0:02

National Parks draws in for so

0:04

many reasons. The trails, the adventure,

0:06

the wildlife, seeing the lands that

0:08

are untouched are like taking a

0:10

step back in time and seeing

0:12

how it's always been. National parks

0:14

attract all types of people. The

0:17

adventurers, hikers, climbers, sightseers, families, and

0:19

friends and couples from around the

0:21

country and the globe. While

0:23

each park you visit is vastly different from

0:25

the next, you may have noticed a similar

0:28

theme among them all. Have you

0:30

ever stepped into a visitor center in one park

0:32

and thought, huh, this

0:34

looks exactly like a visitor center

0:36

I've seen in another? Have you

0:38

ever noticed that the park signs,

0:40

road signs, and campgrounds, while in

0:42

completely different landscapes, all look the

0:44

same as the other parks? That's

0:47

because years ago, national parks

0:49

almost died, and a

0:51

billion dollar revitalization project saved them and

0:53

made them into what you see today.

1:00

Welcome to National Park After

1:03

Dark. Well,

1:05

this is different. This

1:25

episode is so different than most

1:28

I've ever done. And it

1:30

all kind of stemmed from I was

1:32

trying to think of a topic to

1:34

write about, and I was thinking haunted

1:36

hotel because we haven't done that in

1:38

a while. And then I was just

1:40

thinking about hotels and I was researching

1:42

them. And I was like, wow, there

1:44

are so many really beautiful hotels inside

1:46

of national parks. And I noticed

1:48

that I mean, you don't go inside of

1:50

a national park and see like a daisin.

1:52

No offense to daisin. No offense. Well, I mean,

1:54

they're great when you're

1:58

on the side of the road and you need somewhere to like. and

2:00

you need a bed for the night. But national

2:02

parks don't have anything like that.

2:04

And they're all, they seem very

2:07

purposeful. They're designed within the landscapes.

2:09

And I just thought like, why

2:11

are all of the most beautiful

2:13

buildings that you see, they're all

2:15

within national park boundaries or the

2:17

most interesting ones happen in national

2:19

parks. Like you see, they

2:21

have massive timber lodges. They have chalets that

2:24

make you feel like you're in the Swiss

2:26

Alps. They have these luxurious buildings that take

2:28

you back to the Victorian era. Like

2:31

there has to be a story behind

2:33

why and more than it just being

2:35

a tourist destination. So. Well,

2:38

I remember for

2:40

the, and I will not be able

2:42

to remember his name, but remember

2:44

when we were at the Stanley and we did

2:46

the live show and I was talking about the

2:48

Parkitect. Do you talk about him? Not

2:52

really. Okay. But I do talk

2:55

about like Parkitecture. Okay.

2:58

Maybe you'll bring up his name and I'll be like,

3:00

ah, that was him. It's nothing about like he designed

3:02

a bunch of the lodges. A

3:05

lot of them are not in existence

3:07

anymore. So maybe you don't, but he,

3:09

at some point for some reason, his

3:11

nickname was the Parkitect. And the reason

3:13

I brought it up was because he

3:15

had designed a lot of the places

3:17

that are connected to the filming of

3:19

The Shining. Oh, interesting. Remember? Yeah, I

3:22

do vaguely remember you talking about that.

3:24

I don't mention him in this. I

3:26

do talk about Parkitecture, which is a

3:28

movement within national parks of the rustic

3:31

design of the buildings within them, which

3:33

is something that I do get into.

3:35

Okay. Well, we'll see. But not

3:37

him in particular. I might have to Google him

3:39

at some point in this episode, just so I

3:41

can get it off my brain, because now, my

3:43

God, what was his name? Like who is that?

3:45

Okay, go on. I'm excited because you know, I

3:48

love a old building. Yes, and

3:50

we're talking about all old buildings today.

3:52

And actually for this episode, we're going

3:54

to talk about the history of a

3:56

project that the National Park Service implemented

3:59

known as... 66

4:01

that revitalized the parks and made way for

4:03

what we know the park structures to be

4:05

today. And of course because we're talking about

4:08

historic buildings, we're also going to sprinkle in

4:10

some haunted happenings at each one of them

4:12

as well. And I thought this

4:14

would kind of be a fun summer

4:17

because this episode I think is the

4:19

first one that's coming out since it's

4:21

officially summer and it's like officially national

4:23

park season. And I thought it would

4:25

be fun just to mention some fun

4:27

lodges and hotels that you can stay

4:29

in when people are wandering around. Cool.

4:31

So going into it as many of

4:33

us know Yellowstone National Park was the

4:35

very first national park established in the

4:37

entire world in 1872 and it came

4:40

following a conservation movement to protect

4:42

these beautiful lands and it also

4:45

can protect environmentally important landscapes from

4:47

development and overuse. It was signed

4:50

into law by President Ulysses S.

4:52

Grant to be set aside and

4:54

preserved and protect the scenery, cultural

4:57

heritage, wildlife, geologic and ecological systems

4:59

and processes in their natural condition

5:01

for the benefit and enjoyment of

5:04

present and future generations. That was

5:06

the whole point of creating the

5:08

national parks and following that this

5:11

is like a history into national

5:13

parks briefly about this but following

5:15

Yellowstone there was Sequoia, Yosemite, Mount

5:18

Rainier, Crater Lake, Wind Cave, Mesa

5:20

Verde, Glacier, Rocky Mountain, Hawaii Volcanoes

5:22

and then Lassen Volcanic and these

5:25

were all established before the National

5:27

Park Service was even established in

5:29

1916. So I

5:32

think that part of the thing

5:34

that's important for people to recognize

5:36

in national park history is that

5:38

the national parks came long before

5:40

the National Park Service and there

5:42

was this kind of open time

5:44

where national parks weren't being managed

5:46

in the same capacity that they

5:48

are now and in part the

5:50

National Park Service had not been

5:52

created in the beginning because visitation

5:54

of these parks were relatively low.

5:56

At the time automobiles hadn't been

5:58

invented because because they weren't invented

6:00

until 1886, or

6:03

when the parks were really in their very

6:05

beginning days, automobiles were very early. So there

6:07

weren't like a lot of road systems and

6:09

there weren't a lot of people who owned

6:11

them. So people traveled mostly

6:13

by train in horse covered wagons,

6:16

which made a lot of these

6:18

parks difficult to travel to. With

6:20

the railroad system being built across

6:22

the West, it opened opportunity for

6:24

hotels and tourism and buildings to

6:26

be established. And when that happened,

6:28

the need for a national park

6:30

service grew. And this was in part

6:32

to manage visitors and also to protect

6:35

the lands. And while it had been

6:37

designated by law as protected, they had

6:39

people in place, but there wasn't really

6:41

a system to make sure that these

6:43

laws were upheld and vandalism and extrication

6:46

of resources was still happening. So at

6:48

this time, the federal government was managing

6:50

the parks directly through the army at

6:52

the time, but there

6:55

wasn't a designated group managing it. And a lot

6:57

of that history goes back into the Buffalo soldiers

6:59

being there. And it was just, it

7:01

was a time when they were trying, but

7:03

it was very clear that they needed people

7:05

who are trained and established in these areas

7:08

to be working in the area. And I

7:10

will say at this time, when they first

7:12

started, there weren't many visitor services

7:14

or places to stay for visitors. So they're

7:16

like, hey, we just created these national parks

7:19

for everyone to enjoy and love, but

7:23

we have nowhere for you to stay when you

7:25

travel across the country to be here. So people

7:27

were intense. There weren't like great services, restrooms, things

7:29

like that. So the very

7:32

first national park hotel was

7:34

built before the national park

7:36

service was even established and

7:38

fitting to the first national park, the

7:40

first national park hotel was in Yellowstone

7:43

and it was the Lake Yellowstone Hotel

7:45

built in 1891. And

7:48

this hotel, it's this like huge, beautiful yellow building.

