It seems our trips are often defined by the people we meet……enter John Pearson.  We met John while we we getting gas for the Jeep near our camp ground.  I was very interested in how he had attached his kayak to the top of of his Jeep.  After he and Doug had stood and talked at the gas pump for what seemed like and hour…we asked him to join us for dinner.  He was alone  and is a retired U.S. Army Colonel – an Army Engineer.  The three of us embarked on a 20 mile drive to Many Glacier Lodge and barely made it before the dining room closed at 9:30. The evening  yielded a wonderful evening of fried trout and great conversation.

A little history. John is 80 years old and resides in Grand Junction, CO.  He moved there with his camera, a revolver, computer, and car after his custom home in Mississippi was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina – that was all he had left!  He travels mostly to do photography and replace his collection of 30,000 photos that were all lost in the hurricane.  As an Army engineer he has seen the world and he  was involved in the rebuilding of Walter Reed Medical Center and many other military facilities.  He then later became a CEO of a engineering company in Saudi Arabia! You can see why Doug immediately connected with him. We plan to possible see him during a wine fest in Grand Junction in September.

I really like Many Glacier Lodge.  It is reminiscent of The Ahwahnee  without the stained glass windows.