Arrived in Fort Smith

I am going to endeavour to keep this short. Since I last wrote I undertook the journey to Fort Smith, Northwest Territories and began work for my new employer. I still want to carefully review the Code of Conduct relevant to political writing and so I am writing another more personal piece this week.

Brampton to Pearson International Airport to Edmonton to Fort Smith to my hotel. It was not exactly an easy trip. From the time I woke up Friday morning to the time I checked into my hotel was about 12 hours. The flights went smoothly, it was the airports that were the problem. I switched airlines in Edmonton which meant I had to reclaim my bags and pass through security. Again. What I initially thought would be an interminable layover turned into a tight turn around by the time I got seated at the proper gate.

Fort Smith Airport

The airplane was... small. This was moderately alarming, but I don’t get nervous when I fly. Soon as the plane was in the air I was pretty relaxed. The wilderness surrounding Fort Smith is beautiful. It has a vastness to it that is overwhelming in some way. As the plane flew by Fort Smith I took note of the massive Slave River. According to my Google Earth calculations the river is 1.5 km wide by the town. I went to see it up close in person but I was nearly devoured by mosquitoes.

The Slave River

Fort Smith is not as different/alien as I first thought it might be. It is like many small towns I have seen or spent time in. One difference is that the level of services is significantly higher. The town of 2,500 people has a hospital and a college. Not exactly typical of an Ontario farm town. As I said I want to keep this short so I will hold off describing my job at this time. Until the next time.