7:50

I don't know if you've seen it before, but

7:52

it took two years to build and it took

7:55

a total of $46,000, which

7:58

when you hear that now, I'm like, ah. That

8:00

sounds great. I wish I could build a house for 46 grand.

8:03

But in today's money, that is estimated

8:05

to be just about over $1.5 million.

8:08

It was the very first luxury national

8:11

park hotel, but it certainly wasn't the

8:13

last. And the building of this hotel

8:15

inspired a national park rustic aesthetic that

8:17

is often referred to as parkitecture that

8:19

had luxurious hotels popping up around national

8:22

parks in the late 1800s and early

8:24

1900s. While

8:27

we know national parks now to be referred

8:29

to as America's best idea, it wasn't

8:31

always that way. In fact, at one

8:34

time, it was described as nationally disgraceful

8:36

and a national tragedy. And it wasn't

8:38

for the idea itself, but it was

8:40

actually because of the way it was

8:42

being managed. And again, like not having

8:45

a national park service. And there were

8:47

a lot of things happening within just

8:49

global, globally that were happening, like World

8:51

War II that was affecting these. When

8:54

World War II happened, they took a

8:56

lot of the personnel that were managing

8:58

the parks and the budget out

9:00

of the parks because they just

9:02

didn't have the money for it.

9:04

And this resulted in unmaintained buildings

9:07

and services and overall low maintenance

9:09

of the national parks. After the

9:11

war, the budgets remained low and

9:13

infrastructure continued to deteriorate. Despite this,

9:15

visitation numbers were on the rise.

9:17

In 1945, the parks had a

9:19

total of 11.7 million visitors. But

9:23

by 1954, only nine years later,

9:25

the numbers had skyrocketed to

9:27

47.8 million people. And

9:30

all of these visitors were noticing the

9:32

dilapidated conditions of the infrastructure that was

9:35

there. So all of these beautiful hotels

9:37

that were once built had been abandoned

9:39

for years. They had all of these

9:41

different structures and restaurants and things that

9:43

people had built in the first coming

9:45

years when things were starting to get

9:47

established and tourism was beginning. And then

9:49

the war and the Great Depression and

9:52

everything kind of shut stuff down. So

9:54

these people who spent $46,000 building a

9:56

hotel and were spending money doing all

9:58

these. these things

10:00

across all these national parks had

10:02

really not had the budget or the money to

10:04

take care of them. So then after World War

10:06

II, when people were like, hey, the economy is

10:09

back up, our soldiers are home

10:11

from war, things are good, let's

10:13

go on to vacation. They were going to these

10:15

parks and being like, what is this?

10:17

Like what is going on? Everything,

10:19

the accommodations here are horrible. So a

10:21

lot of people were complaining, people were

10:24

upset, and the parks were faced with

10:26

two choices. They could either restrict access

10:28

to parks altogether and say they're protected

10:30

land, but they're shut down for public

10:33

use, no one can come here. Or

10:35

they could pursue a massive revamp of

10:37

the parks. And that's where we get

10:39

into mission 66 that

10:42

happened. Whenever

10:49

I'm gearing up for my next trip,

10:51

deciding what to pack is always so

10:53

hard. I used to struggle with my

10:55

wardrobe with clothes that don't fit or

10:57

worn out, or I just can't find

10:59

anything that matches. But since I discovered

11:01

Quince, I've been able to find all

11:03

the high quality clothing essentials I need

11:05

for my travels, like premium European linen

11:07

dresses, blouses and shorts from $30, washable

11:09

silk tops, premium

11:11

luggage options, and so much more. And

11:13

the best part is that all Quince

11:15

items are priced 50 to 80% less

11:17

than similar brands. They do this by

11:19

partnering directly with top factories. And Quince

11:21

is able to cut out the cost

11:23

of the middleman and pass the savings

11:25

on to us. Quince only works with

11:27

factories that use safe, ethical, and responsible

11:30

manufacturing practices and premium fabrics and finishes,

11:32

which I love. I bought my favorite

11:34

jumpsuit I own from Quince and it's

11:36

great because I can dress it up

11:38

or down. It could be beachy or

11:40

for a nice dinner out. The quality

11:42

is so good, I can't believe I

11:44

paid what I did for it. I've

11:46

bought similar things for much more in

11:48

cost and the quality wasn't as good

11:50

as the jumpsuit I have from Quince.

11:52

Pack your bags with high quality essentials

11:54

from Quince. Go to quince.com/NPAD for free

11:56

shipping on your order and 365 days.

24:00

located near you and treat

24:02

the conditions you're searching for.

24:04

When I need to find

24:07

a new doctor that I

24:09

can trust, I use ZocDoc.

24:12

Go to zocdoc.com/NPAD and download

24:14

the ZocDoc app for free.

24:16

Then find and book a

24:19

top rated doctor today. That's

24:21

zocdoc.com/NPAD. zocdoc.com/NPAD. Okay,

24:25

anyway. Okay,

24:27

anyway. Anyway, we're going to

24:29

Glacier National Park to

24:31

the Belton chalet. It is one

24:33

of the six original chalets in

24:35

the park. And at the opening

24:37

of this chalet, it was regarded

24:39

as the pinnacle of hospitality in

24:41

the West. It was built with

24:43

large balconies with rustic rocking chairs

24:45

on them, wide eaves and heavy

24:47

braces, windows that let in lots

24:49

of light, beautiful crown molding and

24:51

hardwood floorings, along with beautiful

24:54

old brick fireplaces. It's comprised of

24:56

five buildings, including a dining hall

24:58

and hotel facilities. The chalet structure

25:01

looks like something you would stumble

25:03

across on the mountainside in Switzerland,

25:05

which is fitting because Glacier National

25:07

Park has been deemed America's Switzerland

25:10

or the American Alps. And people

25:12

from all over the country would

25:14

take train rides to visit. And

25:16

this chalet was actually directly inspired

25:19

by Swiss chalets. The

25:21

entire construction of it was based upon

25:23

what you find in Switzerland. This chalet

25:25

was directly affected by the war and

25:27

shut down in 1946. It

25:30

stood empty for four decades, except for

25:32

a cafe and bar that intermittently operated.

25:35

And it wasn't until 1997 that it

25:37

was acquired by new owners who put

25:39

$1 million into restoring it. Today, the

25:41

chalet prides themselves on restoring the building

25:44

to its original state when it first

25:46

opened and offering elegant, locally sourced dining

25:48

experiences in the restaurant and tap house.

25:50

When you stay here, you can rent

25:53

a room or an entire cottage. And

25:55

the rates I found were around 250 to 450 per night. depending

26:00

if you were staying in a cottage or a room. And

26:02

while this is truly a gem

26:05

to be visited and on the

26:07

list of national historic places, it

26:09

is also a place filled with

26:12

strange happenings. And this actually began

26:14

during the renovations of the hotel.

26:16

So now we get into the

26:18

fun, spooky story part. So during

26:20

the renovations of the hotel, workers

26:23

were reporting that furniture would unexplainably

26:25

move. They were hearing muffled noises

26:28

that were coming from empty rooms. And

26:31

occasionally black soot that was left

26:33

by kerosene lanterns would appear on walls

26:35

that had just been newly painted. In

26:37

another instance, during the renovations, someone brought

26:40

their dog with them there and their

26:42

dog was reportedly sitting at the foot

26:44

of the stairs staring up very

26:46

intently. And they watched as this was

26:49

going on, like, what are you staring

26:51

at? No one's there. And as we

26:53

know, dogs, dogs see all.

26:56

And for them, there was no one

26:58

there, but then out of

27:00

nowhere, a marble came

27:02

bouncing down the stairs. Oh, yeah.

