This morning I remembered that today is Earth Day. When I started to think about what that meant to me and how to express it, I thought of all of the places in this amazing world I have been to and which one would express my love of this earth the most. A place that I feel really tells the story of all of our natural resources and what that means to us as a world, country, and just regular people. A place that brings breathtaking beauty, natural resources of water, energy, wildflowers, sun, warmth, and nature in all its forms. Wild animals, blue sky, stars shining at night that you can actually see. Certainly, I would want to save a place that offers my family and me four unique and different seasons. We need the four seasons to make everything that we take for granted work and grow. To feed the wildlife and produce an ecosystem that cares for us all. A place that would do all of that must have peace, beauty, and purpose. Then I knew. What would we ever do if we could never walk or ride in our beautiful National Parks again? A place where you know, without any doubt, that there is a high power. To me, that is God. To you, maybe you call it your spirit. However we refer to it, we know it is beyond our control. It is more than magical; it is breathtaking and beautiful.
I have been privileged to visit many National Parks. Not all of them yet, but hopefully, I still have time. Of the ones I have visited, a special place holds my heart for its beauty and ruggedness. For its power and purpose. For its warmth, comfort, and growth. There is nothing quite like the backcountry of Yellowstone National Park. It changed me after spending a week in the backcountry on horseback. There are two ways into this majestic field of ferns, flowers, mountains, streams, lakes and geysers, and hot springs. One is by horseback, and the other is by hiking. Many days, I wished I had chosen hiking, but then I would come across a hiker, and he would say, “I wish I had chosen the horse.” Sometimes the hardest challenges bring the biggest rewards. Lessons about what we are capable of, what we can learn when pushed. How we respond to limits beyond our control. Then, how we learn to trust the beast that we are unfamiliar with. After one week, the beast becomes our best friend, and we are so sad to leave them behind.
My horse, Hawk, stumbled out of the gate. We were not gone fifteen minutes when he stumbled and fell to his knees. I knew I was in trouble and immediately said I couldn’t do this trip. I knew about horses, I had ridden before, but I never had one that fell. The field guild assured me of two things…it was too late to leave the trip, and Hawk was one of their best horses. I started feeling sorry for the other members of this photography tour in the backcountry. If Hawk was the best, I wondered if the rest of them would be tumbling around like tumbleweeds for the rest of the week. They offered me a different horse, and right there, I decided Hawk, and I would make it together. We became a team. So, every once in a while, he would stumble on the level land because he didn’t pay attention, I got used to that, and we would have conversations about it, him and I. He’d shake his head as much to say, “I hear you, now leave me be. Here’s the thing though, when it came time to climb up a steep canyon, and I mean steep, don’t look back steep, or when it came time to get me back down that canyon, heart in my throat, leaning way back, he was as slow and as sure-footed as necessary to lightly and gently get me to the top and then back to the bottom, where I would once again be able to breathe. I learned that about him and talked to him up and down every valley and peak of Yellowstone. We truly became best friends with so many hugs and kisses during our week together. Then tears of sorrow on my last trip out after crossing a deep river on his back, hoping, on this last day, he would not slip on the rocks so slick underneath us and finally dump me as he did on the first day going in. He was magnificent in every way. It took me weeks after getting home to stop my heart from breaking over his loss. It is an awe-inspiring revelation to study nature and animals and to know what they provide for us in the truest sense, what it would mean to lose meadows, wildflowers that bloom in every color of the rainbow, sunrises climbing up behind the pines, dew drops, sunsets dropping into the rivers and streams, the heat of the day and the cold of late night and early morning. I could go on and on about this trip because it was life-changing for me. A city girl visits the backcountry. A city girl learns to love nature and pureness. Light and dark are caused by the sun and the moon. Not by pushing a switch. Quiet that you have never heard before and sounds of mother nature talking all day long and even deep into the night.
