Tim Kaine - "Walk Ride Paddle: A Life Outdoors" (Episode 29)

Tim Kaine shares stories from his book "Walk Ride Paddle: A Life Outdoors". The book is filled with stories of his Virginia Nature Triathlon and behind the scenes look at his role as US Senator during a tumultuous time in US History.

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
From the Appalachian Trail to the Blue Ridge Parkway

(00:04):
to the James River, join us aswe learn about a Virginia nature
triathlon to walk, ride, andpaddle some of the greatest
outdoor spaces in Virginia.
I'm your host, Missy Rents, andthis is the Parks Podcast.
Today's guest has many titles,husband, father, U.S.

(00:25):
senator, harmonicist,songwriter, and outdoorsman.
And in his book, Walk, Ride,Paddle, we get to experience all
of these roles.
Senator Tim Kaine, welcome tothe Parks Podcast.

SPEAKER_01 (00:37):
Missy, thanks so much for having me on.

SPEAKER_00 (00:40):
So I love this book.
I have to tell you, I read itwhile swinging in a hammock in
front of a campfire in aVirginia state park.
So I feel like I was right inmood to receive all of this
information.
information.
Walk, Ride, Paddle is aboutyour, I love this title,
Virginia nature triathlon, towalk all of the Appalachian
Trail in Virginia, ride yourbike along the Skyline Drive in

(01:02):
the Blue Ridge Parkway, and thento paddle the entire length of
the James River.
Senator, what was yourinspiration?

SPEAKER_01 (01:08):
Missy, I'll tell you, it was an amazing journey.
The inspiration was turning 60in 2019 and celebrating 25 years
in public life for my first citycouncil in election in Richmond
in 1994.
I liked to mark milestones, andI decided I've got to do
something special to celebrate60 and 25.

(01:31):
What would it be?
I guess it was Thanksgiving of2018, I realized a lot of states
have these cool kind of brandedadventures, like the 46ers in
New York.
You climb all 46 peaks in theAdirondacks higher than 4,000
feet.
My wife's sister and her husbandand kids did that.

(01:51):
We joined them on a few.
There's an amazing bike rideacross Iowa called Rag Bride
that the Des Moines Registersponsors.
And there's some other statesthat have these.
So I thought, Virginia doesn'thave one.
Why don't I create one and do itand write about it so that I can
express my love for Virginia,but also maybe encourage some
others to do it too.

(02:13):
And as soon as I asked myselfthe question, what would the
Virginia epic be that you mightdo over the course of a
lifetime?
You don't do it all But once Ithought, well, you would hike
the AT from Harpers Ferry toTennessee.
You would cycle the Blue RidgeParkway and Skyline Drive from
North Carolina all the way toFront Royal.
And then you would canoe theJames River from Iron Gate,

(02:35):
where the river begins.
It's the confluence of theJackson and Cowpasture Rivers
all the way to Fort Monroe andthe Chesapeake Bay.
And it took me 30 months, 76days over the course of 30
months at a very momentous timein American history and in my
life But it was truly an amazingjourney.
And I've had so much fun talkingabout it with Virginians and

(02:57):
hearing their own stories abouttheir outdoor adventures.

SPEAKER_00 (03:00):
I'm sure like those memories that you made during
those 30 months keep popping upday to day.
Are there any key moments thatcontinue to remind you about
that trip?

SPEAKER_01 (03:11):
All the time.
You know, you're a state parksexpert.
And I have a lot of greatmemories in state parks.
I stayed in Grayson HighlandsState Park, hiked through
Grayson Highlands.
But on the river, I campedRiverside in James River State
Park, which is up kind of nearRoute 60, where Route 60 crosses
up in Amherst County.
And then I also camped riversideat Powhatan State Park.

(03:34):
And both of these state parkshave canoeing campsites where
you can access them without avehicle.
Just come down the river, pullyour canoe over, and there's
campsites there.
And so since we're talking aboutstate parks today, and the James
River is right behind me.
It's in flood stage right now.
I live right on the James onBrowns Island in Richmond.
Those memories of camping righton the James River in these

(03:57):
beautiful state parks werereally fun.
Not only the people I was withat the James River State Park.
I was camping with my wife atPowhatan State Park.
I was camping with someneighbors, but also the folks
that show up in the campgroundthat you don't know, but pretty
quickly you get to be friendswith.

