I was at the gas pumps one day and while my hard earned cash was flowing into my fuel tank, I found myself admiring the motorcycle at the adjacent pump.

Behind the seat there was a sleeping bag, a tent and a duffel bag attached to a rack with an intricate web of bungie cords and no doubt the saddle bags were full.

The owner came out and I noticed he had on some very serious leathers and Dayton boots.

As he pulled on his gloves he nodded and I said, 鈥淟ooks like you鈥檙e leaving town.鈥� He smiled and said he was headed for Newfoundland.

It seems his job in the gas fields north of Fort St. John had dried up, so he traded his 4x4 for this sport touring bike and came home to gather his things before heading east.

He had no plan, no GPS.

He had no reservations at campsites or motels. He had no estimated time of arrival or date of return.

He was simply driving across Canada. He shared, 鈥淚鈥檓 watching for the breaks in the clouds and following the sunshine across the country.鈥� What an adventurous quote.

I wished him luck as he fastened his helmet and gave him a wave as he pulled out on to the highway.

Driving home, I recalled those footloose and fancy free days.

I remembered being 21 when my buddy Fred bought a brand new Plymouth Barracuda and we decided to drive it to Tijuana and back, just because we could. No route planning, no reservations just threw some clothes in the trunk, turned on the tunes and headed south.

Another time my buddy Mike and I went camping but didn鈥檛 know where we were going.

We ended up in Banff and then camped wherever on our way back. Lots of adventures on both trips but we all survived the accidents and incidents and getting lost but, most of all, finding our way.

My dad used to read all the Louis L鈥橝mour western novels and I never saw the connection until I read one myself. For a man with six kids who drove truck all day and came home to his farm, I could see the attraction of a lone character tying his horse to a tree branch, bedding down beside a campfire under the stars on the wide open prairies.

L鈥橝mour鈥檚 characters didn鈥檛 have mortgages or utility bills or kids with dentist appointments and school expenses. I realized that dad slipped into the pages of those books and mounted up beside the gunslingers or the Texas Rangers and rode off into the sunset.

At a recent car show there was a 1972 Econoline van for sale. It was what we used to call a 鈥榮haggin wagon.鈥� Fridge, stove, bed, low mileage and low price.

I looked at that thinking, 鈥淚鈥檒l bet I could get to Newfoundland and back in that with no problem.鈥�

Once in a while, you have to escape. At least that鈥檚 what McGregor says