One of my Favorites

Well, this isn't my favorite thing to do but, this post is about one of my favorite people.

Gary Jones, my mom's uncle, or my Great Uncle, passed away this last Tuesday and it has truly shocked us all. Gary will be missed greatly but, one thing is for sure-he'll NEVER be forgotten. He created too many memories for too many people for that to happen.

I heard about Gary's passing Tuesday night from mom and dad. I was shocked, as most were, and as I went to sleep that night I shed more than one tear as I thought of Mr. Jones.

While trying to get to sleep that night I continued to think more and more about Gary and the following day I decided I needed to do something to remember him by. Just for me, for some closure, to share with others how I said MY "goodbye" to Gary.

For the last couple of years I'd had this awesome picture hanging up at work. A picture of Gary, holding a beer, giving the thumbs up, with a GIANT load of wood in his truck. I labeled the picture simply "A big load-a-wood". I looked at that picture often, among that mass of other fishing and hunting pictures taped to our office walls. That one always caught my eye though, and I found myself sharing "A Big Load-A-Wood" with others on more than one occasion.

Wednesday afternoon, before heading home, I took that picture off the wall and sealed it up in a ziploc bag for now i had a plan.

I was to go hunting on Thursday, with two good friends. We were headed in on a long hike into my "Favorite" of "Favorite" spots- the "Canyon Ridge Bowl". There isn't a more fitting spot for me to honor Gary, than by taking him with me on that trip.

My goal was to find a nice sized fir tree, with one hell of a view, and tack Gary's picture to the base of that tree, shed a few tears, and say my goodbye.......and that's exactly what i did!

Here is where i left Gary, a view looking up from the bottom of the bowl. From here he can see all the Bear, Dear, cougar and Goats that will roam threw this basin almost every day.

Here he is tacked to the tree, under a few branches so he won't get to wet on those rainy days.

A picture of one of the biggest trees in the bottom, that also had the best view.

It snowed that morning, just a little, this is a shot looking back to the east. This picture doesn't do it justice on how pretty it was that morning.

A little while later, the snow had melted, but the sun was out and I snapped a picture to the North.

And then another shot looking down into the bottom where Gary was to be pinned up.

And last, before I pinned up my only picture of "A Big Load-A-Wood" I had to take a picture of it.

So here's to you Gary. You'll be missed, but NEVER forgotten. May you have clams to dig, deer/elk to chase, fish to catch, and wood to cut.

From the North.......where Great men are missed but always remembered....and we shed tears too.

Mark.....The Iron Skillet