SPEAKER_00 (04:13):
Absolutely.
So you started to kind of dreamof this adventure in 2018.
And between 2018 and 2021, whenyou finished it, a lot changed
in the world.
I'm sure when you thought aboutit in 2018, you had no idea what
you were going to go through.
You political turmoil of thisdivided country.
So what role did nature in theparks play in how you were able

(04:36):
to then navigate all of thechallenges that were going on in
the world?

SPEAKER_01 (04:39):
Now, Missy, you're right.
When I started, I took my firststep at Harper's Ferry in May of
2019, and I pulled my boat outof the water at Fort Monroe in
October of 2021.
And between that time period,COVID, and I got COVID, and I
got long COVID, which I'm stilldealing with a mild form of it,
contested presidential election,George Floyd protests, the

(05:02):
attack on the Capitol on January6th, and just so much was going
on in the world.
And it turned out that never inmy life until now could I have
done this trip, and never in mylife did I need it more than I
needed it right now, because Iwas living through very
challenging both, you know, kindof these COVID and health

(05:25):
issues, but also the challengesof writing COVID legislation or
being at the Capitol when it wasattacked.
And the time in nature turnedout to be this real point of
mental refuge and was a sourceof kind of re-energizing me.
And it also gave me a chance tokind of step back from the

(05:46):
emergency of the day and try toput some of these big picture
events into perspective and eventhink about Virginia history and
where these events fit into ourlarger history as a people.
So it was truly great.
And then it ended up reallychanging me in a number of ways.
I haven't been back in theSenate gym since I took my first

(06:07):
step on the Appalachian Trail.
And I used to go to the gym acouple of times a week.
But what I realized is I like toexercise outdoors.
And rather than be in a gym withFox News on one TV and MSNBC on
the other and surrounded bycolleagues and kind of pressed
in by work, now I just have gearthat is sufficient for all
seasons and I do my exercisingoutside.

(06:28):
And I'll tell you what, theexercise Exercise is just as
good, if not better.
But the mental part of theexercise is actually far better
than exercising in the gym.
So it really has changed the wayI approach my daily life.

SPEAKER_00 (06:42):
I agree.
And you reference it in thebook, the times where not having
connection with your cell phoneand how freeing that was, and
that sort of carried with youafter.

SPEAKER_01 (06:50):
Indeed.
Yeah, that was, I wouldbasically had a cell phone with
me in case of emergencies and tocheck emails at lunch and at the
keep it in a waterproof dry baginside my, either in the
backpack or in a dry bag in thecanoe.
And to be no headphones, nomusic, except for my harmonica
that I would carry with me andplay at the end of the day and

(07:13):
listen to birds and listen tothe sound of the river and the
conversation of passersby.
You're right.
I'm still not as good as I wishI was about being disconnected
from electronics, but the hypeand the adventures really helped
me not be so wedded to my cellphone.

SPEAKER_00 (07:32):
Yeah, they do.
And one of the things youmentioned, I think not having
connection helps with this, isthe community that's created.
You referenced in there that theAT is a community, but you also
spent a lot of time visitingtowns and trails, and then you
brought your community with youbecause you invited so many
people to join you.

SPEAKER_01 (07:49):
Yes.
So on the invited community, thehike was mostly by myself.
Two thirds of it, 42 days, I wassolo.
But the bike trip was thereprise of of a bike trip I had
done with a bunch of law schoolbuddies 25 years ago in Iowa,
that Des Moines trip I told youabout.
And then on the canoe trip,almost every day I had someone

(08:09):
with me.
My wife, Ann, did a third of theriver with me, my kids, my
Richmond neighbors, my lawschool buddies.
I interacted with tribal leadersfor tribes that have land on the
James, the Chickahominy and theMonacan, environmental leaders
like the James River Associationwho could talk to me about the
James.
So I had this invited community,but you're right, the community

(08:30):
that really impressed me wasjust how on the Appalachian
Trail, what a community hasgrown up around that trail.
The hikers, the trailmaintainers, the clubs that
sponsor hikes on occasion, theshuttle drivers, the trailside
towns, Front Royal, Waynesboro,Roanoke, and certainly Damascus.

(08:54):
Trail Days is this weekend, soyou got to mention Damascus.
But the communities that havereally kind of adjusted their
life around these natural assetsand that become real havens of
welcome.
When you need a shower and youwant to have a cold Dr.
Pepper instead of lukewarm waterand you get to a town, I mean,
you're so excited.
They're great places.

SPEAKER_00 (09:13):
I feel like you could have a meal guide or like
a restaurant guide based off ofwhere you went on your trip.
But the one story that reallystruck me was Nanny on your
paddle trip.
Yes.
Maybe you could share justbriefly about Nanny.

