up at the national park where the first light hits the united states of america every day or hawaii volcanoes they are making new land. that lava comes out and makes that island just a little bit bigger every day. just in the natural aspect of the national parks, unbelievable legacy. tavis: you lost one of your major funders and still you got this thing done. tell me about how you did this. >> general motors, which had been funding us, we signed a deal in 1999, we knew regardless to have financial crisis, 2009, that would be over and we had already replaced them in this case with bank of america and we have lots of oer funders, the national park foundation, the park foundation itself, corporation for public broadcasting, the few charitable trusts, not easy but over a 10-year period we accumulated their support. you're right. it takes a lot of generalship to film at the gates of the arctic and northern alaska and the dry tortugas off the florida keys and to those hawaii volcanoes and everywhere in between. but what we were looking for is not -- you can go shoot that. anybody can do that and ge

from the gates of the arctic in northern alaska to the dry tortugas off the florida keys, from hawaii volcanoes to acadia in maine. they have been tremendous servants and i would like to thank them. we have been celebrating over the last several days our public lands. there has been an enormous outpouring of support, all across the country in more than 200 of the 391 sites of the national park service. citizens have been turning out and by the hundreds and by the thousands, to celebrate not just the initiation of this film, but our love of these public lands, these treasured landscapes, as the secretary of the interior, who has been a great champion of this project would say. it has been an amazing outpouring in a country that is often so distracted by the now that there are so many millions of citizens million -- willing to commit to these public lands in such a meaningful way. we, in turn, try to express some sort of thanks to the national park service for their service to us. we are turning over to them, as of today, all of our research material, the full transcript, the full images of all t

the tes of the arctic and nthern alaska and the dry tortugas off the florida keys d to those hawaii volcanoesverywhere in tween. but what wwere looking for is not -- you can go shoo that. anybody can do that and get beautiful picturesn these places. they look exacy the way john muir saw them and the way e ancestors of the native american o is once called them home. then you hav to figure out how thtell a story. i thk most of the time, most of the effort, most of the love and energy that went intohis was tryi to weave together like a russianovel. is not set ainst backdrop of catastropc war but of these beautiful pces, travis, they just knock your soc off, you know yostand there and you can't imagine that the nexplace was gog to be any better than the one before and allf a sudden, you see aew view and sometimes it is something scific like a rock or a glacier july or a piecof an -- annimal walks by. we saw grizzly bea. we're hathe experiences of our lifetimend still able to engage tse themes that we have been doing. e diversity in this film is not potically correct. it is natully occurring. tavi

we shot from the gates of the arctic in northern alaska to the dry tortugas of the key, from hawaii volcanoy are making new land to acadia national park where the first rays of sunlight hit this complicated republic of ours and everywhere in between. that's it. there are some people who do not yet feel that sense of ownership and we've been able to go out into often inner city communities, often to black and african-american communities and show them heroes of the history of the national parks that look and sound like them so we invite more people into this amazing birthright we all share. as co-owners we ought to go out and visit our property once in a while and make sure as you did that it's being taken care of and put it in our will for our posterity. it's a bargain. >> ken, i know you got extensive looks at the nation's national parks, 53 of the 58. that being said, what's your first real memory of a national park? >> you know, it's interesting. the parks perform as even your memories do, a kind of open heart surgery where we remember not just these grand geological sites but who we wer

in hawaii, the hellish landscape of volcanoes provided us with a glance back into the moment of creation itself. while the colorful windswept canyons of southern utah were mesmerizing, sometimes forbidding museums of patient erosion. down in the grandest canyon on earth in northern arizona, we prayed the rapids of a still insistent and dangerous colorado river and wondered again at the leaders of history, grand geological history, that river has revealed to travelers over the eons. back on its south wind, we felt the atomic insignificance of our own lives, a sense of one's smallness in the larger scheme of things that the canyons edge continue it promotes. we felt better in that knowledge. like privileged visitors to some sacred shrine, alaska took us in and commit as moments with mountains and fjords and tundra, brown bear, elk, moose, whale, steel, puffins and we will never forget. we saw lots of wolves to. in northwestern wyoming, found a second, among the wildlife and wild eruptions of the many stunning otherworldly thermal features. we fell silent and overlook that afforded the view

in hawaii, the hellish landscape of volcanoes provided us with a glance back into the moment of creation itself. while the colorful windswept canyons of southern utah were mesmerizing, sometimes forbidding museums of patient erosion. down in the grandest canyon on earth in northern arizona, we prayed the rapids of a still insistent and dangerous colorado river and wondered again at the leaders of history, grand geological history, that river has revealed to travelers over the eons. back on its south wind, we felt the atomic insignificance of our own lives, a sense of one's smallness in the larger scheme of things that the canyons edge continue it promotes. we felt better in that knowledge. like privileged visitors to some sacred shrine, alaska took us in and commit as moments with mountains and fjords and tundra, brown bear, elk, moose, whale, steel, puffins and we will never forget. we saw lots of wolves to. in northwestern wyoming, found a second, among the wildlife and wild eruptions of the many stunning otherworldly thermal features. we fell silent and overlook that afforded the view

volcano. did you feel that heat, too? >> yeah. i mean, i had actual ly been in volcanic national park in hawaii it reminded me of the old tommy leemovie. >> you were evacuated from your home for a time, as i understand you now able to go back to your home, right? >> yes, i am. and i asked local sheriff deputy and they said that they think the worst is over now. >> for your area we know it is. tommy, thanks for joining us. obviously a lot of people are still very concerned about this fire and where it might go. more photos coming in at i-report.com. if you are in position to take them safely, we'll continue to follow these for you throughout the day. >> very good. josh, thank you. >>> americans sounding off. cnn express is on the road asking questions about the economy and health care. >>> cnn election express is on the road again. ali velshi talking about the good people about health care reform. where are you today? >> reporter: this is one of those things. you let me choose where i'm supposed to be. we're on the south side of chicago in front of jim's original polish sausage. it's been here for 70 years. we're on the south side