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Speaker, educator, advocate

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About Jo
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Explore Nature

Whenever I'm out in nature I find myself tilting m

Whenever I'm out in nature I find myself tilting my head up toward the sky, closing my eyes, taking a long, slow breath. And I always think 'I can just breathe'.
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As I thought that yesterday, I heard George Floyd saying 'I can't breathe. Please, I can't breathe' as he lay dying with a white man's knee upon his neck. I think of Eric Garner saying 'I can't breathe' as he died with a white man's arm around his neck. I can't breathe.
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I think of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. Of Freddie Gray and Michael Brown. Of Philando Castile and Sandra Bland.
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We have real work to do in this country to get at the root cause of these deaths. To root out racism, systemic and otherwise. To know our real history, to confront our own biases, and our own silences. We need to stand up. Fellow white people, we need to stand the fuck up and do this work.
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William Barr, the US Attorney General, had Eric Garner's federal case dropped, while he freed Michael Flynn. Our current president supported the ARMED white men ('very nice people', just like in Charlottesville) storming my home state of Michigan's capitol (he even told 'that woman from Michigan' to give them what they want). But he suggested those protesting George Floyd's murder - a murder at the hands of a white man in a position of authority - be shot and called them 'thugs'.
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Do you see the difference?
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So many white folk were up in arms when Colin Kaepernick took a knee to peacefully protest police brutality and racial inequality. Will those same folk rail against the white knee upon George Floyd's neck? For almost 9 minutes, while he was handcuffed? For minutes after he was unconscious? After he was dead?
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My heart is so heavy. I am filled with outrage and sorrow.
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Will white folk stand up? Speak out? Will we act?
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#georgefloyd #ahmaudarbery #breonnataylor #saytheirnames #blacklivesmatter #demandjustice #standup be #antiracist and please #vote

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.

Another pic from my hike yesterday on one of our l

Another pic from my hike yesterday on one of our local trails. I didn't notice the 🚵‍♂️🚵‍♂️ until after I took the pic because I was looking at the Divide and the clouds in that Colorado blue sky 💙
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#leavingplanetearth #coloRADo #hikingtrail #appreciatenature #colorfulcolorado

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 🌱

Sky was a beauty tonight. . . . . #leavingplanetea

Sky was a beauty tonight.
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#leavingplanetearth #sunset #afterglow #coloRADo #mountains #silhouette #colorfulcolorado #noedit

One more from this little Lake Crescent series! I'

One more from this little Lake Crescent series! I'll have another three the next few days from the same spot, looking in another direction.
These last three, including this one, were all taken very near to each other. I spent forever in this spot, and largely had it to myself. It was pretty magical. One thing that amazed me during my time on the Olympic Peninsula was all the driftwood and beach logs. I could explore for hours just looking at all their unique shapes. I'll share some in another series ;) I especially loved this little driftwood piece. There is so much art in nature! .
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#OlympicNationalPark #PNW #washington #olympicpeninsula #findyourpark #goparks #nationalparks #lakecrescent #driftwood #reflection #appreciatenature #protectourwinters #protectourparks

Same view after sunset.

Same view after sunset.

Happy Mother's Day to my beautiful Mom. I hope I c

Happy Mother's Day to my beautiful Mom. I hope I can see you soon, I miss you. I look forward to our next adventure, even if it's at home! Thank you for always supporting me, loving me, and lifting me up. Thank you for all the laughs, the love, the light, the lasting memories you always bring with you. I'm so grateful you are my Mom for so many reasons.
Love you to the moon and back!
Also, fun fact for those who are not my mom and are reading this. I used to make fun of my mom for her ever-present fanny pack. It used to embarrass me when I was so cool and knew everything as a teenager. Fun fact number 2: I've been rocking my own fanny pack for years now. They're so convenient! And perfect for my phone, keys, epi-pen! And sunblock and a snack or two, you know what I'm saying?

#happymothersday #ilovemymom #findyourpark #yosemite #goparks #MOMumental #fannypack

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

Last summer I went on a road trip with my Mom. Our

Last summer I went on a road trip with my Mom. Our first stop was Yosemite. My Mom instilled in my brother and me a love for the outdoors, a deep appreciation of nature, a profound joy in the beauty of the natural world, and delight in the simple things we too often take for granted - the smell of duff under your feet on a path in the woods, the scent of rain, the flit of a butterfly across your path, the dandelion growing up through a sidewalk crack, the songs of birds and chatter of critters, the breeze in your hair and warm sun on your face. I love the mountains and grand vistas, I love having my toes in the sand on an endless shoreline, yet what I love most is a walk in the woods, surrounded by trees that remind me of strength and grace, vulnerability and resilience, that have so much beauty in their gnarls and imperfections and so much nurturing in their roots, wisdom in their trunks, striving in their branches.
My favorite place to be anywhere is amongst the trees. I get that from my Mom. Happy Mother's Day Eve Eve Ma!

#findyourpark #yosemite #goparks #MOMumental #ilovemymom

Loved this spot. It was a concentrated explosion o

Loved this spot. It was a concentrated explosion of flowers next to the lake trail, with this stunning backdrop, cornice and all.
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I'm going to do better at recognizing the people who inhabited this land long before we arrived here and claimed it as our own, the people who had their homelands stolen from them. I have gone much too long not doing so.
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📍 stolen land of the Cheyenne and
Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute) peoples

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.

My favorite pic from our camping trip for John's b

My favorite pic from our camping trip for John's birthday. It was a smoky, hazy, beautiful few days.

📍 Eastern Shoshone and Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute) lands

Similar pic to my Earth Day pic, but that pic was

Similar pic to my Earth Day pic, but that pic was taken last year and this one was taken on Saturday 💙 Since we're only doing walks from home and not driving anywhere, you're going to keep seeing similar pics 😂 At least it's a gorgeous view though, right? Hopefully you'll enjoy seeing how the landscape changes along with me. .
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#coloRADo #continentaldivide #leavingplanetearth #protectourwinters #appreciatenature #DoingMyPartCO

The clouds were pretty unreal while I was in RMNP

The clouds were pretty unreal while I was in RMNP on Friday.
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It is a sky we all live under, yet not all of us have equal access or equal opportunity to get out and explore and breathe in nature.
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We must do something about that. Being antiracist is not a partisan issue. We should all be against racism, no matter our politics. This is a human rights issue. A human dignity issue. A public health issue. This is about our common humanity.
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Racism can be a very hard and uncomfortable thing to talk about. Yet we have to talk about it. And then we have to do more. But it starts with talking. With hard conversations. With acknowledging we're uncomfortable and then exploring why we're so uncomfortable. With educating ourselves. With LISTENING to black people and people of color. Just listen.
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If you need a place to start, please follow @blackcoffeewithwhitefriends and perhaps join her book club. The first book is Ghost Boys and it is incredible, I read it in one sitting. Even if you don't join the book club, I highly recommend the book.
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Marcie also provides history lessons for adults, history many of us were never taught in school, at @mockingbirdhistorylessons .
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We don't have to do this hard work alone, but we do have to do this work.
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#solidarity #blacklivesmatter #antiracism

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Wholeness, stories, service, compassion – initial reflections on SD Pain 2019 March 2, 2019
The challenging patient… January 31, 2019

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