Baltimore, MD--The last six days have been one long whirlwind journey. For the last week, I couldn't get the Canadian oil sands out of my head. It all started with a simple phone call about the future boom in Canadian sands.

Soon after that I had developed a full-blown obsession. I needed to see this with my own eyes.

The next thing I know, my buddy and I are screaming down the highway. Forty hours is a lot of time to be in a car, but stopping only for gas makes the time go by fast.

Sure, flying would have been quicker. But there's something special about driving across the country.

It's a sense of freedom I would never have gotten trying to put my tray in an upright position, listening to the person next to me drone on relentlessly about some mundane aspect of her life.

Time truly sped up. The three rivers near Pittsburgh flew by in seconds. The entire span of Ohio felt like a heartbeat. And Chicago was a tiny spot in my rearview mirror before I realized we had left Indiana and crossed into Illinois. Minnesota and Wisconsin were mere flashes.

In our tour of North Dakota, we started seeing something interesting. As we passed the vast crop fields, there was an unusual sight. Smack in the middle of the fields were oil rigs. I knew that we were driving over North Dakota's section of the Bakken play. But seeing individual farmers pumping oil and natural gas was new to me.

Before crossing the border into Canada, we made a quick stop at a local saloon in Portal, ND. I couldn't resist asking about the rigs we saw.

The farmers lease the drills and equipment from oil companies, and have been pumping oil and natural gas since the 1950's.

Most of my readers know how far downhill U.S. oil production has gone, and these farmers witness this decline every day. At the peak of production, many of the rigs dotting the landscape could pump out nearly 300 barrels per day.

Today, however, they're lucky to get 60 barrels a day. In fact, the majority of the rigs are now primarily there to pull out natural gas.

But I hadn't come this far to stop and smell the oil. At the border, the customs officer was surprised to see a Maryland license plate. But he was more concerned with our intentions. After all the questioning (which can be very frustrating, I might add), the guard finally lightened up.

"So you're headed to Fort Mac, eh?" That was the tenth time I was asked that question. But he continued without waiting for an answer, "I got a buddy down there now. That place is on the move. Every time I talk to him, he calls it the ‘Land of Opportunity.' Everybody's going crazy for the tar sands up there."

I couldn't argue. It was precisely the reason I was going.

We rolled through Canada in the middle of the night and finally reached our destination after forty-six continuous hours on the road. But the sight of Fort McMurray buzzing with activity gave me a rush of adrenaline.

The sun was just peeking over the mountains to the east. The first thing I noticed was the tremendous amount of construction. The huge mining properties were no more than a few kilometers north.

I couldn't help thinking that this is where the future of oil is. Some of the companies out here are revolutionizing the various extraction processes. This Thursday, I'm going show you the reason this boom won't slow. And if you think I'm excited, wait until you hear about what they have planned for the future.

Until next time,

Keith Kohl

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Who gives a s*** if they are east or west of where he was. Grow up, he was trying to relate a story.

Guys, Mr. Kohl corrected his 'mountains' comment in his next article... people make mistakes, give the guy a break and perhaps make a comment about the content of the article, which is excellent.

Please - Americans think badly enough of Canadian without you giving them wrong information. The mountains are to the west, not east, it is called oil sands not tar sands and the different Projects are not a few kilometers to the north.

This topic is going to be around for a very long time, so let's start out with correct info.

Thanks for letting me vent!

Regards,
Ronni

I am from Alberta, the nearest mountains east of Ft. Mac are about 3,000 miles. Please do a little more research & get your geography correct in order to make the story a little more believable.

Couple of things. There are no mountains east of Fort MacMurray, hills maybe, but not mountains.
Secondly you mention rolling through Canada at Night , maybe a teenie, tiny portion of it. What you rolled through was a part of Saskatchewan and Alberta. Canada is way bigger than that. Unfortunately, this type of journalism only promotes the image of Canada in American eyes as a bit of land north of the border. We are a larger country, your best trading partner and in my humble opinion, nice, friendly people. But even nice, friendly people eventually get tired of the treatment we get from you guys south of our border. Americans have no idea how dependent they are on Canada and maybe we need to close the taps for 6 months or so, so we'll get the respect we deserve.

You are a delight. I loved it.

Some say the oil sands play is over. Cost of nat gas. Cost of materials going up because of too much competition for same. Green Peace poised to blow the whistle on operations and the whole world will know. Companies pulling out.
Some say those things. You will tell us rightly?

Living in Alberta all my 65 years and working in the oil patch in northern Alberta.

What mouintains are you referring to.

The rocky mountain range in Canada is in the west as it is in the USA
also.

You must have been seeing a mirage.

The mountains are west of Ft Mac and you can't see them from there.
I know because I have been to Ft. Mac.

The sun was just peeking over the mountains to the east....last time I checked the sun still rises in the east, but there are no mountains east of Ft. McMurray.

I found it interesting that you said the Sun was coming up from the east over the mountains. There aren't any mountains east west north or south of Fort McMurray. So I question whether you were actually there.

I have lived in Ft.McMurray for over 20 yrs, and in Southern Alberta the remainder of my life.
I have been surrounded by pump jacks, drilling rigs and the tar sands environment all of my life.

First off , the farmers lease the use of their land for petroleum companies to extract the oil and gas, the farmers do not lease equipment from the oil companies.

There are no mountains anywhere near Ft.McMurray. Valley hillsides from the Athabasca River goughing its way through northern Alberta over the centuries past is about all.

Ft. McMurray is a dirty, busy, poorly managed, disorganised hole from hell. It is the ugly step sister, the mule of Alberta.

If you would like some honest insight to the oil sands history, future opportunities, infrastructure pitfalls, economic viability for the common man, or other economic issues within the Wood Buffalo region I would be willing oblige.

Keith,
On your trip you should have gone a few extra miles and hit eastern Mt and western ND and go a feel for the oil activity here.
Jay