My family and I are slowly making our way north to Jasper, Alberta and spent last night at a campground on Lake Okanogan in gale force winds - we literally tied our tent to our car - just in case . . . . Needless to say, our kids were less than cheerful in the morning despite our best attempts to cajole them to the top of the trail to see a waterfall. So much whining. On our way back down, my youngest daughter and I took a side trail and ended up at a labyrinth tucked between the campsite areas. There were some young kids having fun there so my daughter wanted to go check it out - I almost said no worried the rest of our family would get annoyed waiting for us but said yes instead. A sign in front explained the labyrinth was a replica from a cathedral in France and although it occupied only 60 feet in diameter, walking it without cheating covered one half of a mile. We walked it and as we did I noticed a man carrying watering cans from the lake up to the labyrinth to water recently planted flowers around the fringe of the labyrinth. I asked if he had planted them and what they were and thought how nice it was for someone to take such good care of an area so out of the way. When we reached the middle of the labyrinth and sat down we saw a memorial for the woman who had created the labyrinth, Cathryne, who had been a wife, mother and sister and had passed away in 2004. The man watering the flowers said to us that kids just loved this labyrinth and that his wife would have been so happy to see them meandering its paths. I asked if Cathryne had been his wife and he said yes. He went on to tell me about her and that she had died only one month after the labyrinth had been completed and two weeks before they were to move from Vancouver to a house on the shore of Lake Okanogan. He told me about his children in Vancouver and his continuing indecision whether to move to the house he and his wife had purchased. He said taking care of the labyrinth was really the only thing that kept him driving the nearly 4 hours from Vancouver. My daughter decided to retrace her steps to get out of the labyrinth - meaning she walked an extra mile despite complaining of the heat and her tired feet just 20 minutes earlier. I guess you just need to feel inspired. I was so grateful that we happened upon that labyrinth. What a gift to meet that man and get to share that moment and recognize its beauty.