SPEAKER_01 (09:25):
I'm going to.
Nanny is the owner and operatorof a B&B called North Bend
Plantation in Charles CityCounty.
And so as I was canoeing,Charles City, if you're not
familiar with it, is downstreamon the James from Richmond.
It is a small rural county, notfar from Richmond.
You can get there in a half houreasy.

(09:46):
It's where a lot of theplantations were built in the
years right after theestablishment of the Jamestown
Island settlement in the 1600s.
I was canoeing down the riverand I didn't have a place to
stay.
And I just decided, I wonder ifHow many of these plantations
will let you stay?
I visited them before, but couldyou stay?
So I started a call and, youknow, nobody was answering the

(10:07):
phone.
Called one day.
Now it's the day that I need aplace to stay that night.
And I pull over at a rivercenter down in Charles City and
I start to call through.
And maybe the third place Icalled was North Bend
Plantation.
Woman answers the phone, hello,North Bend Plantation.
I said, hey, I'm looking for aplace to stay tonight.
Do you have a room?
And she said, let me look at thebook.

(10:27):
And I could hear the pagesturning.
And she goes, yes, I think we'vegot a couple of vacancies.
And so I said, fine, I'll bethere.
Well, I show up looking like ariver rat, you know, I mean, a
swimsuit and a t-shirt and abaseball hat into this
plantation home.
And the woman who comes out, shesays, my name is Ridgely, but
everybody calls me Nanny becauseI'm going to treat you like your

(10:49):
grandmother while you were here.
And she did.
I stayed there two nights.
And we had a really amazing, sheeventually figured out who I
was.
But even if she hadn't, we wouldhave had the same interaction, I
suspect.
And the land at North BendPlantation was very historic.
It was the place where the unionset up to build this massive
pontoon bridge across the Jamesto cross south on the James to

(11:14):
eventually lay siege toPetersburg.
But Nanny told me an amazingstory about the history of
slavery on that land.
Not her family, but folks thather family had purchased from,
the Minge family, had ownedslaves in the 1800s.
And the owner of the property,David, had decided to free his

(11:34):
slaves, but he couldn't do itwithout violating Virginia law.
So he surreptitiously took theslaves to Maryland to free them.
But Nanny was married intoanother family from Charles City
who had owned slaves in theirbackground, her husband's
family.
Her husband's family was kind ofconnected to the Tylers, the
British presidents.
And Nanny, when she retired as anurse at Eastern Virginia

(11:57):
Hospital in Williamsburg, shewas a psychiatric mental health
nurse, she described drivingaround and feeling an emptiness
And kind of like, I'm lookingfor a sign in my life.
And she noticed a banner hangingon a sign that said Bible study
Wednesday night.
And she had passed by thiscorner a million times.
It was very close to North Bend.

(12:19):
But she saw the banner and shesaid, I was looking for a sign.
So maybe that's my sign.
So she went to this Bible studyWednesday night.
And it was at a predominantlyAfrican-American parish, Baptist
parish there.
And she so loved the Bible studyand the pastor and the
congregation that she startedattending regularly.
Then she said to her husband,well, you need to go.

(12:40):
Yeah, but we go to WestoverEpiscopal Church.
Yeah, but they don't have aWednesday night Bible study.
So come with me Wednesday night.
He started to go and they becamevery close to this church.
And the family talked.
And one day they invitedeveryone at the church to come
set up and worship on thegrounds at North Bend.
on a particular Sunday, whichthey did.

(13:00):
But at the end of that service,Nanny and her husband and her
kids stood up and surprised thecongregation by saying, we want
to ask you for forgiveness forthe sin of slavery that has been
practiced on this property.
And it really surprisedeveryone.
And so the pastor said to thecongregation, well, you know,

(13:23):
church, we've been asked forforgiveness.
What do you think?
And the congregation verygraciously to this family that
was now their friend said, ofcourse, we forgive you.
And then the pastor said,listen, how about those of us
who have harbored any kind ofresentment or hatred in our
heart?
Maybe we should ask forforgiveness.

(13:43):
And it was a beautiful day.
A few years later, her husbanddied, and he was buried at
Westover Episcopal asgenerations of his family had
been.
The sermon was preached by thepastor of the local Baptist
church that they had stumbledacross when Nanny was looking
for a sign.
It's important that we all lookfor those signs in our life.

