Rest and Recreation

Saddleback Lake, Maine

For me, there is no place more restful than beside a lake in the northern woods of the United States. My family and I spent last week in the Rangeley Lakes region in Maine's Northwest Mountains.

I don't know what it is exactly that I find so appealing:

Small's Falls, Maine

• The delicate white birch trees that arch toward the water
• The perfectly-formed triangles of firs that dot the shoreline like so many scattered Christmas trees
• The gentle swish of the canoe as it glides through the water
• The sunset turning the glassy water into liquid rose gold
• The haunting trill of the loons that have nested lakeside

Perhaps it is the tranquility that comes from being surrounded by so much quiet and majestic nature. The abundance makes one's problems feel much smaller. A history book I found inside our cabin told of a 1930s-era brochure for the region that said the lake's pure crisp air whetted the appetite, cleared the mind, and strengthened the muscles. This was clearly so last week. I returned rested and ready to tackle the trials to come.