It was a foggy, chilly fall day at British Columbia's Emerald Lake. The clouds had rolled in fast that morning, enveloping the area like the pile of blankets in which I had swaddled myself the night before, when I had fallen asleep while stargazing on my cabin's deck.
The lake's brilliant-colored water appears turquoise from powdered limestone and particles of fine glacial sediment referred to as "rock flour." And during my stay at Emerald Lake Lodge last fall, the whole area was cast in a perpetual moody, ethereal blue, entrancing me into a similar dreamlike state.
I wandered around the lake during the early mornings to take in the silence before the tourists started rolling in. During these intimate moments, the only sound I could hear was the quiet slap of gentle ripples against the one or two canoes out on the water.
On my last day at the 24-cabin lodge __ which promises true solitude, with no televisions or internet access in the rooms (and there's no mobile phone access within most of the surrounding Yoho National Park) __ I rented a canoe in order to drink in one last look at the hypnotic blue hues.
I paddled to the middle of the lake, determined to find the most prime spot for quiet reflection. The boat swayed lightly as it settled into the silky waters, as if rocking me to sleep, and my heart seemed to settle with it in perfect rhythm.