(14:04):
I don't know what it was thatmade me decide I want to do this
nature journey.
I was probably looking forsomething when I did it, even if
I couldn't articulate it thatway.
And what I found was people likenanny and so many other people
who really have changed my life

SPEAKER_00 (14:19):
i think that too and i think sometimes and this is
what nature does for me it helpsme stop and listen for those and
watch for those signs and one ofthe things i appreciated and
like got emotional throughoutthe book is that you did not shy
away from sharing the ugly partsof our history and whether it
was nanny's story or was it fortmonroe or yes all these places

(14:43):
And I appreciate it becauseinclusion is something that's so
important to me.
And I think, and you talk aboutinclusion as well of lots of
different people, but I thinkthat there's this perception
from many, many, many years agothat the parks are only for
certain people.
And that's not the case.
And you are a huge advocate forthat.

SPEAKER_01 (15:02):
I realized, Missy, that as I was on my journey, I
did not see the diversity in theparks along the trail or in the
campgrounds that I wish I did.
And I thought, well, you know,we've made nature pretty
accessible.
Shenandoah National Park andstate parks are pretty
accessible.
But while I would sometimes seediversity in the campgrounds, as

(15:24):
soon as I get on the trails, Iwouldn't.
And it took me a while torealize these are accessible in
the sense of they're accessibleto people of modest means.
But a lot of people are a littlebit frightened about it.
And they're not frightened bybears and snakes.
They're frightened by how otherpeople will treat them.
way out in the middle of nowherewhen they can't find help

(15:45):
easily.
And that is one of the reasonswhy some of these nature spots
are not diverse.
It's not that people don't wantto be outdoors and it's not that
people are more afraid of bearsor snakes than I am.
It's that they're afraid of howother people will treat them
when they're far away fromanyone else who might be able to
lend them a hand.

(16:05):
And so I think those of us whocare deeply about the outdoors
and want to make it a morewelcoming experience, we We have
some work to do.

SPEAKER_00 (16:13):
Yeah.
And I think there's so much wecan learn from the different
cultures that when we go toparks and we don't have devices
and we're not staring in, itgives us the opportunity to be
open and inviting.
What do you think it is that weas outdoor people can do to make
it more inviting?
I

SPEAKER_01 (16:33):
think a couple of things.
Let's start with a success.
I'm a big believer in fishingand fishing is one of the most
culturally universal experienceever.
My wife and I took a hike lastSunday.
We walked down to ArncaraLanding, which has its own
painful history.
It was the original site of likethe slave dock where enslaved

(16:54):
people would come into Richmondto be marched to Lumpkin's Jail
and be sold.
Now it's a really common fishingplace.
And if you go on a nice day downon the James River, the Mayo
Bridge, Arncara Landing, or overat Rockets Landing, people
fishing are like a UnitedNations.
You're going to hear everylanguage.
You're going to see people fromevery country.
Everyone's fishes all around theworld.

(17:15):
And if you go up to like PonyPasture Park in Richmond, you're
going to see a real diversegroup of users.
So there are some things likefishing that are truly
universal.
So you can start maybe byemphasizing some of those
things.
But the other thing is we got toget young people.
If you get a young person hookedon being outdoors, they're going

(17:37):
to be a steward of the outdoorsfor their entire life.
That was the case for me withscouting.
My parents were...
You know, they like to go onpicnics, you know, but they
weren't campers.
That was not the thing.
I got into camping through theBoy Scouts when I was in early
middle school and I gotcompletely hooked on it.
And then I convinced my parents,we got to buy a tent.

(17:57):
We got to camp as a family.
My parents got into it.
My brothers got into it.
If I hadn't had the Boy Scoutexperience, I don't think I ever
would have been an outdoorsperson, but I am.
And so that just teaches me thatif we can figure out ways to get
more young people to have theseoutdoors And so many groups do.
The James River Association runsriver trips for kids.

(18:19):
Scouting is still a big deal.
Cities have rec and parks.
You know, the James River ParkSystem in Richmond has some
great programming.
But maybe there's more we can dowith young people because
they're going to be thestewards.
You know, at some point, you andI will be old enough where we
can enjoy it, but we won't beable to go out and maintain a
trail.
But a young person can.

(18:39):
Let's get them outside more.

