Stars and Fire, Strangers and Storytellers

A photo diary of a night spent in a beach parking lot on Highway 101

“The stranger does not come accidentally. He brings a particular gift of illumination.” - John O’Donohue

For five nights, Don from Calgary had gone without a campfire because of the burn bans in the campgrounds where he and his wife Sherry had stayed along Highway 101.

“He’s been miserable,” Sherry said. “He has to have one every night.”

“Every single night?” I asked.

“Every night.” She nodded, gently rocking in her camp chair on the beach, at peace with and perhaps proud of her husband’s nightly campfire routine. “Even when we’re home.”

“What is it about having a fire, Don?” I asked.

He chuckled, “Well, let’s just say if there’s no fire, then I go to bed much earlier.”

Don got up to put another log on the fire in front of us and when he returned to his seat, Sherry tilted a box of merlot into his camp cup.

I like it when people are driven mad by an obsession and I wanted to dig deeper with Don into his, but I could tell he wanted to leave it on the surface. He was finally content, win…