inside. If you’re anything like Amy, you’ve noticed that you are getting nowhere near the amount of outdoor time you wish you could. So how do you make sure your summer doesn’t fly away without you even noticing? In this Outdoor Diary episode Amy shares her best tips for making the most of summer.

Some of the good stuff:

[:26] Staying intentional in the summer

[2:40] Make a summer checklist

[3:27] Pull out that calendar!

[3:56] A tool to keep you on track

[4:48] How to keep up with Humans Outside this summer

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What To Do With Kids in National Parks (Chris Rief)

One of the best things about U.S. national and state parks is how accessible they are to every kind of user. Kids to Parks Day, organized by the National Parks Trust, looks to encourage families and kids into parks nationwide.

Chris Rief has made a project of taking his young daughter into the National Park units to do the Jr. Ranger program and collect the Jr. Ranger park cancellation stamps. In this episode Chris talks to us about what he’s learned about taking his own kid into the parks, how to make the most of the Jr. Ranger program and mistakes he’s made along the way.

Some of the good stuff:

[2:21] Chris Rief ’s favorite outdoor space

[3:32] How Chris became someone who likes to go outside

[6:31] How Chris became interested in the National Parks

[8:10] What is Park Geek?

[9:19] How many parks Chris has visited with and without his daughter

[14:30] Teaching his daughter to love the parks

[24:17] All about the Jr. Park stamps and Jr. Park Ranger program

[36:00] Biggest mistakes of visiting parks with kids

[39:40] How to do Jr. Ranger books and programs without driving yourself crazy

[44:21] Tips for making the most of parks with your kids

[46:26] Chris’s favorite and most essential outdoor gear

[48:50] Chris’s favorite outdoor moment

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Outdoor Diary: The Power of Nature in Seasons of Busy

This time of year can be absolutely crazy as the season shifts. Projects and tasks seem to overlap. And it can be easy to forget the power of heading outside to help you deal with the busy. In this episode Amy remembers just how useful getting in nature can be.

Some of the good stuff:

[:30] Busy season

[:58] Amy’s recent retreat

[1:57] Brainstorming outdoors

[3:51] Using nature to beat the overwhelm

[5:15] Keep up with Humans Outside

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All About Our Big Obsession the National Park Cancellation Stamp Program (Yvonne Manske)

Before Amy really started to learn how to get outside and long before her 20-minute daily challenge, she discovered the National Parks cancelation stamps program and the club of people that enthusiastically participate.

As Humans Outside celebrates National Parks week we couldn’t think of anything better than talking to the people who spearhead that club and bringing podcast guests the join of the obsession … we mean hobby … straight from the people who know it best. Yvonne Manske, the club’s current president, in this episode shares everything you need to know about the cancelation stamp program, and maybe even a little bit more.

Some of the good stuff:

[2:59] Yvonne Manske’s favorite outdoor space

[3:39] How she first found the National Park cancelation stamps program

[6:48] What exactly are National Park cancelation stamps

[9:18] What’s up with the photo sticker sheets

[11:05] How many stamps are there?

[12:57] All about the National Park Travelers Club

[13:51] Why do people collect the stamps?

[14:20] Why stamps go missing

[19:56] The best place looking for a stamp has taken Yvonne

[22:33] The worst place looking for a stamp has taken Yvonne

[25:00] The most difficult to get stamps

[28:00] All about good stamping etiquette

[33:26] What exactly happens at a cancelation stamp convention

[35:06] What to do if you missed getting stamps

[37:55] Yvonne’s favorite and most essential outdoor gear

[39:33] Yvonne’s favorite outdoor moment

Read the full notes & transcript for this episode →

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Check out the Passport to Your National Parks books (affiliate link)

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Outdoor Diary: Keeping Your Outdoor ‘Why’ In Mind

When was the last time you paused to remember why you head outside? In this Outdoor Diary, Amy talks a little about her book project and remembers her “why” behind starting her challenge in 2017 and still getting outside everyday now.

Some of the good stuff:

[:30] Considering your why

[:59] Writing a book

[1:27] Amy’s why

[2:33] How the Bushatz family got outside this week

[3:39] National Parks + Giveaway!

