When I sit back and reflect, now almost three weeks since my
brief hitchhiking trip, I still marvel how far one person can travel in a day
if the hitchhiking Gods are kind. As I got into what would be my last ride of
the day, my new driver said that he was going all the way to Calgary and I was
excited. I knew I would be getting into that city very late, and at the back of
my mind was the slight worry about where I was going to sleep. But sleeping was
six or seven hours away and I was ready for another ride where my primary
function was to keep my driver awake.
My driver was driving a large pick-up truck. While at other
times, some drivers makes an attempt to
clear of a seat for my pack, there was far too much stuff this time so I threw
my pack in the back, hoping that I would be able to fish it out when the ride
was finished. In some of the newer trucks with the slightly over sized tires it
is a long reach down into the bed to grab the pack. As I age and lose a bit of
flexibility, it is getting more and more difficult for me to get the pack out. Normally
if I have a choice, I prefer to have the pack in the vehicle where I can see
it. I am not afraid of the pack flying out of the truck, nor was I afraid of
any rain - I just like to be able to see my pack.
My driver was from Transylvania. It was really hard to
resist all of the silly vampire jokes that flitted into my mind. However the
only time we talked at all about that country was when I asked what language
they spoke (answer was Romanian).
It was a quiet conversation, with short spells of nothing
being said. Those intermissions were not because we had disagreed or because
there was nothing left to talk about, they were just quiet times of relaxing
and enjoying the drive. Unlike my first drive of the trip, we made no attempt
to discuss how to change the world or even to find a bridge between our two
different cultures. At the end of the trip, neither of us knew that much more
about each either than when we started out together. We talked about the usual
things that strangers do, but for some reason we never got much past that.
Maybe it was because it had already been a long day for me, or that I was not
as skilled/pushy at prying as at other times- but our conversation while
enjoyable and it certainly filled the six or seven hours we spent together -
was superficial.
We got into Calgary about 3:00 in the morning. What does one
do at 3:00 AM in any city? We had talked about it a few times and I had discussed
my various options - sleeping outside, getting a motel, finding a hostel - but
all of the choices seemed like more work than I wanted to do. All of the
choices would have delayed the next day's start. I asked my driver to drop me
off at a 24 hour Tim Horton's. He thought he knew where there was a 24 hour McDonald's
that was right near a C train station. The plan evolved without me doing any thinking
or planning. I would spend an hour or so at McDonald's, use the bathroom, buy
some tea and then get on the train that hopefully would connect me to the bus
heading out towards the Calgary Olympic Park. From there I would start on the
last leg of my trip to the Pacific Ocean.
The weather in Calgary was a lot colder than it had been in Regina
just half a day before. It was cold enough that I put on my fleece and just wet
enough to put on my rain jacket. Across the street from the McDonald's there
was some major construction occurring - the workers being in a rush to complete
the night's work before rush hour started. Using the restaurant were a number
of the road crew, a bored police officer who had spent the night in her car,
with the lights flashing, making sure that drivers in the area were aware that
there were some big trucks etc on the road, and a couple of young people who
appeared to have spent at least part of the night there. I didn't feel out of
place or unwanted. In fact no one paid me any attention.
I did speak to one gentleman who knew the area well. He both
confirmed where the C train station was and wished me good luck.
At 4:30 I walked to the nearest station, spent 10 minutes
reading the map to figure out which train to take and half an hour later I was
in downtown Calgary.
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