27:06

Oh yeah. That's a

27:08

ghost. That's a ghost. Where'd

27:10

that marble come from? Another dimension. Yeah, another

27:12

dimension, a child. A child ghost,

27:14

probably. Yeah, of course. I'm

27:17

into it. I'm into it and I'll always

27:19

trust your dog. Yeah. It doesn't

27:21

matter. That's a blanket statement. It could

27:23

be anything. Anything under the sun, trust

27:25

your dog. Yeah, except if you're like

27:27

out walking around outside and they just

27:29

like, I don't know, Tucker, he likes

27:31

to just stare at things. Oh

27:34

my God, I'm saying this, like I'm not

27:36

believing this guy, but he likes to just

27:38

stare at things and it freaks me out.

27:41

And I look around when we're out hiking

27:43

and then he's not doing anything. He just

27:45

like, his brain shut down for a minute

27:47

or something. Well, is that canine cognitive disorder

27:49

creeping in or is that picking up on

27:51

another dimension or is he

27:53

just taking it in the scenery? There's a lot of options. I'll

27:56

say taking in the scenery, taking in

27:58

the smells. Something like that. Enjoying.

28:01

Enjoying his time. Yeah. Yeah.

28:05

But it freaks me out sometimes because he like gets

28:07

high alert and then just like stands there and doesn't

28:09

move and then there's nothing. No sounds, nothing. And then

28:11

he just moves on. Yeah. Like

28:13

nothing happened. Yeah. Going

28:16

out there. Yeah. You know?

28:19

Maybe there's ghosts around me all the time. I

28:21

would say probably. I

28:23

feel like there's stuff around everyone at all

28:25

times. Yeah. But we won't get

28:27

into that. Yeah. I

28:30

don't get my vibes. Sometimes I get vibes when I'm

28:32

in places and it's not on the trail. Anyway, maybe

28:34

he probably knows more. I should probably just trust him.

28:36

I don't know. You've experienced some

28:38

vibes on the trail. That

28:41

one specific one. That's true.

28:43

Yeah. I mean, I don't think that you're

28:46

in like an open receiving state at all

28:48

times. You know what I mean? Yeah.

28:51

Sometimes you're more in tune to what's

28:53

happening than others. Yeah. Of

28:55

course. Okay. Well, trust

28:57

the dog's blanket statement. Yeah.

29:00

Anyway, back to the belt. In recent

29:03

years, guests, now that it's

29:05

open and people can stay there, in

29:07

recent years, guests have reported strange occurrences

29:09

as well. People staying in rooms, especially

29:11

in the rooms between 30 and 37,

29:13

have found weird things

29:16

with their plumbing. So they've found their faucets

29:18

running when they've returned and haven't been there

29:20

in a while. Or they've even

29:22

found the valve shut off underneath the sinks.

29:24

And it's such a common occurrence that it

29:26

is reported to the staff really often like,

29:28

hey, was someone in my room? Did they

29:31

leave the water on? My valve shut off

29:33

in the sink. Is there a reason for

29:35

that? And the

29:37

staff is very used to this. And

29:40

it's actually interesting because they report

29:42

that the problem with that whole

29:44

thing of the sinks

29:46

running or the faucets off or whatever

29:48

is that the plumbing has been very

29:50

recently updated. And every time they've had

29:52

it inspected for any reports, no issue

29:54

is ever found. And it happens so

29:57

much now that the issue is brushed

29:59

off and for the most part the

30:01

staff will tell guests like it's just

30:03

a mischievous ghost at work like no

30:05

harm especially rooms 30 to 37. This

30:08

should be like a little disclaimer if you're

30:10

checking into one of those rooms like FYI

30:12

this may happen and if it does don't

30:15

call us. Yeah like leave us

30:17

alone. That might deter some people though

30:19

they'd be like what the? There's ghosts

30:21

in here? There's a warning label for

30:23

ghosts? I feel like for every person

30:25

it deters it attracts five. Fair. Maybe

30:28

they should look into doing that. The

30:30

morbid curiosities. There

30:33

is so I did the

30:35

reason I found this story of this

30:37

is because this woman she wrote a

30:40

book and it's called Glacier Ghost Stories

30:42

and I think I forget I've

30:44

referenced her book in

30:46

at the Stanley. Oh did you? Yeah I

30:48

downloaded all my Kindle and I didn't read

30:50

the entire I didn't read the whole thing

30:53

I know it's on the shorter chapter that yeah

30:55

I just read the chapter for this hotel. Okay

30:58

so I didn't read this chapter because

31:00

I don't remember this but yeah

31:02

yeah interesting because I did going

31:04

to the Sun Road at the

31:07

Stanley. I do remember you saying that I do

31:09

remember this now that you're saying and they got

31:11

the uh I don't know why

31:13

I want to call them Joe but there

31:15

was like that apparition that's on the road

31:17

that they see like that whole thing is

31:20

from this book so there's the connection. Gotcha

31:22

cross referencing. Yeah so I use this book

31:24

and she was the one she actually went

31:27

and talked to the people who work and

31:29

have stayed at the hotel so these are

31:31

like first hand occurrences that

31:33

people are saying and part of

31:35

her book also references sounds of

31:38

a woman weeping and

31:40

that this has been a very common report

31:42

in the hotel. In one instance a night

31:44

auditor was the only one in the building

31:46

and heard the weeping woman in room 37.

31:49

Another guest in that same room reported

31:51

feeling someone touching his shoulder when he

31:54

was in bed which is a no-go

31:56

for me. Staff have reported

31:58

strange things too and we One instance,

32:00

a staff member was moving furniture when

32:02

they became locked in the bathroom and

32:04

another staff member had to let them

32:06

out. Some staff members stay in rooms

32:09

above the restaurant, have also reported

32:11

some strange happenings. They'll hear someone with heavy

32:13

boots walking outside their door in the middle

32:15

of the night, but when they get up

32:17

to see who's out there, no one is

32:20

ever there. And those same happenings have been

32:22

reported by guests outside of room 23. Very

32:25

specific with the room numbers. Yeah, it's

32:28

like, oh, they just go to these

32:30

certain parts. I don't know. Yeah,

32:32

who knows? In 2008, a guest who

32:34

stayed at the lodge later sent a

32:36

letter back to the belt and describing

32:38

their night there because it was so

32:40

memorable. She detailed waking up to a

32:42

man sitting in the chair in her

32:44

room and she described him surrounded by

32:46

a light and he was handsome with

32:49

dark hair and was muscular. He spoke

32:51

to her and told her that he

32:53

was a minor and that he couldn't

32:55

leave Glacier. He also told her that

32:57

he had heard her on a phone

32:59

call that she had earlier that night

33:01

about some concerns in her life that

33:03

she had. And he said that it

33:05

would all be okay before disappearing. That

33:07

is so touching. I love that. Very

33:09

nice. Like it's a little scary,

33:11

but also very nice. Like, hey, this is

33:14

me. I'm, I'm here. It's me, it's

33:16

your boy. It's your boy. And

33:18

I just wanted to say like your worries.

33:21

Don't worry about it. It's all good.

33:23

I've never heard an account that way

33:25

in that, like that, what's

33:27

the phrase I'm trying to come up with. I've

33:29

just never heard an account

33:31

of the paranormal blend together different

33:34

experiences in one. Like generally when

33:36

someone sees like a haunting like

33:39

that, usually it's like a residual

33:41

type of thing. They don't interact

33:43

with you. And it's

33:46

a very like, they're kind of just

33:48

going about their business without recognizing

33:50

your presence or anything like

33:52

that. Yeah. And certainly even

33:54

if they do, it's like,

33:56

like you said, like a

33:58

touch or like. turning on

34:00

the faucet or doing some- It's not

34:02

like a full conversation. Like a

34:05

personal one. I mean, I

34:07

feel like especially the light around him

34:09

and just the words of comfort and

34:11

advice so personally, like that gives spirit

34:13

guide vibes to me. Spirit guide or

34:16

some creepy stalker and she was half

34:18

asleep and he like walked in and

34:20

was like, shh, or that. I would

34:23

hope the former, but either it was

34:25

on the table. I was

34:27

like, are you sure that was a

34:29

ghost girl or are you, were

34:32

you like narrowly killed by a serial killer?