Earth Day is a day of celebration for me, but every day is Earth Day to me. I make it a point to spend as much time in nature as possible. I’m still learning lessons of great importance and finding out about all the critters who call our earth home. Please, join me for a few minutes in Yellowstone National Park, but then as you travel through your days, weeks, months, and years, please understand that our earth is already changing, and only by a combined effort can we save the sacred and beautiful. I want my grandsons someday to walk in my footsteps or ride on the back of a big beautiful, surefooted horse out to the backcountry of Yellowstone and visit with all that Mother Nature provides us. Enjoy the views and be amazed at what you can do, how you can change things, and what you can save. But we need to start now, and we need to do it together. We can do this.
My faithful and loving horse, Hawk. Such a strong, and steady companion. Lazy on the flats but slow and methodical on the tough parts, where it matters. I loved him and trusted him with my entire being.
Wildflowers we came across in the backcountry. We would have macro lessons at 5 a.m. every morning. Only two of us ever showed up. I think the rest of them were resting their butts.
Our field guides…Michelle, in the top photo, learning how to do photography, and Shane, bottom right, were our Yellowstone Field guides. They cooked, packed us up, and moved us as we traveled all over the backcountry each night. On the left, John and Barbara Gerlach were our photography guides. The best in the business. Michelle and Shane ended up getting married a few years after our trip in and invited Jim and me to the wedding. We shared some fun and dramatic stories around the campfire each morning and night.
I have heard the word meadow many times, but until I got to the backcountry, I had no idea what a meadow really was. It is open flat land with beautiful grass, streams, and wild foliage. It was full sun during the day and hot as blue blazers. Unfortunately, the jeans I brought were black, which is not a good thing. The little teepee’s in the background were our hotel accommodations. We set them up and took them down each time we moved to a new location. The whole world was our bathroom. I took extra precautions with a cool whip container. The horses roamed until bedtime but were tethered at night. A couple of the mules had bells on and were loose in case another animal might want to visit us in the wee hours. If the bells started going, the field guides were flying to chase away any visitors. The reason the mules were free with bells, well, they would follow whatever came by. One day they lined up right behind a group of boy-scouts who were walking by. So funny.
Things always get interesting at the end of the day. The golden light is always delightful when the mules and horses romp while waiting for their dinner. Jim brings the mules in for unpacking for the next few nights. They are very strong beasts but oh so gentle. And, of course, this must have been a mid week. Laundry day. Two trips-pods and some rope.
A little early evening shooting with John while we wait for dinner to be cooked on the open fire. I was practicing my waterfall skills. There is a very steep drop right where we are standing. My left shoulder is firmly planted against that tree. My teeth are chattering.
A tremendous dramatic hot spring along the way. There are many of these that we came across. Of course, we were cautioned never to get close because they were so hot. None of us tested the truth of this. We did, however, come across a large spring of warm water, which we did swim in, and it was delightful. Our only shower/bath of the week.
Night falls on our quiet piece of paradise. The only light comes from the moon. The only sound is the river flowing…the pines whisper, rest well; all is good.
The next morning we are up with the sun. I always wake up early and run down the hill to the campfire. Although days are hot, nights and early mornings can be frigid. Michelle always has the fire going and the cowboy coffee on. We sit on a log and have long, heartfelt talks about life…it is a sacred time until the others arrive. This morning Michelle encouraged me to hold a snake. I wasn’t crazy about it, but I did it. So many first for me on this path. Jim, again with the mules packing up to leave. I spotted this Damselfly hanging around. I did not know that they freeze on the flower stem until the sun warms them up. Then they can fly again. Makes for great sharp photos of them.
Barbara and I are ready to move on and take some photos. Today we will be heading for more waterfalls. These falls that we visited can only be viewed the hard way: horseback or hiking. My ass is pretty much ready for a walk right about now. But I’m in here, and somehow I have to get out. Off we go. I love this photo. It almost looks like I know what I’m doing. Actually, I’m just trying to stay vertical. I also think the look on my face shows some pain.
My buddy Hawk was tucked away in the bush, tied to a tree. He faithfully watches over my gear while I’m shooting jaw-dropping waterfalls in the woods. The second photo is of Dundee Falls with the people at the bottom for scale. The horses are never left alone. Two people always stay back with them so they would not run off with our gear if they were to get loose.
