Hitching Part 2

Edmonton was out of the way but I really wanted to stop in. I used to live there and a friend was nice enough to put us up for a couple of days. We were dropped off at Canada's largest shopping centre, West Edmonton Mall. If you've never been its worth going just to see its outrageous size and attractions. These attractions include a skating rink, water park, pirate ship, aquarium, theme park, arcade, movie theatre with fire breathing dragon and more. It also has more than 800 shops and services. I've never been much for shopping though so we grabbed a sandwich and headed for the bus.

The next morning I stopped in at one of Edmonton's hidden gems, Bedrock Supply. Its a massive hobby shop dealing in everything from lapidary equipment and gemstones, to metalsmithing, lampworking, fibre art, and more. It also has a studio available and I was there to make use of their silversmithing equipment. Their studio is so well equipped and organized and studio time is only $10.00/hour. They have a wide variety of tools and resources so the options are endless. I made a simple little silver ring that I have worn every day since.

That evening I gave Seaghan my tour of Edmonton. We left some time after 10:00pm towards downtown and the beautiful Alberta Legislature. In front of the Leg is a large fountain that beautifully reflects the fascade of the building. The water is about knee deep and although signs indicate no swimming security never stops anyone. After wading in the fountain for a while, we walked over to the high level bridge. At night it has the most spectacular view of downtown Edmonton. From there it was off to Whyte Ave for a late night donair at Mike's. My time in Edmonton was short but sweet.

Pro Tip: Edmonton is a great city to cycle in. The river valley has a long section of the Trans Canada Trail that is well maintained and winds along some cute bends and creeks. Edmonton Bicycle Commuters is a community bike shop that rents refurbished bicycles for only $20/day or $50/weekend.

Hitching in Alberta that afternoon was harder than anywhere else on the trip. We took public transit from Whyte Ave to a suburb called Sherwood Park. Public transit stops right near a Flying J truck stop. As we walked towards the highway we were stopped by an RCMP officer. Our hitching sign was clipped to the back of Seaghan's bag so we couldn't very well deny what we were doing. He warned us that the place we were headed for, North Battleford, was a rougher town. He checked our I.D.s, asked where we came from and sent us on our way. Hitching is illegal but there wasn't much he could do about it. Just be honest and straight forward.

We were picked up by a wonderful older couple that took us as far as Vegreville, a Ukrainian town with the world's largest pysanka (Ukrainian Easter Egg). They took us out of their way just to show us the egg. They took pictures for us and even tried to get us another ride. They said they picked us up because we looked like good kids and it could be their kids on the road. They were sweet. They left us in a good spot and another ride took us an hour down the road to the middle of nowhere.

No trees, no houses. Just prairie. And there we sat. It was getting late. If we didn't get picked up soon we would have to camp in the ditch with the vicious mosquitos and no buffer from the sounds of the highway. After an hour and a half, on little car stopped to pick us up. Thank god!

Overjoyed, I ran to the window. I asked them where they were headed. They were headed as far as Regina and could drop us off wherever we liked. I ran back, ecstatic, to grab my pack and give Seaghan the good news. As I went to grab my pack, he says to me, “I don't even care that they're naked”. It took a minute for what just said to register. “What?” I asked. “I don't even care that they're naked” he repeated. I had gone up to the window and talked to them and hadn't even noticed. I was just so relieved that someone wanted to pick us up. They, put on clothes, made room for us in their car and took us all the way to an information pull out just outside Regina. Turns out there's some sort of nudist retreat in rural Alberta and they were just coming back from vacation. The guy driving smoked so much pot. At least twice an hour the whole way. But, they got us there in one piece and that's all that matters.

We rolled into the information pull out just after midnight. There were no trees, no shelter, no bathroom and no trash can. There was litter everywhere. It was a dump. We camped there anyway and our tent blended with the prairie grass very well. When we awoke the next morning, we were in good spirits. We were only 30 minutes from downtown Regina and the weather was great. There was a truck pulled in when we got up. We ate our breakfast and did our thing for a bit. The driver fussed under the truck. As we started to pack, he asked Seaghan if we needed a ride into town. We accepted his ride but were both uncomfortable. The guy seemed sketchy. Almost absent. He spoke low and mumbled a lot. He looked tired and sweaty.

We got in but both sat in the back of the cab. My mandolin case was sat on my lap, pocket open, with my little swiss army knife tucked just inside. I felt uncomfortable but I wasn't alone and we only had to make a 30 minute trip. I tried to relax but just as we pulled out he stopped, he opened the centre console to his right and started fussing with something. I couldn't see what. He put the console back down, started to drive away and proceeded to snort coke. He asked if we would mind and I replied “Are you sure you're going to be ok to drive?”. We probably should have gotten out of the vehicle then but we didn't. He snorted again and drove us to town. I was so glad when he dropped us off. I had become so trusting of people on the trip and that ride served as a harsh reminder that not everyone is stable. Always stay on your guard. Luckily things got easier from there.

Check back tomorrow for Hitching Part 3 which includes our time at the Trout Forest Music Festival!