Mountains, once again, with Kirb...

What I write now won't do justice to the day. We took our old friend to the mountains today, the southwestern slopes of Mount Hood. We spread his earthly presence on four high Cascade sites: a forest field of huckleberries; beside the glacial White River; at the grave of the Pioneer Woman who died on the Barlow Trail in the 1840s; and in the small mountain stream, the East Fork of the Salmon River. The natural beauty of all of these spots couldn't be captured in a book of photos, let alone one to be blipped.

Today was a release for Kirb and us. It felt more like an opening rather than a closure, an open feeling that we'll always be together. Being in these familiar, beautiful natural surroundings only reinforced it. 

Welcome back to the earth, friend. We have several more stops in mind. 

Perfect song on Pandora tonight to cap this sacred day, Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here".

" How I wish, how I wish you were here,
We're just two lost souls 
swimming in a fish bowl
year after year.

Running over the same old ground
or have we found
the same old fears?

Wish you were here."