August 12, 2025 • 23 mins
Dreaming of summer adventures in America's national parks? Join us for your ultimate Summer guide, where we share tips and stories to help you experience the magic and wonder that awaits beyond the wild.
Thank you to Jennifer Broome for being our guest and guide! Here's where you can connect with her!:
sweptawaytoday.com
* Instagram: @jenniferbroometravel
* Facebook: JenniferBroomeTV
* TikTok: @jenniferbroometravel
* X (Twitter): @jenniferbroome
* YouTube: Channel named “Swept Away With Jennifer Broome”
Dreaming of a national park adventure this summer but dreading the notorious crowds at Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Grand Canyon? Travel expert Jennifer Broom returns to share her insider knowledge on spectacular alternatives that offer unique summer experiences without the tourist crush.
Jennifer takes us first to Grand Tetons in early June, when wildflowers carpet the landscape beneath snow-capped peaks and wildlife viewing reaches its prime - including opportunities to spot mama bears with cubs (from a safe distance, of course). She shares practical safety tips, including the "thumb rule": if you can't cover the animal with your thumb at arm's length, you're standing too close.
We then journey to Isle Royale National Park, a remote paradise in Lake Superior accessible only during the summer months by seaplane or ferry. Jennifer describes her personal experience hiking through fern-covered forests and enjoying the tranquility of this island wilderness. For late summer travelers, Theodore Roosevelt National Park emerges as a hidden gem, offering "Yellowstone without the crowds but blending in a little bit of Badlands." The park's wild horse population - one of the few places in America to observe these majestic creatures in their natural habitat - provides unforgettable moments as their manes blow in the wind against painted rock landscapes.
Weather preparedness becomes a recurring theme as Jennifer (a meteorologist herself) advises on packing layers for temperature swings, rain gear for afternoon thunderstorms, and essential sun protection. Her suggested road trip combining Theodore Roosevelt with Badlands National Park creates the perfect late-summer itinerary, with opportunities to explore Wind Cave and Jewel Cave for underground wonders.
Beyond breathtaking scenery, these parks offer something increasingly precious: opportunities to disconnect from technology and connect with American history. As Jennifer shares from her experience visiting over 258 National Park Service units, these landscapes appear much as they did thousands of years ago, providing living history lessons spanning indigenous cultures to westward expansion.
Ready to discover America's natural treasures beyond the obvious choices? Subscribe to hear more from Jennifer in our next episode about fall national park adventures!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This transcript has not be read or edited by our
team.
Hi, I'm Alexa and I'm Rory, andtogether we are The ROAMies.
We are married To each other.
Right?
We are a touring musical duo.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
And our music has taken us to all kinds of places
all around the world and keepsus always on the go.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
So we hope you enjoy our stories and adventures while
running around working to keepall your plates spinning.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
And we hope, to facilitate your busy lifestyle
and feed your inner travel bug.
Hi everyone, we are so excitedto bring you Jennifer Broom
again on this episode, and thismonth we are talking about
national parks, and so on thisepisode, we're going to dive
(00:45):
into which national parks shouldwe visit in the summer.
So, jennifer, thank you so muchfor being with us.
We really appreciate you beinghere.
Let's dive in to where weshould go in the summer.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
Well, I also want to point out that summer is the
time that you're going to seethe most people in the national
parks.
So you kind of want to factorthat in that July and August are
going to be the busiest monthsof the year in national parks,
especially in those highlypopular ones, say, like
Yellowstone, rocky MountainNational Park.
(01:18):
Those are going to be some ofthe primary Yosemite, some of
the prime ones that folks, andGrand Canyon, that folks are
visiting during the summer.
So let's talk about somealternatives that you can maybe
add on to one of those trips,and ones that do have some
special things that, by summer,makes them the prime ones to go
to.
And I'm going to start youfirst, like kind of like in the
early summer, and take you toGrand Tetons, because that is
(01:41):
the time kind of late May, earlyJune, if you want to see the
babies, if you want to see themamas and the babies, of course
from a safe distance.
You know, make sure that youare really look, roll a thumb
with your thumb.
If you could put it up and youcould see the animal outside of
your thumb, then you're tooclose.
It's just kind of a little tip,but you know it's it's you want
(02:06):
to make sure you give thewildlife their space.
