The summer break for us here at the offices of The Outlook is literally right in front of us – we might even be gone and the doors may be shut and locked by the time you sit down and read this fine publication – and with that, it’ll be time to kick back and relax for a couple of weeks.
It goes without saying that summer, strictly by itself, is awesome. There’s a sense of freedom that comes with it that can only be experienced within that three-month window between July to August; a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants attitude towards life before the weather gets colder and it’s time to go back to pants and shoes from those trusty shorts and flip-flops.
With summer comes holidays, and I thought I’d take this week to reflect back on the vacation spot from my childhood that has meant the most to me as I look forward to the trip I’m about to take next week.
Candle Lake, SK; an all-season resort village less than an hour northeast of Prince Albert and the home of some of my best memories. According to Wikipedia, the lake takes its name from a Cree legend about flickering lights appearing near the north end of the lake, which have supposedly been seen right up to contemporary times.  Some theorize that the lights are caused by a gas emitted from decaying driftwood, rather than having a paranormal origin.
This particular destination is really a “take your pick” category as it relates to the year because my family went up north to this awesome place pretty much every summer when I was a kid. Some of my fondest memories are from up at Candle Lake; swimming with my brothers and pretending to shoot each other with gobs of wet sand; games of mini golf followed by ice cream and driving to the local landfill to watch for black bears; fishing at the creek; doing our grocery shopping at the general store; even mundane tasks such as doing all of our laundry right *next* to the general store.
Candle Lake holds such a big place in my heart because it’s where I was happiest as a kid. My parents would work all year while we kids were at school all year, so by the time summer vacation came around, a trip up north to Uncle Keith’s cabin may as well have been Disneyworld as far as we were concerned.
These days, I try to get back up to Candle Lake every summer, even if it’s just for one day and the old cabin has sure seen better days. Frankly, since I haven’t been up there since 2015, I can’t even say for sure whether it’s still there. But I still try to get up there and enjoy what I can for the day; a good burger or some ice cream from the walk-up concession on the corner; some fishing at the creek; and definitely some swimming in the lake. My favourite part is watching the sun setting into the northwest because by that time, everyone has left the beach and gone back to their respective cabins or campsites. Not me. I’m there to catch arguably the most gorgeous sunset in the province, and if others miss out on that, it’s their loss.
This year, I’m headed to Victoria out in British Columbia. Yes, it’s the same place I ventured to last summer, but I like to think of this trip as a “sequel” to my first adventure, where I’ll hopefully get to do the things I didn’t have time for last August. I’m also flying this time instead of driving. As much as the drive is beautiful, it’s also incredibly time-consuming and lonely when you’re by yourself and you’ve exhausted all radio options.
But my four-day trip out to Victoria is just one of the parts of my summer vacation. I’m looking forward to many things about it; some more swimming down at Gardiner Dam and AWESOME meals at Harv’s Café; taking in the Ex up in Saskatoon; having some bonfires at the Ruttle Family Compound; and yes, motoring up north to the site of some of the greatest memories of my life, and continue to dream of one day taking the wife and kids up to Candle Lake and making our own memories.
Summer – like life – is all about making memories, so it’s up to you to make them good ones.
For this week, that’s been the Ruttle Report.
