i sure miss emma acutely sometimes. it’s a tricky thing leaving someone who you were once in constant contact with for two and a half months. memories surface constantly these days. it is just two days past a year ago that we returned to winnipeg. this summer brings all the memories of the last one back. road trips make me think of her. yesterday i remembered being in fort liard with her. we were tan and tired and excited coming to our first town after 5 days on the river. just the memory of exploring the acho dene native crafts shop – inspired by the intricate beadwork and the smell of the smoke tanned moose-hide – brings back sweet and complex emotions.

we heard this summer that a man we met up there – danny andre – has disappeared and is presumed drowned. finally doing research tonight i learned he and a friend disappeared last september, two months after we met him. and he still has not been found. it is a helpless feeling being here in the south, unable to do anything concrete. danny is a profound man, he generated 6 pages of writing in my journal after spending one evening with him.

i wish for his safe return.