They’re a great team and really seeing the nation at every stop they make.
Brad Ryan and his grandmother, Joy, are a special pair and leaving their mark at every national park spanning the USA.
Brad, 30, is a wildlife veterinarian at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C. He is especially close to his grandmother who is a widow and leukemia survivor. Together, the adventurous duo enjoys seeing the country and have made a pact to visit all of the national parks. Within three and a half years, the pair have traveled to eight states, driven 25,000 miles and been to 29 U.S. National Parks and have shared the photos on social media to prove it.
Now, that’s impressive, especially because his grandmother is 89-years-young and at a delicate time in her physical health. Joy, however, keeps moving, and she and Brad are having a blast seeing the country and all that nature has to offer.
The adventure-seekers have been chased by a territorial moose, and that was frightening enough. They’ve also seen majestic grizzly bears and beautiful, massive trees, amazing mountain ranges, and more, but Joy’s favorite sighting has been the prairie dogs that she thinks are quite amusing. She’s always lived in the small town of Duncan Falls, Ohio, so now, she’s seeing so much of the country.
Ryan finds his grandmother to be an inspirational figure to draw from. Each morning she arises, Joy says, “Thank you for another day.”
Life has not been easy for Joy. She lost her dear husband some 20 years ago and also buried three of her sons in their 40s. She had never had a chance to travel and experience the beauty of the United States, and Ryan believed that now was the time to get up and go. Life is too short, and he wants to give back to his grandmother who has always put others before her.
Traveling across the country isn’t cheap, however, so the pair has a successful “Go Fund Me” website page to help defray the cost. For instance, their page has raised $3,760 since its establishment in 2017. The two were hoping for a total of $3,000, but the donations keep pouring in. People believe in their mission and have been proud to support a loving grandson and grandmother on the journey of their lives.
Ryan and Joy hope to visit all 61 National Parks, and so far so good. The beautiful states of Hawaii and Alaska are the next destinations for the pair. Ryan wants to spend as much of his time with his grandmother and to let her see and experience all the bounty nature has to offer here in the USA.
The adorable duo keeps their fans up to date on their traveling journey by posting at Ryan’s Instagram page. People get to see the beauty of nature through their eyes.
The pair’s latest photo shows them wishing everyone a “Happy Thanksgiving” at Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona.
