Would you mind talking about some things you thought about on your hike? What did you tell people when they asked why you were walking?

There were two things I came to understand very clearly on my journey.

The first is forgiveness.  Learning to forgive others and ourselves can be very difficult to do, but forgive we must.  We often see loved ones on TV talking about how they want “justice” for a loved one.  Justice is important, but forgiving is far more important.  If you don’t forgive, it can and will destroy your life. 

It was relatively easy for me to forgive the adults at the party Kevin attended that fateful night.  Forgiving my child was easy, but the hardest one to forgive was myself.  There has to be something I could have done differently to prevent this tragedy from happening.  It took me 1,400 miles to clearly understand this, but I have found a way to forgive myself.  Forgive, yes, forget, never. 

The second is that God alone is in charge, not you.  He has a plan for each of us, a plan we may not like.  I guarantee you that this was not part of my plan, but as the saying goes, “If you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans.”

I had people stop everyday to talk.  Often when I told them why I was on the road, they would tell me about problems with alcohol they had personally experienced, whether it be themselves, a child or a loved one.  Probably the neatest visit I had was from a Flagstaff police officer.  He asked me if I was the guy who had spoke at his son’s high school a week earlier.  I said I was.  He gave me a hug and said, “What you said made an impact on my son. Thank you for doing that."

It was things like this that made my feet hurt a little less!

What has Father's Day been like since Kevin passed away?

It would be a lie to say it isn’t different, but I do have surviving children and grandchildren that make it still good.  Kevin would have wanted it that way. 

I have very fond memories of the father’s day before Kevin passed away. The kids wrote down their favorite memories of me on pieces of colored paper  and put them in a decorated jar. We sat and read them together on Father's Day.  Without a doubt, my favorite Father’s day gift.

What would you tell other fathers who may have great relationships with their son, or may not have a relationship with them at all?

Time is the most precious gift you can give them.  Tomorrow is not guaranteed.

What is the best part about being a father?

Now that my children are grown I don’t have to discipline them.  I have also noticed that apparently I have gotten smarter since they were teenagers, teenagers that didn’t think their dear old dad was all that cool or smart.  They now ask my advice all the time.

What do you miss most about being Kevin's father?

I miss Kevin.  We used to play golf, go hunting and work on vehicles together.  We spent a lot of time together.