See America
84 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 222 ratingsA podcast about great destinations. Join us on one epic road trip across America.
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Episodes
Cedar Point
July 04, 2020 15:32 - 9 minutes - 7.91 MBThis week, we journey to the "rollercoaster capital of the word" to hear the history of the second-oldest theme park in America — Sandusky, Ohio's Cedar Point.
Oliver Lee
June 27, 2020 05:58 - 12 minutes - 8.34 MBOn the eastern edge of New Mexico’s Sacramento Mountains, a few miles west of the rolling dunes of White Sands National Park sit the remains of two unassuming cabins in a place called Dog Canyon. If you walked by them today, you probably wouldn’t realize they sparked a famous conflict that would have ramifications for years to come. Today, on See America, Oliver Lee State Park
Fenway Park
June 21, 2020 07:49 - 12 minutes - 8.57 MBSeason 4 is here! We kick it off with one of the most American places you could imagine. Nestled in the city of Boston is what is often called "America's Most Beloved Ballpark.” A place where dreams are made, traditions are celebrated and baseball is forever. It’s the home of Red Sox Legends, and a looming Green Monster which has befuddled pitchers for a century: Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox and the pulse of Red Sox Nation.
Monument Valley
May 24, 2020 06:53 - 11 minutes - 7.66 MBCombined with the surrounding mesas, buttes, and desert environment, Monument Valley Tribal Park truly is one of the natural wonders of the world. Set aside by the Navajo Tribal Council in 1958, the park covers almost 92,000 acres in northern Arizona and southern Utah and lies entirely within the Navajo Nation reservation.
Rock Island
May 17, 2020 06:51 - 14 minutes - 9.87 MBRock Island is one of those towns that pops up in nostalgic culture over and over, but not a lot of people know where it is or much about it. It's almost mythical in a way, due especially to the Rock Island Line, a real train route, short for the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, memorialized in the folk song of the same name. But Rock Island's story is steeped in real history — especially the actual Rock Island, the largest island on the Mississippi River, for which the town is named...
White Pillars
May 09, 2020 09:23 - 15 minutes - 10.3 MBA 100-year old building that stands as a symbol of community. It's the place generations have gone to eat to celebrate life's joys - before prom, on Mother's day, a rehearsal dinner. It's part of the fabric of a town that has witnessed disaster and rebirth. And it's been reinvented for today's refined palate. This week, the White Pillars restaurant in Biloxi, Mississippi.
Hjemkomst
May 03, 2020 09:42 - 16 minutes - 11.5 MBIn the summer of 1971, a Minnesota Junior High School guidance counselor took a severe fall from a friend's roof. While recovering from his injuries, he set out to build a dream. A replica of a ship from his ancestral Viking heritage. One that would sail him all the way to Norway. This week, the Hjemkomst, the Viking ship that inspired a community.
The World's Largest Truck Stop
April 25, 2020 08:54 - 9 minutes - 6.56 MBDuring the coronavirus pandemic, heroes of all stripes have emerged to keep our country healthy, fed, and supplied. Doctors, nurses, retail workers, delivery drivers and all sorts of other essential workers deserve our respect and support in this difficult time. Perhaps one of the most overlooked groups of these heroes is truck drivers. Without truck drivers, we wouldn't have most of the essential things we need to live on a daily basis. Travel restrictions, closed restaurants, closed bathro...
The National Naval Aviation Museum and the Blue Angels
April 18, 2020 08:27 - 13 minutes - 9.49 MBDuring the twentieth century, few military organizations played a more crucial role than Naval Aviation. In war at sea, eclipsing the battleship as the decisive weapon, aircraft carriers projected their powerful air wings over vast expanses of water, striking with surprise at enemy fleets and land bases, then disappearing with equal swiftness. In times of peace, the carrier and her battle group provided American political leaders a flexible, always ready and potent way to respond to regional...
The Copper Mines of Jerome, Arizona
April 11, 2020 09:52 - 14 minutes - 10.1 MBHigh in the hills overlooking Arizona's Verde Valley, a tiny town filled with history sits, like a mother bird over nesting over her eggs. Except this egg is a billion-dollar deposit of copper. And the mother bird - a brave and raucous mix of miners, smelter workers, freighters, gamblers, bootleggers, saloon keepers, prostitutes and preachers. This week, the mining town of Jerome, Arizona.
The Mammoth Site
April 04, 2020 06:16 - 13 minutes - 8.95 MBJune 1974, Hot Springs, South Dakota. Landowner Phil Anderson is preparing open space on the edge of town for a new housing development. Heavy equipment operator George Hanson was grading a small hill when his blade struck something that shone white in the sunlight, changing the destiny of the little town for years to come. This week, the Mammoth Site museum, in Hot Springs, South Dakota.
