*OWTK has proudly partnered with Hanes for this national park travel story.
These three words represent key themes from the new collection in partnership with the National Park Foundation. Those bold words — Explore, Adventure, Protect — are fitting for the collection, and are equally comfortable being bandied about in the wilds of Rocky Mountain, Badlands, Crater Lake and Yosemite national parks as they are in the wilderness of parenthood. The collection aims to inspire people from all backgrounds and abilities to connect with, celebrate, and support America’s national parks – something with which our family is definitely on board.
EXPLORE
This summer, we explored our 15th national park together as a family. It was a fantastic midweek adventure as a foursome, with a special guest appearance of my 20-year-old niece who made an 8-hour solo drive to hang out with us. I only wish I had a stylish Hanes x National Park Foundation shirt for her!
Acadia National Park had been a dangling fruit my wife had been wanting to reach up north and grab for many years. It was so tempting, the park, sitting right there above Boston on the map, but as we booked each family vacation, Maine got skipped over for Southern California, the Pacific Northwest, and Europe. ‘Poor Maine’ became a travel planning trope we’d say with a big sad lip as we boarded plans for here and there, and drove cross country twice.
Last month, we chose Maine, finally, and despite a dense layer of coastal fog that limited panoramic views from atop Cadillac Mountain; we hiked, swam, and reveled in exploring one of the standout stars of America’s National Park System.
ADVENTURE
Over the course of three mild mid-July days, we adventured together in Acadia as a family, doing so comfortably in a fashionable set of . In addition to the graphic digs, there was a super soft, snuggly jet black Hanes hoodie wrapping my baby girl up sweetly during one chilly morning spent hiking and climbing on the jagged rocky cliffs along the Sand Beach trail to Thunder Hole, as well as during two cool evenings strolling Bar Harbor with ice cream cones in hand.
I knew my daughters were comfortable in their Hanes apparel which was more than I could say about myself because I was about 100 paces away from them and separated by treacherous heights, tricky rocks, several tide pools, and approximately 35 pounds of Atlantic coast fog.
PROTECT
A dad’s natural inclination is to protect but also to let his kids experience failure and bloody scrapes on knees and elbows, and to allow his children to challenge themselves physically. It is, therefore, a supreme test of a dad’s intestinal fortitude to not helicopter over his kids as they amble across Acadia’s cliffside outer crust while the ocean crashes with reckless abandon more than 50 feet below. Gulp. Parenthood is the ultimate adventure!
As you prepare for your family’s first or next great national park adventure, make a plan to do your exploring in a set of Hanes x National Park Foundation shirts and also in their ultrasoft, classic solid color tees & hoodies. You’ll be helping protect them from the elements. And by supporting the collection which helps to preserve our parks for future generations, you’ll be d doing your part to protect our parks, too.
