On August 25, 2026, the National Park Service celebrates its 110th birthday, and this year the party is bigger than the usual ranger-program-and-cupcake situation. The birthday falls smack in the middle of National Park Week, August 22–30, which means nine days of events, programs, outdoor adventures, history, wildlife, Junior Ranger activities and plenty of reasons to go play outside!

Give me a fresh notebook, a pretty pen, and an excuse to wander past a wall of colorful folders and I am suddenly eight years old again.

Awkward questions. Answered without the guilt trip.

Hey. I’m Scout! Welcome to Out and About with Scout, an ongoing Field Trip series where I roll into parks, campgrounds, trails, visitor centers, scenic overlooks, and wonderfully weird roadside stops to report back on what’s actually worth knowing before you go.

There’s just something about the ocean. The sound. The scale. The salty air. The way you can stare at the waves, doing the same thing over and over, and somehow not get bored. The ocean has this sneaky ability to make me feel both very small and very okay with being small.

Dear Field Trip, I always thought the reason deforestation was bad for the climate was that we need trees to absorb carbon dioxide. But I recently heard that cutting down forests can actually release greenhouse gases too. Is that true? —Stumped

I’ve had depression off and on since my early teens. Sometimes it has lasted a few weeks and sometimes much, much longer. Long enough to know there is a difference between “I feel sad” and “I need help.” Long enough to know that when someone well-meaning chirps, “You should get outside. Maybe go for a walk!” it can feel less like advice and more like being handed a kayak during a flood.

Sexual wellness is still wellness. And if we care about what touches our food, skin, soil, and water, it makes sense to care about what touches our very absorbent, very personal bits.

Scientists have found evidence that some moths may actually remember things they learned as caterpillars.

You know that moment when you’re in a public restroom, staring down the world’s saddest toilet paper, wondering why modern society has given us self-driving cars but not a better way to feel clean away from home? That’s the very human problem behind The UnWipe, a portable alternative to wet wipes and bidets that uses regular toilet paper, a little clean water, and texture to help people clean up without synthetic wipes, mystery fragrance, or plumbing drama.

May is Wildfire Awareness Month, which means it’s time to talk about one of America’s most beloved outdoor icons: a bear in jeans, a ranger hat, and an absolutely zero-nonsense stance on unattended campfires.

Dear Field Trip, Every time I sit around a campfire, the smoke follows me. I move chairs. It follows. I switch sides. It follows. Is this physics, bad luck, or is the smoke stalking me? —Smoked Out and Suspicious