The SPAM Museum
March 28, 2020 07:40 - 15 minutes - 10.8 MBPork, Salt, Water, Sugar, Potato Starch, and Sodium Nitrate. 6 simple ingredients, cooked in a can, make up the world's most polarizing meat product. When it first came off the production line in 1937, it won over the hearts of soldiers, world leaders, celebrities, chefs, kids, and parents. Some scorn its very existence, but it's more than likely they never tried it. It was born in a small Minnesota town but is now celebrated in cultures around the world. This week, the SPAM museum, in Aust...
Eyes on the Sky in Platte River, Nebraska
March 21, 2020 23:50 - 12 minutes - 8.68 MBIn the heart of the rolling Great Plains, thousands of one of the largest flying birds on earth rest and feed in the light of the setting sun. They jump into the air, flap their wings, and dance after filling their bellies with corn and insects. Their calls echo across the river plains like bones rattling in the wind. Incredible as this scene is, it's just one stop along an awe-inspiring journey. This week, the great sandhill crane migration and Nebraska's Sandhill Crane Festival.
The American Tobacco Campus and Burt's Bees
February 23, 2020 03:19 - 13 minutes - 18.2 MBDurham, North Carolina. Home to possibly the most famous Minor League team in all of sports - the Durham Bulls. Durham has witnessed a massive revitalization in recent years, as it turned the scars of an industry in free-fall into new life and prosperity. This week, the American Tobacco Campus.
Red Rocks
February 15, 2020 09:03 - 12 minutes - 16.8 MBIn the western suburbs of Denver colorado, lies a unique music venue that many consider the finest in the world. With Mother Nature as the architect, this acoustically perfect amphitheater has hosted some of the greatest performers in the world for over a century and is the location of some of the most famous live albums ever recorded. This week, Colorado's Red Rocks Amphitheater.
Charters of Freedom
February 09, 2020 08:55 - 28 minutes - 39.1 MBThere's one room on this earth that I have walked into that left me more humbled than any other. More proud and inspired. More happy and afraid and joyful. In one, oval-shaped room, the full weight of our nation and the American experience takes hold of you and doesn't let go. No. Not that oval room. This week, the hallowed Rotunda at the National Archives in Washington D.C.
Chicago Sculpture
February 02, 2020 18:17 - 18 minutes - 25.8 MBChicago, Illinois. The Windy City. The City of Big Shoulders. The City in a Garden. The City That Works. This week, three sculptures that define three different stages of Chicago, and indeed America.
The Hoover Dam, and Its Mascot
January 26, 2020 09:16 - 23 minutes - 32.4 MBIn the desert of the southwest sits a looming, concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between Nevada and Arizona. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It was a massive effort involving thousands of workers, many who lost their lives. Originally known as Boulder Dam, today it provides power for public and private utilities in Nevada, Arizona,...
The Wave Organ
January 18, 2020 08:59 - 12 minutes - 17.7 MBAlong the eastern edge of San Francisco’s Golden Gate National Recreation Area sits a jetty, constructed from an assortment of granite and marbel pieces taken from the demolition of the Laurel Hill Cemetery. Upon it, an art installation like no other. This week, the wave-activated acoustic sculpture known as The Wave Organ, one of many pieces created on-site at San Francisco’s Exploratorium.
The City Museum
January 11, 2020 07:13 - 14 minutes - 20.6 MBIn the heart of America sits one of the wildest museums in the world. Housed in a 10-story former shoe factory, this sprawling 600,000 square-foot urban playground stirs the imaginations of children and adults alike. This week, The eclectic and entertainingly unique City Museum.
Colleen Moore's Fairy Castle
January 04, 2020 08:08 - 12 minutes - 17.6 MBHollywood,1928. One of the biggest movie stars of the silent era sets out to build herself a gorgeous dream home, sparing no expense and employing a talented legion of industry colleagues to design and build it. But this house wasn't destined for the Hollywood Hills, nor would any human ever live in it. This was the original tiny house, long before tiny houses were cool. This week, Colleen Moore's Fairy Castle, which now resides in the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Illinois.
Biltmore
December 28, 2019 09:45 - 19 minutes - 26.2 MBThe U.S. isn't really known for its vast estates, but a few were built by some of the most prominent families of the industrial revolution. One of those families seemed to be on a quest to outdo each other, building some of America's most famous homes, culminating in the country's largest, in Ashville, North Carolina. This week on See America, the Biltmore Estate.
The Market Theater Gum Wall
December 21, 2019 15:47 - 10 minutes - 15 MBOverlooking the Elliott Bay waterfront in Seattle, Washington sits one of the oldest continuously operating farmers' markets in the united states - the 112-year-old Pike Place Market, where small farmers, craftspeople and merchants hawk their wares. Pike Place boasts more than 10 million visitors annually. It's the 33rd most visited tourist attraction in the world, and for good reason. Here, you'll find fishmongers at the Pike Place Fish Market, the first Starbucks, a bronze cast piggy bank ...
