Last night while listening to Oliver Schroer’s magnificent piece Field of Stars, and browsing through my photo collection, I was taken back six months to the time I spent on the road, living the dream of being free. The opening song to Schroer’s Camino album is one of those bits of music that conveys an unbelievable amount of sadness, but it is nevertheless so beautiful that I always have to stop whatever else I’m doing. It’s music that you have to listen to and just breathe.

To listen to Schroer, and breathe, and browse through the photos of my cross Canada journey is an even greater treat for me. I was sad that it was over, but happy too that it was done, and wishing I was still out there. I’m sure it’s a sign that there will be many more adventures in the years to come.

The above photo is of me standing at the end of some random hike in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario. I’m wondering where in tarnation the mountains are. I will admit now that when the photo was taken back in July, I wanted desperatedly to be back home in Vancouver, where my mountains were close at hand along with my family and friends.

For a free listen to some of Schroer’s work, I suggest visiting the CBC Radio 2, where they’ve posted the recording of a tribute concert performed in February of this year. Sadly, Schroer passed away July 3.