34:35

Who felt bad for you? It's

34:38

very interesting. That's so intriguing.

34:40

Yeah. So these are just

34:42

some of the happenings in the chalet and

34:44

staff think there could be as many of

34:47

six ghosts that reside there. Now, where

34:49

did they all come from? Legends have circled

34:51

around, but there's no written records of tragic

34:53

happenings that have ever been found. Legends

34:56

have detailed a man who was killed by

34:58

a train across from the chalet, mine workers

35:00

killed in the construction of the railroad, which

35:02

was a very common occurrence, especially in the

35:04

late 1800s, early 1900s that

35:07

were not documented. And one

35:10

of the legends is of a woman who

35:12

threw herself off of one of the balconies

35:14

after a relationship ended badly, which is attributed

35:16

to the wailing, crying woman. I mean, it

35:18

seems like there's a lot of links to

35:20

be happening. And I feel like where there's

35:22

legend, there's like some truth in there. Like,

35:24

where did that legend come from for years

35:27

and years? It started somewhere.

35:29

Right, exactly. While

35:31

the sources of these ghosts have yet

35:34

to be found, the Belton is known

35:36

to be one of the most haunted

35:38

buildings inside of Glacier National Park. So

35:40

that's our first stop in the historic

35:42

hotel tour. And our next stop on

35:44

the list of historic hotels is the

35:46

Oregon Caves Chateau and Oregon Caves National

35:49

Monument and Preserve. I've

35:51

never felt more confident since

35:54

I started using pros. Your

36:00

hair and your skin changes how you feel

36:02

about your overall look. I can feel happy

36:04

with an outfit, but if I'm uncomfortable with

36:06

my skin and my hair, it impacts how

36:08

I feel about myself. I had never found

36:10

beauty products that really understand my needs, but

36:12

ever since I switched to a custom hair

36:14

and skin routine with pros, I've noticed so

36:16

many benefits. Healthier hair and skin,

36:18

yeah, but beyond that too. Since

36:20

I started using pros, my skin is smoother

36:23

with less breakouts and my hair is healthier

36:25

than it's ever been. I've always struggled with

36:27

the texture of my skin and dry, brittle

36:29

hair, but with their custom formulas made for

36:31

me, I've never been happier. I have to

36:33

say my favorite product of theirs is their

36:35

hair oil. I used to have so much

36:37

breakage in the ends of my hair and

36:39

their hair oil has totally fixed that. Pros

36:41

is made for people, not hair or in

36:43

skin types. Personalization is

36:45

rooted in everything they do, from their

36:48

in-depth consultation to their made to order

36:50

model. For millions of possible formulas, only

36:52

one is uniquely yours. Pros isn't just

36:54

better for you, it's better for the

36:56

planet, and we know that that's so

36:58

important for our audience, so you need

37:00

to know that they're a certified B

37:02

Corp. They're cruelty free and the first

37:04

and only carbon neutral custom beauty brand.

37:06

They even have a review and refine

37:09

tool, which learns from my feedback and

37:11

adjust my formula to keep up with

37:13

the seasons and changes in my life.

37:16

Pros is so confident that you'll

37:18

bring out your best hair and

37:20

skin that they're offering an exclusive

37:23

trial offer of 50% off your

37:25

first subscription order at pros.com/NPAD. So

37:27

you get your free consultation, then

37:30

50% off

37:32

at pros.com/NPAD. That's

37:37

prose.com/NPAD.

37:43

Now Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve is

37:45

located in southwestern Oregon and protects 4,554 acres

37:48

or 1,843 hectares, including a marble cave. It's

37:56

been a part of the National Park Service since 1933 and a major.

38:00

attraction to this park is of

38:02

course the Oregon Cave tours that

38:04

you take through the marble passages

38:06

deep underground with smooth flowstones stellastites

38:09

and stalagmites Paleontologists

38:11

have found many fossils of scientific importance here

38:13

including the remains of a 38,000 year old

38:15

jaguar black

38:18

bear and a 50,000 year old

38:20

grizzly bear Fun,

38:22

very fun. Now the Oregon Caves

38:25

Chateau is a National Park Lodge

38:27

and National Historic Landmark It was

38:29

built in 1934 just after the

38:31

National Park Service gained control of

38:33

the area and this is a

38:35

picturesque six-story lodge that offers 23

38:38

rooms and a dining room with canyon views

38:40

and a 1930s area

38:42

coffee shop diner. The exterior is

38:44

built from cedar wood and the

38:47

lobby boasts beautiful stone Fireplaces with

38:49

massive wooden beams and overlooks the

38:51

cave creek. The chateau is also

38:53

the only lodge within the National

38:55

Park Service with its

38:57

original arts and crafts style furniture. So

39:00

it's had the same furniture since it

39:02

opened However, unlike the other hotel

39:04

I spoke about that you can go

39:06

visit this chateau has been closed since

39:10

2018 for renovations and restoration

39:12

costs for this is about eight point

39:14

six million dollars. A large portion of

39:17

the renovations is for plumbing and wiring

39:19

issues along with bringing it up to

39:21

code of the Americans with Disability Act

39:24

standards Unfortunately through their

39:26

renovations they found more issues than

39:28

originally thought and actually found structural

39:30

issues with property and are now currently

39:33

stabilizing the building and because of this

39:35

an additional four million dollars has been

39:37

added to the budget and the opening

39:40

of This hotel has been

39:42

delayed but it is planned at some point

39:44

to be reopened which is why I wanted

39:46

to talk about it because there is a

39:49

significant ghost story here and a significant

39:51

haunting that if people have stayed here

39:53

before since it just closed in 2018

39:57

Or you're planning to stay here someday. You

39:59

can know So the story goes that sometime in

40:01

the 1930s, a woman

40:04

named Elizabeth, who is now known

40:06

as the Blue Lady, and her

40:08

husband stayed in room 310 of

40:11

the Chateau on the night of their

40:13

wedding. At one point, her husband got

40:15

up and left the room, and he

40:17

didn't come back. And after a while,

40:19

when he didn't come back, she went

40:21

out to search for him. And in

40:23

her search, she found him in a

40:25

passionate embrace with one of the chambermaids.

40:27

On their wedding night. On their wedding

40:29

night. Red flag. What year was this? Sorry.

40:32

This was sometime, it didn't say a specific year,

40:34

but it said sometime in the 1930s. Oh,

40:37

okay. So horribly upset, she ran up

40:39

to her room, climbed out her window,

40:41

and jumped from the roof. Other theories

40:43

in this is that her husband pushed

40:46

her off of the roof. That seems

40:48

more likely. Yeah, he caught her and

40:51

probably went upstairs to talk. I don't know. It just,

40:53

I feel like that seems- She caught him. She

40:56

caught him. Yeah, that's what I meant. She caught him. And

40:58

then he was like, oh man, you caught me. You gotta

41:00

go. Yeah. So

41:03

the traumatic part about this is that

41:05

when she fell, whether she jumped or

41:07

she was pushed, right below her window

41:09

wasn't actually the ground. It was a

41:11

steep shingle roof. And she had time,

41:13

the reports say that she had time

41:15

to fall and try to claw her

41:17

way up the roof to try and

41:19

save herself. But the roof was really

41:21

wet and she couldn't hold on. And

41:23

she fell five stories. And on her

41:25

way down, she passed the massive windows

41:27

of the lobby and everyone in there

41:29

was able to see her hit the

41:32

ground. And this is verified? No. This

41:35

story has never been verified.

