My Dad was the greatest fisherman and outdoorsman I've ever known, echoed by accounts from everyone he knew. He held saltwater and freshwater fishing records, could shoot a penny in the air with a .22 rifle, had harvested everything from elk to snapping turtles, and had scars from being bitten by every animal imaginable in various hunting adventures.
Hunting and the outdoors was how we connected when I was growing up, with countless precious memories of those childhood years in the woods of Mississippi. We later found yet another way to connect, with a mutual interest in Land Cruisers.
After college, I moved to Dallas for my first "real" job and could finally afford my first Land Cruiser, a 1985 FJ60. Eventually, I had an 80 Series in the mix as well, which he saw over a weekend visit and thought it was the coolest vehicle he'd ever seen. Within a couple of months, he found a green, one owner 1996 FZJ80 outside of Ennis, Montana, where he and my stepmom had a house where they spent the summers.
Funny thing is, he didn't tell me about it until after he bought it. Looking back, I think he could barely contain the excitement in telling me that he'd found one and was proud to have done this without needing my advice at every turn.
For the next ten years, it became a great way for us to bond and talk cars, long after my childhood days in the woods had come and gone.
This is just a little bit of a story/update of how his Montana 80 Series lives on since his untimely passing in 2021.
Hunting and the outdoors was how we connected when I was growing up, with countless precious memories of those childhood years in the woods of Mississippi. We later found yet another way to connect, with a mutual interest in Land Cruisers.
After college, I moved to Dallas for my first "real" job and could finally afford my first Land Cruiser, a 1985 FJ60. Eventually, I had an 80 Series in the mix as well, which he saw over a weekend visit and thought it was the coolest vehicle he'd ever seen. Within a couple of months, he found a green, one owner 1996 FZJ80 outside of Ennis, Montana, where he and my stepmom had a house where they spent the summers.
Funny thing is, he didn't tell me about it until after he bought it. Looking back, I think he could barely contain the excitement in telling me that he'd found one and was proud to have done this without needing my advice at every turn.
For the next ten years, it became a great way for us to bond and talk cars, long after my childhood days in the woods had come and gone.
This is just a little bit of a story/update of how his Montana 80 Series lives on since his untimely passing in 2021.
