Wagoneer to Be National Parks Visitor Center on Wheels

Kickstarter project wants to takes the appeal of National Parks to the neighborhoods.

A group of nature lovers in Washington state are working to pull off a Jeep road trip of a different kind.

To help to get more people to visit the state’s National Parks, a pair of nature lovers have begun a Kickstarter campaign, aimed at hitting the road in a Jeep Wagoneer. Their goal is to make it a rolling visitor center for the parks, according to a King5 news report.

Eric Sheckler and Julie Johnson say the goal is to break the traditional mold of simply greeting people at the parks. They hope to take a more direct approach to encouraging more youth and ethnically diverse people to visit the parks — by greeting them right in their neighborhoods.

CHECK OUT: What Forum Members Are Saying About This Kickstarter Idea

On the Kickstarter page, the organizers note that they believe that one of the solutions to drawing more diverse markets to Washington’s National Parks is by making them more relatable.  That’s where the ’80s Jeep Wagoneer comes in. Sheckler explains, having once been a proud Wagoneer owner himself.

“People would run up to my car and hug it at the gas station, so we know for a fact that there’s a lot of goodwill, a lot of strong positive emotions and memories tied up in these vehicles,” he said.

Johnson describes the entire effort, officially known as the BounceBox project, as a “food truck for the soul.”

Part of the funds raised will be used to swap out the loaner Wagoneer they’ve been using for one that’ll be strictly theirs to take on the road. The Kickstarter effort also includes stacking up on the necessary reading materials to share and provide information about the national parks. Will you be donating?