Swimming, taking photos, skipping rocks, and simply enjoying the serenity of the lake's water. it was on a short three-day trip with a church congregation that I was able to visit Cultus Lake for the first time. Upon arriving, everyone was stunned by the magnificent undisrupted view across the lake and the brilliance of the sun's rays reflecting off the water. there were no boats or bridges to be seen; only moderately high mountains in the distance surrounding the lake gave a sheltered feeling. As soon as the car halted, the unforgettable cool moisturized air seeped through the window and everyone immediately rushed vehemently out the doors and onto the semi-sandy beach, carrying their miniature cameras along with them. Other than sometimes having to deal with the relentless glare of the reflected light and perhaps the slightly elevated temperature of the ground and air on a warm spring day, there was essentially nothing that suppressed my mood that day.

Besides the joy of being there, it was my first time attempting to properly skip rocks across a large body of water. After finding and picking up a smooth, polished and flat rock off the ground, it was instinct o try to throw it as hard as I could onto the water parallel to the surface line of the lake.