Wandering Fool @wanderingfool70 - Twitter Profile

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3 months ago

Hi Dad, You left us today. However, when I really think about it, you did not leave us, and you never will. You are still here, with all of us. We all have so many memories of our time with you. I wanted to send you this email to thank you for all that you gave me. It wasn't always an easy road with the two of us, but I carry so many incredible memories of the places we went and the conversations we had. Most importantly, it was the time we spent together, no matter where we were and what we were doing. Let me thank you now for some of the memories that come to mind: Thank you for all the stories you shared from your childhood and early adulthood, from a young boy growing up during WWII and what you saw and experienced during that time, the memorable family road trips with you and Bev and Grandpa and Grandma in the post-war years, the early days of your career with all the mentors and fellow engineers you worked with, all your adventures working at Gates Rubber Company and, of course, all those stories of your Colorado 14er climbs with your friends, and those successes and mishaps. I still laugh every time I think of you getting into a heated political argument with future CO governor Dick Lamb on the summit of a mountain! You climbed all those 14ers in a time period before most people even knew or cared about doing something like that. I have many recordings of your stories saved on my phone, which I will share with family in due course. Thank you for instilling in me a love of the outdoors from an early age, from casual hikes to bigger adventures. Yes, eight year old me was rather grumpy when you put me in the car that morning, one day after Christmas, to drive north from Sun City AZ and away from the orange trees, palm trees and swimming pools, to hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. We only have a half dozen photos of that trip, but they are incredibly precious to me. Thank you for moving our family out to Elizabeth, Colorado. It was an incredible place to grow up in the 70s and early 80s. I wish that world of my childhood still existed. All of us siblings are grateful for having that be the foundation of our childhood, living near a small town with a rural environment, dirt roads, being able to ride our bikes everywhere, hike around the nearby forest right from the house, build treehouses, and climb to the top of big Ponderosa pine trees. Thank you for starting up the annual Family Camp tradition. We started in 1995 and you were there every year including your final one, last year, in 2025. 30 years! I am glad I was there with you most of those years. I missed a few, but you made it to each one! Thank you for buying that land. I spent so much time out there with you and family over the years. You lived out the rest of your life in a place you loved so much! I have many photos and memories of my time spent there with you, hiking the property, looking for points, and exploring that nearby canyon. Thank you for those many road trips, hikes and camping trips, sometimes to remote places: my first Colorado 14ers (1970s and 1980s), West Spanish Peak (1990), always viewable on the SW horizon from your property, Great Basin National Park, San Rafael Swell, canyons and camping trips in with the sibs (1990s and 2000s), all those SE Colorado archaeological field trips with you. Thank you for going with me to Costa Rica (2012), that was a fun one too. Thank you, Dad. I love you so much!

wanderingfool70's tweet photo. Hi Dad,

You left us today.

However, when I really think about it, you did not leave us, and you never will. You are still here, with all of us.

We all have so many memories of our time with you. I wanted to send you this email to thank you for all that you gave me. It wasn't always an easy road with the two of us, but I carry so many incredible memories of the places we went and the conversations we had. Most importantly, it was the time we spent together, no matter where we were and what we were doing.

Let me thank you now for some of the memories that come to mind:

Thank you for all the stories you shared from your childhood and early adulthood, from a young boy growing up during WWII and what you saw and experienced during that time, the memorable family road trips with you and Bev and Grandpa and Grandma in the post-war years, the early days of your career with all the mentors and fellow engineers you worked with, all your adventures working at Gates Rubber Company and, of course, all those stories of your Colorado 14er climbs with your friends, and those successes and mishaps. I still laugh every time I think of you getting into a heated political argument with future CO governor Dick Lamb on the summit of a mountain! You climbed all those 14ers in a time period before most people even knew or cared about doing something like that. I have many recordings of your stories saved on my phone, which I will share with family in due course.

Thank you for instilling in me a love of the outdoors from an early age, from casual hikes to bigger adventures. Yes, eight year old me was rather grumpy when you put me in the car that morning, one day after Christmas, to drive north from Sun City AZ and away from the orange trees, palm trees and swimming pools, to hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. We only have a half dozen photos of that trip, but they are incredibly precious to me.

Thank you for moving our family out to Elizabeth, Colorado. It was an incredible place to grow up in the 70s and early 80s. I wish that world of my childhood still existed. All of us siblings are grateful for having that be the foundation of our childhood, living near a small town with a rural environment, dirt roads, being able to ride our bikes everywhere, hike around the nearby forest right from the house, build treehouses, and climb to the top of big Ponderosa pine trees.

Thank you for starting up the annual Family Camp tradition. We started in 1995 and you were there every year including your final one, last year, in 2025. 30 years! I am glad I was there with you most of those years. I missed a few, but you made it to each one!

Thank you for buying that land. I spent so much time out there with you and family over the years. You lived out the rest of your life in a place you loved so much! I have many photos and memories of my time spent there with you, hiking the property, looking for points, and exploring that nearby canyon.

Thank you for those many road trips, hikes and camping trips, sometimes to remote places: my first Colorado 14ers (1970s and 1980s), West Spanish Peak (1990), always viewable on the SW horizon from your property, Great Basin National Park, San Rafael Swell, canyons and camping trips in with the sibs (1990s and 2000s), all those SE Colorado archaeological field trips with you. Thank you for going with me to Costa Rica (2012), that was a fun one too.

Thank you, Dad. I love you so much!

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