February 2, 2010

We found the picture of your son Robert in Craters of the Moon National Park, Idaho, this past fall and decided to take it to put it up in the mountains by our home, the beautiful Sangre de Cristo Mts. in Colorado.  Because we had some early October snows, we were unable to get up into the mountains until today, so Robert’s picture has been on my desk reminding me of the ultimate sacrifice that so many families have made to insure our freedom.  So today I snowshoed with a friend up the trail toward Megan Lake.  We had hoped to reach the lake to put Robert’s picture there, but because of extremely deep snow and high avalanche danger we had to stop about a mile from the lake.  But it was a beautiful spot with a view of Rito Alto peak and the valley leading up to the lake area, and we decided to put his picture there.  Words cannot express our gratitude to you.

M.P., Westcliffe, CO

Wednesday, February 03, 2010 6:58 PM

We don't know where you live but if you’re ever in Southern Colorado, feel free to stop in.  We live in the Wet Mountains and are about 20 miles from where my wife placed the picture of Robert.

On the photo for Rito Alto (right) you will see Megan Lake on the bottom of the page.
 
B.P.

Craters of the Moon National Park, American Falls, ID near Arco

Megan Lake reflected at the bottom of the Rito Alto

Wet Mountains, Colorado

Rito Alto in Sangre de Cristo Mountains, San Luis, Costilla, CO .... where Megan Lake is located.  Click to see better view of the Rito Alto (circle at top of the page)

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Dear Brian and Mary,
 
We finally had a good weather day to go up in the mountains to place Robert's pic in a new location.  We chose Music Pass in the Sangre de Cristo Mt's, overlooking Sand Creek Valley with a beautiful view of Tijeras Peak, Music Mt. and Milwaukee Peak.  Legend has it that when the wind blows a certain way you can hear melodies in the air - hence the name.  This area is now part of the Great Sand Dunes National Park.

The first two pics show the location of Robert's photo, the third is Tijeras Peak, the fourth shows Music Mountain and Milwaukee, the fifth is an un-named peak with the valley below, and the sixth verifies the location!
 

Hope you are doing good.  We think of you often.
 
Best Wishes,
Bob and Mary Pruiksma

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Close up of Robert’s card as seen in Photos 1 and 2

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