Super Bowl Sunday

Did you watch the Super Bowl yesterday? Me either. We skipped it and went sledding instead! (Let’s face it, until we Googled it, we didn’t know who was even playing, and twice I’ve referred to it as the Grey Cup – yep, we’re big fans.) So instead we loaded up the sleds - I borrowed Fireman Steve’s, since he’s outta town for a few days (don’t worry Steve, I drove it like a girl!) and cruised out to Anzac. We had Gary with us - a friend of Kirt’s who has lived here for years and knows the trails - so after a lunch stop at the Burger Bar (naturally!) he took us on a tour through the bush and across frozen lakes. It was great!

Here’s a pic of a trappers cabin we came upon -  yes, believe it or not there are still fur-hat wearing trappers in this world! This particular trapper has two cabins along his trap line; one he lives in and this one, which he let’s his buddy use. Lucky for us, Gary happened to know him, so we stopped in for a visit.

Anyway, it was a great day for a ride. The ride home was COLD and I almost lost a thumb, but we made it back -- just in time for the half time show too. Go Packers!

Curling Rocks

Watch out Friday night rec curlers, there’s a new team in town! We’ve played three games so far – here’s our results:

Game 1: 11-1 (loss)

Game 2: 11-1 (win)

Game 3: The other team cancelled (we’ll call that a win)

Game 4: 9-4 (win)

Not bad for a team where the lead and second had never even touched a rock in their lives until we started playing in January. And did I mention I’m the skip? Truly it’s a miracle we on a winning streak. The curling community up here is pretty lively – it’s like we’re in Saskatchewan or something! There are 19 teams in our ‘beer’ league, and there are three other competitive adult leagues, plus junior teams. Curling…it’s the new hockey!

Cross Country Skiing

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – there are some great trails in this town! The Birchwood Trail system was fun to bike on this summer, and in the winter the local xcountry ski club even track-sets them. So today I took out last months Kijiji purchase (nearly new xcountry skiis) for a test drive. And I only crashed once!

Northern Classic

Well the Northern Classic was a success. The home team won (4-2), over 5,700 fans were in the stands, and the weather conditions were pretty much perfect for outdoor ice. Here are a few pics from the night - they didn't turn out very good, but you'll get the drift.

 

Six Lakes Quadding Trip

A few weeks ago we went on the neatest quadding trip to Six Lakes and the Richardson Sand Dunes. We left Ft.Mac on Friday morning with a posse of 9 (plus one dog) and drove to the staging area at the start of the Ft.Chip winter road. From there, we quadded into Keith's Lake and set up our campsite for the next 2 nights. The weather was great, the scenery and lakes were absolutely beautiful and the amount of sand everywhere was unreal! Who knew there was a desert in Northern Alberta? The quadding was so much fun too - the trail was really rough so there were some sore muscles the next day and some of our cargo, including one of the tub trailers, didn't survive the journey. But, it didn't seem to slow us down much as we managed to put almost 300 km on our quads that weekend. It was a good thing the boys packed lots of extra gas because we needed every last drop to get back out!

Miles and miles of sand trails

Kirt & Jeff at one of the 'Six Lakes'

Richardson Sand Dunes

So beautiful

Happy campers

Heading home and packing out the busted trailer!

Hellooo waterslides

The new Aquatic Centre is finally open for business and it looks awesome!! It has an Olympic-sized swimming pool, an additional four-lane pool, a lazy river, splash park, two water slides, a couple of hot tubs and who knows what else, I haven’t been inside yet. I figured I’d let the masses of screaming children get their fill first, but I can definitely see myself spending a few winter afternoons here pretending I'm in Mexico. And it’s all part of Mac Island, which I told you about in a previous post – so translation: lots of fun under one roof. So pack up the kiddies and come on up. Who needs West Ed, you can come here now instead!

Kayaking the Clearwater

The perfect way to spend a summer evening is kayaking on the Clearwater river, which runs around the outskirts of town and empties into the mighty Athabasca. (Fort Fact: there are 4 rivers that run through or near town: The Athabasca, Clearwater, Hangingstone and Horse.) The Clearwater is nice and calm and easily accessible making it perfect for floating and easy paddling. The first time I went we put the “yaks” in at the Snye and paddled upstream – needless to say, we didn’t get too far – apparently these arms are not the pythons I thought they were!
Here are a few pics from a fabulous 2.5 hour downstream paddle last week with Dad, Steven, special K and Steven's pal Toppy.

Here fishy fishy fishy

It truly is an outdoorsman’s paradise up here. Special K’s buddy Mike took us out in his jetboat last weekend for a cruise on the Athabasca river, near Fort McKay. They both managed to catch 4 or 5 fish each, while I only caught a stick and lost 2 hooks! But hey, at least it’s an improvement over the time I caught my own eyelid! (true story!)

Deep-fried Pickles

Are…surprisingly delicious! And the place to try them is at the “Burger Bar” - the local watering hole in tiny Anzac, which is about 40km south of Ft.Mac. It’s just a small little town, 600 people or something, but they have this great little pub. The ride out was awesome too– such a great night for a cruise and the bugs are still pretty small so no major facial injuries! The pickles themselves are totally worth the trip – when you come to visit, I’ll take you!

Ps. I love chaps, they make me feel bad-ass, yo.

Speaking of exercise, did you know Ft.Mac has the largest recreation centre in western Canada? Yes, that’s right, in Fort McMurray. (Hey, oil money can be a good thing you know!) MacDonald Island Park is on an island in downtown Ft.Mac which has a golf course, tennis courts, ball diamonds, hiking trails and now a huge new recreation centre too. Inside are 2 hockey rinks, 8 sheets of curling ice, a running track, 2 multi-purpose gyms, squash and racquetball courts, fitness centre, a public library, lounge, golf simulator, ballroom and daycare…all under one roof. And, opening in the same building this fall is the new aquatic centre, featuring an Olympic size pool, waterslides and a lazy river. A lazy river! I don’t really even know what that is, but it sounds like a little piece of Mexico to me. Anyway, now you have another reason to come visit!

Workin it, outdoors

Check out these cool outdoor workout stations. There’s a whole shwack of them (52 to be exact) set up along one section of the Birchwood trail. All the equipment is outdoors and each piece uses your own body weight for resistance. It’s a pretty neat idea, and there are always people using them. It’s free, easy to use, safe and anyone can do it – some are even wheel chair accessible. I’ve only been there a couple times, but think it’s such a cool idea. No need for a gym membership here! (In the summer anyway!)

Nature Lovers Paradise

Ahhh, the first camping trip of the year! The destination was the Whitesands Campground, near Plamondon, which is about 2 hours south of Fort Mac, on Lac La Biche. It’s a nice spot with campsites backing right onto the lake. The weather turned out to be really nice, and the company was even better - although they did kick our asses at ladder ball. This picture was taken about 5 steps from the campsite. Now, all I need to do is talk Special K into getting a boat!

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!