Lower Falls…this was not actually taken in the backcountry but in Yellowstone, as we emerged. It was such a long, luxurious fall that I wanted to include it in this post. So important to see what is at stake here.
The last day has arrived. The mules are packed to total capacity, and our horses are back on level ground. Each horse carries a total weight of 25 lbs that includes all of our clothes and gear, the mules much more. We have one last river to cross, and I now look forward to this. Such a thrill to experience an adventure that not many get to do. I’m feeling blessed on this day.
What a majestic sight. These beautiful 1200-pound creatures are as gentle as kittens. They are funny in their antics and carry this trip's weight on their backs. The pine trees and mountains in the background remind me of what we can lose if we don’t fight the good fight to save our land. Everything we took in, all the tools and paper we used, comes out with us. Not one scrap of waste hit the ground, but I feel bad about the chamois towel I left hanging on the branch after washing up one day. All the toilets in the ground have been filled in. It takes many hands and hearts to do a trip like this. I’m grateful to our tour guides and to the other six people who joined Jim and me on this excursion. Can you imagine packing and unpacking those mules several times during the week? No easy feat. I used to watch them do it. At night, everything we had, including toothpaste and creams, was put into big crates, and with pulleys, Shane would pull them up into the trees so the bears couldn’t get in them.
And to Barb, our photo instructor and a true cowgirl. I’ve been fortunate to meet two cowgirls in my life, and they are both the real deal. She was breaking this horse in on this trip, and It was a fantastic sight to see her finally let the horse know who the boss was. She didn’t have an ounce of fear.
And finally, to not only my photo partner and tour guide but to my life partner who puts up with all my crazy ideas and goes along, although on this adventure, neither of us had any idea what we had signed up for, and in hindsight, that’s a good thing. If I had read and understood the full itinerary, I’m sure I would not have signed away liability on the dotted line. I have a history of claustrophobia and of being in control. Fifteen minutes into the trip, I gave all that up without realizing it. No cellphone, no connection to the outside world. In case of emergency, we had a first aid kit and a rider who maybe would ride out and get help. If a helicopter were needed, it would cost you 7,000.00 to get it in there. No toilets, no showers, and no wine except for the bottle I snuck in and we shared on the last night. All of my fears stared me in the face, but I was in after Hawks’ first trip down on his knees. Perhaps he didn’t just stumble; maybe he was praying for the both of us. Was I scared, so many times I can’t count, but long talks on dark nights, hugs, encouragement, and major victories…Did I learn about photography in the wild, I surely did. Early morning is the best time for wildflowers if you want to catch the dew drops. Waterfalls take a lot of practice and a tri-pod. No getting around that one. Most of the important lessons though were learned because of the backcountry. Without exposure to deep nature, trust in others, both human and four legged, and at the end of the day, trust in myself. I learned lessons that for years I would never believe I was capable of. I walked out of the backcountry a new person. Perhaps even the person I had always wanted to be. I try to carry those lessons with me every day. I learned that when you have nothing except your will and wit, you can accomplish anything, and when I use the hashtag #natureismytherapy, I mean it. So thank you, Jim, for finding the crazy in me delightful. We have had a lot of adventures together, but I do believe none will ever top this. But then again, I think we should keep on looking…
So, I hope you take a few minutes on this Earth Day. Maybe grab a notepad and pen, and jot down ways nature has always been your therapy. Make a list of all the things you would truly miss or that your kids or grandkids would miss if we don’t start loving the planet more than we love the materialistic things that will destroy our natural resources and beauty. Think of walks in the woods, fishing, swimming in ponds and oceans, and wild animals joyfully roaming in the mountains. Make that list, and then make another list of everything you and your family can do right now to hold all this beauty sacred. If it’s important to you, you will make time for it. I’ll be right there beside you doing my part, also. I’ve tasted the bittersweet feeling of nature. I know we can surely lose it if we don’t prioritize it. And we don’t have much time to fix things. Your life will be richer if you pick up a bucket and start cleaning up right now…what do you think?
“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”
