In Part Three of her “Lessons Learned from Travel” series, travel writr Linda Ballou takes us into the wilds of Alaska and Canada for a powerful story about adventure, wilderness, and environmental stewardship.

In this shared episode of Big Blend Radio’s “Lost Angel Travel Adventures” Show, Linda reflects on her journey down the Tatshenshini River, also known as Raven’s River, which begins near Haines, Alaska, travels through Canada, and flows toward the Gulf of Alaska. She shares an excerpt from her book "Lost Angel Walkabout: One Traveler’s Tales," describing the river’s glaciers, wildlife, birds, salmon, and breathtaking wilderness—and the profound effect the journey had on her.

But this adventure became much more than a rafting trip. Linda explains how experiencing this pristine wilderness transformed her from an “adventure junkie” into an environmentalist and inspired her to become involved in the fight against the proposed Windy Craggy mine. She also discusses the current threat of the Palmer Project in the Chilkat River Valley, the importance of the region to the Tlingit people, and its significance as habitat for salmon, bears, and thousands of bald eagles.

Linda also explores what travelers can learn from rivers: letting go, unplugging from the outside world, being fully present, listening to nature, and finding your own “inner river” or current during times of change.

The conversation ultimately becomes a call for environmental stewardship and citizen action, reminding us that travelers are temporary members of the communities and landscapes they visit—and that protecting wilderness requires a constant vigil.

🌎 American Adventures Month: This episode celebrates the spirit of exploring and protecting America's extraordinary natural landscapes. RESOURCE LINKS: 🎧 Listen to the new audiobook edition of Lost Angel Walkabout: One Traveler's Tales: https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Angel-Walkabout-Travelers-Tales/dp/

🌍 Linda Ballou: https://www.LindaBallouAuthor.com https://www.LostAngelAdventures.com

🎙️ Subscribe to Lost Angel Travel Adventures Podcast: https://lost-angel-travel-adventures.podbean.com

📖 Explore the NEW Lost Angel Travel Adventures Digital Podcast Magazine: https://online.fliphtml5.com/yhwzg/podcast-retrospective/

Filmmaker Casey Carter joins Big Blend Radio to talk about his feature documentary debut, "To Use a Mountain," which traces the search for a permanent U.S. nuclear waste repository back to the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act. Casey and Lisa dig into the six candidate communities featured in the film — in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Nevada — and the farmers, miners, tribal leaders, and citizen scientists who fought back when their land was marked as a possible dumping ground for the nation's most dangerous waste.

The conversation traces a direct line from that 1980s fight to today's headlines: Casey explains how the current data-center boom and a so-called "nuclear renaissance" are reviving interest in new reactor sites, including small modular reactors proposed for underground placement near data centers. Lisa connects the dots to ongoing battles over public lands, from Chaco Canyon to Bears Ears, and asks what it means for communities asked to carry this burden for 10,000 years with no lasting solution in sight.

"To Use a Mountain" opens theatrically at DCTV in New York on Friday, August 21st, and arrives on VOD through Grasshopper Film in early 2027.

Learn more: https://www.touseamountainfilm.com

What's better: a glamping dome in the woods, or a five-star hotel on the boardwalk? Travel journalist and certified sommelier Darla Hoffmann didn't have to choose — she did both, fifty minutes apart, in Nova Scotia.

On this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Food, Wine & Travel" Podcast with the International Food Wine & Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA), Darla takes us inside Nalu Retreat, a geodesic dome on the North Shore with a hot tub, a fire pit, and a chef-prepared dinner waiting in the fridge, before heading into Halifax for the total opposite: Muir, a five-star hotel in the Queen's Marque District with a hidden speakeasy you have to knock to enter, an on-site restaurant called Drift, and boardwalk views from every room.

Along the way, we talk Nova Scotia wine (crisp Tidal Bay whites, a standout red from the Lucie Kuhlmann grape), local food (buttery Wolffish, a proper Halifax donair), and the city's history, from Citadel Hill to the 1917 Halifax Explosion.

Darla also shares how a career in wine led her into travel writing, what she's working on next, and news on her upcoming book — a multi-year project pairing one wine with one signature dish from all fifty U.S. states.

READ DARLA'S HALIFAX ARTICLES: - Salt Air, Scenic Hikes, and a Vibrant Food Scene: https://fwtmagazine.com/salt-air-scenic-hikes-and-a-vibrant-food-scene-halifax-nova-scotia/

- Nalu Retreat: Your Next Serene Getaway Awaits https://luxebeatmag.com/nova-scotias-glamping-escape-into-nature-nalu-retreat/

RESOURCE LINKS: - More About Darla: https://www.aboutwineinaz.com

- Learn more about IFWTWA: https://www.ifwtwa.org/

- Follow the Food, Wine & Travel Podcast: https://food-wine-travel.podbean.com/

- Big Blend Radio's "Travel Food & Wine: Digital Podcast Magazine: https://online.fliphtml5.com/yhwzg/ekxy/#p=1

It's National Park Week! Every fourth Sunday, Joey Stuckey joins Lisa Smith on Big Blend Radio's Music Talks — and this time they're diving into the music inspired by America's national parks and public lands. Recorded right at the start of National Park Week (August 22–30, 2026), the conversation marks the National Park Service's 110th birthday and the 250th anniversary of American independence.

Joey and Lisa dig into seven songs, starting with Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" and moving through Doreen Taylor, John Denver, longtime Big Blend guest Wally Lawder, Joey's own "Oceanside," Ed Tree's "Chaco," and closing with Yusuf/Cat Stevens.

