Two Chicks with Hiking Sticks

Ever wonder what it's like to walk into a volcano? This week the Two Chicks head to northeastern New Mexico to cover Capulin Volcano National Monument — one of the most perfectly symmetrical cinder cone volcanoes on Earth, and one of the only places in the world where you can actually hike down into the crater vent. In this episode we cover: 🌋 How Capulin formed — and why it "seeped&quot...

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve is the largest national park in the U.S. — 13.2 million acres that almost never got protected at all. In this episode, Susan and Monica dig into the Russian explorer the park is named after, the 1978 deadline that nearly opened the land to development, and the wild story of Kennicott: a copper mining town that made $200 million in ore and then vanish...

Chamizal National Memorial doesn't look like much — until you learn a flood moved a river, stranded a piece of Mexico inside U.S. territory, and kicked off a border dispute that took 99 years, two presidents, and a concrete channel to finally settle. In this episode, Susan and Monica dig into the 1864 flood that started it all, the human cost of relocating 5,000 El Paso residents to make the b...

Two battles. One field. And a modern fight to keep it from being swallowed by development. In this episode of Two Chicks With Hiking Sticks, Susan and Monica head to Manassas National Battlefield Park (a.k.a. Bull Run) in Northern Virginia, site of the Civil War's first major land battle. We cover the well-to-do spectators who showed up with picnic lunches and ended up fleeing for their lives,...

Denali National Park almost wasn't named for the mountain at all — the whole thing got saved because one guy in the early 1900s wouldn't stop fighting to protect the Dall sheep from overhunting. In this episode, we dig into how Denali became a national park in 1917 (as Mount McKinley National Park), how it tripled in size to over 6 million acres under Jimmy Carter in 1980, and the messy, o...

Two Chicks with Hiking Sticks head to Dayton, Ohio to explore the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park — the six-site park honoring Wilbur and Orville Wright AND poet Paul Laurence Dunbar.  We walk the Wright Cycle Company shop and discuss where the Wrights proved flight was practical. Come with us as we uncover how a bicycle shop, a poet, and a prairie changed the world. 📍...

This week Susan and Monica cover White Sands National Park — our 62nd of 63 — and there's way more going on here than sand. We get into why it sat as a "national monument" for 86 years before finally becoming a national park in 2019 (spoiler: it involved a defense bill), why the park sometimes has to shut its only road down for active missile testing next door, and the 21,000–23,000-year-old human...

This week we're at Tumacácori National Historical Park, a 360-acre National Historical Park protecting the ruins of three Spanish colonial missions along Arizona's Santa Cruz River. We dig into Padre Kino's 1691 mission and the Anza Trail's road to San Francisco. 📍 Featured: Mission San José de Tumacácori, Tumacácori Museum 👟 Subscribe for more National Park history, culture, and trail adventure...

Two Chicks with Hiking Sticks heads to Lassen Volcanic National Park — and it turns out the story behind this "hidden gem" is way weirder than we expected. We dig into how a failed political fight only got resolved because the mountain literally erupted, how the devastating 2021 Dixie Fire reshaped huge parts of the park, and why the man the park is named after might not have deserved the honor at...

Susan and Monica head to Ocmulgee Mounds National Historic Park just outside Macon, Georgia — a site with evidence of continuous human habitation for 12,000 to 17,000 years. We cover the Great Temple Mound (55 feet high, built basket by basket by South Appalachian Mississippian laborers), the massive 1930s archaeological excavation, and the uncomfortable truth behind it: the human remains that wer...

We're covering one of the least-visited parks in the whole system — North Cascades National Park in Washington State. This place has over 300 glaciers, turquoise glacial lakes, ancient Indigenous trade routes crossing the mountains 10,000 years ago, and a wild history of dams, clear-cut forests, and an international fight with Canada that just got a nearly $1 billion resolution THIS YEAR. Plus: th...

Most people have never heard of the Mexican-American War — but it gave the United States everything from New Mexico and Arizona to California. And it all started right here, on a quiet coastal prairie near Brownsville, Texas. Join Susan and Monica as they dig into one of the most underrated — and most important — National Park Service sites in the entire country: Palo Alto Battlefield National His...