River Cities Speedway
November 23, 2019 17:58 - 12 minutes - 17.3 MBOn the western banks of the Red River of the North is a flat region known as the Red River Valley, and a town that owes its existence to a flatboat race down the Red River in the late fall of 1870, in which the steamboat of Alexander Griggs came up short to the Winship's crew. The result was that Griggs spent the 1871 winter here, and founded the city of Grand Forks. This town was born with racing in its blood. It's a tradition that continues to this very day, but in a much more modern way. ...
The International UFO Museum & Research Center
November 15, 2019 22:40 - 15 minutes - 20.8 MBIn July 1947, something happened in Eastern New Mexica during a severe thunderstorm. Was it a flying saucer? Was it a weather balloon? What happened? Whatever it was, it sparked an alien fever that continues to this day. This week, Roswell, New Mexico, and the International UFO Museum and Research Center.
Bellingrath Gardens & Home
November 09, 2019 08:18 - 18 minutes - 26 MBMobile, Alabama doesn't get the street cred of other historic southern tourism towns like Savannah, New Orleans, and Charleston. Perhaps it's the massive shipping industry that lends an industrial vibe to some, but consider that Mobile is steeped in history. It was founded in 1702 by the French as the first capital of Louisiana. It's host to a massive concentration of historic architecture. And even though New Orleans somehow became the Mardi Gras capital of the world, Mobile invented the Ma...
The Hollywood Sign
November 02, 2019 04:11 - 22 minutes - 30.9 MBBefore Hollywood became the film and television capital of the world, it didn't look much different than other western frontiers. The area surrounding Los Angeles was full of farmers, cowboys, and prospectors, all wanting their piece of acres of undeveloped land. As the word got out about the sunny skies, mild temps, and dry weather, Americans began to flock to California. In 1887, a Mrs. Wilcox, wife of Harvey Wilcox, met a woman on a train trip who referred to her Florida summer home, "Ho...
The Shreveport Water Works
October 26, 2019 07:32 - 11 minutes - 15.9 MBOne of the best things about a road trip is uncovering new experiences that weren't even on your radar. As we travel the country, it's very hard for my wife and me to pass up a historical marker. Often something small happened in that location, but other times it's a grain elevator museum or an old train depot. Fantastic reminders of the development of modern conveniences. One such place caught our eye in the city of Shreveport, Louisiana. Shreveport isn't what many would call a tourist t...
The Stanley Hotel
October 19, 2019 07:56 - 12 minutes - 17.2 MBColorado's Estes Valley was once a wild, lonely parkland known only to the nomadic tribes of Ute and Arapaho. When the Earl of Dunraven visited in 1872, he coveted this a "sportsman's paradise" of rushing streams and peaceful meadows teeming with fish and game. He sought to keep the valley to himself as a private hunting preserve, but as more and more American settlers were drawn by its natural beauty, he realized that his dream could never be a reality. Yankee inventor Freelan Oscar Stanl...
The Space Needle
October 12, 2019 18:26 - 13 minutes - 18.9 MBRising high above the Seattle skyline is one of the most iconic structures in the world. It was built in just 400 days, held together 74,000 bolts. Today, it stands as a symbol of the Pacific Northwest, reminding us of plans of the past and dreams of the future. This week, Seattle's Space Needle.
Cadillac Ranch
October 05, 2019 18:16 - 12 minutes - 17.8 MBMain Street of America. The Mother Road. Is there anything more American than cruising from Chicago to LA on Route 66 in a classic convertible blasting Springsteen's "Cadillac Ranch." Route 66 today has changed, it's less about the drive than the stops along the way. Many are boarded up or have been swallowed by the dust and tumbleweed of the Southwest, but those that survive remind us of where we've been and where we're going. This week, one of the most iconic stops on the Mother Road, Cadi...
The Great Buffalo Roundup
September 28, 2019 07:34 - 15 minutes - 20.8 MBProbably the most iconic American mammal is the bison, or buffalo as it’s colloquially called. They’re nearly synonymous with Yellowstone National Park, but there’s another, better place to see them. One where traffic jams rarely occur every time one meanders by. It’s also a bit easier for most Americans to get to and every bit as beautiful: the Black Hills of South Dakota. This week, the Great Buffalo Roundup at South Dakota’s Custer State Park.
The Neon Boneyard
September 21, 2019 04:31 - 13 minutes - 19.1 MBLas Vegas, Nevada. The quintessential Road Trip destination. For nearly 100 years it’s been the American epicenter for gambling, live spectacles, shotgun weddings, magicians, and all sorts of assorted vice. Its proximity to Southern California ensures the desert oasis is fed with a continuous supply of visitors, and its reputation for hospitality delivers a steadfast flow of people from around the world. If there’s one word that describes the look of Vegas, it’ must be “neon.” One of its m...
See America – Season 1 Trailer
September 06, 2019 04:02 - 2 minutes - 3.17 MBComing soon from the creators of the RV Miles and the America’s National Parks Podcasts is a new show that journies to hidden and not-so-hidden gems that make up the fabric of our nation. We call it See America.