Along the way they talk studio gear, accessibility in the parks, bald eagles and the Endangered Species Act, the Gila Cliff Dwellings, and Hawaii memories — but they also get real about what's currently threatening these places: renewed oil, gas, and mineral leasing pressure around Chaco Canyon, a mining threat facing one of the largest bald eagle gatherings in the world near Haines, Alaska, and the border wall construction fight at Big Bend National Park.

📖 Read the full episode write-up with action links, songs, and more: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/music-for-our-parks-joey-stuckey

🎵 Listen to the full "Music for our Parks" playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6td2w1P7IEUuyVSYsjEvyz

🌐 Visit Joey Stuckey's website: https://joeystuckey.com/

🎙️ Joey Stuckey joins Big Blend Radio every fourth Sunday for Music Talks. Listen to more episodes: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/t/joey-stuckey

On this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Global Adventures" Podcast, travel writer Debbie Stone relives the 163rd Gettysburg Civil War Battle Reenactment — held over 4th of July weekend at the historic Daniel Lady Farm, with timing that felt especially fitting during America's 250th birthday year.

Debbie shares what it was like to stand in the summer heat alongside reenactors in full wool uniform, walk through the Union and Confederate camps, and talk with the volunteers — many of them lifelong history buffs — who keep this history alive. They cover the sobering reality of the battle itself (more than 50,000 casualties over three days), a packed-house presentation on Civil War medicine, the Daniel Lady Farm's role as a Confederate staging area and field hospital, and even a kids' reenactment battle that had every adult on the field smiling.

Read Debbie's full article with more of her Gettysburg story: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/civil-war-battle-reenactment-in-gettysburg

Follow more of Debbie's travels on Global Adventures: - https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/global-adventures-with-debbie-stone - Explore the digital Global Adventures Magazine: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/global-adventures-travel-magazine

Michael Calhoun, a lifelong resident of Vernonia, Oregon and Board Chair of the Columbia Soil & Water Conservation District, joins Big Blend Radio's "Parks & Travel" Podcast — timed to National Park Week 2026 — to share the story of the Banks-Vernonia Trail, a 20-mile former logging railroad that became Oregon's first rails-to-trail conversion and later earned National Recreation Trail certification from the National Park Service.

Michael talks about growing up in a town shaped by the timber industry, the community debate that surrounded turning an old rail line into a public trail, and how that decision revitalized Vernonia decades later. He and host Lisa D. Smith dig into the balance between resource extraction and conservation, why community-led certifications like National Recreation Trail status can help protect public lands from development pressure, and how Vernonia is now pursuing Dark Sky community status to protect migrating birds and pollinators.

This conversation covers real, practical advice for any community sitting on an overlooked trail, railroad corridor, or public land asset — and why stacking certifications and designations can build long-term resilience.

Learn more and connect with Michael: - Banks-Vernonia State Trail (National Recreation Trail Database): https://www.nrtapplication.org/trails/banks-vernonia-state-trail - L.L. Stub Stewart State Park (Oregon State Parks): https://stateparks.oregon.gov/index.cfm?do=park.profile&parkId=104 - Michael Calhoun on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael--calhoun/ - Michael Calhoun for Columbia Soil & Water Conservation District on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Michael-Calhoun-for-Columbia-Soil-Water-Conservation-District-100086151820617/

Travel writer Eva Eldridge joins Big Blend Radio's "Parks & Travel Podcast to share her firsthand visit to Crater Lake National Park, Oregon's only national park and home to the deepest lake in the United States.

Hear how the caldera formed after Mount Mazama's eruption 7,700 years ago, why the lake has no inlet or outlet, the striking clarity and blue of the water, hiking trails around the rim, the volcanic Pinnacles, and how Oregon's lush west side gives way to high desert on the east.

Eva and host Lisa D. Smith also swap stories about accessible ways to experience national parks, snowy encounters at Rocky Mountain National Park, and the Pacific Crest Trail. It's a great listen as National Park Week 2026 comes to a close.

LINKS & RESOURCES: - Read Eva's full article on Crater Lake National Park: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/crater-lake-national-park-2026 - Plan your visit to Crater Lake National Park: https://www.nps.gov/crla/index.htm - Learn more about Eva Eldridge and her writing: https://evaeldridge.com

On this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Adventures in Asheville" Podcast, Steve and Karen Wilson chat with Dawn Bankson, owner of Star Watch Night Vision Tours, about exploring Asheville's night sky in a whole new way.

Using military-grade PVS-7 and PVS-14 night vision goggles, Dawn takes guests out to dark-sky locations around the Blue Ridge Parkway and Mount Pisgah to spot meteor showers, satellites, and unexplained "travelers" in the night sky.

Steve and Karen share their own experience catching the Perseid Meteor Shower, and the conversation wanders into UFO sightings, Bigfoot lore, and why fall and winter are the best seasons for stargazing in Western North Carolina. Plus, hear what's on tap at The Lion & The Rose Bed & Breakfast this season, and get the scoop on their in-room beer keg package for Beer City USA visitors.

Follow Dawn & Star Watch Night Vision Tours: * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057159232266 * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/starwatchnight

Stay at The Lion & The Rose Bed & Breakfast: https://www.lion-rose.com

More Adventures in Asheville: * Podcast Channel: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/adventures-in-asheville-podcast * Digital Podcast Magazine: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/adventures-in-asheville-magazine