John, the other half of my Irish band Fire in the Glen, and I spent a week up in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, for the Celtic Colours music festival. Besides great music and wonderful people, we saw some stunning sights. Here are a few to share!

Sorry, no thumbnails this time....

• Here are some photos of Cape Breton's glorious coastline: pic 1, pic 2 and pic 3.

• Standing on the west coast of the island, I took this shot of some amazing clouds over the sea. Later, there was an incredible sunset.

• Here's John Varner exploring the shoreline on one of our many excursions.

• One of my favorite spots was a rocky shore along the east coast of the Cape Breton Highlands. John, possibly impatient after I'd sat there so long staring at the sea, snapped these two pictures: pic 1 and pic 2.

• Also in the Highlands, we found this lovely river and rapids.

• There was lots of scenery to be seen. Here are a few more shots: pic 1, pic 2, pic 3 and pic 4.

• I was forced by local custom to participate in a Cape Breton square dance, which is very different than the U.S. variety. My partner is the lovely Rachel MacKinnon, a Celtic Colours volunteer who became a good friend during the week's festivities; the photo was snapped by Wendy Powell, another volunteer who helped us immeasurably throughout the week.

• Ah, the Holy Grail of our daily outings into the Cape Breton wilderness: moose! We spotted Mama Moose drinking alongside the coastal road through the Highlands and, moments later, spied Baby Moose approaching from the tree line! Then, Mama stood guard as Baby drank his fill.