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Grandma Jo 92, and her grandson are about to reach their goal of visiting all National Parks together.
Ohio Native started their adventure in October of 2015 when brad was thinking of ways to spend his 3 day weekend. In conversation with grandma Joy about his recent trips.
"I felt bad that she was always living vicariously through my stories," Brad told "GMA." "And so just knowing that she had never seen deserts and mountains and the ocean and these incredible wild places on Earth, it just felt like a responsibility that I had to her to make sure that she had some memories to take away in her life story as well."
He then Invited his grandma on a weekend trio to Smoky Mountains National Park, thinking this would be the only adventure they would go together.
"You don't assume going into that that your 85-year-old grandmother going with you on a camping trip is going to be anything less than challenging," Brad said. "That was my fault. That was my misperception of what age means and more importantly, what her spirit would allow her to do."
"I've always tried to be positive in my life and it didn't hurt to try something once," Grandma Joy said. "I didn't want to have to regret the next day that you didn't do it."
Brad created a Instagram and Facebook account so that he can post about the adventures he was going on with grandma joy. The account was created in 2019 @GrandmaJoysRoadtrip which now has over 58k followers.
"We didn't expect that," Grandma Joy said. "He just put that on the social media so the people back home in Duncan Falls knew what we were doing."
National Parks Services Chief of Public Affairs and Chief Spokesperson Jenny Anzelmo-Sarles said in a statement that "Grandma Joy, and her grandson Brad, are an inspiration to us all."
"National parks are best enjoyed with the people we love, and it is clear to see that Joy and Brad share a special bond, which has been strengthened by their time traveling together," Anzelmo-Sarles said.
They had visited a total of 29 national parks then the pandemic hit which caused them to slow things down a bit.
"All we could do was hope that things would change and that those opportunities would still be there and then be grateful for everything that we had been able to do and see up until that point," Brad said.
2021 wasn't just an adventure for all of us but for Grandma Joy especially visiting Alaska as well as 8 of their National Parks. Her and her grandson went white water rafting , hikes through the glaciers and even came being very close to a wild animal. She sure is crossing things off her bucket list.
"I always wanted to see the bears get the fish and I finally got to see it. And it was fun, it really was," Grandma Joy said.
The duo only has 1 more park to visit before complete their adventure. The National Park of America Samoa which is quite a ways away from their hometown.
Even though brad has enjoyed his adventure with grandma Joy he's sad to se it come to an end.
"It's been a grand adventure, it really has," Grandma Joy said. "It's really been a beautiful, beautiful time. And I wouldn't trade it for anything."
The advice they leave u with is too encourage other to live an adventurous life.
"We realize that not everybody is going to be able to travel to every U.S. National Park," Brad said. "But there is some adventure to be found in every corner of of the country and we hope that people will go out and seek that adventure."
SOURCE: ABC 7