Sunday, September 26, 2021
When I was 11 years old, Dad and I went on a backpacking trip into the Bighorn Crags Mountains. With just the packs on our backs, we headed in for a multiple day hike. We hiked trails where there was nobody else around, and just enjoyed the beauty that surrounded us with the lakes, meadows, mountains, and wildlife. Every night we would catch fresh fish for dinner. Sometimes we would slide down part of a snow-capped mountain. Dad liked to teach me, along the way, about all the different wild plants. While I enjoyed all of this, hiking in the beautiful terrain, camping beside a lake and catching fish for dinner, what really impacted me was the undivided attention Dad showed to me. Being alone with him, just talking and spending time together, is what makes the memory so much fun. This particular trip was one of my favorites with Dad, but there were so many times that he simply took the time to be with me. We would go hunting for antelope, elk, and deer. He would help me train my dog to retrieve, and he took me to Yellowstone, which was his favorite place in the world. I never questioned what was important to him; I always knew that family was his greatest love.
