Sentinel Mountain

Author's Foreword
The Photo Which Started It All

Almost a decade ago, M, my soulmate, and I were traveling in Australia with two Aussie friends, G and S. While driving in the mountains in Victoria (I think) we happened upon a a lookout and stopped. A trail lead from the parking area to a large outcrop with a boulder sitting on its very edge. G, one of our companions went down the trail and seated himself on the boulder. Both M and S, the other Aussie, are terrified of heights and went back to the car. I snapped the above photo.

I recalled the photo at the beginning of the summer and started a search for it, but after two days of searching, I did not find it. I emailed G to see if remembered the photo and if he had a copy. He emailed a copy with the note that he could never had located it, but B, his husband, went right to it.

I had asked about the photo because thinking about it started a germ of a story. I planned to use it as the cover photo of the story, should it ever develop, but, as stories are wont to do, the photo didn't quite fit what developed. Nevertheless, Sentinel Mountain came from a germ planted by the photo.

Excelsior!

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