The sun has dipped down into the northwest for the evening, leaving behind a gradually disappearing daylight.
I can barely hear anything, save for the gentle lapping of the rippled waters and the faint noise of a boat far off in the distance.
I feel almost weightless, and just let myself bob up and down and all around.聽 Sometimes I let my head disappear under the surface, where I hear nothing.聽 When I resurface, I hear the familiar sounds of summer in Northern Saskatchewan.
I鈥檓 alone, just a guy left with his thoughts.聽 Except I don鈥檛 really have any.聽 Why overthink in a moment such as this?
I鈥檓 in Candle Lake, a place I cherished and made a lifetime鈥檚 worth of memories as a kid growing up.聽 Now, I鈥檓 a guy who鈥檒l be 34 on Friday, and I鈥檓 left to my own devices amidst a scant beach and a lake where, at this time of the evening, I鈥檓 probably the only *human* left in the water for the day.
In that moment, I am at my most content.聽 This is probably the most relaxed I鈥檝e been in many years.聽 All my problems and stress are hundreds of miles away, and it鈥檚 like they鈥檝e literally melted off my body and have been washed away in the clear waters of Candle Lake.
Without a doubt, this is a major highlight of my summer vacation, perhaps even the biggest one.
We鈥檙e back at it here at the offices of The Outlook, and man, talk about jumping right back into the fire!聽 It seems we came back just in time to get back in the saddle giving our readers all the community news they need to keep themselves informed.
But I鈥檇 be remiss if I didn鈥檛 point out a few other highlights of my summer break.
That first night, a Monday, I took my time preparing a fine meal for myself.聽 On the menu 鈥� ribeye steak, shrimp scampi, garlic mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus, and a Caesar salad.聽 The evening鈥檚 entertainment 鈥� 鈥楾he Great Outdoors鈥�, a beloved summer flick starring the late John Candy that has become 鈥渞equired viewing鈥� at least once every summer.
Hey, what better way to kick off your summer holidays than spoiling yourself with a great supper?聽 And if you鈥檙e NOT spoiling yourself, then what鈥檚 the point of a vacation?
One of my first 鈥榬oad trips鈥� of the break was heading out to Drumheller, Alberta.聽 I鈥檇 been in the town plenty of times as a kid, but I wasn鈥檛 all that familiar driving in the area.聽 You want a piece of free advice?聽 Avoid the so-called 鈥榮cenic route鈥� that鈥檚 offered.聽 For one, it ain鈥檛 that scenic, and two, it鈥檚 just a longer route that wastes precious gas.
Drumheller was all about having a 鈥楧inosaur Day鈥�.聽 I visited the Royal Tyrrell Museum, chockful of all sorts of prehistoric bones and fossils, and took in the 鈥榃orld鈥檚 Largest Dinosaur鈥� downtown.聽 That was pretty cool.聽 The view was great, and you鈥檙e standing in the mouth of a Tyrannosaurus Rex.聽 Win-win.
Outside of that, I cruised just outside of town to the area of Rosedale to check out a suspension bridge that was pretty cool.聽 With a 20-person limit and supported by cables, it鈥檚 kind of a bizarre walk across, but I thought it was really unique.
Moose Jaw was another cool spot that I drove down to.聽 I took in the Western Development Museum, meaning I now just have Yorkton鈥檚 location of the WDM to check off my list.聽 I also hopped on a trolley late at night to enjoy a tour of Moose Jaw鈥檚 鈥渄arker鈥� side, as our guide showed us neighborhoods where murders were committed over money, lovers and all things macabre.
Like thousands of other people in the province and beyond, I also took in the Garth Brooks show in Regina at Mosaic Stadium.聽 Luckily, it was the Saturday show and not the Friday one, so it wasn鈥檛 delayed by rain and I didn鈥檛 get drenched.聽 What can you say, the man knows how to put on a great show and gives fans all the hits they want to hear, all these years later.聽 I saw him in 2016 in Saskatoon, and I think I enjoyed the Regina concert more.
Outside of my road-tripping here and there, I enjoyed time with family and friends, and I made sure to live 鈥渋n the moment鈥�.聽 Friends, I was never more in the moment than that evening I spent swimming up north in Candle Lake, where I basically had an entire beach to myself.
Hey, you gotta enjoy the little things, even something as simple as a night swim in a lake you鈥檝e been to a thousand times.
But now, those are all memories captured in photos and in my mind and heart.聽 Time to get to work, and time to look forward to *next* year鈥檚 adventures!
For this week, that鈥檚 been the Ruttle Report.
