Josh's Alberta Adventure Begins!

Son #3, Josh, graduated from Gr.12 this past June.  He wasn't exactly sure what was next for him but he's well on his way to a new adventure!  He hasn't been able to access the internet at camp yet, so I said I would do a little update for him.  He did send a few photos via text message.

Grad 2012

It was a very quick decision....a friend of Vince's is a contractor that works with Flint Energy Services Ltd.  He was in need of a worker and Josh had already thought about 'going north' for work.  We had about 36 hours to get gear ready to go.  A one-way flight from Kelowna to Grande Prairie at 6am on Tuesday.  We said goodbye and 'be safe' as our youngest headed off to work on gas pipelines in the frosty winter of Rainbow Lake in north-western Alberta.

It has been quite the adventurous week!  Once he and his boss landed in Grande Prairie, they picked up a work truck that had been undergoing repairs and then began the drive to High Level where Josh would take his H2S course the next day. before going on to Rainbow Lake.  The truck died about 200km out of Grande Prairie...no heat in the truck and it was about -38C that night.  Took the first hotel they could find in Grimshaw and slept there that night.  Josh's course was rescheduled for Friday so they picked up a different truck and made it to Rainbow Lake on Wednesday night.  Yesterday Josh underwent his orientation, got 100% on various safety quizzes and received his work gear....insulated coveralls, fire-retardent vest, gloves, hardhat, safety glasses.  All set to go!

Today he was driven back to High Level where he took the H2S course and got a perfect 100%.  Safety is number one for these types of jobs so that's a good thing!  Real work starts tomorrow....most days will be 7am to 7pm, for about 21 days straight.  Then he'll come home for a week, and then back again for another 3 weeks.  Repeat until April.  This is such a great experience and opportunity for him.  It's a bit of a shock for him....I don't think he's ever been away from home before, but he's doing great so far!


Today was a balmy -20C.  Tomorrow should be -19C with some snow.  A little warmer with sunshine next week.  At least the -40C temps are gone for a while!

On the flight to Calgary Alberta....Rocky Mountains

Somewhere near Grimshaw.....yes, it looks COLD!

Watching TV in his camp room....

Good luck tomorrow Josh!  Work hard and be safe....and warm!