My dad stopped reading my blog posts in the summer of 2021. He said they were “too long,” even though many of them were not that long and were filled with pictures of my adventures. Before that time, he had been my most reliable reader and commenter—my biggest fan.

I didn’t really know why Dad stopped reading the blog. That only became evident later. I did know that it was harder to write if he wasn’t reading and asking questions in the comments. Partly as a result, I didn’t write as much.

We lost my dad a month ago. But we were losing him already in 2021. Dementia first took away his ability to learn and remember new things, then to do things he had been able to do before, then to find his way on even well-worn paths. Finally, it took his desire to do anything—including the activities he had always loved.

And now I just want to share some pictures, because I don’t want this post to be too long. And maybe, now that I can only imagine how he would like a story about an adventure, I can start to write those stories again.