Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Slow return

I think this is one of the best vacations I've ever had.  The location was beautiful and serene.  Idabel Lake seems to be almost unknown - even to those who live around the Okanagan. 


I woke up every morning to this view.  The sun created an amazing golden glow on the other side of this lovely little mountain lake.  The elevation here is over 4000 above sea level but never cold.  The sun shone every day but one!


And while I had breakfast I could look this way.The boats were available to take out at any time.  I'm not comfortable in these little boats so I just watched.  It was fun to see how they drifted and shifted with every little current.


My first morning I did my tai chi on the dock but that did have some limitations in size.  Not to mention the very real risk of falling in the lake.


So, I changed it up and started walking to the end of the paved road which was about 15 minutes.  There, at the intersection with the dirt road that ultimately led to civilization, I could practice with my enthralled audience.  One morning a white-tailed deer emerged from the trees to have a look at this strange creature.


I think the many members of the gopher and ground squirrel families  - they were everywhere - must have been chattering through the forest about me. 


At night the mist descended to the lake.  It became very quiet and all through the night we could hear the haunting call and laugh of the loons.

The scariest part was when we arrived and discovered that there was no cell phone reception, no internet and no newspapers.  What's an information junkie like me to do?  I fretted a bit at first but soon came to appreciate the total quiet.  I knit - more in another post - and talked and watched the tiny changes in the scenery.  I walked, helped cook meals and finished two novels.   It's actually been quite hard to come back to the world.

5 comments:

Paws on the Run said...

Love the misty lake pictures! I hear you about the fretting... it is weird to be out of touch with the world. Glad you enjoyed yourself!

Ginny Hartzler said...

Welcome back to the real world!! But maybe this is really the unreal world, you just returned from the real one. I have been looking forward to your return and your pictures. Wow!! Such beautiful reflections, and I love the mist on the lake. I can almost hear the loons calling now. I've only heard them call on T.V. and it's a sound I would love to hear in real life. I see a little hole in that rock under the gopher, I wonder if he lives there?

Mimi said...

Yay, you're back! I've missed you.

That sounds like a total chillout vacation, which must have been what you needed.No mobile, internet or newspapers sounds daunting to me too! We had that at night in France (well, we could get mobile by sticking the phone out the upstairs windows!) and that was difficult.

I can't believe the stillness of the water in the first photo- fantastic view to awaken to each day, would make one feel serene.
Yes, I'd say you're the talk of the forest all right, Stephanie, you can picture it "I saw a human one this morning doing weird moves and she almost fell into the water-they're strange creatures"!!!

Lindy said...

Sounds like a dream vacation to me, away from all the hustle, bustle, and worries of the world. Your photos present a very serene, beautiful place.

Jeannette StG said...

That's why I loved my vacation so much! Also no TV! It really took me two weeks before I even wanted to go on my blog! My only push was to finally show my paintings, LOL

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