Blog Post 004 - There and back again

"The Road goes ever on and on,

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can."

—J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

When Bilbo Baggins set off on his unexpected journey, he wasn’t looking for dragons, dwarves, or danger. He was just trying to stay comfortable away from his cozy little home.

But something deeper stirred—a call to adventure that would change him forever. And, in its own unique way, that’s how my story begins too. I’m heading back to my

hometown—Sitka, Alaska—a place carved between mountains and sea, where weather rolls in unannounced and stories travel faster by radio than by road. It’s been years since

I lived there. Longer still since I first walked through the doors of a small white building near the harbor and found myself swept up in the energy of something bigger than me:

Raven Radio. I didn’t know it then, but that moment—standing in what used to be a 1908 telegraph house, hearing the hum of wires and a voice talking through the monitor

speakers—was the beginning of my own unexpected adventure. It was where I first felt the charge of creative purpose. Where I learned that music, stories, even quiet

ones, could reach across water and weather and connect people in a way nothing else could.

Now, years later, I’m going back—not just to visit, but to document. To listen. To remember. And to honor the incredible effort it took for that station to be born in the first place.

The Flight of Raven/Voices Across the Water, the documentary I’m currently working on, is my way of mapping that journey—how a group of determined people built a radio

station in one of the most remote parts of the country. How they gave voice to a community that was passionate about connection. And, honestly, how that voice helped shape

mine. There’s something strange about returning to a place that once shaped you. You expect it to feel familiar—but it doesn’t. You expect it to feel distant—but it doesn’t. Like

Bilbo, I find myself realizing that the road home is as much a part of the adventure as the leaving ever was. So, this blog—this post—is my own “There and Back Again.” Not just

about retracing steps but re-understanding them. Not just about telling a story but recognizing how deeply it's tangled with my own.

Thanks for walking with me.

• Follow along as I document the journey behind The Flight of Raven—I'll be sharing behind-the-scenes

  updates, stories from the field, and the process of bringing this film to life.

• Want to stay in the loop? Subscribe to get updates, sneak peeks, and maybe a few unexpected stories from the road.

June 11, 2025