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FIRST AID ATTENDANT IN
BRITISH COLUMBIA
SEPT. 30th, 2006 – DAY 535 |
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First snow |
the first snow
On September 15, 2006, we taste
the first snowflakes that are accumulating on the ground to form
winter’s first white coat. Here, on the 55th parallel, it’s as
if Mother Nature had forgotten a season. Hey ho! Ma’am, what did
you do with autumn? In two days only, we passed from 24°C to the
freezing point. Nights are getting longer and longer. Wow!
Winter is already making its way. |
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We are located
right in the heart of the forest, kilometres from the closest
city. What attracts us in this Nordic region? Well… it’s work.
Since mid-June, we work as rescuers on oil drilling sites. It’s
a job that pleases us, but it isolates us from the rest of the
world. Here’s a page of our dairy which tells you about moments
lived in the middle of this wild nature, disturbed by oil
exploitation. |
A woods reindeer |
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Oilfield |
on the oilfield
On call 24h / 24h, we always remain on the field where we stay
most of the time in our rustic mobile home. The electricity,
provided by three big generators, is principally used to power
the drilling field, where dozens of men endeavour each day
digging a hole 4,5 meters deep. Drinking water is delivered each
three days by tank truck. The two hours separating us from the
closest hospital can become a stress factor for us. Fortunately,
emergency cases requiring fast transportation towards
specialized cares are rare. |
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If
one of these cases should happen, the patient would be
transported by helicopter to Fort St. John’s Hospital in
order to save precious minutes. Until today, we only had
to deal with minor injuries, like strained ankles or
cracked ribs. One case only needed an evacuation by
ambulance; when a man, in a wood cutting field, received
a block right in the stomach.
Men at Work |
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Internet
access and television via satellite embellishes our conditions.
We take advantage of that time to abandon ourselves to our
favourite hobbies. Caroline takes a university class by distance
about the biology of behaviour, while Patrick improves his
photographical technique. We also start planning the next step
of our adventure, Africa. We plan on teaching French, Sciences
and Photography to children in Senegal and on the island of
Madagascar. That continent is still a big mystery to us, and we
are extremely impatient to go in search of it. |
Patrick in his camp |
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Patrick and Caroline |
a little rest
At the moment of our
last days off, we went wandering along Alaska’s highway, up to
200km from Yukon. A safari of 1600 km, lasting 3 days, during
which we observed around thirty reindeers, about fifty
buffaloes, mountain goats, moose, black bears, wapitis, and a
dozen of deers. This part of the country is hardly populated.
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As soon as
possible, we gas up and make food provisions because it’s not
rare to see closed restaurants and service stations on our way.
We stop on the side of the road to bathe in hot springs in Liard
River’s Provincial Park. The basin is at 49°C. People come here
all year round to have a dip. It’s the spot the most up North
that we ever set foot on. |
Northern lights |
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And after work?
Meeting up with our
families for Christmas is a step that always makes us very impatient.
We plan on staying a month in Quebec before leaving at the end
of January 2007 for a year in Africa. It will have been 9 months
without us seeing our families. |
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