Well, that was a long day.
It’s been a goal of mine for a while to make my way up to visit the other two Town and Country communities in this newspaper chain — Athabasca and Lac La Biche.
Having already worked in Westlock, and now here in Barrhead, those were the only two communities left to visit. So I took advantage of some nice weather this past Saturday, hopped in my little putt-putt and headed to the northeast.
Looking at a map, you get the impression that the end of my trip, Lac La Biche, is a healthy drive away from the friendly confines of Barrhead. And while that is true, it’s really not as far away as I thought.
I never thought a 222-kilometre trip would be as short as the journey felt. Then again, taking a break in Athabasca on both the outbound and inbound trips probably made the whole excursion feel shorter, as it was broken down into two parts.
So, I bet you’re asking why I wanted to visit Athabasca and Lac La Biche. And also why I chose this weekend to finally do it.
I’ll answer the first question first.
Having worked in Westlock and Barrhead for nearly 17 months now, we get copies of the Athabasca Advocate and Lac La Biche Post every week. And as I am wont to do, I browse through them and see what’s going on and who’s working in each of those communities.
From reading those papers, I’ve wondered what the towns are really like. Sure, seeing the towns through the photos the reporters take is one thing, but it’s something else entirely to see the places myself and walk up and down the main drags.
I have also been interested in meeting those reporters who put together those papers that mysteriously appear in our lobby every Tuesday. I read their bylines, and see their mugs in their papers’ mastheads, but until today they were nothing more than faces on newsprint.
That’s all changed now. I have now met the Post’s Andrew Whitson and Alina Smirnova, as well as the Advocate’s Tara Shapransky. It turns out Josh Marcellan at the Post is off on vacation, and I didn’t really have the time or initiative to track down the two Chamberlains at the Advocate — Bromley and Jason. But eventually I’ll find a way to meet them before either they leave their papers or I leave Barrhead.
Now, as for why I chose this particular weekend, there really wasn’t any rhyme or reason. It just seemed like something fun to do. I’ve been heading down to Edmonton a lot, so I figured there was no harm is going in the opposite direction for once.
You only live once, and short of a trip back to Meadow Lake, Sask. to scope out the site of my first post-graduation job, this was the next best and easiest trip I could think of.
Besides, it’s good to expand your horizons.
