Ohio grandma sets record: 'I'm the oldest old lady to ever visit every national park'

https://www.npr.org/2023/06/01/ [login to see] /ohio-grandma-sets-record-im-the-oldest-old-lady-to-ever-visit-every-national-par
Two weeks ago, 93-year-old Joy Ryan set a world record.

In her words, "I'm the oldest old lady to ever visit every national park."

In just eight years, she and her 42-year-old grandson Brad Ryan managed to go to all 63 national parks, an adventure they've documented on Instagram. Their final stop was the National Park of American Samoa in the South Pacific, some 6,700 miles from their home in Duncan Falls, Ohio. The pair received certificates from the park commemorating their achievement.

In a way, the journey began 21 years ago when Brad's parents got divorced, and he became estranged from Joy. It wasn't until 2008, at his sister's wedding, that he saw her again. She was 78 and she didn't look good.

"She came into the church and she was gaunt," Brad recalls. "Very unsteady. It was hard to see this woman that was so important to me in my formative years on the cusp of dying, knowing that there was so much anger and distance between us."