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Speaker, educator, advocate

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About Jo
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Explore Nature

Another pic from the lake, looking in a different

Another pic from the lake, looking in a different direction.

Another pic from camping the week before last. Las

Another pic from camping the week before last. Last week was a bit nuts weather wise. We left here Wednesday, over Labor Day weekend it was hot with low humidity and red flag warnings, then Monday night brought snow, with more again later in the week. Some places, like Fort Collins, went from record high temps to record early snow.

The snow was welcome and so good for all the fires going on in Colorado right now. I hope the West coast gets some favorable weather and some relief from the historic and catastrophic fire siege that is going on right now. The losses on the West coast are unfathomable. Entire towns lost, so many people dead and missing, millions of acres of landscape charred.

While some fires were caused by lightening, most wildfires are human caused. The Williams Fork Fire near us was human caused. We must do more to be fire smart, folks. Human caused wildland fires are preventable. Pay attention to fire bans and red flag warnings. Don't use pyrotechnics or fireworks, including sparklers, in dry or drought stressed areas (or really, anywhere in the West at this point. I mean, why risk it?). Dispose of cigarette butts properly. If fires are allowed (usually within an existing fire pit), never ever leave a fire smoldering or unattended. Ever. Douse it. Make it mud. And if it's not possible to do so or not safe conditions for a fire (windy, low humidity, hot day time temps), even if there is no ban, DON'T HAVE ONE. I love a campfire as much as the next person, but there's a time and place, and those windows are shrinking.

This year is a stark reminder that we don't have to wait for the effects of climate change, we are already experiencing it. We need to learn to adapt and also to do good for our planet, because environmental health, planetary health, is human health. COVID19 and these devastating fires show us in deadly and destructive terms just how true that is.

📍 Cheyenne and Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute) land

Same view, different viewpoint! Pretty soon this s

Same view, different viewpoint! Pretty soon this shortie of a trail will have some leafed out aspens. I'm looking forward to it 🍃! It's a summer-like day today so hoping to break away from the computer a bit this afternoon to get some more shots (this pic is from Monday). #coloRADo #continentaldivide #stayclosetohome #DoingMyPartCO #leavingplanetearth #protectourwinters #appreciatenature #ilovespring 🌱

Gorgeous sunset last night 🧡 . . . #leavingplan

Gorgeous sunset last night 🧡 .
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#leavingplanetearth #coloRADo #sunset

Another pic from our weekend adventure. Love this

Another pic from our weekend adventure. Love this little girl who loves adventures so much. And love this man. This October will be 20 years since I moved in with him 😳! Grateful for these two, and happy to have a doggo again. Dogs are the best.
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#internationaldogday #rescuedogsofinstagram #adoptdontshop #rescueismyfavoritebreed #MountainPetRescue
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📍 Cheyenne and Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute) land

'You know me, I think there ought to be a big old

'You know me, I think there ought to be a big old tree right there. And let's give him a friend. Everybody needs a friend.'
― Bob Ross
Another pic from my snowshoe in @rockynps a couple weeks ago.
#coloRADo #findyourpark #RMNP #RockyIsMyPark #protectourwinters #protectourparks #appreciatenature

Same view, different viewpoint! From our walk the

Same view, different viewpoint! From our walk the other day, with some moody clouds over the Divide.

Went camping last week. So grateful to be able to

Went camping last week. So grateful to be able to spend time in nature.
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How you doing folks? As we are living through a significant chunk of history at the moment, what most stands out to you? What are you reflecting on these days?

Views along my walk to pick the FJ up from its reg

Views along my walk to pick the FJ up from its regular service. Somedays I'm continually awed by everything I see. Yesterday was one of those days. The clouds and snow capped peaks of the Divide so white and picturesque against the backdrop of that Colorado blue sky. The weather was lovely, the birds were singing, the critters were running about and chattering. It was pretty darn wonderful!
#coloRADo #continentaldivide #colorfulcolorado #leavingplanetearth #appreciatenature #grandcounty

