Episode 29 - Tim Kaine - Walk Ride Paddle - webpage header

Episode Guest

Tim Kaine, Author & US Senator
“Walk Ride Paddle: A Life Outdoors”

Speed Round

What is your earliest park memory?

 Boy Scout camping on a farm south of Kansas City, and then park. There was a park called Shawnee Mission Park, not far from the house where we grew up, where we did a lot of picnicking.

What made you love the parks?

 I think I love cooking outdoors. So we had an old beat-up Coleman stove. The same meal made on a Coleman stove, sitting on a picnic table, tastes so much better than if it’s made in your kitchen. And I just remember Mom making hash browns, baked beans and hamburgers and hot dogs on the Coleman stove and sitting at the picnic table and looking at the lake. How come it tastes so much better here?

What is your favorite thing to do at a park?

Hike

What park have you yet to visit but is on your bucket list and why?

 My wife and I are taking a 40th anniversary trip this summer to Glacier National Park. It’s been on both of our bucket lists.

What are three must-haves you pack for a park visit?

 Harmonica. I love playing music around the campfire. Coffee. Gotta have coffee. Um, and then I do have a sleeping pad. I sleep in a tent and sleep on the ground, but I have a Nemo insulated sleeping pad that I used on the AT (Appalachian Trail) that was a true lifesaver. I love it. In fact, I sometimes inflate it and sleep on the floor at home. If it’s too hot and the bed feels hot, I’ll get out the sleeping pad and sleep on the floor.

What is your favorite campfire activity?

Playing music and singing.

Tent, camper, or cabin?

Tent.

Hiking with or without trekking poles?

 As I grow older, I’ve gone from no pole to one pole, and I usually hike with one. But if I’m doing a really intense hike, I hike with two poles.

And what is your favorite trail snack?

Mini heath bars

What is the favorite animal sighting that you’ve had?

 The bears in the Shenandoah National Park are just truly fun. They’re always surprising when you see them. I’ve had some spectacular, black bear interactions in the Shenandoah that are really fun.

What is your favorite sound in the parks?

 Birds or rushing water. I could hear birds far away, but I’m not good at distinguishing them. My wife is a superb birds woman, and she can usually tell me what they are.

What is the greatest gift the parks give to us?

 A future that will hopefully be like the past. I want these parks to be places where my great, great, great, great grandkids can go and get the same feeling of joy and spiritual renewal that I can. And if we work together to preserve our public lands, we’re preserving not just a future, but we’re preserving a future of memories for generations to come.

Show Notes & Links