Canada Day at the Lodge is always one of those benchmarks of the summer that we all look forward to.  It’s roughly a third of the way into the season and the staff usually have it pretty well dialed, confidently delivering the level of service that our guests enjoy.  The crew has mixed nicely, forming a tiny community here in this remote harbour on the far western reaches of the country.  The national holiday reminds us to take a moment and realize just where we are in such a big picture; this immense landscape that easily overwhelms us yet binds us in so many ways.  We benefit from a popularity that draws people here from all over the country to experience the unique character of this place.

The guests with us this week were all Canadians, arriving here from Okotoks and Nanoose Bay, South Porcupine and Saskatoon, Kimberly and Espanola.  They all caught lots of salmon and shared some crazy good stories of their fishing adventures. Together on Wednesday night, between supper and the annual fireworks show that they put together themselves, we all stood up and belted out an enthusiastic rendition of our national anthem, another tradition started years ago in a moment of spontaneous patriotism.  These are the moments that stick in the memory and draw us back to a shared experience that helps to define what we all love about this place!