A dream that Brad Ryan, 41, and his grandmother Joy Ryan, 92, originally
believed was unachievable—visiting all 63 U.S. national parks—is getting
closer to completion.
In October 2015, the couple from Duncan Falls, Ohio, began their journey.
Brad was seeking for a way to pass a three-day weekend while he was
attending veterinary school. He said that after talking to "Grandma Joy"
about his earlier treks down the Appalachian Trail, the notion first came to
him.
Brad said on "GMA": "I felt horrible that she was always living vicariously
through my experiences." Because of this, I felt obligated to ensure that
she had some memories to include in her life narrative as well. "Just
knowing that she had never seen deserts, mountains, the ocean, and these
wonderful natural places on Earth, it just seemed like a duty that I had to
her."
Brad thought this would be their final outing together, so he asked his
grandmother on a weekend vacation to the Great Smoky Mountains National
Park.
You don't anticipate going on a camping vacation with your 85-year-old
grandma that it would be anything other than difficult, Brad remarked. "I'm
to blame for it. My misunderstanding of what age implies and, more
crucially, what her spirit would let her to accomplish, stems from
this."
Grandma Joy said, "I've always tried to be positive in my life and it
didn't harm to try anything once. "I didn't want to have to regret that you
didn't do it the following day."
Brad started sharing their travels on Instagram and Facebook in 2019 under
the handle @GrandmaJoysRoadtrip, and they rapidly gained a significant
following. Currently, they have close to 58k Instagram followers.
Grandma Joy said, "We didn't anticipate that. He just posted it on social
media to let Duncan Falls residents know what we were up to.
Grandma Joy and her grandson Brad, according to National Park Services
Chief of Public Affairs and Chief Spokesperson Jenny Anzelmo-Sarles, "are an
example to us all."
The greatest way to experience national parks is with the people we love,
and it is obvious that Joy and Brad have a particular link that has grown
stronger over the course of their travels together, according to
Anzelmo-Sarles.
Before the COVID-19 outbreak prompted them to slow down, they had been to
29 parks.
All we could do, according to Brad, was hold out hope that things would
turn around and that the chances would still be there. We also had to be
thankful for what we had accomplished and seen up to that time.
Grandma Joy and Brad went on one of their wildest adventures yet in July
2021 when they traveled to the eight National Parks of Alaska. While there,
they went white water rafting down class three rapids, went hiking near
glaciers and fjords, and checked seeing a wild animal off Grandma Joy's
bucket list.
"I finally had the chance to observe the bears catch the salmon, something
I had always wanted to see. Additionally, it was enjoyable, "added Grandma
Joy.
Grandma Joy and Brad are nearly ready to put their hiking boots away after
years of preparing and traveling; they still have one national park to
visit, the National Park of American Samoa, which is almost 6,700 miles away
from their home town of Duncan Falls.
It will be "bittersweet" for them to finally accomplish their incredible
goal, but they are looking forward to the day they visit their last park,
according to Brad.
Grandma Joy said, "It's been a fantastic trip, it truly has." "Really, this
has been a moment of great beauty. It is something I wouldn't swap for
anything."
Brad and Grandma Joy's piece of advice is to always look for chances to
explore.
Brad remarked, "We understand that not everyone will be able to visit every
U.S. National Park. However, there is some adventure to be had in every
region of the nation, so we hope that people would go in search of it.
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