Grandma Joy and Me' follows a grandmother and grandson's journey to every national park

Transcript

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Geoff Bennett: Eleven years ago, Brad Ryan took his then 85-year-old grandmother, Joy, camping in the Smoky Mountains after hearing that she had never seen a mountain herself. One trip to a national park turned into dozens. And eventually, what they called Grandma Joy’s road trip took them to every single one, making Joy Ryan the oldest person to begin and finish visiting every U.S. national park.

We spoke with Brad and Grandma Joy back in 2022 for “PBS News Weekend.”

Joy Ryan, Grandmother of Brad Ryan: Well, I have lived in the same district, in the same house for 67 years, and you just hardly imagine all the beautiful, wonderful things that you find outside. And it just made — it’s just been miraculous. And I have enjoyed every minute of it. And it’ll give me something, when I get old, that I can sit and talk about.

(LAUGHTER)

Geoff Bennett: Joy Ryan has plenty more to talk about now. She and Brad have since completed trips to all seven continents. I spoke with them after they got back from Thailand and Australia, where they traveled with Road Scholar. That’s a nonprofit that organizes educational trips around the world.

Brad and Joy Ryan, welcome to the “News Hour.”

Joy Ryan: Thank you for bringing us.

Brad Ryan, Author, “Grandma Joy and Me: A Journey of Healing, One National Park at a Time”: It’s good to see you.

Geoff Bennett: Yes, you as well.

So, what made you decide that, after visiting all of the national parks, all 63 of them, that the next adventure had to be all seven continents?

Brad Ryan: Well, American Samoa is 7,000 miles from her front porch. It’s a U.S. territory, but they have their own immigration system. So we had to get passports to go to our last national park in American Samoa. And while we were there, we flew across the International Dateline to Western Samoa. So we had one stamp.

And then we just realized that we still had a lot of adventure left ahead of us, I think, more chapters to write. And the truth is that our followers on social media kind of ganged up on me. And they were like, we want to see more of these adventures. Where are you taking Grandma Joy next?

(LAUGHTER)

Brad Ryan: Three national parks was not enough.

And I thought, seven continents, that’s a grand adventure that a lot of people strive to accomplish, and maybe we might pull that off.

Geoff Bennett: And you just got back from Australia. Is that right?

Joy Ryan: Yes. Uh-huh.

Geoff Bennett: Of all that you have seen now and experienced, what amazes you the most?

Joy Ryan: It’s amazing how many people are different, but yet underneath they’re all just the same, whatever. You can’t beat that. When you’re in the national park, everybody is just one big group.

Brad Ryan: Yes.

Joy Ryan: And it’s amazing.

Geoff Bennett: And you were saying earlier that when you were in Africa…

Joy Ryan: Yes.

Geoff Bennett: … in the Maasai village, that in many ways reminded you of the way that you grew up.

Joy Ryan: Oh, yes. They all live in this little hut, and I lived in a chicken house that made into a house. And we didn’t have any electric. We didn’t have — we had outside bathroom. All of our neighbors was just the same, so we didn’t feel like we was poor.

And over there, they didn’t feel like they were poor either. They dressed in real bright red and orange and yellow outfits, and all the little kids just laughed and played and jumped and just had the best time. So, money isn’t everything.

Geoff Bennett: Since we last spoke, Brad, you wrote the book “Grandma Joy and Me: A Journey of Healing, One National Park at a Time.”

And you write very openly about how the two of you for a time had lost touch and that there were things left unsaid.

Brad Ryan: Yes.

Geoff Bennett: How has the traveling together, how has that for you been a healing process?

Brad Ryan: You know, when you’re on your normal life path, I think in America, at least, we know our grandparents casually, but then we go to college and we go off and we have our careers and our families, and I don’t think most people take the time to really learn the origin story of their family and look for those threads that go through the generations.

And when you’re in a vehicle driving for — we have driven over 100,000 miles at this point, but to all the U.S. national parks, we drove about 70,000. And there’s really not much you can do sometimes when you’re on these long stretches of highway, and you get hypnotized by that yellow line coming at you, and all these questions sort of come to the surface, and there’s nowhere to go.

