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

Read the full notes & transcript for this episode →

Connect with this episode:

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

Follow Experience 62 on Instagram

Read about Cuyahoga Valley National Park

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

Learn about Remedy Alpine

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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 →

Connect with this episode:

Enter our giveaway with The Park Pages

Read a longer van update

Watch some van update videos

Follow Humans Outside on Instagram

Follow Humans Outside on Facebook

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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 →

Connect with this episode:


Visit Linda Mohammad’s website

Follow Linda Mohammad on Instagram

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 →

Connect with this episode:

Learn about pussywillow catkins

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

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Dr. Kathleen Wolfe

Why 20 Minutes Outside Really Is Perfect, Plus Other Ways to Better Your Outside Times (Dr. Kathleen Wolf)

In 2017 when Amy picked 20 minutes as her minimum daily outdoor time, she based that decision on some research she read in passing that said 20 minutes is enough time to spend outside and see health benefits from doing so. But Amy isn’t a social scientist or a scientific researcher, so her choice of 20 minutes wasn’t overly scientific either. That and every other outdoor decision she’s made is just based on gut.

So was she right? Has her outdoor experiment been aimed at the right thing — or has she been wasting her life on the wrong timing and wrong activities? In this episode we bring in an actual outdoor experience researcher and scientist, Dr. Kathleen Wolf, to weigh-in on not just what the research says about what Amy is doing, but on how everyone can get the most out of their own time in nature.

Some of the good stuff:

[1:49] Dr. Kathleen Wolf’s favorite outdoor space

[4:16] Kathy’s journey to outdoor researcher

[6:58] What the research says about nature making you feel better

[9:24] What the research says about spending 20 minutes outside a day

[12:26] Is Amy too worried about dosage or doing something different every day?

[25:41] Does what you do outside matter?

[28:18] Is some of Amy’s outside time worthless?

[32:23] A Seatac airport secret – shhh don’t tell

[34:56] How people can get the most of their outdoor time

[39:07] Kathy’s favorite and most essential outdoor gear

[43:11] Kathy’s favorite outdoor moment

Read the full notes & transcript for this episode →

Connect with this episode:

Learn more about Dr. Kathleen Wolf

Read Dr. Kathleen Wolf’s long term project, “Green Cities: Good Health”

Find Dr. Kathleen Wolf on LinkedIn

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Outdoor Diary: Pausing to Remember the Good Things in a Season

Winter seems to be just dragging on and on in Alaska, and to pull herself out of a late-winter funk, Amy spent a week reminding herself about the things she actually likes about Alaska by doing some of her favorite winter activities.

Listen to this week’s edition of Amy’s Outdoor Diary to find out what those winter things are and be inspired to make the most of whatever season you’re in.

Some of the good stuff:

[:30] 1000th Winter

[1:00] Amy’s attitude adjustment

[1:45] How Amy got outside this week

[4:38] All of the winter things

[4:58] Pausing over wallowing

Read the full notes & transcript for this episode →

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Follow Humans Outside on Instagram

Follow Humans Outside on Facebook

See more about Happy Malamute Running

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Using Local Flowers Indoors to Connect With Nature Outdoors (Ben Cross)

When Ben Cross took over his family’s UK-based flower farm, he faced an uphill battle of competing against the cheaper flower imported from overseas into UK marketplaces. His British Flowers Rock campaign looks to teach flower buyers the importance of supporting local flower farmers not just for sustainability, but for bringing a slice of their local nature inside.

In this episode Ben talks about what spending time flower farming has taught him about nature, why supporting local farmers – food and flowers – ties us to the outdoors and how bringing cut blooms indoors can increase our appreciation of the outdoors.

Some of the good stuff:

[2:27] Ben Cross’s favorite outdoor space

[4:11] How Ben became a person who likes to go outside

[5:50] About Crosslands Flower farm and the British Alstroemeria flower

[8:09] How Ben went from a Marine biologist to a flower farmer

[13:22] The problem with British flowers

[19:57] How cut flowers connect us with nature

[26:44] The importance of local blooms

[30:25] Why it’s important to be connected to your outdoor growing community

[34:00] How to connect with flowers in your local community

[40:51] Ben’s most essential and favorite outdoor gear

[42:11] Ben’s favorite outdoor space

Read the full notes & transcript for this episode →

Connect with this episode:

Visit Crosslands Flower Nursery on Facebook

Follow Ben Cross on Instagram

Follow Ben Cross on Twitter

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Outdoor Diary: I’ve Spent 1,300 Days Outside. Here’s Some of What I’ve Learned

Hitting 1,300 days in a row of heading outside for at least 20 consecutive and starting work on a book proposal has Amy thinking about the gifts of building an outdoor habit and the things she’s learned from heading outside.


In this Outdoor Diary Amy shares just a few of the things she’s learned during her outdoor diary.

Some of the good stuff:

[:27] Amy’s outdoor experiment

[1:25] The first few things Amy learned

[1:52] What Amy has learned after 1300 days

[4:30] The gift of the outdoors

Read the full notes & transcript for this episode →

Connect with this episode:

Submit your crazy wildlife encounter story

Find Humans Outside on Instagram

Find Humans Outside on Facebook

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Sara Schulting Kranz

How Going Outside Helps You Forgive (Sara Schulting-Kranz)

Listen to the episode on iTunes, Google Podcasts, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

We’ve spent years thinking about and experiencing going outside impacts your life. But we never once realized that getting into nature would help us learn how to forgive. But all of that changed when we found the work of Sara Schulting Kranz. A wilderness guide, a life and leadership coach and a certified Multidimensional Partner Trauma Model therapist, Sara’s book, Walk Through This, guides readers through getting to forgiveness and understanding the freedom it gives by heading outside.

In this episode of Humans Outside Sarah shares her powerful story and insights on how nature and getting outside can bring you to a powerful place of forgiveness.

Some of the good stuff:

[2:11] Saraa Schulting Kranz’s favorite outdoor space

[3:38] How Saraa got where she is today

[10:41] What nature teaches about comfort zones

[14:57] How doing hard things outside helps us forgive

[16:51] The definition of “forgiveness”

[20:27] Why it’s different than forgetting

[22:49] Why nature is a great vehicle for healing

[25:47] The difference between goal and intention

[35:44] The journey of forgiveness

[39:59] How nature fits into that journey

[42:16] Sara’s most essential and favorite outdoor gear

[45:01] Sara’s favorite outdoor moment

Read the full notes & transcript for this episode →

Connect with this episode:

Read “Walk Through This: Harness the Healing Power of Nature and Travel the Road to Forgiveness”

Visit Sara Schulting Kranz’s website

Email Sara Schulting Kranz

Follow Sara Schulting Kranz on Instagram

Connect with Sara Schulting Kranz on Facebook

Listen to Sara Schulting Kranz’s podcast, “Live Boldly”

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