After Dennis passed away, Den's "Ma" Miko made two trips to Alaska, the first with his aunt "Lees" to Anchorage to attend his viewing, and following the cremation, to bring his ashes back to the lower 48. Prior to Anchorage, they went to Wrangell and met two wonderful people, Skipper Steve and Lynda T. Unfortunately, the ladies accidentally broke their hostess Lynda on that trip, which is another story for another time, but suffice it to say that the next time Miko went to AK, Leesa did not accompany her; they figured Lynda had a better chance if just one of them showed up. They were right. Lynda was in one piece during Miko's solo trip--no injuries that require a MEDEVAC. 🙊
The second solo trip to Petersburg was in Oct. of 2020, in honor of Dennis's birthday week. Miko was met with a Frontier Welcome mat of kindness by strangers. She thanks them from the bottom of her broken heart, as they helped make her Alaskan visit a memorable adventure, and those who knew Dennis were quick to share funny stories about him that truly comforted her, because if you knew Dennis, you were going to have a funny tale to tell. True that.
Here's a shout out to a few of those people, some of whom have been in contact with her, but she's not yet met: "Skippy Steve" and Lynda T., Cody, Jason M., Callie + Bristol, Leah, Kevin T., Bobby T., Jeb + Alicia + Adorable Thing 1 and Thing 2, Colette, Genesis, Joe, Kayley, Orion, Ryder, Caleb, Ashley, Kim, Erin J., Britni B., Julie and Gig, Ted, Jasen, Doug, Louis M. and Tres L. (Sincere apologies if she omitted anyone's name by mistake!)
Bobby T. not only gifted Miko and Leah a private flight over the glacier with the best pilot in Alaska, he also treated Miko to a private excursion on the f/v Vigilant from Petersburg to Juneau❣️❣️
There's nothing quite like Alaska, or the generosity and kindness of those who call this special place home. 💙
The amazing metal artist, Josef Quitslund, created this stunning bench memorial at Banana Point. If you visit Petersburg, AK, be sure and stop by to see this beautiful tribute to the kids.
One propeller blade is engraved with Dennis's modus operandi: Attempt √ Excel √ Next! The other three blades display the unique M.O. of Ian, Sig, and Helen.
Dennis photographed beautiful images and made a few videos of his Alaskan experiences, so we thought we'd share some of them here in honor of his amazing journey. There are others here. This page is a work in progress...more will be added in the future. 😃
