A New Chapter: From GaperGuide to TheParkGuide

If you've used GaperGuide over the past 20 years — maybe on a family road trip through Yellowstone, or winding through the Tetons with stories playing in your speakers — we want you to know: those tours aren't going anywhere. But the name on the door is changing, and we think the story behind it is worth telling.

Two Decades of GaperGuide

GaperGuide was born from a simple idea: what if there was a way to hear the stories of a place as you drove through it? Back in 2005, founder Will Ferguson was hiking Garnet Canyon in Grand Teton National Park, peppering his friend with questions about everything they were seeing. On the way down, the idea clicked — a device that would tell you the history, geology, and lore of the park, timed to where you were on the road.

The first tours came on dedicated audio players that plugged into your car's cigarette lighter. Smartphones didn't exist yet. Over the next two decades, GaperGuide grew into a beloved companion for tens of thousands of park visitors. The technology evolved — from hardware players to a mobile app — but the spirit never changed: great stories, triggered by the road beneath your tires.

A New Name, A Familiar Soul

In early 2026, Christie Koriakin took the reins. Christie spent over a decade building audio tours at TravelStorysGPS and more than 20 years in audio production, including a long run at community radio station KHOL in Jackson, Wyoming. She's not new to this world — she's been deep in it for years, and she knows firsthand what makes a great audio tour.

The new name — TheParkGuide — reflects the broader vision. While GaperGuide's roots were in Yellowstone and the Tetons (where "gaper" is local slang for a wide-eyed tourist), the mission now extends to every national park we can reach. Same depth of storytelling, same attention to detail, same love of the parks. Bigger canvas.

What's Staying the Same

Everything you loved about GaperGuide is still here. The tours — all of them — remain available through the TravelStorys app. The narration, the GPS-triggered storytelling, the ability to download everything before you leave cell service — it's all unchanged. If you purchased a GaperGuide tour in the past, it still works. If you're a returning visitor with a favorite tour, it'll feel like seeing an old friend.

What's Ahead

The plan is simple: more parks, more stories, and the same quality that made GaperGuide a five-star experience. We're already exploring new parks to add to the collection, and we're looking at ways to deepen the tours we already have — more stops, more local voices, more of the hidden stories that most visitors never hear.

We're also building out this very blog as a place to share park tips, travel advice, and behind-the-scenes updates. If you love national parks and want to get more out of your visits, this is the place to be.

Christie is based in Livingston, Montana — right at Yellowstone's north entrance — after years living in Jackson Hole near the south entrance. She's seen the parks from both sides, and she's just getting started.

Thank You

To Will Ferguson, who built something extraordinary from a hiking trail conversation: thank you. To everyone who's ever plugged in a GaperGuide player or opened the app on their phone: thank you. The next chapter is underway, and we couldn't be more excited to share it with you.

Same soul. New momentum. A lot more parks to explore.