We knew that we’d have to be ahead of the game when it came to planning our second summer. Entering popular parks like Yosemite, Yellowstone, Glacier, and Grand Canyon sometimes require reservations 12 or 13 months in advance. Of course Covid-19 through a wrench in everything, too.

The National Parks are America’s best idea, and the best idea to come from the National Parks Service in recent years is the Every Kids Outdoors program. But this past year, millions of fourth graders lost their ability to take part in this program because of Covid-19. Those of us who were directly impacted and many in the outdoor industry have been begging the Department of the Interior to give these kids another chance—perhaps just consider it a stimulus package for our youth.

It’s been on our minds for months now. How will the global pandemic impact our Park-to-Park Tour? The answer: with great disappointment and some reluctance, we have decided to post-pone year one of the trip to 2021.

“I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.” - John Muir

Our family believes in getting out of doors. Whether the kids are riding bikes in the neighborhood, the family is taking a weekend hike, or we’ve planned an entire vacation around camping exploring the wilderness, we love to be outside. Being in tune with nature is a particularly important lesson to give to children.

In the early decades of the 20th Century, the automobile was still a relatively novel invention, but becoming more prolific. With the growth of automobile ownership, people found more freedom in their mobility. For the first time, travel to the wide-open West could be accomplished without needing to book expensive and limited transportation via train.

Growing up in the Midwest, I had limited exposure to National Parks. I visited my first National Park—Hawai’i Volcanoes—at age 23, a few months before deploying to combat in Afghanistan.

As a combat veteran, I take pride in many aspects of the country I fought to defend, but perhaps none more than the National Parks.