Into the Wild

The next day I woke up in Golden. I was greeted by freezing cold weather for which I was not prepared . I had to pull out my winter jacket if I wanted to stay alive. Golden is a small town between British Columbia and Alberta, and the bus station was still closed. There was just a small shop and a restaurant open at the petrol station My bus was leaving in an hour and I had to huddle up in a corner with phone machines to get somehow out of sight from shop customers. I did not want to go to the restaurant. I tried to save much money as possible. Later I ended up there anyway. A nice waitress invited me to stay there and wait - and I did not need to purchase anything.
After that I came out to wait for my next bus. There was a guy standing at the bus station. We started chatting and continued for the whole way to Radium. He introduced himself as Danny. Working as a truck driver,.he was on his way to a little town, where he was to take his van and go back to his track.
People often say that Slovakians are very hospitable, but I cannot imagine anyone I know offering something like I got from Danny . I talked a while about my trip that I came to Alberta to take some nice hikes and to see beautiful landspace. We found out that we have very much in common. He offered to show me a beautiful hiking spot and then to take me back to Radium Of course, I keenly agreed. I knew that I was supposed to meet with Alexandra, a friend of mine who works in Radium, but this was a chance that could not be passed up and an offer that could not be refused. I called Alexandra and asked if it were possible to come in the evening. I like spontaneous decisions. I did not know where I was going and what I would be doing. My curiousity pushed me forward. Honestly, people would say that it might be dangerous to trust an unkown guy, but if someone is willing to spare his free time and show some places to another stranger whom he had never met before, I think that it is a proof of credibility itself.
We talked the whole way to a little town, then we changed our clothes and went for a hike. First, we saw some nice waterfalls and later we took a small tour to a hill where I could see the scenery of the Canadian wilderness. Weather was awesome. A river was glittering in the sunlight, evergreen pinies were stretching for miles all around and mountains behind created a picturesque background. It looked so glamorous even in the fall. I cannot imagine this during the spring or the summer when nature is booming.
Danny said that if we were lucky, we could see some bears fishing in the river. Although the fish season was over and there were no bears there, it was still interesting enough  I got my private guide who showed me places I would have never visited on my own - really unbelievable. After the hiking he invited me for a cup of hot chocolate - I think the best I have ever drunk. I wish I knew how to prepare it. I just love chocolate and there was nothing better to do as to to for a hot drink after several hours spent wading through melting snow. Sometimes I felt like Danny was reading my thoughts.
We started a conversation about Tim Horton‘s and Starbucks, trying to determine which one is better. I sid that I had never tried Tim Horton‘s, just Starbucks so I am not at liberty to say which one is better. I continued that in my opinion it is too expensive to pay so much for coffee and therefore I had not tried it. Of course it is not so expensive, but for a guy who tries to save every penny this is not a usual place to go. Later on the way back to Radium, we stopped at Tim Horton‘s and he bought a 20$ gift card for me with the words "now you can try it." I could not believe it. That was really so nice of him. I wish I could somehow express my thanks for everything he did for me for the whole day. He did not want even a penny for the rideshare, which took almost one and a half hour. He gave me some emergency numbers I should use when I am in troubles in Toronto and he called to a friend to see if it were possibe for him to show me around when I went there. That was really too much on me, I really did not want to bother someone else by asking for help, so in the end I did not call him that day. Anyway, I had to do it later, but that is another story. In short, I had an amazing day with a guy I barely knew. He wa the same nature as I and therefore I felt as if I had known him for long time before.
He gave me a ride to Radium where I met Alexandra. She had been expecting me for the whole day and I was a little sorry that I was changing my plans all the time. The last time that I had seen her had four months ago, when she went working at a resort. We had many things to say that evening and we finished off around 1am. It was then time to go to bed - there was another great day ahead us.