But that is a time that you'llnot only see incredible
wildflowers, with the snow capmountains, because they will
still have snow at that point,you know, with the Grand Tetons
and just that incrediblygorgeous mountain.
Yeah, it is spectacularlybeautiful, but it is a great
(02:33):
time if you want to seepotentially see, you know, a
mama bear and her cubs in thatlate May, early June timeframe.
I would also say, if you'regoing to go to Grand Teton, make
sure that you do make areservation to go.
Take the ferry boat on JennyLake.
It makes for a little funadventure to go out on the lake
and then you can go across anddo a little hike and come back.
There are quite a few lakesthat you can hike around and you
know the hikes range from supereasy enjoy the lakes to.
(02:54):
Of course, if you want toscramble up in the Tetons, you
can do that too.
So that kind of kicks off yoursummer and then one that is
truly accessible in thesummertime.
It does run from April 16th toOctober 31st.
Prime time for summer is IsleRoyale and that is in Lake
Superior, and you can get therea couple of ways.
(03:15):
So Isle Royale National Parkit's one of the more remote
national parks because of thedifficulty in getting there,
with it being in Lake Superior.
But you can get there by plane,by seaplane or by or I guess I
should say lake plane, since itis Lake Superior.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
But you know what I?
Speaker 3 (03:33):
mean you know, the planes that have the float
things on the bottom of them.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Yeah, there you go, but you just climbed Kilimanjaro
, so like don't you think thatyou would be the one swimming
across to get there?
Speaker 3 (03:45):
No, no, no, no.
Oh, yes, I did.
I did summit Kilimanjaro onJuly 14th.
6.57 am was my summit time.
Yeah, we had.
We had wind gusts over 30 milesan hour, and we also had wind
chills of minus 19 to minus 26Fahrenheit.
Ok, so brutal.
But on saying that, as we'retalking about national parks and
(04:07):
visiting in the summer, I amalso a meteorologist, so I do
want to give you maybe a fewweather tips too.
Love it.
You're going to have wide rangeof temperatures.
It can be quite chilly in themornings and overnights if you
are camping, so you definitelytruly want to think about
dressing in layers.
That's kind of a key thing.
Make sure, and include thosethings too At least some light
(04:28):
gloves, some type of lightbeanie, something to keep you
warm, because chances are, ifyou're going to get out and go
do a little hike and you'regoing at 7 in the morning, you
might want both of those.
In addition to having some typeof puffy jacket, even a
windbreaker is a great idea tohave as well.
And then, of course, noadventure should be without
(04:51):
sunscreen.
So sun protection that includessunscreen, including your
sunglasses, your hat and theactual sunscreen, and then also
rain gear, especially if you arein any of the national parks in
the Rocky Mountains across theAmerican Southwest.
Weather conditions changequickly, the monsoon season in
particular, so you can havethose afternoon thunderstorms
(05:12):
kind of fire up quickly.
So always have rain gear inaddition to always have water
and make sure you have snackstoo.
So let's talk about Isle Royale.
It's just such a unique,beautiful place because the way
that I did it was I took a ferryand you can get there from
either the Michigan side orMinnesota, and I went to Grand
Portage, minnesota, made areservation well in advance to
(05:33):
get on the ferry to ensure I hada spot with my friend Lisa and
we went across and just enjoyedit.
I mean, how many times do youget to go?
If you don't live in one of theGreat Lakes areas, do you get
to go and just be out on a GreatLake which really truly does
feel like an ocean and with LakeSuperior being so spectacular
and so special?
So you take it's a couple ofhours and then you get on the
(05:55):
island and we had four hours.
So we did a hike that kind ofwent right by the water's edge
and then went up through thisjust beautiful, picturesque
forest with everything coveredwith ferns and just overgrown
ferns everywhere, and then youpop out to the spot where you're
at an overlook and you can seethe water in the surrounding
areas, and then came back downand had enough time just to sit
(06:18):
on the dock and just enjoy thequiet and the beauty.
Now on the ferry you can do theday trip, as we did, but you
can also go for an overnight soyou can take your camping gear.
You can even take canoes andkayaks.
You make reservations for thosein advance, but you can take
those with you on the ferry.
So I think that's kind of acool way to experience that
(06:40):
national park.
Another one that I really loveto go to in the summertime and
in particular the latter part ofsummer, even getting into early
fall.
