In my Up The Mountain Series; The Kid, Bigfoot Nation, and Sierra The First Crime, one of the characters was based on an incredible man I knew.  Grey Wolf was my adopted Native American father.  He was a fascinating man who had a fascinating life, from running away from the Indian School as a child to landing in California where he appeared as an extra in John Wayne movies.  He had many lives while here, and always believed he would live to be 100, but unfortunately he didn’t make it.  When we first met, he was a man in his 80’s.  He was adorable.  He was a small man built like bulldog.  And, even at 80, he was climbing ladders to the roof of his house to fix something.  He was fearless.  He had a little grey beard and always wore his hair in braids, and had no teeth, but it didn’t stop him from eating corn.  One of the first times we met, he and his lovely wife took me to a place which was very special.  They lived out in the desert, but to reach this place we had to ride in his old rusted out white van that had a hole in the floor in the front of the van.  The road was barely a road with guts from rainwater runoff.  Even driving slow  we were sent flying so your head hit the roof as we drove further up the mountain.  The area was full of large boulders and there was evidence that people on motorcycles had been here shooting as empty cartridges lay on the ground everywhere and you could see where they had shot the stone.   There were bedrock mortors around the area.    The Indians had used them to grind their acorns into a meal.  Grey Wolf led us up the hill to a cluster of these boulders.  In the middle of them was something amazing – a petroglyph that looked like signs of the sun and moon and other strange symbols, but most apparent was the paintings that looked like angels.  He called it a healing rock and would meditate there to feel the healing powers.  Later I learned that there were people who had been trying to protect this area, but because of its location they felt they couldn’t do it.  It was a special place and I have no idea if it has been protected now.  I hope so because it was a part of the Kiawaiisu tribe’s ancestry.  Grey Wolf had many friends from all over the world, as he wasn’t afraid to travel anywhere.  He had that kind of personality that was charismatic and loving.  He was friendly to everyone.  He is greatly missed by many people.