Mazinaw Lake, ON

I used to spend all my summers at Lake Masanow with the cottage. There was one time when I canoed across the lake and when I got there, the weather seemed fine, and I stopped on the other side. Then, all of a sudden, the wind-started picking up and I could see all the clouds coming in. I knew I wasn't too far away and thought I can make it. So I hopped in the canoe and start paddling, but because there is a cliff on the other side, and the wind started coming in from the north, I just couldn't turn my boat. Then all of a sudden, I just see a sheet of rain, thick rain, just come right up to me, and there was nothing I could do. So I’m sitting there and i thought…I’m in the middle of lake…and I can’t get to my cottage or the other side..and oh crap’ I’m stuck. I was sitting there and it’s just coming down. I couldn't see the end of my canoe, so I was just hanging on, bailing the boat. Honestly, it was just one of the most beautiful things. That’s what I take away from it. Just seeing the rain come down in sheets. All I could think was, “Wow, this is beautiful.” Then all of a sudden, just as fast as it came, I saw the end of it lighten, and see the end of my boat. And that was it, it stopped. It couldn’t be more than 5-7 minutes. But I’ll never forget it. The wind had died enough that I was able to canoe to the other side, and it was over. That was the only time I was caught in the rain, and wasn't able to turn my boat anywhere. I guess it was lucky that I wasn’t hit by lightening, but it was still beautiful. I’m glad however that I got that memory. It was kind of like a gift from the lake.