SPEAKER_00 (18:41):
And I think for the parents who did not grow up that
way, way there's things likejunior ranger programs and
whatnot so the parks really helpyou teach your child how to
enjoy

SPEAKER_01 (18:49):
and that's why i'm really happy to be doing this
podcast with you because yourfocus is people who are
interested but who maybe haven'thad a lot of experience and they
might think it's like a big dealto go on a camping trip no if
you want to go camping i cangive you like the easiest way to
do it we have state parks likepocahontas state park or
powhatan that are in the richardmetro area with fantastic picnic

(19:12):
shelters facilities easy placesto go camping for a night or two
and start with a simple trip.
And then, you know, you'll findthat you'll like it and you'll
want to expand your horizons.

SPEAKER_00 (19:23):
And while we, you and I are Virginians, this is
the same way all over thecountry.
There's parks everywhere,whether it's a regional state or
a national park.
I wanted to ask you what toolsand skills did you learn on the
trip that you find you're usingin your everyday life?

UNKNOWN (19:39):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (19:40):
Here's one, and I would say it's kind of an
attitude.
In my job, and maybeparticularly during the time of
the hike with COVID and theattack on the Capitol and the
contested 2020 presidentialelection, there was a lot of
political division.
If you turn on TV and you watchthe news, political division.
Being outdoors with people,Democrat, Republican, but mostly

(20:04):
people you wouldn't know whattheir politics are, you realize,
yeah, we're divided politically.
That's true.
Can't sugarcoat it.
But it reminds you how much oflife where we're not divided.
And that kind of puts in abroader context.
Politics can be divisive.
That is the case.
We all appreciate the outdoors.
We all hope our kids andgrandkids have access to a

(20:25):
sunset view or a beach or astream or a trail that we love.
And so it gave me anappreciation for the many areas
of life where we're not actuallydivided at all, where we're
really sharing a commonexperience and a common
appreciation.
That doesn't make the politicaldivision difficult.
disappear, but it puts it into acontext where that we're not so

(20:49):
divided as we might think.

SPEAKER_00 (20:50):
Yeah.
I want to share one of thelearnings I'm taking away.
I've got a lot, but I want toshare one of my, one of mine.
You say a plan is good.
So is being flexible.
One of the great bits of hikerwisdom is to hike your own hike,
not one else's hike, but yourown.
And I think that for newbies isjust a great reminder that it's

(21:12):
not a competition.
I am a slow hiker and I lovethat I'm a slow hiker that was
huge and just still sends chills

SPEAKER_01 (21:19):
I realized that two or three days in I was trying to
make mileage to a certain placebut I got to a beautiful camping
spot and I'm like okay I couldpush myself but this isn't a
race I'm not trying to set aspeed record this is a beautiful
camping spot and so I stoppedearly and it was good that I did
because it turned out bad stormhit later I was in a great

(21:42):
camping spot where I could staydry Had I gone on further, I
might have gotten wet.
But I just realized, you know, Iget enough stress in my own
life.
Being outdoors is supposed totake away stress, not add
stress.
Hike your own hike.
Nobody else's.
Hike your own.

SPEAKER_00 (21:59):
Okay, before I get to the speed round, which is how
we close every episode, I dowant to acknowledge what's going
on in the country right now.
And there is a huge movement ofthose of us that are supporters
of the parks.
And what I want to ask you iswhat can we do to best support
support you and your colleaguesin protecting our public lands?

SPEAKER_01 (22:18):
I think public lands are bipartisan.
That's good.
There are some regionaldifferences.
Public lands issues are probablymore challenging politically in
the West, where you might findsome counties where it's 90%
public land.
That tends to create morechallenge.
But here in Virginia, publiclands are so popular.
So I would just say anybody inthe outdoor community, you

(22:40):
should be calling, especiallyyour federal legislators now,
and say, please protect outdoorfunding, parks funding, public
land funding.
If you've been readingheadlines, you see the National
Park Service has been laying offa lot of people, seasonal
employees, probationaryemployees, and then that reduces
their ability to keep the parksin the shape that they ought to

(23:02):
be in to be a welcomingexperience to people.
Nobody wants to find trailheadsthat are closed.
Nobody wants to find trash cansthat are overflowing, bathrooms
that haven't been cleaned Weneed an ample forest service
because they've been laying offpeople too.
We need an ample forest serviceand park service, staffing and

(23:23):
budgeting to maintain thesebeautiful, beautiful places.
And so the main thing you can dois call your federal
legislators, senators and housemembers and say, please don't
skimp on parks and the forestand public land funding.

SPEAKER_00 (23:38):
Well, I'm sure you already know this, but there's a
huge group of us that arerallying people.
So we will continue Continue todo that.
And certainly, if there'sanything else we can do for you,
please let us all know becausewe are here for you and those
who support the public lands.
Absolutely.
And as we end every episode, wedo a speed round of questions.
Okay,

SPEAKER_01 (23:56):
good.

