Chokin' on Smoke

It's been a tad smokey the last few days. The sky is hazy and you can smell smoke even in the house. Luckily, I enjoy the smell of campfire. There are currently 5 wild fires in the area, of which four are classified as being 'held' or under control. The largest and still out-of-control fire is a few hours north of Fort McMurray, and has burned 175,286 hectares so far; which my iphone tells me is about 677 square miles; which Google tells me roughly the size of Maui.
The big fire is up towards Six Lakes, which is where we went quadding last summer. Apparently they've even had to helicopter a few people out of that area since the fire began. At least one of the work camps have been evacuated and a few of the mine sites have been halting work intermittently due to smoke. B-Rad, for example, was sent home from work today because of poor visibility.
I don't think Ft.Mac is in any immediate danger, but lucky for us, we have our own personal fireman who knows where we live and has promised to save the cat.

Oil Sands Heli-tour

It's been a good year for helicopter rides for the Sackett-Laings. Here's a few pics from a chopper flight we took a few weeks ago over the Oil Sands. The sheer size of the mines are unreal and pretty amazing to see from the air. Next time you're here, I would definitely recommend the tour. Kirt & Kyle "won" this flight at a silent auction last year, but there are tours almost every day and you can also go by float plane. Here's a few pics of the day for your viewing/educational pleasure. Not pictured: 5 black bears, 2 moose and 1 queasy stomach.

Pretty soon he'll want to be in the drivers seat

Approaching the first tailings pond. Looks like a nice sandy beach!

Suncor

Truck and shovel. Looks so small but keep in mind the truck is 400 ton

Suncor plant

Another mine site...it got confusing.

Pilot, get your hands back on the stick!

Old Bitumont Site. One of the first profitable mines in the area built from 1920-1948

Alan, Kyle, Krystal, Me & Kirt

Moving the chopper back into the hanger. Wow he's strong!

Learning how the engine works. (Please don't ask questions.)

Working Girl

I finally broke down and accepted that fact that I'm finished school; and while unemployment was lovely, it's time to rejoin the workforce once again. And hey, since I'm in Fort "McMoney" anyway, I might as well take advantage. (as best my cubicle skills will allow -- if only I'd gone into the trades!)
So anyway, my new gig is at North American Construction Group, where I will be delivering the orientation program for all of the new workers. I've been on the job for 3 days now and I think I'm going to really enjoy it. Sometimes I'll be working in the Timberlea office (which is 2 minutes from home) and sometimes I will be going out to site - which is quite intriguing as 'site' to me is a very mysterious place. And if nothing else, it should result in some interesting stories.

Ducks Unlimited

The Finning "losers" with their ducks and camping chairs

Last weekend we went to the Ducks Unlimited dinner and auction at the Sawridge Hotel. Dinner was great and they had some really neat auction items and games. Kirt tried to win a trip playing the 'chair game', but in the end all he took home was a consolation prize of a camping chair and a toy duck. (Which can never be used because it's worth too much money!) But we did end up with a lifetime supply of biodegradable plates/cups/cutlery in the silent auction! And mom won us some some fancy new pots and a night at the Sawridge, as a wedding present. Woo hoo! Fun night :)