So kind of looking at lateAugust into September, if you
notice, I tend to like to, youknow, really take my time
outside of kind of that busiestsix weeks of the year.
(07:01):
I truly do enjoy going toTheodore Roosevelt National Park
up in North Dakota and it's tome it's Yellowstone without the
crowds but also blending in alittle bit of Badlands, because
North Dakota, like South Dakota,does have Badlands and that
makes up that super picturesquelandscape that just seems to go
(07:24):
in some spots for miles andmiles of just the painted rock
that extends the paintedlandscape.
That's just incrediblybeautiful.
There is also a petrifiedforest that you could hike to so
you can see these giant piecesof petrified wood.
Kind of similar to PetrifiedForest National Park down in
Arizona, which is also anothergreat one, not necessarily to
(07:46):
visit in summer because it couldbe quite hot, but maybe another
time of the year, but when yougo in that late August, early
September, you could do thathike.
You can see there's bison inboth units.
Theodore Roosevelt NationalPark has two units.
One is in.
Literally you can walk to itfrom town, at least walk to the
visitor center from Medora thatyou can go in and do an
(08:09):
incredibly beautiful scenicdrive, the high chance that you
will see in the South Unit andthe North Unit.
Better chance in the North Unitto see the bison.
You know when I was there I gotsurrounded by bison.
So you know, remember, stay inyour car if you can, if you're
going in the same direction asthe bison, just keep on going
you know, slowly.
Just act like you're one of them.
(08:30):
Just keep going.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Remember they're on the road.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
Yeah, yeah, if not, you know, just try to keep
slowly nudging through and andyou know it does make for a
little bit of a nerve wrackingexperience with that.
But again I do want to stress,stay in your car and then with
Theodore Roosevelt, one of themost special things about that
national park is that it is hometo wild horses.
It is one of the few places inthe United States that you can
see wild horse and you can askat the visitor center where
(09:00):
they've been sighted that dayand that gives you some good
indication where you can see thebands.
And there's several bands ofthem.
That's what a group of horsesis called.
It's called a band where youcan see several bands of the
wild horses and they truly aremagical.
And just when the wind picks up, if it's a beautiful day, they
truly are magical.
And just when the wind picks up, if it's a beautiful day, just
watching their manes and tailsjust blow in the wind and I hope
(09:20):
you're as lucky as I was andget to see a baby horse out
there and just really take thatmoment to honor the indigenous
cultures that do make upespecially the American West.
Honor those indigenous cultures, honor how the US was founded
and just kind of take thatmoment to think back through
history and think what it wouldbe like, you know, for the
(09:43):
pioneers coming across and thelandscape that would be similar,
you know, with the westwardexpansion of the United States
would be similar to what theysaw.
It really is truly a beautiful,untouched landscape.
So there's that one.
And then, while you're inMedora, make sure that you also
see the Medora musical.
It is the 60th anniversary ofit, just a spectacular fun thing
(10:05):
.
And Medora is a town that justcomes alive during the
summertime and, yes, theirpopulation swells, you know, for
several months a year.
But I think you will besurprised.
I get asked a lot like what'syour favorite national park?
It's really hard, that's likeasking someone to pick their
favorite child, but there's justso many of them that each one
is unique and different.
(10:25):
And I feel like our nationalparks truly share diverse
landscapes that make up thisincredible place that we get to
call home.
But Theodore Roosevelt, it's inmy top three.
It is one because I do feellike it's a little bit more
remote, it's not nearly ascrowded and the variety of
landscapes that you canexperience and see there really
(10:46):
do make it a gem and it is soworth that effort to get there.
You can also combine it with atrip, a really fun road trip,
and combine it with BadlandsNational Park and as you get
into the late summer again youstart to lose some of those
crowds.
But with that landscape you canget in there and it is possible
(11:06):
to do Badlands National Park ina day, which does make that
national park a little bit moreunusual than some of the others,
because I think sometimes youknow these national parks.
They are huge, but withBadlands National Park you can
get in there whether you have aday or even a night.
Even better, if you I mean I'vespent a night at one of the
(11:27):
properties you know, one of thenational park properties within
the park itself and it's kind ofa fun way.
If you've never done that, tryto get on, get those
reservations early and never nottrying to get a last minute
reservation.
There are cancellations.
So even the highly popular ones, if you happen to be in, it's
(11:47):
sometimes worth to kind of keepchecking in and looking to see
do they have a cancellation thatyou can sneak in and get snag
one of those, which is kind ofwhat I did with a cousin.