41:38

Okay. I'm like, holy shit. It's

41:41

like very traumatic and should-

41:43

Yeah. Okay. So this is all- This

41:46

is all legend. Okay. Where there's smoke,

41:48

there's fire. Yeah, yeah. There's

41:51

also another thing that says that she went

41:53

into the bathtub and she slit her wrist,

41:55

but that one seems like less told and

41:57

less thought of. So- I

42:00

didn't really focus on that one too much, but

42:02

her presence has certainly convinced

42:04

both visitors and staff that

42:07

something horrible did happen to

42:09

this woman. And she's

42:11

also reported, she's reportedly a ghost, but

42:13

she's also reportedly not a very friendly

42:15

one and she doesn't like when guests

42:17

stay in her room. The good news

42:19

for people who if you are staying

42:21

in room 310 is that she doesn't

42:23

like you and she doesn't want

42:25

to be in the room that you're in. And so

42:27

if you come and stay in her room, she actually

42:29

leaves and instead in the middle

42:32

of the night, she will haunt the

42:34

hallways and she'll wander the hallways and

42:36

she's been seen in a blue nightgown

42:39

walking the halls. Both staff and visitors

42:41

have heard her wailing cries coming from

42:43

the third floor linen closet. And she's

42:45

also been known to frequent the kitchen

42:48

where there have been a few reported

42:50

incidents where conversations of her arise. And

42:53

during them, particularly the conversations between

42:55

people who don't believe she's real,

42:58

like oh no, that's, that's fake.

43:00

That's not a real story. A hanging pan

43:02

or a food item on the shelf will

43:04

drop and hit them at the head. Oh,

43:07

okay. So she's violent. She's

43:09

aggressive. Got it. She also

43:11

seems to have it out particularly for the

43:13

maids who work there. She has

43:15

been known to be in closet doors in the rooms that

43:17

they're in, unmake the beds and

43:19

throw their neatly folded towels on the

43:21

floor. I thought you were going to

43:24

say the men, but the maids also

43:26

make sense if that's who she caught

43:28

her husband with. Yeah. But

43:30

let's not blame the woman. No,

43:32

no, she's a woman scorned. She no,

43:35

I'm saying like, is it the maids

43:37

fault in this? Oh, I see.

43:40

I don't know. Like if you're going to

43:42

get mad at him, but I don't know

43:44

who are we to say? Yeah.

43:48

The maid had no. I don't know who the maid was. Maybe

43:50

they knew each other. Maybe she knew the maid. Yeah,

43:52

that's true. That is. We don't

43:54

know. The maid was her best friend. We're

43:57

going to just start a new version.

44:00

It's like they had actually grown

44:02

up together, which made this story

44:04

so much more heartbreaking. They were best friends.

44:07

So heartbreaking. And she was also

44:09

there when her husband pushed her off the roof.

44:11

And they watched together and then they

44:13

actually got married after. Yeah.

44:16

And they went on to have two children and

44:18

yeah, it goes on and

44:20

on. It goes on for a long

44:22

time. Tell that to everyone you know. Yeah, spread

44:24

it. Spread it far and wide. So

44:27

anyway, for the Chateau, it

44:29

is not currently open. It doesn't have

44:31

a date that it is going to

44:33

be opened by. But if, and I'll

44:35

post pictures on Instagram of it, this

44:37

hotel is really beautiful. I mean, it

44:39

is a huge massive like log hotel

44:41

on the side. It looks like in

44:43

like a canyon or something. It's in

44:45

Oregon. It's really pretty. And

44:47

I think when it reopens, it's going to be

44:49

amazing. And it's a great location for it too.

44:52

The National Park, it has the cave system, but

44:54

it also has a lot of hiking trails that

44:56

you can go on. And there's just a lot to

44:58

do in this area. And it's a little, I think

45:00

less known like of a national park in Oregon. So

45:02

it's a cool spot. If

45:10

you're like me, you love sleep. It's so

45:12

important. And if you're having trouble sleeping or

45:15

waking up through the night, it can significantly

45:17

impact your life. If I don't get enough

45:19

sleep, it throws me off completely physically and

45:21

mentally. I can't think as well. I'm irritable

45:24

and I'm definitely not prepared for a long

45:26

day out on the trails and adventuring, but

45:28

I've found what helps me the best. Introducing

45:30

Beams Dream Powder, a science backed healthy drink

45:32

blend for sleep. You've probably heard us talk

45:35

about this on the podcast before, but that's

45:37

because it really works and we really love

45:39

it. And today our listeners get a

45:41

special discount on Beams Dream Powder. They're science

45:44

backed nighttime drink blend for sleep with no

45:46

added sugar. When I try any type of

45:48

new wellness drinks, I can be so picky

45:50

about flavors, but Beams Dream Powder has so

45:52

many good flavors to choose from like chocolate

45:55

peanut butter, which is my favorite cinnamon cocoa

45:57

and sea salt caramel. And it's only 50.

46:00

calories and zero grams of sugar.

46:02

Beam Dream is easy to add

46:04

to your nighttime routine, just mix

46:06

dream into hot water or milk,

46:08

froth, and enjoy before bed. If

46:10

you want to try Beam's best-selling

46:12

dream powder, you can now get

46:14

up to 40% off for a

46:16

limited time with their 4th of

46:18

July sale. Exclusive for National Park

46:21

After Dark listeners, get up to

46:23

40% off for a limited time

46:25

when you go to shopbeam.com/n-p-a-d and

46:27

use code n-p-a-d at checkout. That's

46:29

shop b-e-a-m dot com slash n-p-a-d

46:31

and use code n-p-a-d for up

46:33

to 40% off. All

46:40

right, the next historic hotel we're visiting is

46:42

in the heart of Mount Rainier National Park

46:45

and might also be the grandest

46:47

one on my list. The Paradise

46:49

Inn is the poster child for

46:51

rustic parkatexture that draws us into

46:53

many historic National Park hotels. It

46:55

was built in 1916 with massive

46:58

ceilings, giant timber beams and frames,

47:00

and beautiful stone fireplaces. The hotel

47:03

has a grand dining hall, verandas,

47:05

and offers views of Mount Rainier.

47:07

It also has massive cedar tables

47:09

and chairs, a 14-foot tall clock,

47:11

and a piano. Many of the

47:13

beams used for the building are

47:15

from the park itself. A year

47:17

before construction began, a massive wildfire

47:19

swept through part of the park,

47:21

leaving a lot of dead Alaska

47:23

yellow cedar standing, and they actually

47:25

got permission to cut these trees

47:27

down for use of the building.

47:29

In total, the project cost was

47:31

about $92,000, which is equivalent to

47:35

$2.6 million today. Have

47:38

you ever been there? Yeah, I

47:40

have. I haven't stayed there, but I've

47:42

been inside and I've seen it obviously

47:44

during my visits and it is. It's

47:46

stunning. Danielle approved. Stamp of approval. It

47:48

looks very beautiful. I've never been there,

47:51

but the pictures are, I mean, when

47:53

you walk in, it looks like those,

47:55

the ceilings are like the tallest ceilings

47:57

I've ever seen. Yeah, it's a beautiful.

