Rebuilding a creative mindset after a major disruption

One of my favorite places to hike is just a short trip down the road from where I live. The dusty gravel road opens into a little parking area that takes hiker up an old Forest Service road and through a towering stand of red pines. It’s quiet there, near silent, with only the sound of the wind rushing through millions of pine needles.

It was the perfect quiet, off-the-beaten-track place to hike.

Until this summer.

I set out on the trail one evening only to find obnoxious beeping, bri...