We were on a really cool roadtrip and we did what I just told
you to do, theodore Roosevelt.
We added a few other sites, butcoming down into Badlands,
there in South Dakota, we kindof went in on the north side,
(12:09):
great area on the north side,which would also be kind of like
the northeast side, there's awonderful area where you can go
out and hike and it's kind oflike a loosely marked trail.
But you're connecting thenumbers.
There's numbers along it and Ithink it's like number 14 or 15.
That's the final one andthere's a big sign that says end
of trail because there's acliff.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
You know there's a cliff that drops.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
But it's a way to immerse yourself in the Badlands
landscape, which does lookotherworldly.
The only other thing that Icould possibly say that it's
like.
It's like it but it's differentwould be Bryce National Park
over in Utah.
But both of them are just suchunique, different landscapes,
(12:54):
where I mean the rocks are thestars and the landscapes and the
striations and the rocks andthe rock formations really truly
make it unique and special.
They do have a scenic drive.
So, like I said, we came in onthe north side, spent the night
and then kind of finished outand did the rest of the scenic
loop.
Just an incredible thing to do,but it is certainly a beautiful
way.
And then, while you're on thatone, why not go on over to
(13:15):
Custard and then you can cooloff in the caves.
You can go into Wind Cave,which has, I believe it's 90% of
the boxwood formation in theworld of that cave formation is
right there.
It's the highest concentrationof it in the world and it's not
a national park but it is anational monument.
Jewel Cave is a nationalmonument that you can see there
too.
(13:36):
So that's a fantastic road tripto do, especially late summer,
heading into early fall.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
Love it yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
I am.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Well, this sounds like a full itinerary to crack
up your summer, yeah yeah, yeah,and I agree with her.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
I've done the whole Medora and seeing those parks
and it does feel not justotherworldly.
But for me there was a you hadmentioned it that keen
connection to the people wholive there.
You feel a real connection tothat because it looks just like
it did when our people first sawit our people before the
explorers discovered it.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
No, no, no, I mean it's and I'm not really sure
what it is about that landscapethat triggered that feeling for
me, but it obviously triggeredit for you too.
And there is something perhapsit's because it is a little bit
more difficult to get to and itis in a part of the country that
is not as traveled to as otherareas.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
And not heavily populated.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
There's not like a.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Walmart in the center of it?
No, there's not in medora noyeah, that's a great point too.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
You, you have to travel sort of through the
middle of nowhere to get to themiddle of nowhere, and I think
it helps set that, set the wholething up for you too.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
It's really you know, and and so many of us nowadays
are craving the detox, thedigital detox, the time away,
and craving the trips where youknow whether it's a solo
traveler or a couple, or as afamily or multi-generational
craving the time to put away thetechnology and go and learn and
(15:12):
experience.
Experience the landscape, butlearn the history, history too,
because that part of the UnitedStates has a tremendous amount
of history and it's worth it tolearn about the different tribes
in the area.
You know, even as you're comingdown into Badlands National
Park, take the drive into thereservation that's right there,
and if you've never been on areservation, that is an easy way
(15:34):
, an accessible way to see whatit's like and to understand that
part of our history and totruly, you know I mean, yeah see
what it was like when thepeople lived thousands,
thousands of years ago.
Then, of course, the Spanishconquistadors were the ones who
brought the horses over to you,to what is now the United States
.
So then you can learn a littlebit about that, then learn a
little bit about the Westwardexpansion.
(15:56):
I love it.
It's like, you know, it'slearning those American history
lessons that I, you know, it'sliving history that you're
experiencing, which, well,you're having fun too.
I mean, there's nothing betterthan having a wonderful fun trip
with a huge dose of education,whether you are a middle
schooler or you're 80 years old,you know, and we can always
(16:19):
learn and we should be alwayslearning.
And I think those opportunitiesare there in the national parks
and then extending on to allthe units that are in the
National Park Service.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
For sure.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
With breathtaking scenery to boot.
On top of all that, you got it,you got it.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
I mean, if you're a fan of that kind of thing.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
And I'm obviously a fan of it.
You got it.
I mean, if you're a fan of thatkind of thing, and I'm
obviously a fan of it.