Read the full notes & transcript for this episode →

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Enter our giveaway for a Passport to Your National Parks starter kit

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Why These Park Users Are All About ‘Experience’ and Think You Should Be, Too (Dan and Liz Pollock)

You’ve probably been to a few National Parks. You might have even spent some serious time there. But have you actually truly experienced the ones you’ve visited?

That’s the goal of Liz and Dan Pollock, two National Parks enthusiasts based in Ohio. In this episode they talk about what has inspired them to tackle this project, why intentionality matters and the intense way they are experiencing Cuyahoga Valley National Park, the park closest to their home.

Some of the good stuff:

[2:30] Dan and Liz Pollock’s favorite outdoor spaces

[3:10] How they became people who like to go outside

[4:33] Why they decided to visit all of the National Parks

[7:21] The difference between experiencing the parks and just visiting them

[10:20] Their favorite parks so far

[14:56] What’s special about Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP)

[16:25] Why they decided to hike all of the trails in CVNP in 22 days

[18:59] The logistics of all of those miles

[20:40] Why they are fundraising for Remedy Alpine

[23:10] What they’ve learned from all of that hiking

[29:00] Why intentionality is important to what they’re doing

[32:46] What COVID had to do with it

[35:39] Liz and Dan’s most essential and favorite outdoor gear

[39:01] Liz and Dan’s favorite outdoor moments

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Learn about Liz and Dan’s Pollock’s Experience 62 project

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Read the report that inspired Liz and Dan’s hiking challenge

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Outdoor Diary: A Van Remodel Update, and Maybe It’s Spring Now

It’s remarkable how a single day of nice weather can impact attitudes — and Amy is no different. In this episode of the Humans Outside weekly Outdoor Diary, Amy considers the huge impact a swing towards warmer temperatures has had on her. She also updates us on the project to remodel the interior of their 1997 Ford Coachman conversion van.

Some of the good stuff:

[:30] The promise of spring

[1:36] Updates to the Vanimal

[4:00] National Parks Week Giveaways

[4:42] Where to find Humans Outside

Read the full notes & transcript for this episode →

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Enter our giveaway with The Park Pages

Read a longer van update

Watch some van update videos

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She’s Visited (Almost) Every U.S. National Park. Here Are Her Tips (Linda Mohammad)

When Linda Mohammad immigrated to the U.S. from Malaysia it was not with the plan of visiting all of the country’s National Parks. But that’s exactly what she did — at least until the system added another one in late 2020, knocking her away from her goal again, at least temporarily.

Now she’s sharing with us some awesome tips and tricks for National Park lovers of all stripes. In this episode Linda shares with us insider info on visiting and experiencing the National Parks and even tells us her most and least favorite parks so far.

Some of the good stuff:

[3:23] Linda Mohammad’s favorite outdoor space

[3:55] Why Linda decided to visit the National Parks

[8:06] What’s up with this new National Park

[9:31] Why visiting a park is more than just visiting

[12:56] Linda’s favorite park

[15:08] Linda’s (totally surprising) least favorite park

[21:26] Where she volunteers and why

[29:41] How to be good citizen-advocates for the National Parks
[33:17] The role of National Parks in helping us get outside

[34:24] The secret to making it to all of the parks

[37:35] Linda’s tips for visiting the parks

[40:00] Linda’s favorite and most essential outdoor gear

[42:06] Linda’s favorite outdoor moment

Read the full notes & transcript for this episode →

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Visit Linda Mohammad’s website

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Linda’s favorite outdoor gear: Hydroflask (affiliate link)

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Outdoor Diary: Hunting for the Good and a Change of Perspective

Sometimes everything in normal life just seems harder than it should be. But for that we have a change of perspective gifted by heading outside, looking around, doing something challenging and seeing something new.


In this Outdoor Diary episode, Amy talks about three experiences she recently had that helped her hunt for and find the good.

Some of the good stuff:

[:30] When nothing seems to be going your way

[1:15] Finding the good

[3:24] A visit to Matanuska Glacier

[4:08] Making our own fun

[4:20] National Park Week + Giveaways!

Read the full notes & transcript for this episode →

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What is a “Krrbrr?”
More about the Matanuska Glacier

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