Join Two Chicks with Hiking Sticks as we explore Petroglyph National Monument on the edge of Albuquerque, New Mexico — home to an estimated 20,000-25,000 petroglyphs carved into volcanic basalt by Ancestral Puebloan peoples and Spanish settlers over the last 700+ years. In this episode, we hike the easy-to-moderate trails of Boca Negra Canyon, Rinconada Canyon, and Piedras Marcadas Canyon, explore...

Ever wondered what it's actually like to visit Mount Rainier National Park? In this episode, Susan shares her firsthand experience visiting in August 2024 — and she and Monica break down everything you need to know before you go, from the park's layout to the logistics that can make or break your trip. Mount Rainier is one of America's most iconic national parks — and one of the most misunderstood...

Ever driven past a historical site and thought... but why is this here? That's exactly the conversation we had about Fort Union National Monument in northeastern New Mexico — and we're not holding back! Monica was our boots-on-the-ground explorer and Susan did the deep research dive, and together we take you through the full story of this FREE National Park Service site: the three forts built on t...

In this episode of Two Chicks with Hiking Sticks , Susan and Monica dig into one of San Antonio's most beloved urban parks — Phil Hardberger Park — and the remarkable 175-year story behind how it came to exist. What started as a Republic of Texas land grant to a Battle of San Jacinto hero eventually became a tight-knit community of dairy farms known as Buttermilk Hill . The last family standing? M...

Welcome to another adventure with Two Chicks with Hiking Sticks! In this episode, Susan and Monica explore one of the most unique and underrated parks in Texas—Palmetto State Park. Located between Luling and Gonzales, this small but fascinating Texas State Park is home to dwarf palmettos, scenic hiking trails, the San Marcos River, Oxbow Lake, incredible birdwatching opportunities, and even a loca...

We’re heading to one of the most underrated national parks in the entire country — Guadalupe Mountains National Park in far West Texas! Rising over 3,000 feet above the Chihuahuan Desert, these mountains hide a jaw-dropping secret: they’re actually the remains of a 260–270-million-year-old reef that once sat at the bottom of an ancient tropical sea. In this episode, we explore the natural wonders,...

What would you do if a simple hike turned into an unexpected overnight stay in the wilderness? In this episode of Two Chicks with Hiking Sticks, we're diving into essential outdoor survival skills every hiker, camper, and outdoor explorer should know before heading out on their next adventure. From the Ten Essentials and emergency shelters to navigation, hydration, signaling for help, and common m...

Have you ever actually seen the Milky Way with your own eyes? Not a photo — the real thing, overhead, arching across a pitch-black sky? If not, this episode is for you. Susan and Monica dive into the world of Dark Sky Parks — what they are, how places earn that designation, and what it actually takes to visit one and see something that will genuinely blow your mind. 🌠 IN THIS EPISODE: • What a Da...

Texas has one natural lake — and most people have never heard of it. 🌿 Caddo Lake State Park in East Texas is unlike anywhere else in the Lone Star State. We're talking 400-year-old bald cypress trees draped in Spanish moss, a swamp full of alligators, 12,000 years of human history, and a founding father of the Republic of Texas who was shot dead in the water on Independence Day. Yeah. It's THAT...

Welcome back to Two Chicks with Hiking Sticks! 🏜️ In this episode, we're heading to one of the most jaw-dropping places on Earth — Arches National Park in Moab, Utah. Home to over 2,000 natural sandstone arches (yes, TWO THOUSAND!), this park is a bucket-list destination for a reason — and we're breaking down everything you need to know before you visit. In this episode we cover: •  &nbs...

She escaped slavery alone at night. Then went back. Thirteen times. In this episode, we dive deep into the full, extraordinary life of Harriet Tubman — from her brutal childhood on Maryland's Eastern Shore, to her daring escapes on the Underground Railroad, to her secret career as a Union Army spy who led the most successful military liberation raid in American history — freeing over 700 people in...

In 1933, with 25% of Americans out of work and the land itself in crisis, FDR launched one of the most ambitious — and successful — programs in American history: the Civilian Conservation Corps. In this episode, we take a deep dive into the CCC — how it was created in just 10 days, how 3 million young men were put to work across America's most iconic landscapes, and how the structures they built w...

In this episode of Two Chicks with Hiking Sticks, we cover TWO powerful stories connected by one theme: protecting the places and values that matter most. 🎥 PART 1 — THE RIVER AND THE WALL FILM SCREENING We attended a special community event hosted by the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), Keep Big Bend Wild, Latino Outdoors, the San Antonio River Foundation, and the Big Bend Conserv...