“We abuse land because we see it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” –Aldo Leopold

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YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

*Norris Geyser Basin*

Yellowstone, despite its popularity, is one of the most wild and raw places I’ve ever been to. And walking through the park reminded me of the importance to keep these places as untouched as possible.

And believe me, often times I’m left fighting a battle between playing into tourism, or staying away forever so as to not contribute to its destruction through tourism…

So the only thing I can do is abide by the golden rule of leaving no trace behind.

What would be of my heart without beautiful places like these?

This is the biggest reason why I don’t ever complain about park fees. I’ll pay them as long as I know those funds will contribute to the land’s preservation.

Porcelain Basin Hot Springs

How is this even real?

Crackling Lake

The best artist will always be our great Mother Earth.

This was our second day in Yellowstone, and we were slowly making our way through as many locations as possible :)

There were pools and geysers around every corner. Each one so unique.

*Upper Geyser  Basin*

We made our way back to this basin. The day before, we had stopped just in time for Old Faithful to shoot under the sunset.

Heart Spring

It was only right for two hearts in love to come across this beauty :)

Chromatic Spring

And it’s worth noting that the reason for the different colors is temperature. Different bacteria and minerals grow at different temperatures. The browner the color, the cooler the temp.

This is why these pools are not your wishing wells. Throwing objects or coins only clogs them and robs them of their vibrant blues.

Doublet Pool

It makes me sad watching people comment over social media and saying how badly they want to visit so that they could toss a coin inside the pools. Where does this desire even stem from?

Beauty Pool

Waiting for a geyser to shoot…

Morning Glory Pool

This gem. This gem is unbelievable. Psychedelic!

But it is also a prime example of how objects have clogged the pool, making its vibrant blue slowly turn into green…and soon brown if we don’t stop :(

I couldn’t wrap my head around how perfect she was…

#WildestTimeTravel

*West Thumb Geyser Basin*

This place was a dream. We arrived before sunset. The crowds had vanished and the wildlife was emerging….

Everything during the golden hour feels GOLDEN.

And the wildlife was thriving here.

Thermal water feeds right into Yellowstone Lake’s thumb.

And there were thermal vents poking right out of the lake. What a place…

These little guys were everywhere. I was partly scared that they’d come charging at us, so we watched from a safe distance.

Black Pool

This pool was anything but black. And it was my absolute favorite.

It was magical under the sunset :’)

My heart. Sometimes I feel like it will burst right out of my chest, not being able to handle so much beauty…

We drove off into the night, ready to rest our heads at our campsite.

Our Earth deserves all our love and respect and protection. Lately, my heart has been heavy with a mix of everything happening at Standing Rock in North Dakota, as well as elections.

But if I can remind you of anything today, let it be this: at the end of the day, when all politicians and governments and invisible country borders are gone, all we have is Earth.

So, to my American people…If you haven’t yet cast your vote, I hope that you consider voting for leaders who are willing to help protect our Mother and who will continue to help preserve incredible places like this.

Love & Light,

Denise

PS: You should watch Leonardo DiCaprio’s documentary, Before the Flood :) It is eye opening and a perfect reminder of the importance of protecting our Home. Also worth watching on Netflix is The Ivory Game — seriously brought me to tears.

And totally unrelated, but wishing that every classroom in America could play this documentary — 13th. I skipped right over this on Netflix several times because what else could they possibly say about slavery, right? Wrong. Suddenly, so many things made sense. I highly recommend watching this!

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Stay curious, wild hearts!

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