Went on a hike with my buddy @keith.mccarroll Thur

Went on a hike with my buddy @keith.mccarroll Thursday. We had more snow than we expected! I got eaten alive by mosquitoes hiking up and across snow and that just seemed wrong. Snow and mosquitoes? 🤔But very worth it for this view! (Which I pretty much slid down to on my ass on more snow.)
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I'm so grateful to get to hike and take pictures. Especially with my pain pal Keith. Back in the worst years of my pain this seemed utterly impossible. It was getting back out into nature again that helped me heal. It was looking at this beautiful, rugged, resilient, and fragile world we live in through the lens of my Galaxy S7 (still!) that helped me to see the world again, as if for the first time. Photography helped me heal, too.
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There are so many people in pain right now. Black people in our country have suffered for centuries at the hands of racist power. How do we become an antiracist nation? How do create equity in our environment, society, systems, policies, institutions, distribution of resources, and access to opportunities? How do we assure that no one is denied the resources, support, and opportunity to heal?
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There is much work to be done. For my pain peeps, I am creating a course in ethical pain care. If you would like to share or talk about what that means to you, hit me up.

In addition to being a nature lover, my Mom is als

In addition to being a nature lover, my Mom is also really fun and funny. If I'm funny at all, I get it from her. Our very first stop at our first stop (@yosemitenps) on our road trip was Mariposa Grove. We hiked among the Giant Sequoias and Redwoods before heading to the Wawona Hotel for a memorable (and too short!) stay. (Note: it was the Big Trees Lodge while we were there, but is the Wawona again now). Here's an obligatory pic of my mom inside a tunnel tree. I want to take her back to Yosemite someday and stay a little longer.
Happy Mother's Day Eve, Ma!

#findyourpark #yosemite #goparks #MOMumental #ilovemymom #happymothersday #tunneltree

A pic of one of my favorite views along the Fraser

A pic of one of my favorite views along the Fraser River Trail. We are so lucky to have this beautiful and well-maintained in-town trail. Thank you @officialfraserco and @happytrails_hta!

Another view of Lake Crescent! This was taken from

Another view of Lake Crescent! This was taken from the same spot as the previous three, looking to the right. It was taken between the chairs and the log pics. It's amazing how much things can change when you change your perspective 💛
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#lakecrescent #olympicnationalpark #washington #PNW #findyourpark #goparks #protectourparks #nationalparks #appreciatenature #protectourwinters #wereallinthistogether

Sharing this pic from yesterday because it suits m

Sharing this pic from yesterday because it suits my mood, my anger, my sorrow. I'm finding it so difficult to post nature pics, knowing what happened to Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd and Christian Cooper and so many more black men who've been murdered or threatened just for being black outside. Not to mention Breonna Taylor, who was murdered in the middle of the night in her own home. And these are just the recent names in our news feeds. There are so so many more.
We cannot stay silent. Elie Weisel said: 'we must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.' I am taking a side. Silence is complicity. I hope more of us will do the same. We can only address systemic racism, only confront white supremacy and the hatred and bigotry so evident in our society, if white people stand up against it.

If you haven't seen my stories, this is our new do

If you haven't seen my stories, this is our new doggo, Coco. She is pretty awesome. We adopted her from @mountainpetrescue after she spent a year with her amazing foster parents after being rescued from a kill shelter in Texas.
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They think she is about 6 years old. She is shy when meeting new people and dogs, so we have to go slow with introductions (treats help), but she is so incredibly sweet once she gets to know you.
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She LOVES walks and plodding through the river, exploring her yard and sunbathing on the back deck, and chilling out on big chair or under our desks. She also loves training and is super smart. We love her so much. She makes us laugh out loud every day and gives us so much lovin'.
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If you have any guesses as to what breed(s) she might be, let us know!
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📍 Cheyenne and Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute) land
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#MountainPetRescue #CocoAdventures #rescuedogsofinstagram #adoptdontshop #doggosarethebest

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Explore Recent Posts

Breaking my silence on racism and antiracism June 3, 2020
Challenging patient, part deux. My chat with PT Matt. October 18, 2019
Healing and curing ~ reflecting on the words of Rachel Naomi Remen June 22, 2019
Wholeness, stories, service, compassion – initial reflections on SD Pain 2019 March 2, 2019
The challenging patient… January 31, 2019

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