Relocation, relocation

This is my first blog post from Saskatchewan!

A week ago today (March 15), Leanne and I boarded a plane in Fort Chipewyan, Alberta and flew off to our new home in Stony Rapids, Saskatchewan. We had been living in Fort Chip for the previous nine-and-a-half months working for the North West Company and were enjoying it there until a few weeks ago we got a call from the company’s HR manager informing us we were going to be transferred to another store in Stony Rapids.

It’s a smaller store, a smaller town, but also an opportunity to gain new experience and further ourselves within the company.

So, with some hesitation, we boarded our chartered Cessna 206 that day a week ago and flew off to a place we’d never been before.

Our pilot Trent inspects our plane to make sure we don't crash and die. Thanks Trent.

The Cessna 206 we flew on was named for a late pilot at McMurray Aviation.

Our last view of Fort Chipewyan… err, Allison Bay.

It turned out to be a great day for flying. With only a slight tailwind we had a smooth flight and arrived in Stony Rapids after about an hour and 15 minutes in the air.

After landing, we were picked up by our new store manager, Lynn, and given a brief tour of town – though she herself had only arrived there a few days before us.

Our new staff house in Stony Rapids. It's up on a hill just behind the store. It's affectionately known as "The Dollhouse" around town, because it's pretty small. Suits us just fine, though.

The morning commute…

Our new store. It's less than a quarter of the size of the one in Chip, but it's pretty well equipped, nonetheless.

The town itself is quite picturesque – well, maybe not so much right now as it’s we’re still in the throes of winter, but in the warmer months float planes land on the river right across from the store and the fishing is supposed to be very good.

Looking down the Fond-du-Lac River from the front of the store.

The famous rapids for which the town is named. Sure, it's not much to look at right now, but just imagine it in a few months with float planes, boats and lake trout jumping.

While Leanne and I are definitely missing the good friends we made in Fort Chip, we’re also enjoying ourselves so far here in Stony Rapids and looking forward to the future.

Another shot of the house in the evening.