Sadie's 5 Favourite Waterbodies
I have loved water since I can remember. Whether it was splashing around in a bathtub, treading water with my synchronized swimming team, rowing in my high school regatta, or catching a long wave on a surfboard, many of my fondest memories involve water. I love sharing these stories of my experiences on the water almost as much as I love hearing other people’s stories of their relationship to water. Water sustains us, water moves us, and water fills us. As humans, we require water for our survival, and our connection to water creates some of the most treasured memories of our lives. I have a plethora of special, important water stories. And when forced to select one, my story changes from day to day. I can’t be forced to have a single watermark express my complex, loving relationship with H2O. I have done my best to limit my watermarks to 5 special bodies of water with the hopes of inspiring you to share your own on the Watermark Project. After reading my stories, please share yours and contribute to an important database of people's personal connections to water.
Lake McKenzie
For a post-university celebratory expedition, I travelled to Australia, first to stay with my family in Sydney and work, and then to explore! One of the unforgettable destinations that I visited was Fraser Island. This island is the largest sand island in the world. Sand is a defining feature of this island since the beaches are the only roadways on the island. While this island is surrounded by ocean, it is home to about 100 freshwater lakes. Each lake has a different defining feature. One of the lakes that I visited was only accessible by a deep hike through jungle-like forest. Upon reaching this lake, the aroma of this pale green tea tree lake reminded me of a spa, and so did the tiny fish that nibbled on the dead skin of my toes. One of the streams that we visited had such clean, purified water that we dunked our bottles right in and drank straight from it. And my absolute favourite watermark of this island is Lake McKenzie. This lake is pictured on many Australian tour brochures, but these photos do not do it justice. The sand is pure silica, and the brightest white beach that I have ever seen. Contrasted with the snow-coloured sand is the most pristine-looking water that I have ever touched. This lake is completely filled with rainwater, and is so pure since its high acidity isn’t ideal for plant or animal life, (so doesn’t have any plant or animal waste in it either!) I will never forget the stunning turquoise clear water of the shallow beach contrasted with the black of the deep, which seemed like an underwater cliff.
Lake Louise
I grew up in Calgary, Alberta and spent much time driving back and forth to the Rocky Mountains. The turquoise glacial waters of Lake Louise are always a breathtaking sight. In the winter, I loved skating on the lake framed by massive mountains blanketed with impeccably white snow. Yet visiting the lake in the summer is a completely different experience. One summer when I was quite young, my family and I rented canoes to paddle on Lake Louise. With the heat of the sun, I was tempted to jump in. I dipped my hand in with a particularly deep stroke of my paddle and instantly changed my mind. The water was unbelievably cold, even right in the middle of the summer! On this same trip my parents told me a famous myth that I believed for almost a year after they told me. The story goes that the blue colour of the lake is painted on the bottom each year and then they refill the lake to give it a bright, vibrant blue. While I now know that this story isn't true, it is still shocking how bright this glacial lake really is!
Caribbean Sea
While pursuing my environmental studies, I participated in a four month field study in Barbados. During the day I would be either in the field planting cashew trees to reforest a sand quarry or in the classroom learning about water resource management techniques. This was the origin story for my technical understanding of water quality. On the weekends, I was fulfilling my ultimate lifelong dream of breathing underwater. I will always remember the sensational feeling in my scuba training of sitting on the bottom of the ocean, looking up and watching my exhaled bubbles soar to the surface of the water. I looked over to my scuba buddy and signalled OK with my fingers. In reality, I was so beyond okay. This was beyond any experience I had felt before. This was overwhelming bliss. And it would not have been possible without water.
Lac des Sables
Photo credit: junkii, Flickr As a young child, my parents, sister, and I would visit my grandparents in Notre Dame du Laus, QC many summers. Their log house was only about 20 meters away from the fittingly named, sandy beach of Lac des Sables. I remember building sand castles with my cousin, playing on the windsurf boards with my mom and dad, and catching and releasing frogs and toads with my sister. It was also the first and only time I went fishing. My grandfather took me out on his boat, he threw down the anchor and we got to work. He threaded the wriggling worms on the hooks and we tossed our lines into the water. My patience and diligence were apparent as I waited and waited and waited. Eventually I caught a small silvery fish. As I watched it flop around in the boat, I couldn’t handle the responsibility of harming this fish any further and I made my grandfather remove the hook and toss the fish back in the water. I may never be a professional angler, but I will always remember the connection that I had with my family whenever we would visit Lac des Sables, and that is the most important aspect of this watermark for me.
North Saskatchewan River
Upon moving to Edmonton last year, I was immediately drawn to the river. Before I even knew what it was called, I would go down to the North Saskatchewan River valley to sit and meditate along its banks. After a long day of work, the river was always there. On one of my post-work expeditions to the river, I decided that I really wanted to get down to touch the water. I planned my journey to the famous Fort Edmonton Footbridge Beach, which is a 6 minute bike ride down from Fort Edmonton Park. I had packed my camera along with a book and a towel to settle down and enjoy my afternoon by the river. On my trip down, I pedaled along the river valley trails. Despite knowing that I was right beside the river, the water is mostly obscured by tall, dense trees. I kept pedaling along, about 3 minutes away from the beach, when suddenly I felt my bike clunking with each turn of the wheels. I looked back and saw that my back tire was completely flat. I was so close to the beach that I knew that I couldn’t turn back. I walked over to the bridge and made an audible gasp at the sight of the river. This is such a stunning bend of the North Saskatchewan, with bright, clear waters and a long sand bar. After locking up my bike I got down to the beach, took off my shoes, and waded over to the sandy stretch. I watched canoes paddle by and motor boats jet along. All of the stresses of my bike disappeared as I splashed my feet in the water. After a lovely afternoon of watching hawks soar and drawing pictures in the sand, I called a taxi to take me and my deflated bike away from this gorgeous beach. I’m already eagerly planning my next trip to the sandbar next spring!
Watermarks
We all have a connection to water. By reading my fondest water tales, I hope it reminds you of an influential body of water in your life. The Watermark Project is building a strong database of water stories to reflect the importance and connection that we all feel with water. Think of your watermark and share it with the water community on watermarkproject.ca. Like how drops of water cause ripples to form, by sharing your watermark it can move others to share their own connections to water. Who will you inspire?