National Parks Traveler Podcast · Kurt Repanshek

National Parks Traveler Podcast | 1,000 Western Wonders

·57 min·3 clips

Oswald argues that a book of 1,000 places is different from fire-hosing one place to millions online.

The episode opens by asking a practical question about crowded parks. It is the kind of question travelers ask when parking lots fill and trails feel busy. Kurt introduces Mike Oswald as the writer and publisher behind *Your Guide to the National Parks*. This time, though, the spotlight shifts from the parks themselves to the broader world of western public land. Oswald's book is called *Public Land, 1,000 Western Wonders*. He explains that he drew his western boundary around the Rocky Mountains, from New Mexico up to Montana. That gives the project a clear frame while still stretching across 11 states and about 390 million acres of public land. Oswald says he had been building a personal Google map for years, using it to pin places that interested him. Some were places he expected to be great from the start. Others turned into the kind of unexpected stops that make a road trip feel worth it. The conversation stays practical without getting dry. It leaves room for the difference between a planned destination and a surprise pull-off. Kurt keeps returning to how the book came together, and Oswald answers with a map-maker's eye rather than a sales pitch. The result is a discussion that treats the West as lived geography, not a slogan. It also gives listeners a useful sense of how public lands shape travel choices. The episode closes by noting the book's Cinco de Mayo release and its promised e-book version, alongside the broader National Parks Traveler mission. By the end, the listener has a stronger sense of scale, boundaries, and curiosity.

As heard by us

A steady conversation about the West beyond the park boundary.

National Parks Traveler moves away from the parks and into Mike Oswald's new book, Public Land, 1,000 Western Wonders. The episode uses that conversation to ask how the West gets drawn, with Kurt pressing on practical questions and Oswald answering through the Rocky Mountains,…

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Why you'd press play

You want to map the West beyond the national parks, through a fact-filled conversation about a new book on public land.

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