Grandmother and grandson visit 63 national parks on adventure of a lifetime

[SunSeeker]

Joy Ryan, 92, had never seen a mountain. So her grandson decided to take her to every site that has “national park” in its name.

Together, they’ve marveled at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and slept beneath the stars at Joshua Tree National Park in California. They did the bridge walk at New River Gorge Park in Lansing, W.Va., rolled down a dune in Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, and watched brown bears catch salmon at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park in Alaska.

“All of it has been magical,” said Brad, who moved to D.C. in 2018 and consults with various veterinary hospitals in D.C., Maryland and Virginia. “I’ve been able to see so much of the country and meet so many people with my grandma by my side.” Within the next year, they are planning to make it to the last national park on their list: the National Park of American Samoa. The final stop, they both said, will be bittersweet.“

As a grandson, watching her life story unfold completely differently than it otherwise would have, it gives me peace,” Brad said. “She finally got to start living the life of adventure she had always been waiting for, and deserved.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/08/30/national-parks-grandmother-brad-ryan/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F37c9877%2F630e36911930ae1d206f986f%2F5bc97fa5ae7e8a50f8217d42%2F38%2F70%2F630e36911930ae1d206f986f&wp_cu=aaf3abbba47fbc3f9baee01b61131acf%7C41ADDB499D553BA9E0530100007F77CC





Can I have a Brad, please?

[Harker]

1. Thanks for the beautiful rainbow.

A bit of sweet news counts for a lot!

[sheshe2]

2. What a wonderful young man.

[SWBTATTReg]

3. Wow, how neat!

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

4. That was a fun read, thanks for sharing. nt

[SheltieLover]

5. What a sweet grandson & awesome experience!

[Snackshack]

6. Nice

I wish I had been in a position to do this for my grandmother. I cared for her the last 10yrs of her life. Unfortunately doing something like this was just not possible. We went on day trips to places but multiple days away would not have been practical. I miss her so much.

[Hortensis]

7. :) How wonderful! I didn't know or might have joined the 58K

who eventually started following their visits to the parks on line. 2015 until now, one more adventure far away...

[niyad]

8. Thank you.

[wendyb-NC]

9. Thank you for posting that article

What an awesome grandson and a phenomenal, intrepid grandma. They are both so inspirational. Blessings to both Joy and Brad, keep enjoying your the National Parks.

[Lucinda]

10. ❤️ ✿❧🌿❧✿ ❤️

[UpInArms]

11. That was a lovely story

Thank you for sharing 💝

[GP6971]

13. Back again? n/t

[Rhiannon12866]

15. Thanks!

Yikes!

[SunSeeker]

16. What did I miss?

Never mind.

[brer cat]

17. Once a MIRTer....

We miss having you on the team this term, but you are doing a great job out in the woods (or is that weeds?).

[GP6971]

18. Probably ragweed. n/t

[LeftInTX]

14. What a wonderful young man!

[brer cat]

19. A great story, SunSeeker.

Thanks for posting.