L'appétit vient en faisant la queue.
Llya ILF


Day 20

am

pm (Cool am and Hot pm)

Rides = 2
Arrival = Golden
KM travelled = 129
$ spent = $8.00 (Food, camping fee)
Time passed on the road = 10 am - 2 pm
km walked = 3


The line up in Banff - I am the second one in line.

This was the longest wait ever. I have waited about 2 hours to move from here. Soon I will be at the front of the line. I guess the difference is that being in a line takes out the option of walking away. One has to stick to his or her place. It is like looking at a kettle boiling, a slow process of evolution. I was fidgeting.

Eventually, when I took my place in the front of the line, an older couple stopped for me. They were going to Banff. Again I was in the back seat with my nose on the side window like a grandchild. This time I was totally marvelled by the monstrous beauty of the mountains. There was still snow on the peaks.

I thought of staying in Banff for a day or two but I found the whole place way too commercial. Money seemed to be the main concern, the raison d'être of this town. So I walked out to the highway. There was already somebody ahead of me but within 15 minutes, we were 12 hitchhikers in the line! This was not my day. People were getting picked up behind me at a quick pace. At some point I even had an argument with 4 French hitchhikers. Everybody was tense. The mountains were casting enormous shadows that were moving slowly toward us. Eventually we were all enveloped under the same darkness. After 4 hours on this piece of road, I finally got a lift. The car that stopped almost ran me over. I was soon to realize that Frank, the driver, was not very skilled behind the wheel. Maybe it was because he was more interested with his CB radio than the asphalt under the car. Anyway, this 4 hour wait broke my earlier record which ironically was established this morning... but it did not matter, I was very happy to be going forward.

Frank and his wife Linda were going to Vancouver. So, if we were not going to fall into one of the numerous cliffs in the Rockies, or hit a bear, I should be permitted to see the Pacific Ocean by tomorrow evening.



-Daniel





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