48:00

beautiful, not only is it a beautiful building,

48:02

it's in one of the most beautiful parts

48:04

of the park, in my opinion. So it's

48:07

just all around 10 out of 10. I

48:09

know a lot of people agree with you. Tons of people

48:12

stay there and have been staying there for many years. And

48:15

a lot of that is because this is

48:17

a very popular location for people to come

48:19

see the wildflower meadows. But

48:21

also when it first opened, and

48:23

today, it was a great spot

48:26

for early mountain climbers summoning Mount

48:28

Rainier to visit. It

48:31

had been decided that a hotel should be

48:33

built here after a visitor influx and tourists

48:35

voicing their willingness to stay in more than

48:37

a tent, which was the previous accommodations. People

48:39

would come here and there would just be

48:41

a tent and people were like, hey, this

48:43

is beautiful, this is stunning. Give us something

48:45

that's a little bit nicer. And I will

48:47

say this is a part of the story

48:49

that I haven't really gotten into. But with

48:51

this and Mission 66 and

48:53

everything, there was a huge backlash

48:56

with the conservation movement of people

48:58

fighting against this mission being like,

49:00

you're accommodating all these people to visit

49:03

the parks, you're causing destruction in the

49:05

park, you're building facilities, you're building it

49:07

up to be this place like you

49:09

go into a town or city and

49:11

all these facilities when it's supposed to

49:14

be nature. So a lot of conservationists

49:16

actually disagreed with all of everything with

49:18

Mission 66 and all these

49:20

buildings and all these hotels and the

49:22

influx of visitors. And ultimately, I think

49:25

the consensus and the halfway point was

49:27

that they built these places to resemble

49:29

the locations that they were in, to try

49:32

and offset that. Well,

49:35

it reminds me of the argument,

49:37

the current present day argument that's

49:40

parallel to that is the

49:42

Wi-Fi, implementing Wi-Fi in

49:44

national parks. Because

49:47

obviously, you can get it in visitor centers and

49:49

stuff, but there's some big, I don't

49:51

know if it's with like the start,

49:53

like Starlink or whatever, there's

49:55

some debate on whether or

49:57

not to provide Wi-Fi through.

50:00

throughout a lot of places in national

50:02

parks where as of now it is

50:04

not there. And like

50:06

the argument for it is like how

50:08

many people would be saved, you

50:11

know, if they have service to wifi

50:14

and are able to use their phones,

50:16

especially further out in the back country.

50:18

But obviously the flip side of that

50:20

is, well, I mean, wifi

50:22

is everywhere and, you know, people

50:25

go to national parks, especially out in the

50:27

back country to get away from a

50:30

lot of things, but modern technology, one

50:32

of them. And there are such things

50:34

as, you know, sat phones and like

50:36

your Garmin inReach. And there are things

50:38

that are still available that could, you

50:40

know, is like a middle ground for

50:43

that instead of just providing, like you

50:45

don't need to be able to access

50:47

Instagram when you're on a through hike.

50:49

You know what I mean? Like just

50:51

things like that. But I know that

50:53

is something that has been brought up

50:55

in recent years. I mean, two valid

50:57

arguments, because if you are off in

50:59

the middle of nowhere and you fall

51:01

and you're injured and you're alone or

51:03

something happens, you get into an accident

51:05

with a hiking partner or whatever, and

51:07

you look down on your phone and you can

51:09

connect to wifi and call 911, your

51:12

life saved. But on the flip side

51:14

of that, there is something about being

51:17

in the back country and away from

51:19

it all. And also I guess my

51:21

question would, what would wifi look like?

51:23

Like what would installing wifi look like?

51:27

And a capacity like that. Yeah, that's another huge part of it.

51:29

Yeah. Are we destroying forests to make

51:32

this happen? Like what

51:34

is the cost to doing that

51:37

to the environment? Yeah. I

51:39

mean, I don't think it'll get off the ground honestly. Hopefully,

51:42

actually I don't know. I

51:45

don't know anything anymore. So

51:47

I'm not quite sure, but I feel

51:49

like- I'd have to know more about

51:51

it, I think. Maybe they would like

51:53

pilot it in certain places or maybe

51:55

just do it in like more populated

51:57

parks. I don't know. I haven't read

51:59

any- anything really about it in

52:01

recent months. I just remember seeing a

52:03

few articles like debating back and forth

52:05

about it, but I would side with

52:08

no. I

52:10

mean, there's an inherent risk in going

52:12

into nature and I don't think that

52:14

every single thing should be modernized and

52:16

mitigated and I mean. Yeah, survival of

52:18

the fittest. Yeah, sorry. Well,

52:24

anyway, back to the Paradise

52:26

Inn. The doors opened on July 1st, 1917,

52:30

and at the time it had 37 guest rooms and

52:32

a dining hall that could hold up to 400 people. More

52:35

rooms were added over time, but lack of

52:37

visitors during World War I slowed

52:39

their construction plans. The

52:42

1920s were a tough time for the

52:44

hotel with the Great Depression. Less people

52:46

were traveling to the park and also

52:48

the long and harsh winters were causing

52:51

a struggle for the management of this

52:53

hotel. The original structure, and I thought

52:55

that this was wild, so

52:58

the original structure wasn't built to

53:00

withstand the amount of snow the

53:02

park receives, and as the snow

53:04

piled up against the building, it

53:06

was actually being slowly pushed down

53:08

the hill. Oh, the building,

53:11

you mean? Yes. Yeah, I

53:13

was gonna say I feel like this

53:15

place has closed a good portion of

53:17

the year because of the snow. Yeah,

53:19

it's open seasonally, and they actually had

53:21

to add structural braces to the

53:23

timber to reduce the stress from the

53:26

snow, and that was a major cost

53:28

that happened, but then, much like the

53:30

rest of the parks across the country,

53:32

World War II was rough on visitation,

53:34

and after the war ended, visitation numbers

53:37

didn't get that much better in this

53:39

park. So the company who owned it

53:41

previously, who was known as the Mount

53:43

Rainier Park Company, couldn't make a profit

53:46

off of it. It was costing too

53:48

much. So by the 1950s,

53:50

they officially sold the building to the

53:52

National Park Service, which sounds great, and

53:55

is great, but the National Park Service

53:57

struggled within as well because of the

53:59

extreme snow. weather and the maintenance that

54:01

it needed it turned into a very costly

54:03

upkeep. Small projects were done but it took

54:06

a lot of time. It wasn't until visitation

54:08

grew over the years that projects were really

54:10

able to get done. In 1980 to 81

54:12

they did a 2.8 million dollar renovation on

54:15

structural stabilization

54:19

for the building. Then again in 2006 to 2008

54:21

the hotel underwent renovations on the foundation

54:25

to make it capable of withstanding

54:27

earthquakes better. Today it has 121

54:29

rooms for overnight

54:32

guests, a gift shop, restaurants, and a

54:34

cafe and it is also

54:36

said to be haunted. People believe that this

54:38

hotel is haunted by climbers who have attempted

54:40

to summit Mount Rainier and died there. The

54:42

amount of people who have attempted to summit

54:45

Rainier is estimated to be over 500,000 people

54:49

with about 200,000 completing

54:51

it. Each year the National Park Service

54:53

estimates about 10,000 attempt

54:55

to make it to the summit and

54:58

about half of those people succeed. To

55:00

this date there are over 425 fatalities

55:02

that have occurred within the park but

55:04

the number of people who died climbing

55:06

Rainier sits somewhere around 90 as of

55:08

right now. In the hotel guests have

55:11

reported their furniture being moved in their

55:13

rooms and when they ask hotel

55:15

staff if they moved it the answer is

55:17

always no. It's common for guests staying in

55:19

the hotel to have a very strong feeling

55:21

that they're being watched even while sitting alone

55:24

in their rooms. In addition to that loud

55:26

footsteps down the hallway in the middle of

55:28

the night have been reported but when guests

55:30

check to see who's walking by no

55:32

one is there. Also mysterious voices are

55:35

heard again when no one is around.

55:37

So really similar hauntings to some of

55:39

the other hotels and not again not

55:41

like a exact connection but people have

55:44

linked it because it's so close to

55:46

Rainier in the location and because it's

55:48

a major stop for climbers that over

55:50

the years some of the people who

55:53

have died have decided to remain there.

