On the Road Again (finally) part 7

I slept well that night in Golden and I was up and ready to roll by just before 7:00. As there was no one around I left, without goodbys or any fuss. It was quite frankly, as if I had never been there.

It is about a 20-25 minute walk to the west end of town. There were not a lot of cars on the road but I was, as always hoping to be the early bird getting that lonely worm. It was cold and very foggy. I don't think I have ever seen so much fog in this area before. I stopped at the Subway just before the lights and had a breakfast sub. Not the worse meal I have ever had, but close. However it was cheap, and it meant that I could eat it on the side of the road. Just in case someone wanted to stop. It was a long 45-50 minutes (which shows how spoiled I was becoming). Occasionally  the strong wind would blow the fog away and I could see some blue sky and once for about 10 minutes I could see the majesty of the Rockies. How could one not be excited about being there?

A truck stopped. It was my first ride with a trucker in 2 years and I was pleased. It had felt as if I would never get another ride with one. I didn't get his name, or if I did - I don't remember it, but he was an oldtimer. He had been driving trucks all of his life, it was all that he knew and all that he thought he could do. I love truckers and their trucks and I am always grateful when they pick me up. However of all of the places to pick me up, the Rockies are my least favourite. Trucks are slow going through the hills. On the Prairies they are great, there are no hills to slow them down, but in mountains not only are there lots of up and down sections but there are also all of the tourist who, according to my various truck drivers, including this one, do not know how to drive.

The conversation for much of the trip to Kelona initially covered the usually topics- which trucks are best (according to my driver Volvo trucks are the worst and their drivers only brag about them because they are so embarrassed about being seen in one) the cost of fuel or rather how little they get for the taxes they pay, how vital the trucking industry is for Canada's economy, how unfair it is that the railroads are subsidized and truckers aren't and fairly continually - how bad the drivers are in front of them. While I am never sure is all of their facts are right - there is no doubt that many of the drivers on the road do not have a clue how to behave around trucks.

But my this driver also had some other stories that were well worth listening to. He had been married more than once, but for the last 10-15 years he had been living with a woman from and living in a First Nations community.She  had two sons from another relationship and he had accepted responsibility for raising them as his sons. His wife was an alcoholic and both sons had alcohol and drug addictions. It was hard to sit there and listen to his tales without feeling a sense of rage and frustration that this man who had tried so hard to be honourable, seemed to have been given such a heavy load to bear. On the other hand it was somewhat comforting to know that there were honourable men out there who do not run away from their assumed responsibilities.

He gave me a number of choices as to where to be let off. I chose just south of Kelona on the Coquihalla highway. He gave me two bottles of water for which I was grateful as it had gotten hot in the Okanagan Valley.

On the Road Again (intermission #3)

Strange being at the hostel. My room of 6 bunks seems to be one where people are only staying 1 night and therefore there are not a lot of conversations happening. The hostel is fairly full but the level of energy is down from other years.

I think it is because of the number of people using their own computers. Really hard to talk to someone when they are plugged into their machines.

There are three young ladies in my room,Two have huge wheeled suitcases. One of them is a very small person and I suspect that she could quite easily fit into her bag. Another young lady is from Switzerland - she is hanging around for a few days and we have had a few brief conversations, nothing substantial but is is nice to have someone to say good morning to.

Great weather - hot and sunny. Had to buy a straw hat as my dark brown drizabone travelling hat is a bit too hot to wear in the sun. It is a good hat, seems to have brought me luck on the road but it is not really useful in the city.

Had a great supper and walk about the town yesterday with a dear friend and I am having drinks this afternoon with an other. Glad I cam down.

On the Road Again (finally) part 6

It felt good to know that I had gotten through Calgary relatively easily. As I walked up the highway towards Canmore - which was no more than a 20 minute hike up hill, I occasionally turned around and stuck my thumb out. Much to my surprise I got a ride fairly quickly, well before I reached the spot where I felt that I was outside of the city limits.

Peter was just going to Kanaskis  (sp)- which is not that far but it was a good start. He was from the Newfoundland- but he had virtually no accent. He said it came out after a few beers. He was a plumber and loving living in the area. He was a snow boarder so working in the Foothills was just an excuse to enjoy the snow.

He let me out and I assumed - in my new found optimism - that I would get a ride quickly. I was in the Rockies after all with lots of young people well immersed in the culture of picking up hitchhikers. I was wrong. I was in that spot for well over 1 1/2 hours. And it was windy. I gave up wearing my hat. The wind blew so hard that my chin strap was almost strangling me! I had on a un-done short sleeve shirt and a tee shirt underneath it on and the wind kept on trying to take the shirt of off my back. When I truck went by, I literally was almost blown over. It was not fun. In spite of the sun being out most of the time it was cold.

