Fort Smith here I come

Friday, July 6th, 2018

With my newly taped up suitcase, I arrive at Edmonton Airport and check in for my flight with Northwestern Air to Fort Smith. I have to check in the little one as well. There is no cost, unlike with Air Canada who have been charging extra for the first piece of luggage.

The flight is delayed, so I continue to wait patiently, still working a bit on my blog because the internet is pretty good.

At last, the flight gets called, and here is what awaits me on the tarmac. Isn't it just an absolute darling little thing? Amazing. The planes seem to be getting smaller.

Still, it is plenty big enough for the half dozen passengers and two crew. The co-pilot escorts us out,  settles everyone in  and gives the safety talk before climbing into the cockpit to do his main job.

There are lots of farms on the outskirts of Edmonton and the canola fields are just colouring up nicely. All that sunny yellow is always a cheerful sight.

A little farther along, I see these funny patterns. I have no idea what they are. I can't ask the steward as he is busy being the co-pilot.
Once we have reached altitude and the flight is progressing smoothly, the co-pilot scrambles out of the cockpit, retrieves bottles of water and muesli bars from a cooler box and quickly hands them out to his six passengers.

At Fort Smith Airport, I am met by Christine from the Whooping Crane Guest House. She brings me home, whips up a bit of late lunch and we settle for a chat and a coffee for a while. Christine is French and her husband Scottish.



After that, she shows me around town and takes me to pick up my hire truck. More cheerful yellow. And check out the sticker on the tail gate. Hilarious.

I soon venture into town in search of some dinner and afterwards take a drive towards the Slave River. The idea is to walk down to the rapids where the pelicans hang out. After a nice walk in the forest, I come to a sign pointing towards the rapids. To my horror, it is a very steep track. There are no other people around, so I think it would be foolish to attempt a descent.

Instead, I drive along to a lookout where I just manage to take a few photos before the storm catches up with me. It really buckets down as I drive back to the Guest House.

And so ends the day of my arrival in Fort Smith. I am once again a happy traveler.