See Ya Guys... ( Update)

[matt_aid]

So last Thursday I made a last minute decision to leave Ottawa for the wild West.  I'm moving out to Calgary.

I'm leaving tomorrow morning at 5 am and driving all the way to and stopping for the night in Hearst.  I'm staying at a friends house, he's moose hunting right and has no idea I'm stopping by. I leave from Hearst either Thursday or Friday and spend the weekend at my brothers in Thunder Bay.  

From there I'll be stopping in Shilo, Manitoba for the night (right on the base!!!!).  Thankfully my friend was posted there for 3 years and is helping me out by calling some friends and finding me a cot to sleep on.      

I leave the fallowing morning from Shilo and drive as far as I can before getting too tired.  I'm thinking somewhere right inside Alberta or before leaving Saskatchewan.   Then do the daytime drive from the Alberta/Saskatchewan border all the way to Calgary.  I'm doing that so I can see the Rockies as I'm driving in.  No sense doing it at night...!

I'm going there for work.  I don't have a job or somebody waiting for me over there.  Just my diploma, a pocket full of cash and my car full of sh!t.

First thing I plan on doing once I arrive in Calgary?  ....................  Driving straight to Banff-Lake Louise!!!!!!   Then go back to Calgary and find a hotel for couple nights and look for an apartment.

This is a big change for me in my life.  Hope it works out.    Have a great one Team Ontario!!!!

[something smells fishy]

best of luck , safe drive.

[matt_aid]

Thanks fishy!!

[big-brother]

Good luck in your future endeavours.Moving across the country to Alta. especially without a confirmed job at the other end would scare the Chit out of me.It's something that i probably wouldn't have the balls to do.Hope things work out well.

[matt_aid]

I don't know many people that have done it without a confirmed job or living arrangements, but those who have, have never come back.....


take care Ontario, leaving in the AM!

[bucketmouth]

Good luck to you Matt!  Let us know how the fishing is dude 

Don

[matt_aid]

Sh!t what long drive.  or should i say boring drive!!!


After stoping in Hearst for the night i drove straight to Thunder Bay for a couple days.  Then drove straight to Yorkton, Sask, spent the night, then i was off straight from Yorkton to Edmonton.


I finally made it to Edmonton early this afternoon. 


Man i'm wiped.  the cool thing about driving out here was that as i past North Bay, i got a call and i have a job interview on monday in Slave Lake, Alberta.

Fricking sweet!!! 


I'll keep you guys updated!!!



hey Bucketmouth i heard rumors of Artic Grayling in some of the rivers around where i'm going....nothing yet as of ice fishing, but grayling in the spring.....ooooooh i can't wait!!!

[icejunky]

congrats Matt, glad to hear you made it safe and sound..good luck at the interview

[matt_aid]

well the interview went great!!!  i was in there for about 45 minutes.  now they told me it's going to take close to a week for them to let me know. so i'm heading off to Jasper for 3 days then off to Calgary to look for work.

Just to let you guys know........


There's a lake up here in Slave Lake, Alberta called Mitsue Lake and she's frozen from one side to the other!!!!!  the lake is about 3 km's wide and 4 km's long so not a small lake......  winter is here for me, time to get a new auger as the ice gets anywhere from 4-6 feet thick here!!!


off to Jasper!!!  will post some pictures tonight or tomorrow.

[matt_aid]

[something smells fishy]

good to hear, way to put it all on the  line and kick the door of opprunity down  more people should follow your lead. best of luck  on the hard stuff

[matt_aid]

again thanks fishy!

Yeah i'm really excited for this.  it's a great opportunity!


the only thing that i'm scared of is the fact that people keep on telling me that the ice gets over 5 feet thick most years......


Well i worked hard for this.  and it's proof that anybody can do anything if they put effort into it.

First day of work tomorrow. moving in on Monday to the new place.  Time to go and buy furniture.  i own a house, but i don't own a bed??

Thank god for my Therm-a-rest!

[johnnyb]

I just read this whole thread now....way to go man!! Looks like an amazing life change for you...I guess I'll be checking the Alberta section this winter for your reports now

[matt_aid]

Here's what i call home.  Sure it's not the prettiest of homes, but it's mine!!!   I'm a first time buyer so for me it's more then enough!!



yes i own a house with a ghost door.

i also got two sheds in the back, one's going to be for the Sled i'm getting in the next month!!!


Man I love I what I do!


Thanks all for the positive notes!

I'm offering my place and pick up from the airport in Edmonton if anybodoy wants to get some ice fishing done in Alberta, i'll gladly take any of you in for a weekend and put you onto fish (hopefully).  Friends helping Friends, what it's about!

[matt_aid]

Well it's been days since my last update.



And sh!t, lots has happened since then.


1-My car broke down, stalled and then drove like it was mis-fireing, so i pulled over, popped the hood, check my fluid levels, all good, then proceeded to check spark plugs, took out some tools, they were still arcing, but looked a little rounded...  


So I took it into a shop, big mistake....but you gotta do what you gotta do though, i'm no mechanic, understand how a car works,and all the parts but again i wasn't ready to screw around with my car.  In northern Alberta!  

The tech checked the codes and he said a bunch came up, ie; cat, fuel...so first thing he did was to take out the cat and put a straight pipe.  so later on that day i picked up my car from the garage paid them the 130$ yeah 100$ an hour up here.

The tech said that i should get a tune up.  ei, new plugs, fuel filter, distributor cap, rotor. long story short- parts were going to be 400$ plus 2.6 hours at 100$ an hour.  and the parts were coming from Edmonton, guy said two weeks....it's  a three hour drive!!!!  and he says two weeks.


so i paid the man, got in my car and left and it was still doing the same crap.  so that previous job he did was for nothing.  he had to rule it out. but man.....  


so now i'm stuck here with a car that isn't safe....and a bill coming out of my ying yang.   (note-  i'm broke, i moved here with nothing, i'm getting paid in two weeks. )  so i call up the mazda dealership back in Ottawa, talk to the parts manager, and bang shipped to my place up here 200$  in 1 week.  

so now we're talking.  but one week, and that doesn't even garanty to fix my car.  so i made the phone call back home.  and long story short i'm getting a new car on monday!


2-  i caught a grayling!!! 11 inches, not huge, but i was fishing for walleye!!

3 days ago i finaly had time to go to the Canadian tire and pick up my fishing permit and go fishing.  

So from shore this is what i caught in 3 days of fishing.

day 1-  couple walleye, couple jack, and a ling.

day 2- Lunch break fishing, 1 hr.  12 walleye, over 2 pounds each., 5 pike, nothing huge, and a ling.  just great fishing in one hour.

day 3, today.  spent the whole day on the river.  and it was worth it.  Though the fishing wasn't as good as yesterday, but i caught my first Arctic Grayling. I thought it was a small walleye, until i saw the dorsal fin!!! gorgeous fish!

  No camera of the fish i caught today.  



3-  I'm getting a new skidoo, nothing fancy, but new.

Tundra 300. like i said nothing fancy, but for 7000$ taxes in. i can't go wrong.


sorry for the long read.  

[topher7694]

nothing wrong with a long read....Its good to hear that things are looking up for you !! Keep your chin up and have faith...

[TGF]

Well you almost made it out to Gods country, should have went past those mountains   
Welcome to the wild west. Put lots of cord on your weed wacker.....your gonna need it.