Interesting fact: Ft.Mac is not a city

There are approximately 63,676 people here, but it’s technically not a city. It’s an “urban service area” within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. If it were incorporated as a city, it would be the 5th largest in Alberta after Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer and Lethbridge. But since it’s not, Medicine Hat gets the glory.

And, there are actually even more than that if you include people living outside of the “city”. There are 63,676 in the urban service area (Fort McMurray), plus another 26,275 in the rural service area, for a grand total of 89,950. Who knew!
Of that, about 23,200 are what is known as the “shadow” population - people who work here but are not permanent residents.

Interesting hey? And the crazy part is that it could be even higher except the 2008 census was considered unofficial because they used statistical extrapolation rather than going door-to-door to count, so these numbers are actually from the 2007 census. A new census is being done this year though, so it will be interesting to see what the actual population is now. So there you have it, Ft.Mac: the unofficial 5th largest non-city city in Alberta!

If you find this sort of stuff interesting, check out Alberta’s 2009 Official Population List

All good in the man-cave

The house is nicknamed the man-cave because up until 3 weeks ago it contained only dudes and all their dude things. Including, but not limited to: a gun case in the living room, truck parts in the utensil drawer, dirty magazines in the bathroom and a TV programmed to record all episodes of 1000 Ways to Die and Two and a Half Men.
I guess this shouldn’t surprise me, it is a man-cave after all!
But despite their taste in TV, their hatred of dusting, and half a fridge dedicated to barbeque sauce and pickles (see actual fridge door pic.), they are pretty darn easy to live with. So I can happily report that all is well in the man-cave! phewf.
(They might not say the same for me though, as I have since remedied several of the above infractions. Oops!)

Reason to like Ft.Mac #1

The people are very generous!
I have been volunteering at the Salvation Army twice a week since I got here, and you wouldn't believe the donations they get. They get so much stuff they've had to stop accepting for a while because they have no where to put it all. The place is packed floor to ceiling with donations, so my job is to sort through the mountain, bag by bag. Apparently, some people find this gross, but I think it's fun! Each bag is like snooping through someone else's closet. Sometimes there's good stuff, sometimes it's junk, and lots of times you just wonder how many shirts with "Newfoundland" across the front can one person own?
And sometimes, you score a pair of Lulu Lemon's for $4! Thank you rich, generous women of Ft.Mac!

My ally in the man cave

It just occurred to me that I have an ally here in the man cave...Huckster! Here she is, looking very relaxed after a hard day of doing exactly this.

I have never been a fan of housecats, but I must say this one is growing on me. Plus, she makes me look good - she's way moodier, she holds grudges, she bites and her hair really is everywhere.

Oh, there it is!

Most people (with the exception of friends and family who have all *promised* to visit) will never come here; not because it's a terrible place (though they may think that) but because it's not exactly on the way to anywhere else. No one just ‘passes through’ Ft.Mac on their way to a final destination like you might pass through Lethbridge on your way to the U.S or through Red Deer on your way to Edmonton; this IS the final destination. Unless you are going to the Fort McKay Indian reservation, this is pretty much where the highway ends for you.

This, I think, is the main reason for the haters. Being 5 hours from Edmonton and not on the way to anywhere else, it’s pretty far for anyone to just pop by and check out for themselves.

Here’s a map if you’re still not sure where it is. And also to help you find your way when you come to visit. J

Best company car ever

Saw this little gem the other day while driving through the village of Boyle. If you can't tell, it's a low-rider HEARSE and it says "C Drive computers. We will fix it, or die trying." And, if it wasn't cool enough already, it also had hydraulics so it was lifting and lowering itself as it cruised through town. Very gansta'! I bet the mayor is jealous.

Is it raining?

Nope, it's bugs hitting the windshield!

It must be spring in Northern Alberta.

Hello sun!

After mother nature's little freakout, things got much nicer here! It's been absolutely beautiful this past week so we've started to check out a few of the bike paths in the area and they are awesome!

Here's one about 5 minutes from the house. I can't wait until summer to explore the rest. I'd go today, but what do you know, it's SNOWING again!!

Holy Snow

I have a little bit of catching up to do since I've been here for 3 weeks already. Here is a pic of last weekend's beautiful weather...

Unfortunately the snowmobiles had already been put away for the year!

Welcome

Welcome to my first ever blog post. I have no idea what I'm doing, but I thought it would be interesting to keep a blog about life in 'the mac'.

When I told people I was moving here, I got a lot of crinkled noses accompanied by "that sucks", "why??" and "have fun with that!" But really, it's not that bad, I swear!

Sure, it's the source of dirty oil and a black hole for ducks, but it's got a few good things going for it too - and those little nuggets are what I hope to reveal; so when you think of me up here you won't feel sorry for me anymore, instead, you will feel envy! (hahaha, no?)

So, please stay tuned for updates from the man-cave! And, quite possibly a few photos of jacked up trucks, newfies riding snowmobiles and million dollar trailer parks :)