I'm trying to think I've nowbeen to over Well, I'm over 255,
258 National Park Service unitsand that includes 48 of the
national parks, so hopefully weknock it off more shortly,
you're on your way.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
I love it.
Yes.
Well, how can people follow youand where can they find you?
Speaker 3 (17:00):
So I think it's easiest to find me on like
Instagram or TikTok and it'sJennifer Broom Travel, so it's
broom like a sweep with with anE on the end is the easiest way
to find me on those or youconnect can connect with me
through my.
That is sweptawaytodaycom.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Tying in that whole broom thing with your website
Sweep, sweep, always sweepingaround the world.
I love it.
Well, we will include all ofthat in the show notes.
Thank you so much, jennifer.
We really appreciate it and wewill look forward to seeing you
on the next episode when we talkabout which national parks to
visit in the fall.
We hope we've inspired you thisepisode, so join us next time.
(17:41):
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And please like and follow us onInstagram, youtube and Facebook
.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
We are also on X and on all social platforms.
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Speaker 2 (18:00):
At wwwTheRomiescom, that's right, that's.
T-h-e-r-o-a-m-i-e-scom.
We'll be there until next time.
Yeah, thanks for listening, bye, no-transcript.
This transcript has not be read or edited by our
team.
Hi, I'm Alexa and I'm Rory, andtogether we are The ROAMies.
We are married To each other.
Right?
We are a touring musical duo.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
And our music has taken us to all kinds of places
all around the world and keepsus always on the go.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
So we hope you enjoy our stories and adventures while
running around working to keepall your plates spinning.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
And we hope, to facilitate your busy lifestyle
and feed your inner travel bug.
Hi everyone, we are so excitedto bring you Jennifer Broom
again on this episode, and thismonth we are talking about
national parks, and so on thisepisode, we're going to dive
(00:45):
into which national parks shouldwe visit in the summer.
So, jennifer, thank you so muchfor being with us.
We really appreciate you beinghere.
Let's dive in to where weshould go in the summer.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
Well, I also want to point out that summer is the
time that you're going to seethe most people in the national
parks.
So you kind of want to factorthat in that July and August are
going to be the busiest monthsof the year in national parks,
especially in those highlypopular ones, say, like
Yellowstone, rocky MountainNational Park.
(01:18):
Those are going to be some ofthe primary Yosemite, some of
the prime ones that folks, andGrand Canyon, that folks are
visiting during the summer.
So let's talk about somealternatives that you can maybe
add on to one of those trips,and ones that do have some
special things that, by summer,makes them the prime ones to go
to.
And I'm going to start youfirst, like kind of like in the
early summer, and take you toGrand Tetons, because that is
(01:41):
the time kind of late May, earlyJune, if you want to see the
babies, if you want to see themamas and the babies, of course
from a safe distance.
You know, make sure that youare really look, roll a thumb
with your thumb.
If you could put it up and youcould see the animal outside of
your thumb, then you're tooclose.
It's just kind of a little tip,but you know it's it's you want
(02:06):
to make sure you give thewildlife their space.
But that is a time that you'llnot only see incredible
wildflowers, with the snow capmountains, because they will
still have snow at that point,you know, with the Grand Tetons
and just that incrediblygorgeous mountain.
Yeah, it is spectacularlybeautiful, but it is a great
(02:33):
time if you want to seepotentially see, you know, a
mama bear and her cubs in thatlate May, early June timeframe.
I would also say, if you'regoing to go to Grand Teton, make
sure that you do make areservation to go.
Take the ferry boat on JennyLake.
It makes for a little funadventure to go out on the lake
and then you can go across anddo a little hike and come back.
There are quite a few lakesthat you can hike around and you
know the hikes range from supereasy enjoy the lakes to.
(02:54):
Of course, if you want toscramble up in the Tetons, you
can do that too.
So that kind of kicks off yoursummer and then one that is
truly accessible in thesummertime.
It does run from April 16th toOctober 31st.
Prime time for summer is IsleRoyale and that is in Lake
Superior, and you can get therea couple of ways.
(03:15):
So Isle Royale National Parkit's one of the more remote
national parks because of thedifficulty in getting there,
with it being in Lake Superior.
But you can get there by plane,by seaplane or by or I guess I
should say lake plane, since itis Lake Superior.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
But you know what I?
