Grandma Joy experienced a remarkable improvement in her overall health during their journey, gradually gaining strength and even receiving comments about appearing younger. Ryan shared, “And as a result, she’s gotten stronger. Everybody who’s followed us on social media every day, there’s a comment that she looks younger now than she did when we started, and that’s possible for anyone.”
By 2022, Brad and Grandma Joy, now 92 years old, have explored nearly every National Park in the United States, from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and Katmai National Park, among others. Out of the 63 National Parks, they have visited 62, with the National Park of American Samoa remaining the last one on their bucket list.
Expressing her joy in stepping beyond her front porch to explore the world, Grandma Joy said, “It’s all the amazing things that I saw that I couldn’t see from my front porch and all the amazing people that we met,” according to Ryan.
However, Grandma Joy also carries a sense of sadness, realizing that not everyone has the opportunity to witness the beauty of the US National Parks. She remarked, “I feel sorry for all these people that never get to go to one federal park because it’s really beautiful. It just takes your breath away.”
Regarding their upcoming final stop at the National Park of American Samoa, Grandma Joy expressed mixed emotions, saying, “It will be a glad day and a sad day.” Ryan added, “We’ll start going to the state parks.”
