Where Thanks Are Due

Sometimes the new guy distracts me from my gratitude for this guy...

Ta-Nehisi Coates has written a truly inspired tribute to Obama and the Obamas in The Atlantic. 

I am so glad that I have gotten to experience a man and a family in the White House that inspire me to be a better person by example, rather than in opposition.

I am humbled by the public service they have preformed and thankful for the deep and gracious humanity that infuses their leadership and lives.

I JUST LOVE THEM.

The Wonder Of It All

A baby's tail, encased in amber, tells us that dinosaurs had soft feathers like sea creatures.

Headwaters

You've likely seen this map, created by Imgur, of watersheds in the United States...

Wyoming lies at the headwaters for four major basins: the Mississippi (via the Missouri), the Columbia (via the Snake), the Colorado (via the Green), and the Great Salt Lake...

 

The Yellowstone, the longest un-dammed river in the nation, also begins in Wyoming...

In late summer, glacial melt accounts for around 80% of instream flow along the Continental Divide and roughly 44% by the time these drainages leave the mountains. In the handful of years I have been exploring the Wind River Range, its glaciers and permanent snow fields have been disappearing before my eyes. The ramifications of this loss are huge.

To be at the birthplace of water for so many and so much? For citizens living in this state, it means a weighty privilege and responsibility.