Advantage West Inn And Suites Fort McMurray

We made it home safely. The -21 C temperature coming off the plane last night was a little bit of a shock to the system. We were delayed by the snow in Toronto but luckily the held our flight from Edmonton to Fort Mac for us. We look forward to seeing everyone again and sharing a few pictures with you. André & Gina

Alright, so after spending most of the night watching the Broncos get blown out, I am pretty much done packing. Follow along with our trip as Gina and I head out to the long lost continent of Madagascar. I'll try to keep the blog up to date as best as I can based on internet availability. The cab comes at 4:30am...time for bed. André

Still at work in Fort McMurray, just counting down the days. The days are already getting noticeably shorter. The days of 24 daylight are over. The mornings are getting crisper. Fall is definitely on it's way. I think Chase has lost his mind up at Diavik. We're ready for a vacation!!

As we pack our bags, check our lists and get things in order it is only a week before we leave. This entry is to serve only as a test that this blog and the address book is working. We hope to be able to do some entries once we leave on our journey. Downloading pictures may be a bit hopeful but we will try!! The countdown is on L

Ft. Mcmurray is about 4 hours north of edmonton. The only reason anyone is there is because there is about 5x the oil of saudi up there. There are really good steak houses and seafood, yes seafood this far from the ocean. Plan an evening if you need donuts, the line at tim horton's has been about a 30-60 min wait for 6 years at least now.

... interesting part will be seeing so many different cultures all crammed into one little place. Well, that and Europe is borderless, so we can just wander as we please! Then, onward to Africa! We actually seriously considered not really exploring Africa because of its many dangers but in the end, we discovered that we would be missing out on some of the most beautiful sights and wonderful experiences that the world has to offer. So...to Africa we go! We've decided that ...

The story of this trip begins on a snowy, cold, and truly miserable day in Fredericton, New Brunswick last February. Fredericton is a lovely town, beautiful in the summer, but the outdoor life of a student coupled with two weeks of -20 something weather is enough to get anyone down. Trudging to class that day, my mind stumbled across a wild idea: I could take the following year off from university and thereby avoid another Fredericton winter ...

... and how it hurts the earth. This is good, but it seems there needs to be more awareness that the earth is not the only victim. Lives are lost in this business. Some directly, some indirectly. Why is highway 63 still not twinned! The cost of paving it is high, to be sure. About the cost of sending out the last round of prosperity cheques actually. The cost of not twinning the highway seems much higher. I know I have only accounted for six out of the nine lives lost so ...

... shift. Sure am enjoying it more though. We got ready to go and then we got..Seperated. Ok, I got seperated. And left behind. Nice. Get me loaded and ditch me in town. What bunch of great guys. They were pretty loaded too, so what are ya gonna do? Naturally in no state to take care of myself, I turned down the GF's offer to crash on his couch and decided this woud be a good night for me to hitchhike for the first time ever! Good decision Keith. I was ...

I was thinking more about the highways and road conditions out here today. I heard on the news that someone died on hwy 63 yesterday a little north of town. It is crazy. That highway claims so many lives. No wonder they call it the highway of death. My journeyman, Tim, said today that hwy 63 has more deaths per mile than any other highway in Canada. It would not surprise me at all if this were true. It is so important to drive safe down that road. Last ...