Visiting Lake Kootenay With Family.

One of my favorite early memories with family involved visiting Lake Kootenay in Canada when I was a kid. Even to this day, I have a framed photo of me and my dad standing in front of the giant green mountains that frame the lake, which is mounted on the wall right above my desk.

 While at the lake and contemplating the pristine blue waters, I could not help but feel miniscule in comparison. Nature is so big, and so powerful. Next to it, we are almost insignificant.

 I still have a piece of petrified wood taken from the lake. The water was so fresh that we were able to drink it. The taste was almost impossible to describe; it was like no other water I had ever imbibed before.

We skipped stones on the surface of the pure blue water. Far away from any human habitation, the lake and surrounding mountains were undisturbed, unpolluted, and in every way uncompromised.

 In my thirty-plus years of life, I have yet to encounter another setting as natural and as special as the majesty that is Lake Kootenay. My family loved it so much that we decided to go back multiple times. Once we crossed the Canadian border by car, for the first time, my dad immediately spotted road signs in kilometers and needed to re-orient himself. One time, we even went to the nearest town, which was Creston. I was not used to seeing Canadian banknotes, but ended up viewing them in person for the first time.

 It was obviously strange, at first, navigating a foreign country, with its odd currency and different signage, but for Lake Kootenay, all the time and effort were well worth it.