Sophia Bush celebrates life of late ex-boyfriend at Burning Man festival

Actress Sophia Bush turned her weekend (05-06Sep15) trip to the Burning Man festival in Nevada's Black Rock Desert into a memorial of sorts for her late ex-boyfriend Dan Fredinburg in honor of his birthday.

The Google executive and adventurer was killed in a devastating avalanche in Nepal in April (15), a year after his split from Bush, who he had enjoyed a long-distance relationship with from 2013 to early 2014.

The former One Tree Hill star recently admitted losing Fredinburg had "shattered" her, and she decided to mark what would have been his 34th birthday this week (08Sep15) by sharing stories about him with pals at the Burning Man festival, which they had once visited together.

She took to Instagram.com on Tuesday and marked the special day by recalling her weekend, admitting she saw signs of Fredinburg "deep in the desert, many times".

Confessing she is still lost for words over his death, she wrote, "What I do know is that you are missed. That you are still here. That you changed us, inspired us, pushed us, and guided us. What I do know is that I saw you this weekend, deep in the desert, many times."

Recalling how she and her pals paid tribute to Fredinburg, she continued, "We told stories. We screamed your name to the sky & scribbled it all over the temple & left your photos & prayer flags & glitter everywhere. We screamed 'I love you!!' as it burned & a chorus of 'I love yous' began echoing among the tens of thousands of people watching, bouncing all over the playa as it had when I once stood watching that structure burn with you & someone else screamed the same thing for someone who had most likely meant to them what you mean to us.

"So today, on your birthday, our first #LiveDanDay, I'll say it again. I love you my friend. I'm grateful for every memory. I'm grateful that we had a friendship that defied context, & a connection that defies physical boundaries even now. Your squad reps you hard, dear one. We live bigger because of you. We will keep writing your name in the sand & dancing in the dust to honor it. To all of you out there who need a little inspiring, take it from Dan. Live big."

Bush wasn't the only star remembering a late loved one at Burning Man - over the weekend, actress Susan Sarandon revealed she had spread some of late author and LSD advocate Timothy Leary's ashes at the festival site.