And that’s what we did. We looked at those things that I think a lot of families choose to keep hidden because it’s uncomfortable, it’s traumatic. And, ultimately, what we found is that, although those conversations were painful at times, it was necessary to move us forward as a family and to find that ultimate place of healing.

Geoff Bennett: And, Mrs. Ryan, what was it like for you to reconnect with your grandson in this way?

Joy Ryan: Oh. Oh, we found out things about each other that we didn’t know over the years. And it was great to have a comforting hand next to me when I needed it while I felt down in the dumps.

And it was a wonderful outcoming for him and for me to have him with me.

Geoff Bennett: And, Mrs. Ryan, at 96, these aren’t small trips.

Brad, how are you organizing these trips so that they’re comfortable and safe?

Brad Ryan: Yes, I mean, really, you have to remember always that it’s about slowing down, staying in the moment, and that’s something that I used to do not so well, because I was an Appalachian Trail thru-hiker, and my relationship to the great outdoors was seeing how fast I could get to the summit.

And then suddenly I’m walking at the pace of 87-year-old, now 96-year-old. And so she speeds up more than she probably would, and I slow down, and we just — we find this beautiful place in the middle to just be present and enjoy the moment.

Geoff Bennett: Do you ever look at the itinerary and think, Brad, this is a bit too much, or are you game for all of it?

Joy Ryan: Right. Well, one thing about it, kiddo, I’m getting close to the end. You only go around once, so you better stop and take — smell the roses.

(LAUGHTER)

Geoff Bennett: That’s true. That’s true.

Brad Ryan: I mean, I really — I have learned to just make sure that we leave — we leave plenty of space in the itinerary for spontaneity. And that’s been a big part of the journey is just seeing what’s down this random side road. And so we don’t — we don’t pack the itinerary like we used to.

Geoff Bennett: There are people watching who would love to travel like you do, who would love to just go for a hike, but they might not know where to start. What advice would you give them?

Joy Ryan: Hey, never say no. If somebody asks you to go somewhere, grab your bag and go. Don’t ever say no. The next day, you will regret it.

Geoff Bennett: That’s great advice.

How has this changed you?

Brad Ryan: Well, the beginning of the journey that I detail in the book, it’s in the first chapter, is that I was in my fourth year of veterinary school and I was in the throes of a of a chronic depression, and I was struggling with suicidal ideation.

It’s not in any self-help book that when you’re at a low point like that you should take an 85-year-old woman camping. And that was what my heart told me I needed to do in that moment. I needed to be in nature, and I needed to be with somebody who I knew loved me unconditionally.

And, thankfully, when I called her at age 85, she was willing to come along for the ride. And I know I have become a stronger person because of the time that I spent with her and the example that she set for me. I mean, yes, we journeyed to all the U.S. national parks, and that’s a beautiful thing to have experienced in life.

But all of the roads in between these national parks were where the real magic happened, because those were the conversations where we went back in time and I really learned who she is and what she’s made of, the grit and just the beauty of a soul that can experience so much grief and tragedy and still choose to show up for their life and say, I’m going to let joy tip the scale.

And so it put my circumstance into perspective. And she was able to help me out of that low point with my mental health. And I never really did look back. I was a different person even after that first road trip. And then to be able to continue to 63 U.S. national parks and watch her break a world record, and then step foot on every continent in the world, it’s opened up infinite possibilities for how my life is going to unfold.

I have a really high bar to meet.

Geoff Bennett: All of the parks, all of the continents, dare I ask what’s next?

Joy Ryan: I don’t know. You better ask him. He’s the one that pops up with these ideas.

(LAUGHTER)

Brad Ryan: Space travel, Geoff, that’s the answer.

(LAUGHTER)

Geoff Bennett: Yes. Well, you will have to come back once you have completed that.

(LAUGHTER)

Geoff Bennett: Brad Ryan, Grandma Joy Ryan, a real delight to speak with you both. Thank you so much.

Brad Ryan: It’s so good to see you.

Joy Ryan: Oh, thanks for having us. We really enjoy coming here.

Brad Ryan: Yes.