In Our Backyard

This Fourth of July, we're reflecting on one of America's greatest gifts: our public lands. 

Just beyond the glassybaby hotshop in Livingston, Montana, something remarkable is beginning to take shape. The first phase of the Yellowstone Heritage Trail is now under construction—a project that will reconnect communities, celebrate history, and create new opportunities for people to experience one of the country's most treasured landscapes. 

At the entrance to Yellowstone National Park, the Roosevelt Arch bears a simple but enduring promise: 

"For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People." 

More than a century later, those words continue to inspire the way we care for the places that bring us together. 

The Yellowstone Heritage Trail will transform a long-abandoned railroad corridor into a 56-mile multiuse trail connecting Livingston, Emigrant, Gardiner, and Yellowstone National Park. Once complete, it will provide a safe place for neighbors to walk, ride bikes, birdwatch, fish, and explore the Paradise Valley while strengthening the connection between local communities and the landscape they call home. 

For residents, the trail means the ability to safely bike to the grocery store, meet friends by the river, or simply enjoy an evening walk. For visitors, it offers a reason to slow down, discover the towns that have long been the gateway to Yellowstone, and experience the valley beyond the park's entrance. 

We're especially honored that this work is unfolding in the backyard of our Livingston hotshop, where every day we witness the beauty that makes this region so extraordinary. Thanks to the generosity of the glassybaby community, we were honored to donate $40,000 to help launch the Yellowstone Heritage Trail and support a vision that will benefit Paradise Valley for generations to come. It's a reminder that conservation isn't only about protecting wild places—it's about creating opportunities for people to experience them together, building stronger communities along the way. 

Like so many of the causes the glassybaby community supports, the Yellowstone Heritage Trail is rooted in the belief that healthy communities and healthy landscapes belong together. 

This Independence Day, we celebrate not only our nation's history, but our shared responsibility to care for the places that define it. Together, we can help ensure these landscapes remain accessible, welcoming, and inspiring—for the benefit and enjoyment of all, today and for generations to come.