Speaker 3 (03:33):
mean you know, the planes that have the float
things on the bottom of them.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Yeah, there you go, but you just climbed Kilimanjaro
, so like don't you think thatyou would be the one swimming
across to get there?
Speaker 3 (03:45):
No, no, no, no.
Oh, yes, I did.
I did summit Kilimanjaro onJuly 14th.
6.57 am was my summit time.
Yeah, we had.
We had wind gusts over 30 milesan hour, and we also had wind
chills of minus 19 to minus 26Fahrenheit.
Ok, so brutal.
But on saying that, as we'retalking about national parks and
(04:07):
visiting in the summer, I amalso a meteorologist, so I do
want to give you maybe a fewweather tips too.
Love it.
You're going to have wide rangeof temperatures.
It can be quite chilly in themornings and overnights if you
are camping, so you definitelytruly want to think about
dressing in layers.
That's kind of a key thing.
Make sure, and include thosethings too At least some light
(04:28):
gloves, some type of lightbeanie, something to keep you
warm, because chances are, ifyou're going to get out and go
do a little hike and you'regoing at 7 in the morning, you
might want both of those.
In addition to having some typeof puffy jacket, even a
windbreaker is a great idea tohave as well.
And then, of course, noadventure should be without
(04:51):
sunscreen.
So sun protection that includessunscreen, including your
sunglasses, your hat and theactual sunscreen, and then also
rain gear, especially if you arein any of the national parks in
the Rocky Mountains across theAmerican Southwest.
Weather conditions changequickly, the monsoon season in
particular, so you can havethose afternoon thunderstorms
(05:12):
kind of fire up quickly.
So always have rain gear inaddition to always have water
and make sure you have snackstoo.
So let's talk about Isle Royale.
It's just such a unique,beautiful place because the way
that I did it was I took a ferryand you can get there from
either the Michigan side orMinnesota, and I went to Grand
Portage, minnesota, made areservation well in advance to
(05:33):
get on the ferry to ensure I hada spot with my friend Lisa and
we went across and just enjoyedit.
I mean, how many times do youget to go?
If you don't live in one of theGreat Lakes areas, do you get
to go and just be out on a GreatLake which really truly does
feel like an ocean and with LakeSuperior being so spectacular
and so special?
So you take it's a couple ofhours and then you get on the
(05:55):
island and we had four hours.
So we did a hike that kind ofwent right by the water's edge
and then went up through thisjust beautiful, picturesque
forest with everything coveredwith ferns and just overgrown
ferns everywhere, and then youpop out to the spot where you're
at an overlook and you can seethe water in the surrounding
areas, and then came back downand had enough time just to sit
(06:18):
on the dock and just enjoy thequiet and the beauty.
Now on the ferry you can do theday trip, as we did, but you
can also go for an overnight soyou can take your camping gear.
You can even take canoes andkayaks.
You make reservations for thosein advance, but you can take
those with you on the ferry.
So I think that's kind of acool way to experience that
(06:40):
national park.
Another one that I really loveto go to in the summertime and
in particular the latter part ofsummer, even getting into early
fall.
So kind of looking at lateAugust into September, if you
notice, I tend to like to, youknow, really take my time
outside of kind of that busiestsix weeks of the year.
(07:01):
I truly do enjoy going toTheodore Roosevelt National Park
up in North Dakota and it's tome it's Yellowstone without the
crowds but also blending in alittle bit of Badlands, because
North Dakota, like South Dakota,does have Badlands and that
makes up that super picturesquelandscape that just seems to go
(07:24):
in some spots for miles andmiles of just the painted rock
that extends the paintedlandscape.
That's just incrediblybeautiful.
There is also a petrifiedforest that you could hike to so
you can see these giant piecesof petrified wood.
Kind of similar to PetrifiedForest National Park down in
Arizona, which is also anothergreat one, not necessarily to
(07:46):
visit in summer because it couldbe quite hot, but maybe another
time of the year, but when yougo in that late August, early
September, you could do thathike.
You can see there's bison inboth units.
Theodore Roosevelt NationalPark has two units.
One is in.
Literally you can walk to itfrom town, at least walk to the
visitor center from Medora thatyou can go in and do an
(08:09):
incredibly beautiful scenicdrive, the high chance that you
will see in the South Unit andthe North Unit.
Better chance in the North Unitto see the bison.
You know when I was there I gotsurrounded by bison.
