trib•ute: a : something given or contributed voluntarily as due or deserved; especially : a gift or service showing respect, gratitude, or affection b : something (as material evidence or a formal attestation) that indicates the worth, virtue, or effectiveness of the one in question.
This blog is our tribute to a man worth knowing. A man worth loving. A man worth remembering.
Actually, our friend Bonnie who originally reported finding Piece 12 was the SECOND person to find it, because she found it June 6th. I received this email yesterday...
Amber,
We found memory #12 at the top of the Mt. Healy overlook trail while on vacation in Denali National Park on Wednesday, June 2nd. Justin was very blessed to have such a loving wife, family and friends. The "Movember" thing is hilarious...if my wife would ever let me grow a mustache, that's how mine would look also. I've attached some photos of me, my brother-in-law and our nephew...our nephew Michael is the one that found the bottle. Also, a photo of the moose with calf...might be the same one you saw. We saw the moose while taking the bus ride through the park. Good luck with you ongoing adventures!
Greg Penner
Houston, Texas
This is the first time anyone has sent pictures of them finding the bottle, so I was super excited!
Hopefully we keep getting awesome responses like this one!!!
"I wanted you to know I found this beautiful tribute at the Denali National Park visitors center on Sunday May 30,2010. At first I though it was something the rangers had set out to engage folks in one of the programs, the ranger was just as surprised as I was. As I opened it and read it the 4 or 5 people standing close by heard the message and each of us were touched at such a loving tribute.
I'm sorry for your loss and hope knowing Justin has touched the hearts of folks as far away as Alaska to Ohio helps your family.
Would you like me to leave this tribute for others to find? I would be happy to do that for you. God Bless you and your family."
This next email is my favorite so far. It touched my heart that someone so young realized the importance of our project...
Piece #21:
"Mrs Florek Hello my name is EJ Penner and ive found your husbands memory in a bottel number 21 and iam 13 years old i found it at that old machinery museum in a digger thing and iam sorry about your husband and i hope your ok and iam wondering if you want me to put it back some where i dont know so if you could just emale me back. thanks"
Isn't that the sweetest? Hopefully more pieces will come out of the woodwork soon!
Okay, so you are probably wondering what in the world I am doing in this picture? Well, I'm collecting rocks on the side of the Alcan Highway. We gathered a ton of Canadian rocks in preparation to place our final Piece of Plumey.
We carried our rocks ALL THE WAY HOME. Then we made our dear wonderful pal Anthony hoist them in a bag over his shoulder and carry them to our backyard, where we placed them carefully into our intended pattern...
Piece 24 belongs exactly where we started. Because this is where the plan began....because this is where we spend our time missing our Plumey.
We saved this memory for last. It is not the funniest memory. It is not the most awkward memory. It is not the most entertaining memory.
But it is who Justin was, through and through. Who we will always remember him as.
He never went a day without telling me he loved me. In fact, he said it 20 times a day, and texted it to me probably at least 5 times a day when he was away at work. He made sure to say it to his mama, his pop, his aunt, his cousins, and his lil' bro every time he spoke to them.
I don't exaggerate when I say he is the best person I have ever known. He was the best person most people who met him ever knew.
The love of my life, he is in my heart and on my mind until the day I die.
Piece 24: Mt. Scott by the Brook, Portland, Oregon
Memory #24:
He was a family man. Some of his favorite times were eating his mom’s clam chowder, playing Phase 10 with his mom, aunt, brother and wife, and working on cars with his “Pop.” He just loved being with his family and making them laugh. It was important to him to make sure he always said “I love you” when he said hello, or goodbye, or anytime in between.
This is the view out my back porch balcony. Great right?
Well, this is the last post where we place a Piece of Plumey. I will still hop on and share memories as I think of them. When other pieces are found, I will make sure and post them on the blog as well.
Thank you so much for following our journey. It has helped me so much to remember him. To know he wasn't just a dream; he really existed. And he was mine.
Well, we made it back home to Portland safe and sound around 2:30 this morning! It was nice to sleep in our own beds, but we can't wait to get back up to the last frontier!
We placed three Pieces of Plumey yesterday!
As we were driving through Quesnel, I thought I saw a tee-pee, and swerved to leave a Piece of Plumey there. Turns out tee-pees are not covered in blue tarps, and it was just someone's motor home. As we were quickly pulling out of the driveway because of the strange stares we were getting from the homeowners, we saw this....
Seriously, PERFECT place to leave Piece 21! We found an awesome tractor...
..and we slipped the piece onto the floorboard.
Piece 21: Antique Machinery Park, Quesnel, British Columbia
Memory #21:
He could sleep anywhere, and he ALWAYS snored. He started using stick on nose strips to stop the snoring. When one didn’t work, he tried two. When two didn’t work, he tried three. When three didn’t work, he gave his wife earplugs.
We didn't get a chance to see the 100-mile house on our way up, so when we saw it was coming up on the map, we both agreed it would be a great place to leave Piece 22. However, after going back and forth across the main drag of a small town that was called 100-Mile House, we couldn't find the actual house. We asked a gas attendant, and it turns out that this is a ridiculous name for the town because there actually isn't a house called that, it's just the name of the town. We were disappointed, until we saw these bad boys....
Yep, what you're seeing here are the world's largest pair of cross-country skis.
They are a whopping 39 feet tall! See me leaving my Piece of Plumey waaaay down there at the bottom?
Piece 22: Visitor's Center, 100-Mile House, British Columbia
Memory #22:
While on a bus tour of the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland, all the passengers got a shot of Jameson. The tour guide jokingly challenged the passengers to jump into the Irish Sea for an extra shot. Justin didn’t want to get his clothes wet, so instead, he just dunked his entire head into the water. The tour guide couldn’t believe it. He was the only one on the tour to get two shots.
We got lost after this and had a heck of a time trying to find the US Border. We finally crossed back into familiar territory, and when we saw the cityscape of Seattle, we knew home was just around the corner (another 3 hours).
We stopped at a cute little diner because we were STARVING. Delicious dinner, even more delicious homemade dessert! We asked for our check and I was getting ready to sign it, when I noticed a small mistake on the bill. Can you see it too?
Now, I don't consider myself to be a very stingy person, but this just seemed a little pricey to me. The waitresses eyes about popped out of her head when we pointed the mistake out to her.
So of course, we had to leave Piece 23.
Piece 23: Dave's Diner, Seattle, Washington
Memory #23:
He LOVED Blue Lake. Every year the McCulloch (his mom’s side) family would go to Eastern Washington to the wonderfully run-down Laurent’s Sun Village. They would boat, tube, fish, eat, take naps, hike, swim, and have a total blast. He looked forward to it all year long.
See me half-burying the piece by that awesome classic car?
Well, we placed all of the pieces but one, and we have to wait for nightfall to do this, because we want to do something extra-special for the final piece! Stay tuned!
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