Mr. Harper said that the Rockies were beautiful and all, but that nature tended to be overrated, and that he and Mr. Dion were off to a new, all-inclusive resort near Fort McMurray called Alberta Oil Sands Land. Mr. Dion said that Alberta Oil Sands Land was supposed to be better than Wonderland in Ontario or Disney Land in California and more exciting than the West Edmonton Mall.

I have to admit that the place did sound tempting.

Well, the beach area next to the ponds was pretty crowded, but it didn’t take me long to find Mr. Harper and Mr. Dion. Mr. Harper had bought a pair of high-top rubber boots from the Protective Clothing concession so he could dangle his feet in the water without the risk of sores and lesions. Mr. Dion was building a large sand castle that looked a lot like Parliament, and he took the time to show me how the contaminated oil in the sand helped to hold the whole enterprise together.

Now my feet did get greasy, and I did wonder if this might be a health concern, but Mr. Harper said that you could get detoxifying sprays from the Ralph Klein vending machines and that the oil was actually good for your skin and helped to block the sun.

I should say that I was disappointed with all the “No Swimming” signs and the barbed wire.

| ¶ 6:48 p.m.