Every summer since I was a little girl on summer holiday from school I have always started my summer off with a bucket list. The list reminds me that summer is supposed to be an enjoyable few months where I can experience new things.
This summer I made a bucket list in probably May or June, and I started to tick things off the list, and as of last Thursday I have completely checked off my list, which has never happened before.
My list this summer had a lot of outdoor activities, which I thought would go well with Thompson. My biggest item was to go camping this year in a new place. I’ve been camping all my life, and some of my best memories are while I was in nature. One Thanksgiving I went camping with my mom and brother at Algonquin Provincial Park, we had Hamburger Helper over the fire for our holiday meal, and huddled in our canvas tent reading Harry Potter out loud while it snowed.
This summer there was no snow, but there was something close to it. My friend and I went camping at Clearwater Lake in The Pas for the long weekend of August. It was an amazing trip full of clear waters and hidden caves. On our last day we set our alarms for 5:30 a.m. to go down to the lake to watch the sunrise. When my alarm went off and I unzipped my tent, and looked outside ... there was frost on my car, and I just about shed a tear.
Watching the run rise was also on my bucket list, and it was the highlight of my trip. While waiting for the sun to rise over the lake, I sat on the wooden dock and meditated and thought about what I was grateful for. It was surreal watching the sun come up, and it gave me the refreshing restart that I was looking for that weekend.
Another of my bucket list items was to immerse myself in the northern life, and I did that in a different way than most would think. I jumped off the cliff at Mid Lake, and I floated in the lake, letting the sun soak into my skin. I also sat at Ospwagon Lake the night of the meteor shower, and situated myself against my windshield and watched the shooting stars soar through the sky, and the northern lights dance. It was magical, and in that moment, I thought this is something I would never see in a city.
This summer I’ve had the most adventure in my last couple of years that included other things like canoeing, island-hopping, kayaking, visiting new places, seeing Wekusko Falls, flying in a tiny plane, and dancing my life away many, many nights.
I’ll never forget this summer, and I feel so lucky to have made these memories with some amazing friends.
What’s on your summer bucket list?
