I AM AN AMATEUR plant enthusiast and Midwest native that is absolutely in love with mountains. This love took off with our family’s many camping trips over the years to Yellowstone (Wyoming) and Glacier (Montana) national parks, much of Colorado, northern New Mexico, the Canadian Rockies, etc. I also worked summer jobs in the mountains, including Yellowstone, as well as Glacier, one of my all-time favorite places in the world. Working at these places, my downtime was filled with hikes, my first choice often being to go climb a peak, taking in the beautiful plants I would see along the way. My love for alpines grew off of this love of the mountains, even though back then I often only knew the common name (if that) of what I was looking at.