About

Hey there!

I'm Kiley

I'm a lover of landscapes and little moments and try to spend as much time outside as possible, hiking, backpacking, swimming, relaxing, reading, and capturing beauty with my camera when I can!I've been a seasonal National Park Ranger for the last five years, working at Yosemite, Rocky Mountain, and Glacier National Parks during the summer, and odd jobs (farmer, wildlife technician, ski resort employee, outdoor retail store) during the winter. I received my bachelor's degree in Conservation Biology, and I use it everyday as a naturalist, identifying tees, plants, flowers, birds, moss and more on the job and off the job. Topophilia means "a strong sense of place, a love for peculiar places; a sense of home." It reflects my desire to connect myself and others to the breathtaking spaces where I work, and to help guide people towards a deeper appreciation for our remarkable natural world.I have a strong collection of photographs from past adventures, and my hope is to share stories and connect with others in mutual respect for nature and our environment, for the winged and the hoofed, the grasses and bark, the petals and pine needles.

Me as a Ranger in Glacier National Park, 2022

Thank you for Being Here!

It means so much to me that others share a "topophilia" for similar places that I do. Thank you for reading and your support! I'm a seasonal worker that has gaps at times between jobs, so any and all support is appreciated so much :)

At a backcountry lake in Yosemite National Park, 2021

Some Background....

I started getting into photography when I was 18, when my parents got me a camera for my high school graduation - it is the same one I use now! However, I was taking pictures before then, of anything and everything around me, but not of sidewalks and houses but tiny leaflets on trees and flowers on the one cherry tree that would blossom every spring at my childhood home from our second-floor window. During college, I didn't take many photos, until one summer internship took me to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. Here at 20, I saw wild bison, elk, and black bears for the first time. I also took a trip to Yellowstone during that summer, where I first saw REAL mountains, on the Beartooth Scenic Byway. Being above the treeline on this route, seeing mountain goats and pikas and marmots and alpine flowers, the snow still lingering in July at 11,000 feet, I fell in love with all of it. Perhaps this is where I first felt "topophilia," a "fondness and love for peculiar places," in another place from where I was born. How ironic is it, that five years after visiting the magical and first-for-me Beartooth Mountains, that I find myself living in the town of Red Lodge, Montana, the gateway town of the Beartooths themselves.

“The level of comfort and peace that I experience in the parks flows like a stream throughout my life, so that no matter where I am or what I am experiencing, there is a core of me that cannot be disturbed. It keeps me in balance all the time.” – Audrey Peterman

The National Parks.

In the past five years, I've worked in Yosemite, Rocky Mountain, and Glacier National Parks. As an interpretive Park Ranger, I staffed the visitor centers, led guided hikes, and gave evening programs in the campgrounds about the natural and cultural importance of the park - helping visitors establish their own sense of place and belonging. From being an educator and naturalist, I also found my sense of place of each park, learning about the history, the types of trees and phenology, the behaviors of the wildlife and migration routes of the birds. I also worked as a Wilderness Ranger in Yosemite, working at the wilderness center and teaching Leave No Trace ethics to backpackers and hikers. Many people ask if I have a favorite park - and I can't say I do because each park holds a different and special meaning for me. They are all beautiful and unique, and I feel a sense of home, a topophilia, for each one.

Backcountry Reflections, Glacier National Park 2022

"Sometimes I wish I could photosynthesize so that just by being, just by shimmering at the meadow’s edge or floating lazily on a pond, I could be doing the work of the world while standing silent in the sun." ~ Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass

Using Zenfolio