55:55

I mean that sounds right on track

55:57

with um again going back to the

56:00

The Stanley Hotel live show, the,

56:02

I said the Timberline Hotel on

56:04

Mount Hood, which is the face

56:06

of the Overlook Hotel in the

56:08

movie, The Shining, like

56:10

the outer, why can't I think? Maybe

56:12

because it's 9.30 at night. The

56:18

shots of like the building is

56:20

actually the Timberline Hotel on Mount Hood

56:22

in Oregon. And a lot of people

56:25

say that it's haunted from the

56:27

people who have died trying to

56:29

summit Mount Hood. Because again, I

56:32

don't think there was really much

56:34

tragedy in the hotel, except for

56:36

remember that guy who got decapitated

56:38

by the helicopter in the parking

56:40

lot. Yes, how can I forget

56:42

that is, that story will

56:44

stick with me forever. Yeah, that was really

56:47

rough. And it was- That's horrific. It was,

56:49

well, quote unquote recent. I think it was

56:51

in the 80s. Recent enough.

56:53

Recent enough, yeah, recent enough.

56:55

But yeah, very similar vibes of like just

56:58

people of the mountain instead of like there

57:00

was a tragedy in a

57:02

specific room or something like that.

57:04

Yeah, it's like the spirits of

57:06

these people have congregated to one,

57:08

like have found a building to

57:10

be in instead of, because I

57:12

feel like that's very common with

57:14

an ink ghost story I've heard

57:16

is that they're associated to

57:18

some type of structure. Yeah.

57:21

For the most part, not always. All

57:24

right, I have one last hotel

57:26

and this one is a National

57:28

Park Historic Hotel and it is

57:30

the, we're heading east and

57:32

we're going to the Lacont Large in Tennessee's

57:34

Great Smoky Mountains National Park. And I have

57:36

to say this one is my favorite one.

57:38

I can tell by your face and the

57:41

cadence of your voice. This

57:43

one was my favorite one to research. I

57:45

just think it's so cool. And I also

57:47

think it's really cool because we were recently

57:49

talking about planning a trip to this park

57:51

and now I'm like, oh, I found one.

57:53

And it's like a little haunted. So Danielle

57:55

might agree to stay here. Oh, absolutely.

57:57

First of all, yes. We just have to figure out.

58:00

out when to go, which is just such a

58:03

struggle. But is it near where I want to go? It's

58:05

in the park. Okay, yeah. We have

58:07

to go during nice weather though, because

58:09

this lodge is different than the other

58:11

ones. So you can't drive to this

58:14

one. You actually have to hike to

58:16

it. And there are five different trails

58:18

within the park that you can hike

58:20

to it on. And the shortest and

58:22

also steepest of these hikes is along

58:24

the Alum Cave Trail, which is a

58:27

little over five miles or eight kilometers

58:29

one way. Okay, that's not too

58:31

bad. No, no, it's not bad. All right.

58:34

She's getting bored. As long as we go

58:36

to Tennessee for the Titanic Museum, that's all

58:38

I want to do. Yes,

58:41

we can definitely still do that. Okay, as

58:43

long as we do that, I am down

58:46

to take a hike to a hotel. Yes,

58:49

perfect. Yes, okay, now

58:51

I'm excited. Okay, so this isn't like,

58:53

it's not super easy to get

58:55

to, but it's definitely worth it.

58:57

Because when you stay there, you

58:59

are staying in the highest guest

59:01

lodge in the Eastern United States.

59:03

This lodge sits in an open

59:05

glade area just below the summit

59:07

of Mount Lacon and offers absolutely

59:09

spectacular views of the Smokies. While

59:11

this lodge is certainly not as

59:13

spectacular and luxury and luxurious as

59:15

the other ones that I've talked

59:17

about, they pride themselves on being

59:19

the only place visitors can sleep

59:21

overnight on a mountain top in a

59:24

snug permanent structure with hot and hearty

59:26

meals in the national park. So

59:28

it's like my jam. There you are, past

59:30

both worlds, what did we just talk about?

59:33

You're still there, you're still out there, but

59:35

you got a bed and you got some

59:37

hot food. The lodge is constructed of seven

59:39

hand-built rough hewn log cabins and three multi-room

59:42

lodges. They have the capacity to hold up

59:44

to 60 yes, and the

59:46

cabins are furnished with upper and lower

59:48

full-size bunk beds. They have propane

59:51

heat, kerosene lanterns, and plenty

59:53

of wool blankets to keep

59:55

you warm. However, this lodge

59:58

has no electricity. Instead, Instead,

1:00:00

it's a simplistic getaway and a

1:00:02

natural haven nestled among the highest

1:00:05

peaks of the Great Smoky Mountains.

1:00:07

Sounds fun. Sounds like a good time. And

1:00:11

it's like if you all post photos of

1:00:13

it too, but it looks so beautiful. The

1:00:15

views up here are insane. It's remote. It's

1:00:18

quiet, but you still have some

1:00:20

like nice accommodations. And

1:00:22

I really love the history of this

1:00:24

hotel too. So the history of this

1:00:27

hotel is centered around the love of

1:00:29

the outdoors, hiking, and national parks because

1:00:31

a man named Paul Adams started the

1:00:34

idea of having a lodge here before

1:00:36

the park was established. In 1925, he

1:00:38

joined a conservation group that was advocating

1:00:41

for the area to become a national

1:00:43

park. And in that, him

1:00:45

and a group of other outdoor enthusiasts

1:00:47

led a group of the higher-ups from

1:00:49

DC to this spot. They had built

1:00:51

a tent camp on top of Mount

1:00:53

Leconte because it showed some of the

1:00:55

most beautiful views in the park. And

1:00:57

they thought it would be a great

1:00:59

way to sway these DC executives into

1:01:01

signing the area into a national park.

1:01:04

And it's beautiful. It's amazing. They

1:01:07

really enjoyed their time because it

1:01:09

worked. And after the

1:01:11

park was established and the official lodge

1:01:13

was built in 1926. So

1:01:16

just a year later. Similarly to the other

1:01:19

places in my story, the reason as to

1:01:21

why this lodge is haunted is unclear. But

1:01:23

what is clear is that people are seeing

1:01:25

the same ghost. And unfortunately,

1:01:27

it's my least favorite kind of ghost.

1:01:30

Uh, does it touch you? Okay, second

1:01:32

least favorite kind of ghost. I'm

1:01:35

confused. Okay. So there

1:01:37

have been several reports that at exactly

1:01:39

3 33

1:01:42

a.m. guests have been woken up to

1:01:44

see a little girl standing at the

1:01:46

end of their beds watching them sleep.

1:01:48

Yeah, that would be a top. No,

1:01:50

top. No, especially in the middle of

1:01:53

the woods. Is it this? Is

1:01:55

it the child part or is it that

1:01:57

what she's doing that you're what she's doing?

1:02:00

what she's doing, I don't like that. And

1:02:02

guess I've reported as soon as they really

1:02:04

wake up, a lot of times it's kind

1:02:06

of foggy, they wake up and are like,

1:02:08

what? Someone at the end of

1:02:11

my bed? And then they wake up and they're

1:02:13

like, oh my God, what's going on? She disappears.

1:02:16

No one knows who she is or

1:02:18

why she's there, but she is a

1:02:20

frequent sighting that is up there. So

1:02:23

that is something to consider when booking.

1:02:26

Again, for everyone it deters,

1:02:28

I think it draws in five times as

1:02:30

many people. I truly do, I really do

1:02:32

believe that. Well, we'll be sleeping in the

1:02:34

same fucking bed because I'm not being alone.

1:02:37

When are we not? Especially. Every

1:02:41

time we travel, if

1:02:43

you think that we have separate rooms,

1:02:45

think again, we're always- Very rarely. When

1:02:47

have we ever had separate rooms? When

1:02:49

it was just us two traveling together.

1:02:51

Oh, never, never. Never, like

1:02:53

if Al's there or like Ian was

1:02:56

there, like we would have separate rooms,

1:02:58

but if it's just us, then we-

1:03:01

And if it's haunted, it's legit same bed.

