Funny National Park Stories (Vol. 2)

There’s never a dull moment when you’re hiking out in the national parks! In this episode, we are sharing Volume Two of our funny stories in the national parks, and this one centers around our most hilarious moments while hiking! 

Let’s dive into some of our funny and embarrassing moments from the trails. 

Join us as we cover: 

• The time we got punked while whale-watching
• The lengths we went to in order to find a “hair carrot” in Theodore Roosevelt National Park
• The muddy puddle that was actually the lake we were looking for

We hope you enjoyed these funny stories! It’s so fun to look back on our adventures and misadventures in the parks. And hopefully, this summer, you’ll be able to go out on some hiking trails in the national parks and have some of your own adventures!

Listen to the Full Podcast Episode:

Funny Stories Overview

In this episode, we’re sharing our funniest hiking stories from various national parks. From being pranked by the sea in Acadia National Park to losing and replacing an emotional support object in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, we hope these stories will entertain and make you laugh.

Join us as we recount these hilarious misadventures and provide a glimpse into the lighter side of exploring America’s spectacular national parks.

The Epic Whale Watching Prank at Acadia National Park

Thunder Hole in Acadia National Park is famous for its thunderous waves crashing against the rocks. During a visit to Thunder Hole, we, along with a crowd of 100 to 200 people, witnessed what we believed to be whales in the distance. Everyone was excited and took numerous pictures, only to later realize that we were actually capturing images of a buoy bobbing in the ocean near a shallow reef.

This hilarious prank by the sea left us in stitches and has to be the longest continuously running practical joke in any national park!

The Tale of the Missing Hair Carrot in Theodore Roosevelt National Park

It’s common for a child to have an attachment to an inanimate object, and our young son dearly loved a carrot with “hairs” as his emotional support item. He called it his hair carrot. 

During a hike in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, the hair carrot went missing, and we faced a dilemma of whether to search for it or console our son with a replacement. We decided to hike back to the ranch where the hair carrot was last seen but couldn’t find it, leading to the challenging task of consoling our son and ultimately replacing the hair carrot with another hair carrot.

If you’re a parent, you’ll relate to this ridiculous story regarding attachment to an inanimate object!

The Muddy Puddle in Rocky Mountain National Park

As we were hiking in Rocky Mountain, we followed a side trail that we thought would lead us to Lake Helene, a beautiful lake along the Fern Lake Trail. We spent time at the lake we found, thinking it was Lake Helene.

As we continued hiking, we spoke to a man resting near another spur trail. We asked him about the side trail, and he described it as just a muddy puddle, dissuading them from exploring it. We continued our hike without realizing our mistake until we reached the bottom of the hill. 

After checking the map, we discovered that the lake we had visited was not Lake Helene and that the “muddy puddle” the man encouraged us to pass by was, in fact, Lake Helene. We were disappointed but decided not to hike back up due to the time and our tired legs.

We learned a lesson from the experience: never trust someone’s word on the trail, and always do your own research! Despite the disappointment, we still had a fabulous day out on the trail — but we’ll be back!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Acadia National Park
• Acadia Can’t-Miss List
• Theodore Roosevelt National Park
• Theodore Roosevelt Can’t-Miss List
• Rocky Mountain National Park
• Rocky Mountain Can’t-Miss List
• Dirt In My Shoes YouTube Channel

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