Finally Guy, a lawyer picked me up and drove me to Golden which far exceeded my expections. I would have been happy getting to Canmore. In fact  I was sort of looking forward to stopping there at the new hostel and having the best veggie burger in Canada at a little restaurant that I had found a few years back.

But I was not complaining. We had a great conversation - again it was about politics and the lack of civic engagement of young people. Again I defend the youth. We also had a long talk about what made a good leader aand used his critia to talk a bit Canadian prime ministers. It was fun. Guy had spent his professional life being an advocate, he had protested in the late 60s and while he thought it was useful and productive he decided to grow up and do something useful. Like others who have picked me up, Guy, I think, had a need to defend his past and to prove that he had not really changed. I think it is my appearance that brings out this defensiveness. Which is strange as I have live a relatively conservative life.

Got the hostel in Golden which had lots of beds available. It is a really poorly run hostel - it is clean etc but the hosts do nothing to make one feel welcome. I think it is used mainly for winter sports and therefore they doo not really work at being the place to be in the summer. There is another hostel in Golden. Next tie I might staty there. On the other hand, this one is convenient and the beds are really great. I changed into my sandals and cross the CPR tracks to find a beer and something to eat. I felt as if I had earned it. Although in fact I had not worked hard at all.

Just after I got there, a couple drove up in a Corvette and registered.  It seemed somewhat wrong that folks in a corvette would stay in a hostel. They had a private room so I did not see much of them.I would have asked for a ride except there clearly was not room for me in their two seater

On the road again (intermission #2)

Sometimes we make bad decisions. I got a ride into Duncan to catch the 2:35 bus. I should have hitched into Victoria as the bus schedule had been changed and didn't leave until 3:50....then it was 35 miutes late. I could have been in Victoria by then.

Feeling kind of dumb. It was a beuatiful day and the 60 minute drive into the city should have been a easy hitch. Where was my brain?

oh well - I am at the hostel now and all is well

On the road again (finally) part 5

When standing on the road on the outskirts of Medicine Hat there were literally 100s of cars zooming by me every few minutes. The other side of Brooks there were perhaps 3-4 cars passing me by ever 10 minutes. It is part of the frustration of hitchhiking that one never knows (until a car stops) where all of the cars are going. If the majority are only going 10 minutes down the road, then it is understandable why most don't stop. But one never knows.

The mosquitoes were surprisingly bad at this intersection. Tiny little things -hardly worth mentioning except two had the gall to bite me! I was quite delighted when a another van stopped to pick me up after being there for less than 1/2 an hour. My driver was unusual in that he was Asian. I have talked to Asians in the past as to why one never sees an Asian hitchhike. One answer is that it is so foreign to their culture. To hitchhike would suggest that the person was too poor to travel any other way. Not too sure how true this is and when I mentioned it to my driver he was rather non-committal.

My driver was off to Calgary and would get me near a C train station. I was delighted. He ran his own company selling kits for solar water heaters. This is impressive for a couple of reasons.   Medicine Hat is the sunniest city in Canada (not the warmest- just the most days of sun per year) and therefore would seem to be a good location for a solar business - however,  it is self labeled as the natural gas capital of Canada. A city that is built upon the natural gas industry and therefore is committed to the logic that the availability of natural gas is unlimited. It would seem as if solar power would be a hard sell. And according to my driver it was. He had only been doing it for a year and business was still pretty slow. I admired his courage. It was one more bit of proof for me that we need immigrants for their innovation and desire to be successful.

He was surprised that I knew so much about solar and other types of alternative energy. I suspect that he had not meet many people in the west who could talk about it.

It was a short drive but enjoyable. We stopped for a bathroom break at a small little park just outside of Calgary. It was the same one that a trucker had stopped at a few years ago for a few hours of sleep.Because we had arrived in the dark that time I was never too sure where it was. It was nice to see it in the daylight. It is a delightful little place and so well hidden. It is almost as if they don't want anyone to use it.

One of the things that I learned as we approached Calgary  is that it now has an almost completed ring road. Of course the city is expanding so much that the road will be soon encompassed by houses, but at least now folks are who are going further west do not have to drive through rush hour traffic. Mt driver was gracious enough to go out of his way and get me to the train station. A nice man and I wish his business well. By 12:35 I was at the C train station

In the past I may have maligned Calgary bus drivers for being the worst in Canada in terms of being both unfriendly and unhelpful. I think I have been unkind. I was asking the wrong question. Looking like I look with my pack on my back, I assumed that by asking for the west end of town it should have been evident what I wanted. It wasn't and I have spent hours wandering the city, walking far too much trying to get to the Trans-Canada. All I needed to do is ask to go to Olympic Park - and they get me to when I want to go without fuss. The Calgary transit system is clean, efficient and generally seems to run on the honour system. I did buy a ticket at a machine but no one ever asked to see it. As well, in spite of the fact that the city is built for cars - pedestrians are well looked after in terms of safety - although sometimes climbing the stairs over the tracks and road ways can be a bit tiring.