Sirens and Smoke

The morning sun rose over the mountains to the east with a reddish hue. Sirens echoed through the valley as fire trucks raced toward the smoke. Prince Rupert is East. Burns Lake, where Daniel from Switzerland was headed is East… and East is where I’ve been told another fire is burning. Some of the musicians here at the music festival came from the East and advised me to check the British Columbia Active Fire website before continuing in that direction. I checked and it seems fires are burning in many places along my planned route. It seems to me that my spontaneous stop here at the music festival, was definitely in my best interest, if not preplanned by a higher power.

Speaking of a higher power, this morning I had the pleasure of sitting across from Herb Desjarlais, a singer/songwriter who is a Cree Indian Evangelical Preacher. We discussed the plight of the Canadian Indians who are much like the American Indians and live in 3rd world country environments. Also like the American Indians, they were stripped of their land, packed away on reservations and now suffer from drug abuse, alcoholism and the highest teenage suicide rate. Very sad indeed. Herb’s music is religious based with every song telling a story that needed to be told. I was honored to receive one of Herb’s signed CD’s.

All in all, the music festival was a great experience. I met so many wonderful, kind, creative people. The most irreplaceable moments, were the two nights of music that rang into the night as the different band members got together after their daytime performances to “jam” in the field where the RV’s were parked. To hear them improvising, laughing, joking, creating music together and then hearing “It was nice to meet you,” as the parted ways, was truly amazing to me. I’ve always appreciated the creative side of people.

And so today, with the fires burning all over British Columbia, I begin 2 days of riding back to Prince Rupart where I will catch a ferry south to Vancouver Island, which is supposed to be a beautiful place. I’m sure it will be, as I keep finding beauty wherever I go…

Thank you for following my journey and commenting on my blogs. I very much appreciate it. Have a Great Day!