A
big thank you to the Rocky
Mountain Llama & Alpaca Association and to the Northern Rockies
Llama Association for shuttling us up and down the entire Continental
Divide and hosting us in their homes. We were complete strangers at
first but felt like family afterward. Thank you for your trust.
My friends who edited my
manuscript: Steve Peck, Nancy Smith, Duane Loeper and Maryalice
Yacutchik...you encouraged me to tell "the rest of the
story" and made it shine. Your wisdom, skill, and insight made
this book what it is.
Our friends and families, who
sent us mail and care packages, offered up prayers and good thoughts
for our well-being and safety...you were like angels all around us.
For Bob Riley, the most
amazingly generous man I have ever met. Every year on the trail, every
stretch was made not only "doable" because of your support
but became very special in our memory because of your fine company. No
one could be blessed with a better friend. And a big thank-you to
your wife, Jo, for sharing you with us.
For our "speechless
brothers," the llamas, who carried our gear and our children
across the greatest trail. For our wanderlust friends who made time in
their busy lives, even leaving spouses and children, to share the
miles, and keep us company. The memories will last a lifetime.
And my family: Todd, Sierra, and
Bryce, who persevered and followed that crest up and down ridges,
across rivers and deserts, year after year, knowing we had to finish
the trail "before Mom can write her book." You gave me a
reason for being there and you are the best trail companions (and
life companions) a person could ask for. I'd go anywhere with you.