1:03:05

Even if we have a- If there's two beds, if

1:03:07

there's two beds, I don't care, I'm sleeping in Daniel's

1:03:09

bed. I know we use the other bed

1:03:11

for storage of our clothes and stuff. That's

1:03:14

nice, but I'm not sleeping there by

1:03:16

myself. Yeah, so

1:03:19

are we still going or? Yes, I'm still

1:03:21

down to go because I love everything else

1:03:23

about it. And it is open from late

1:03:25

March to mid November, which gives kind of

1:03:27

an open, a more open window since it's in

1:03:29

the South, the weather's a little bit nicer longer.

1:03:31

And I did look up the cost, so

1:03:33

it's a little less than $200 per

1:03:36

night to stay there. Yeah, that's not bad at

1:03:38

all. No, I'd be fine with

1:03:40

one or two nights up there, really realistically.

1:03:43

Well, I think two nights would be nice

1:03:45

because you do the five mile

1:03:47

hike in, you have a night

1:03:49

there and then the whole next day to

1:03:51

explore that local area before- There's a lot

1:03:54

of hikes in and out around there. Yeah,

1:03:56

I think two nights is a good, is

1:03:58

a fair amount of time. Okay,

1:04:00

two nights there and the

1:04:02

Titanic Museum. Here we come.

1:04:05

Yeah, my Titanic itinerary still needs to

1:04:07

be built out. But when I

1:04:09

told you, I

1:04:12

found out that like I was sending Cassie

1:04:14

pictures of, I know there are several Titanic

1:04:17

museums and Titanic exhibits and

1:04:19

points of interest, you know, throughout the

1:04:21

country and of course the world. But

1:04:23

the one that's most accessible is obviously

1:04:25

in Pigeon Forge. And I was showing

1:04:27

her pictures of it. I'm like, we have to go here. We

1:04:29

have to go here. And then

1:04:31

I realized people get married there

1:04:33

and like

1:04:37

on

1:04:39

the staircase, like where Jack is like waiting for

1:04:41

her at the clock and replica. And I'm not

1:04:43

laughing out of making fun of it.

1:04:48

I'm laughing because I was

1:04:50

like, I know where I'm getting married now. I

1:04:52

just have to find someone to marry. Okay,

1:04:57

I'm wearing like Titanic out. That's

1:05:02

the dress code. One of

1:05:04

the rich ladies on the Titanic will be my

1:05:06

outfit. Yeah, it's going to be. It's a very

1:05:08

small quaint venue. Doesn't seem like it

1:05:11

holds many people, which is great because I don't

1:05:13

know many people. And it

1:05:16

looks so fun. Like it just looks so fun.

1:05:19

And I know I would be just totally made fun

1:05:21

of for the rest of my life if I did

1:05:23

that. But I would

1:05:25

like to say if anyone out

1:05:28

there knows someone who got married there, please tell

1:05:30

them to reach out to me. I think that

1:05:32

would be so interesting to hear. Like, I thought

1:05:34

you were going to say who would like to

1:05:36

get married. This is

1:05:38

my personal advertisement. No,

1:05:42

please. I can't. No, I

1:05:44

cannot. But thanks for your interest.

1:05:47

Anyone who was considering anyone

1:05:50

who thought for a hot second that was an option. Well,

1:05:52

I will say I told you

1:05:55

and I mean it. I need the best photo of

1:05:57

my life taken there. Like I don't even need to

1:05:59

be married. I just really want a picture there. You

1:06:02

got to have the outfit. Done. For

1:06:05

my birthday last year, I went to one of those

1:06:07

like, what are they called?

1:06:09

Like an old timey photo place. And

1:06:12

that's what I did. I dressed up as

1:06:14

a Victorian woman reading a book and had

1:06:17

my picture taken and had it printed out and now

1:06:19

I have it. Like I have a legit photo of

1:06:21

myself that I took on my 33rd birthday. So

1:06:27

if you... That is priceless. For

1:06:29

one second, I would not dress up in

1:06:31

a period outfit for

1:06:33

the Titanic Museum. You're sorely mistaken

1:06:35

and I can't wait to make

1:06:38

it a grand event. Well, that

1:06:40

being said, this is a call

1:06:42

out for photographers in the great

1:06:44

smoking moment area who

1:06:46

would like to photograph Danielle on that

1:06:48

stairway in her outfit. I would really

1:06:50

love that and date to be determined

1:06:53

because we have no idea, but this

1:06:55

isn't a joke. It sounds like

1:06:57

a joke, but it's not. It's

1:07:00

more serious than we've ever been

1:07:02

for anything we've asked on the

1:07:04

podcast of you. True. Yeah.

1:07:07

Well, thank you for bringing us to all these different places.

1:07:09

It's cool because the one in Oregon, like you said, I

1:07:11

mean, it's not open yet, but it's something to look forward

1:07:13

to. And it sounds

1:07:15

like it's in a really cool place. And I

1:07:18

know that the Mount Rainier one is pretty popular,

1:07:20

but everything else I've never heard of. Yeah.

1:07:23

Yeah. I saw that one and

1:07:25

I was just like, it's so beautiful and I

1:07:28

wanted to mention it. But yeah, I was, I

1:07:30

had fun looking into them because they seemed less

1:07:32

known, at least to me and hopefully to majority

1:07:34

of the people listening. Yeah. Well,

1:07:36

we have more places to add now onto

1:07:38

the list and I'm sure we'll be going

1:07:40

to the Glacier one first because that's like

1:07:42

a number one for you. I

1:07:45

really want to know. I need to go to

1:07:47

the glacier. All right. Well, we

1:07:49

will see everyone next week. In the meantime,

1:07:51

enjoy the view. But watch your back. Bye.

1:07:57

Thank you. Thank

1:08:00

you so much for joining us

1:08:02

again this week. If you have

1:08:04

a trail tale or story suggestion,

1:08:07

send us an email at stories

1:08:09

at npadpodcast.com. Follow us on Instagram

1:08:11

and Facebook at National Park After

1:08:13

Dark and on Twitter at npadpodcast.

1:08:15

Join our Outsiders Only community on

1:08:18

Patreon or Apple subscriptions to listen

1:08:20

ad-free, unlock monthly bonus episodes and

1:08:22

exclusive content. And remember, when you

1:08:24

support our sponsors, you are supporting

1:08:27

our show. For our exclusive discount

1:08:29

codes and source information from today's

1:08:31

episode, check out the show notes.

1:08:33

For more information on our show,

1:08:36

our book recommendations, merch updates and

1:08:38

more, visit our website at npadpodcast.com.

1:08:40

And please rate, review and subscribe

1:08:43

from wherever you listen to podcasts.

1:08:55

Smoothie King's new Lemonade lineup

1:08:57

is here. Lemonade, lemonade, the

1:08:59

Smoothie King way. Try

1:09:01

a strawberry guava lemonade SK refresher.

1:09:03

Over ice. A power up in

1:09:05

a cup. Energize.

1:09:08

Or a blueberry lemonade smoothie. Blend it

1:09:10

up in your cup. Made

1:09:13

with real fruit, real juice for

1:09:15

a real sipping good summer. Yum,

1:09:17

yum, gotta get some. Smoothie

1:09:20

King's new Lemonade lineup. All for a limited

1:09:22

time. Who's thirsty? Some

1:09:26

people just know the best rate for you

1:09:28

is a rate based on you with Allstate.

1:09:31

Not a rate based on Terry who keeps and

1:09:34

makes the car behind them. Oh

1:09:37

no, they're about to. Save

1:09:41

with DriveWise and the Allstate app and only pay

1:09:43

a rate based on you. Not

1:09:46

available in every state, subject to terms and conditions, rating

1:09:48

factors and savings vary and in some states your rate

1:09:51

could increase with high risk driving. Allstate Fire and Casualty

1:09:53

Insurance Company in affiliates Northbrook, Illinois. If

1:09:56

your air conditioning or furnace stops working in the middle

1:09:58

of the night, on a weekend