In the late summer of 2013, I ran into my old professor from forestry school at a memorial gathering for a friend. We had become close over the years. He was my advisor for several long-term independent study projects for the Montana Arboretum. More importantly he had assisted me and Javier with our struggle to get Javier's resident visa - a favor not given by just anyone.
When we reconnected at the memorial, he invited us to go rafting with him the next weekend. It was a very long time since I had gone rafting. Javier had never been, so I was happy to accept. We met them on the edge of town days later. He also invited the school's ecology professor and his wife. It was a great day on the river.
