In this episode, host Dave Barak speaks with Brad Sailer who visited 63 national parks with his service dog, Ranger. They discuss where Brad and Ranger traveled, what it was like traveling with a service dog to national parks, their favorite parts of the trip, and more!

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TRANSCRIPT:

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[intro music]  

Dave: Welcome to my Park story presented by the National Park Service. People form connections with their favorite national parks and programs, and this parkcast is a place to come together and share those stories. I'm your host, Dave Barak. Today's guest is Brad Sailer, who has travelled to the 63 national parks with his service dog, Ranger.

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Dave: With me today is Brad Sailer. Brad has been on a voyage for the last year or so and he has visited all 63 national parks and we're going to start with his park story to see why his is just a little bit unique. Hi, Brad. How are you?

Brad: I'm great. How are you doing, Dave?

Dave: Very good. It's nice to see you. So Brad, let's start from the beginning. What's your park story?

Brad: So, I was in a situation last summer where I had a pipe explode in my apartment and it flooded my apartment and destroyed most of my things. I realized that we had this opportunity, me, and my service animal Ranger, to hit the road with nothing holding us back. So, we realized that I had the opportunity to spread this message of awareness for people who have disabilities and the accessibility in the National Park system.

And we have been on the road for 11 months and have overcome a lot of different obstacles, and we just made it to Yellowstone and got the last stamp, got our last part right. Ranger has a world record. He's the first dog to have ever gone to every National Park.

Dave: This is incredible. And I forgot to mention, Brad, you are at Yellowstone right now. This is where you've chosen to end this journey and that's exciting. Yellowstone, of course, was our first National Park. And here you are with Ranger, great name by the way, and completing your journey.

You must have, because I know the geography of the national parks, you must have had to drive, fly, did you ever have to take a ferry? I mean, you have done all this different type of travel with Ranger, So, what is that like taking your service animal via every type of transportation imaginable?

Brad: Yeah, you know that that was kind of a necessity and a requirement in order to pull this off. There's a lot of parks, obviously, that you can't drive to. And, just from a logistical standpoint, putting all those pieces together, all these different modes of transportation just kind of fell into place.

Some fun stats for you: we did 34,000 miles in driving, 40 states, two countries, two territories, both the northern and the southern hemisphere, from the South of the equator to the Arctic Circle, eight time zones, 28 flights, 73 plane tickets, 17 boats, 7 vehicles, one which we totaled, 2 medevac, three hospitals, and one emergency vet surgery.

Dave: That's, that's a lot. That's, I mean, it's impressive and I know that there are people that will travel to all 63 of our National Parks and it's difficult to do and it's quite an accomplishment. However, it's important for me to note at this point, as you know, but for our listeners that there are actually 425 parks within the National Park system. And when we're referring to these 63, we're talking about the ones that are specifically designated National Parks. So, where you are now, Yellowstone, Yosemite National Park, Glacier National Park, the rest of those sites and parks are actually designated things like national monument, national battlefield, national seashore and all the like. So, you, Brad, have done these 63, but by my calculation, you've got like 300 something left to go.

Brad: Ohh, yeah, yeah. People keep asking what's next and it's on our list now, so Ranger and I aren't stopping here, that's for sure.

Dave: Ohh, that's great news. Well, I know you've only been to a couple of national park sites that are not capital N, capital P, National Parks. So, what are some of those that you visited that are that are designated differently?

Brad: Sure. You know, actually, I think the only one that we went to that wasn't a Congressional National Park was Mount Rushmore. We were out there for Badlands and Wind Caves, and we just happen to grab a cool, cool campsite right next to Mount Rushmore. So that was a really neat experience and one of those things that it's just a must, and I suppose I met you at the at the National Mall as well.

Dave: That's correct. Yeah, not every visitor to Washington knows that the National Mall is part of the National Park system. So, you and I had an opportunity to meet there. We got to meet up with the a ranger. We me at the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, we got to see a couple of cool sites there and those are all part of the National Park system, and we love to get the word out that you don't always have to go and travel great distances, as you've done, to experience the National Park Service.

Brad: There are so many, they're right in your backyard, yeah. All over the country, there's probably one right in your backyard.

Dave: True. But let's get back to your story. Let's talk about Ranger because as a National Park Service employee, I know what our duty is to people that use service animals, and I know having worked in parks, what our regulations are with service animals and how we accommodate that. But what was your experience with bringing Ranger? Did you encounter any troubles? It sounds like you had a vet visit, which I'm so sorry to hear. I did not know that that Ranger had gotten hurt or ill. What were some of the challenges within the parks traveling with the service animal? Brad: So, when Ranger had a surgery, we were at Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas, and he got an intestinal blockage basically. So, they had to open him up and get it out, and we had to stay in Hot Springs for another, you know, another eight days to give him some time to recover before getting back in the car.

Those the Rangers, the people at Hot Springs National Park, they knew all about it. They were so welcoming to him, especially when he walked in to finally get his stamp and they were clapping for him. It was, it was great. So, it wasn't Ranger’s best day, but it was one of our best experiences as far as people being welcoming. And knowing that he was a service animal and going the extra mile for him.

Dave: Well, that's really, really wonderful to hear. I love working for the National Park Service because we have so many visitors from so many different walks of life and to know that our four-legged visitor, our service animal Ranger was welcomed with open arms after his medical procedure, that's really nice to hear. But let's talk about, I mean what was your best day with Ranger? I mean Hot Springs sounds like a highlight after the fact, but what else sticks out at you when you look at this trip? I mean what's the, what's the highlight of traveling with Ranger?

Brad: I, you know, the highlight really is the people that you meet along the way. You know, these national parks have been waypoints for us, and it's been a dream of mine to visit all of them. But, this adventure has been everywhere in between as well, and just getting to share that with Ranger as well and giving him the opportunity to be a dog that gets to live on the road and outdoors and just be a dog. It was really good.

As far as the parks goes, it was really fun putting him on a float plane to get out to Katmai and Kobuk Valley, that was that was quite a special moment.

Dave: Thos are in Alaska, for any listeners who don't know, right? That's incredible. Yeah, and when I met you, of course, I met Ranger when you were here in Washington. So, it's a pretty cool treat to have someone like yourself who travels, but you've also been sharing the word. I mean, you've been posting about your travels with the service animal. What's that reaction been? Have you heard from other people that are that are doing similar? Sort of having similar trips, what's been the reaction as you share out your time with Ranger on the road?

Brad: Yeah, absolutely, so, I'm part of a few groups on social media. A few of them have to do with the Bark Ranger program, so I love talking to those people. I get asked a lot of questions because obviously the Bark Ranger program is specifically surrounded around the concept of having dogs in the park and keeping a little footprint. But not every park has a Bark Ranger program, and not every park normally lets dogs. So, I get asked a lot of questions about, you know, which parks we can get our dogs to and. And how did you go about that?

And then I get a lot of feed messages from people with disabilities too, who weren't aware of the fact that you can get your dog, and you can go visit these parks with a disability, with your service animal. And I'd like to note as well, overall, on this trip, we have been welcomed with open arms in every single park. All in all, the National Park Service completely aware of him and just welcomed him right in. And that has been a very, very nice thing.

Dave: That's great. That's great. Thanks for sharing that. I also want to take this opportunity, and perhaps you know you'll jump in as well, but to let our listeners know that when we talk about the Bark Ranger program, the parks that have a Bark Ranger program, these are for parks that are welcoming to dogs as pets. So, Brad, you of course are able to take Ranger, your service animal anywhere that you go, but for the sake of dogs that are pets, you want to call in advance. You want to check the website for parks that are able to accommodate dogs becaus