Lake Moraine in the Rocky Mountains of Canada is a beautiful place. Picture this, you walk up to a small lake. The lake is turquoise with a mountain backdrop. Glaciers top the mountains looking like snake paths of white ice. Forests line the bank on the right, while mountains and rubble from avalanches line the bank to the left and to the front.

You rent a canoe and paddle to the center of the lake. A cold breeze chills you as it sweeps by. You reach down and touch the water. The ice-cold water numbs your hands in just a few seconds. You realize if you fall over the edge of the canoe into the water, you would get hypothermia faster than you would in any arctic ocean.

You paddle to the opposite bank. The gurgle of a stream fills your ears. As you get closer you notice the creek that feeds the lake. The water is as clear as liquid glass. You paddle away.

You reach the bank you started from. You get out and stare again at the scene before you. You marvel again at nature’s beauty. As you take a breath of air, the mountain air fills your lungs. In it you smell the freshness of the water and the spiciness of the fir trees. You also smell the shocking cold of the glaciers. You take one more breath and walk away, marveling at the beauty of Lake Moraine.