SPEAKER_00 (23:56):
With what first comes to mind.
Right.
What's your earliest parkmemory?

SPEAKER_01 (24:01):
Boy Scout camping on a farm, first camping, Boy Scout
camping on a farm south ofKansas City.
And then park, there was a parkcalled Shawnee Mission Park, not
far from the house where we grewup where we did a lot of
picnicking.

SPEAKER_00 (24:16):
And what made you love the parks?

SPEAKER_01 (24:19):
I think I love cooking outdoors, you know.
So we had an old beat-up Colemanstove.
And you know how this is, Missy.
The same meal made on a Colemanstove sitting on a picnic table
tastes so much better.
What's your

SPEAKER_00 (24:43):
favorite thing to do at a park?

SPEAKER_01 (24:45):
Hike.

SPEAKER_00 (24:46):
What park have you yet to visit, but it's on your
bucket list, and why?

SPEAKER_01 (24:49):
My wife and I are taking a 40th anniversary trip
this summer to Glacier NationalPark.
It's been on both of our bucketlists.

SPEAKER_00 (24:58):
What are three must-haves that you pack for a
park visit?

SPEAKER_01 (25:01):
Harmonica.
I love playing music around thecampfire.
Coffee.
Gotta have coffee.
And then I do have a sleepingpad.
I sleep in a tent and sleep onthe ground, but I have a Nemo
insulated sleeping pad that Iused on the AT that was a true
lifesaver.
I love it.
In fact, I sometimes inflate itand sleep on the floor at home.

(25:25):
You know, if it's too hot andthe bed feels hot, I'll get out
the sleeping pad and sleep onthe floor.

SPEAKER_00 (25:31):
What is your favorite campfire activity?

SPEAKER_01 (25:33):
Playing music and singing.

SPEAKER_00 (25:36):
Tent, camper, or cabin?

SPEAKER_01 (25:37):
Tent.

SPEAKER_00 (25:39):
Are you hiking with or without trekking poles?

SPEAKER_01 (25:42):
As I grow older, I've gone from no pole to one
pole, and I usually hike withone, but if I'm doing a really
intense, I hike with two polesnow.

SPEAKER_00 (25:52):
What is your favorite trail snack?

SPEAKER_01 (25:55):
Many Heath bars.
And that means M-I-N-I, notM-A-N-Y.
Mini Heath Bars.

SPEAKER_00 (26:02):
What is your favorite animal sighting?

SPEAKER_01 (26:06):
The bears in the Shenandoah National Park are
just truly fun.
And they're always surprisingwhen you see them.
I've had some spectacular blackbear interactions in the
Shenandoah that are really fun.

SPEAKER_00 (26:19):
What is your favorite sound in the park?

SPEAKER_01 (26:22):
Birds or rushing water.
I am not good.
I can hear birds far away, butI'm not good at distinguishing
them.
My wife is a superb birds womanand she can usually tell me what
they are.

SPEAKER_00 (26:35):
And the greatest gift that the parks give to us.

SPEAKER_01 (26:39):
Well, a future that will hopefully be like the past.
I want these parts to be placeswhere my great, great, great,
great grandkids can go and getthe same feeling of joy and
spiritual renewal that I can.
And if we work together topreserve our public lands, we're
preserving not just a future,but we're preserving a future of

(27:02):
memories for generations tocome.

SPEAKER_00 (27:05):
I just want to remind everybody that you can
purchase Walk, Ride, Paddle atyour favorite bookstore, and
I'll put a link on our website.
It is a great story of yourtravels, but also a
behind-the-scenes look at somany areas of your life.
And Senator Kane, thank you somuch for taking time to talk to
us and opening up about youradventures.
I am very grateful.

SPEAKER_01 (27:25):
Missy, I'm so glad we could do this, and thanks for
the work you do to make theprospect of parks and outdoor
activities seem so easy forfolks who are coming to it,
maybe for the first time.

SPEAKER_00 (27:35):
Absolutely.
That's it for today's episode.
Until next time, we'll see youin the parks.
Thanks for listening.
If you enjoyed today's episode,please be sure to like and share
on your favorite podcastplatform.
Music for the Parks Podcast isperformed and produced by Porter
Hardy.
For more information, pleasefollow us on Instagram at The

(27:56):
Parks Podcast or visit ourwebsite at theparkspodcast.com.