While traversing an alpine ridge on a recent backpacking trip to Strathcona Park on Vancouver Island, I was struck by the beauty of the expansive vistas which served for the inspiration for this piece. Open spaces once dominated by white blankets of snow had been transformed into fields of pink from the mountain heather that was now in bloom. A tapestry of blues and grey formed by a backdrop of rocky peaks contrasted the meadows as they cascaded into the distance until they were met by the hazy silhouette of “Nine Peaks” on the horizon.