So you know, remember, stay inyour car if you can, if you're
going in the same direction asthe bison, just keep on going
you know, slowly.
Just act like you're one of them.
(08:30):
Just keep going.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Remember they're on the road.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
Yeah, yeah, if not, you know, just try to keep
slowly nudging through and andyou know it does make for a
little bit of a nerve wrackingexperience with that.
But again I do want to stress,stay in your car and then with
Theodore Roosevelt, one of themost special things about that
national park is that it is hometo wild horses.
It is one of the few places inthe United States that you can
see wild horse and you can askat the visitor center where
(09:00):
they've been sighted that dayand that gives you some good
indication where you can see thebands.
And there's several bands ofthem.
That's what a group of horsesis called.
It's called a band where youcan see several bands of the
wild horses and they truly aremagical.
And just when the wind picks up, if it's a beautiful day, they
truly are magical.
And just when the wind picks up, if it's a beautiful day, just
watching their manes and tailsjust blow in the wind and I hope
(09:20):
you're as lucky as I was andget to see a baby horse out
there and just really take thatmoment to honor the indigenous
cultures that do make upespecially the American West.
Honor those indigenous cultures, honor how the US was founded
and just kind of take thatmoment to think back through
history and think what it wouldbe like, you know, for the
(09:43):
pioneers coming across and thelandscape that would be similar,
you know, with the westwardexpansion of the United States
would be similar to what theysaw.
It really is truly a beautiful,untouched landscape.
So there's that one.
And then, while you're inMedora, make sure that you also
see the Medora musical.
It is the 60th anniversary ofit, just a spectacular fun thing
(10:05):
.
And Medora is a town that justcomes alive during the
summertime and, yes, theirpopulation swells, you know, for
several months a year.
But I think you will besurprised.
I get asked a lot like what'syour favorite national park?
It's really hard, that's likeasking someone to pick their
favorite child, but there's justso many of them that each one
is unique and different.
(10:25):
And I feel like our nationalparks truly share diverse
landscapes that make up thisincredible place that we get to
call home.
But Theodore Roosevelt, it's inmy top three.
It is one because I do feellike it's a little bit more
remote, it's not nearly ascrowded and the variety of
landscapes that you canexperience and see there really
(10:46):
do make it a gem and it is soworth that effort to get there.
You can also combine it with atrip, a really fun road trip,
and combine it with BadlandsNational Park and as you get
into the late summer again youstart to lose some of those
crowds.
But with that landscape you canget in there and it is possible
(11:06):
to do Badlands National Park ina day, which does make that
national park a little bit moreunusual than some of the others,
because I think sometimes youknow these national parks.
They are huge, but withBadlands National Park you can
get in there whether you have aday or even a night.
Even better, if you I mean I'vespent a night at one of the
(11:27):
properties you know, one of thenational park properties within
the park itself and it's kind ofa fun way.
If you've never done that, tryto get on, get those
reservations early and never nottrying to get a last minute
reservation.
There are cancellations.
So even the highly popular ones, if you happen to be in, it's
(11:47):
sometimes worth to kind of keepchecking in and looking to see
do they have a cancellation thatyou can sneak in and get snag
one of those, which is kind ofwhat I did with a cousin.
We were on a really cool roadtrip and we did what I just told
you to do, theodore Roosevelt.
We added a few other sites, butcoming down into Badlands,
there in South Dakota, we kindof went in on the north side,
(12:09):
great area on the north side,which would also be kind of like
the northeast side, there's awonderful area where you can go
out and hike and it's kind oflike a loosely marked trail.
But you're connecting thenumbers.
There's numbers along it and Ithink it's like number 14 or 15.
That's the final one andthere's a big sign that says end
of trail because there's acliff.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
You know there's a cliff that drops.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
But it's a way to immerse yourself in the Badlands
landscape, which does lookotherworldly.
The only other thing that Icould possibly say that it's
like.
It's like it but it's differentwould be Bryce National Park
over in Utah.
But both of them are just suchunique, different landscapes,
(12:54):
where I mean the rocks are thestars and the landscapes and the
striations and the rocks andthe rock formations really truly
make it unique and special.
They do have a scenic drive.
So, like I said, we came in onthe north side, spent the night
and then kind of finished outand did the rest of the scenic
loop.
Just an incredible thing to do,but it is certainly a beautiful
way.
And then, while you're on thatone, why not go on over to
(13:15):
Custard and then you can cooloff in the caves.
