Tom's National Park Adventure

This trip has been the dominating factor in my life for the last 11 months. I couldn’t have pulled it off without help from many people. I thought it only fitting to acknowledge them.

Let’s start with family. It meant so much to me that all my children were able to join me at Sylvan lake. Diane’s sister Janine and her husband Larry, her brother Gary and his wife Bernice were also able to attend. Oldest brother David wasn’t physically able to make the trip, but was with us in spirit.

My son in law Chris wasn’t able to make it. He was far too busy watching over my grandchildren. I will be forever in his debt for making it possible for Kalen to attend.

From day one people were helping me out! Originally I thought I had made arrangements to stay at a friends place in the Kansas City area. This didn’t work out so my friend Max McClain and his lovely bride Judy opened their home to me on the first stop of my journey.

All along my journey one friend has been following my progress closely. He has been there to help out with just a phone call. He has helped me to find places to camp for the night when my original campsite just wouldn’t work with the situations at hand. Ross McClain has gone over the top with his assistance along the way! Thanks Ross!

I’d like to thank everyone who has followed me along my way for the last six weeks. The encouraging comments really helped to keep my spirits up!

Another group of ladies that has been encouraging me along my trip, are the members of “The Lifesaver Club”. This is the group of Diane’s sorority sisters who have remained so close over the years. They have been a part of this journey every step of the way! Thank you ladies!

When I put out my very first itinerary for this trip to family and friends……,I said something like…… if anyone wants to meet me along the way….. please feel free to do so! I never imagined that someone would take me up on that statement.

One of my friends did just that! He flew himself from Missouri all the way to Fresno California. I picked him up at the airport and we discovered Yosemite together. I am still blown away that he did this! Thank you again Mr. Jeff Primm.

About halfway through this adventure, my son Logan and his lovely bride Alex let me crash with them for three nights and days. It was a godsend. I was able to rest up and relax. Just what I needed at the time. We also had a lovely dinner at Jeff and John’s home in Portland. It was great to see them too.

After leaving Logan’s house, I went directly to my cousins house near Olympic National Park. Cathy and her husband Joe were such gracious hosts! They fed me, gave me a comfortable bed for an evening and gave me lots of advice and local knowledge of the area. Thanks again Cathy and Joe.

The thing I wasn’t counting on was “The kindness of Strangers”.

During this trip I have been fortunate to meet several people who went out of their way to be nice, or just have a conversation with me. They all left a very positive impression on me.

Mr. Ed Waterman. Ed was the campground host at my campground in Rocky Mountain National Park. Ed was just a delightful man who gave me some good advice on several different topics. Let’s just say I enjoyed our conversations very much!

I first met two sisters at Arches National Park. They were camped at the campsite right across from mine and were driving the same model, make, year and color car I am driving! We both ended up camping at Capital Reef National Park a couple of days later. It was such a coincidence. We ended up going to two Ranger led programs together. They were just two very nice people who I had the pleasure to enjoy their company.

I had the pleasure of spending an evening talking to two coworkers camping at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Jen and Sheryl were curious about my little camper. I invited them to come over and check it out. They did and later they invited me to their camp for a glass of wine! It was nice to have someone to spend the evening with. Two very nice ladies.

One of the ways I have met people has been to offer to take their picture for them. I have seen so many people contorting themselves in an effort to get that “shot” with both of them in the picture. So usually I will offer to take the picture for them.

One evening I was sitting reading a book by a lakeshore in Glacier National Park. There was a young lady who was having the hardest time trying to get a picture of herself, so I offered to take her picture. She was so nice and was thanking me when her friend came up. I ended up having the nicest conversation with both Angela and Lisa.

Just today I was at one of the scenic overviews and ended up having a great conversation with the gentleman standing next to me. His name is Steve. It turns out that he grew up in the Custer / Rapid City area. He is a University professor. He has taught all over the US. He got his start in higher education as a Crazy Horse Scholar. The Crazy Horse Foundation helped him financially while he eventually earned his Doctorate degree. It was very interesting to be having a conversation with a Lakota Indian while looking out over the tribe’s ancestral land.

I will most probably never see any of these people again in this lifetime. I would love for them to know that the little intersection of our lives has left a very positive impression on my life and whenever I think back on it, it brings a smile to my face.

This trip was very important to me. I was driven to see it through to the end. Thank you for taking the ride with me.

Tom