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The Joy Trip Project

#BlackLivesMatter, Black Lives Matter, Diversity, Essays, National Monuments, National Parks, Outdoor Recreation / 10.04.2023

On April 3, 2023, the National Park Service formally announced two groundbreaking reports that detail the history and progress of equitable access to public land from 1916 to 1965. Spanning the time from the creation of the NPS through the height of the Civil Rights movement, these studies offer great insight into the “tragedy and resilience of Black recreation”. As I’m pouring though these remarkable documents on this beautiful Easter Sunday Morning, I was reminded by historian Christina Pronenza Coles that on this day, April 9, 1939, contralto Marian...

Black Lives Matter, Essays, National Geographic, National Monuments, National Parks, Unhidden / 06.04.2023

Our journey through American history is often an exploration that reveals not just the cultural artifacts of the past that have been hidden, but those that have been taken away. On our way to the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historic Site, we decided to make a stop in Easton, Maryland. My friend National Geographic photographer Kris Graves and I went searching for the space that was once occupied by the state’s last Confederate Civil War memorial....

#BlackLivesMatter, Black Lives Matter, Nelson Institute, Outdoors For All, Running, The Joy Trip Reading Project, Ultra Running / 28.02.2023

On the latest edition of the Joy Trip Reading Project book discussion. this month’s author is Alison Mariella Desire, author of “Running While Black”. This discussion is particularly important because February 23rd was the three-year anniversary of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. We’d like to take a moment to acknowledge and celebrate his life that was sadly taken from the world far too soon. ALISON MARIELLA DÉSIR is an endurance athlete, activist, and mental health advocate. Currently, cochair of the Running Industry Diversity Coalition, a Run Happy Advocate for Brooks...

#BlackLivesMatter, Black Lives Matter, Commentary, Essays, National Geographic, National Monuments, National Parks, Public Land, Unhidden, Yellowstone, Yosemite / 13.02.2023

On a recent visit to Yellowstone National Park, I had the chance to see with my own eyes for the first time the inscription carved over the Roosevelt Arch. Previously I had only seen pictures. I have the rare privilege to be among the many writers and scholars who serve as topic experts on National Geographic Expeditions to remote areas around the world. This landmark in particular was a gap in my pedigree that I was very happy to fill. It's in these moments when I am happy...

Adventure Activism, Backcountry, Banff, Diversity, National Geographic, The Arctic, Winter / 26.12.2022

The Joy Trip Project is excited to announce the 2nd recipient of the Matthew Henson Memorial Polar Explorer Scholarship. In partnership with Polar Explorers, an Illinois-based guiding company, we are pleased to award Christine Meissner free tuition to attend a five-day introduction to a winter travel training course in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness of Northern Minnesota. Christine will be joined by last year’s scholar awardee Stephan Scott to help guide and mentor her journey in the world of cold weather overland travel. To honor the legacy of...

Diversity, Interview, National Geographic, National Monuments, National Parks, Podcast, Public Land / 19.12.2022

The protection of public land requires the broad ranging vision and leadership of federal service professionals at the highest levels. As the 19th Director of the National Park Service Charles F. Sams III is guiding the management of a complexed agency that oversees the protection of 63 National Parks and more than 420 individual monuments, battlefields, lakeshores and grasslands. A member of the Confederate Tribes of the Umatilla Indians, Sams is the first Native American to serve as the administrator of the memorial sites that preserve our natural history...