The night before my planned departure I got into a fight.
It was time to get out of Dodge.
So, the FaN was quickly hitched and I'm on the road at 7:30 pm. It will be dark in an hour. I have never trailered past twilight. Navigating the Rockies in the middle of the night will be one 'ell of an initiation, but it's time to really "Fly at Night."
Forty-five minutes later, the mountains loom in the windscreen. Traffic is light. I zoom through Canmore and am soon in Banff National Park. Anticipating another highway possee of RCMP, I stay below the speed limit, but I do not see one patrol car. It is now dark. Really dark. The mountains curtain the higway - shutting out the moonlight and stars.
I accelerate. The smooth four-lane highway is a good place to make time, and am soon out of the park. But where are the truckers? There are a handful of passenger vehicles, but no eighteen wheelers. This could be a good drive because the nice wide highway will soon narrow into two lanes, and I won't have to worry about finding a place to pull over to let the truckers and their precious cargo pass. Maybe I can relax a bit.
However, I soon spot the truckers. No less than ten are parked at a brake check and weigh station a few miles after leaving the park boundary. They will soon catch up.
Ten minutes later the glare of the first eighteen wheeler sweeps into the side-view mirrors. I start to pull over onto the shoulder, but this guy is in a hurry. He passes me on the double-solid line. No sooner do I get back into the narrow single lane of traffic when a Kenworth roars up behind me. I pull over onto the shoulder and he screams by. Then another one...and another one. However, unlike the day truckers, they do not express their appreciation with a toot of the horn or a flashing of lights. I realize I have entered the dark side. They have no time for a woman and her fancy-schmancy Airstream.
This is
their territory. They drive by night and I am not wanted.
The road ahead becomes darker and lonelier.....
They Drive by Night - Trailer - YouTube