You can go into Wind Cave,which has, I believe it's 90% of
the boxwood formation in theworld of that cave formation is
right there.
It's the highest concentrationof it in the world and it's not
a national park but it is anational monument.
Jewel Cave is a nationalmonument that you can see there
too.
(13:36):
So that's a fantastic road tripto do, especially late summer,
heading into early fall.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
Love it yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
I am.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Well, this sounds like a full itinerary to crack
up your summer, yeah yeah, yeah,and I agree with her.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
I've done the whole Medora and seeing those parks
and it does feel not justotherworldly.
But for me there was a you hadmentioned it that keen
connection to the people wholive there.
You feel a real connection tothat because it looks just like
it did when our people first sawit our people before the
explorers discovered it.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
No, no, no, I mean it's and I'm not really sure
what it is about that landscapethat triggered that feeling for
me, but it obviously triggeredit for you too.
And there is something perhapsit's because it is a little bit
more difficult to get to and itis in a part of the country that
is not as traveled to as otherareas.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
And not heavily populated.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
There's not like a.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Walmart in the center of it?
No, there's not in medora noyeah, that's a great point too.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
You, you have to travel sort of through the
middle of nowhere to get to themiddle of nowhere, and I think
it helps set that, set the wholething up for you too.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
It's really you know, and and so many of us nowadays
are craving the detox, thedigital detox, the time away,
and craving the trips where youknow whether it's a solo
traveler or a couple, or as afamily or multi-generational
craving the time to put away thetechnology and go and learn and
(15:12):
experience.
Experience the landscape, butlearn the history, history too,
because that part of the UnitedStates has a tremendous amount
of history and it's worth it tolearn about the different tribes
in the area.
You know, even as you're comingdown into Badlands National
Park, take the drive into thereservation that's right there,
and if you've never been on areservation, that is an easy way
(15:34):
, an accessible way to see whatit's like and to understand that
part of our history and totruly, you know I mean, yeah see
what it was like when thepeople lived thousands,
thousands of years ago.
Then, of course, the Spanishconquistadors were the ones who
brought the horses over to you,to what is now the United States
.
So then you can learn a littlebit about that, then learn a
little bit about the Westwardexpansion.
(15:56):
I love it.
It's like, you know, it'slearning those American history
lessons that I, you know, it'sliving history that you're
experiencing, which, well,you're having fun too.
I mean, there's nothing betterthan having a wonderful fun trip
with a huge dose of education,whether you are a middle
schooler or you're 80 years old,you know, and we can always
(16:19):
learn and we should be alwayslearning.
And I think those opportunitiesare there in the national parks
and then extending on to allthe units that are in the
National Park Service.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
For sure.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
With breathtaking scenery to boot.
On top of all that, you got it,you got it.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
I mean, if you're a fan of that kind of thing.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
And I'm obviously a fan of it.
You got it.
I mean, if you're a fan of thatkind of thing, and I'm
obviously a fan of it.
I'm trying to think I've nowbeen to over Well, I'm over 255,
258 National Park Service unitsand that includes 48 of the
national parks, so hopefully weknock it off more shortly,
you're on your way.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
I love it.
Yes.
Well, how can people follow youand where can they find you?
Speaker 3 (17:00):
So I think it's easiest to find me on like
Instagram or TikTok and it'sJennifer Broom Travel, so it's
broom like a sweep with with anE on the end is the easiest way
to find me on those or youconnect can connect with me
through my.
That is sweptawaytodaycom.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Tying in that whole broom thing with your website
Sweep, sweep, always sweepingaround the world.
I love it.
Well, we will include all ofthat in the show notes.
Thank you so much, jennifer.
We really appreciate it and wewill look forward to seeing you
on the next episode when we talkabout which national parks to
visit in the fall.
We hope we've inspired you thisepisode, so join us next time.
(17:41):
Please subscribe to rate andshare our podcast with your
friends or you know whomever?
And please like and follow us onInstagram, youtube and Facebook
.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
We are also on X and on all social platforms.
We are at TheRomies, that'sT-H-E-R-O-A-M-I-E-S, and our
main hub is our website.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
At wwwTheRomiescom, that's right, that's.
T-h-e-r-o-a-m-i-e-scom.
We'll be there until next time.
Yeah, thanks for listening, bye, no-transcript.
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