Life is a Journey

I always knew through television that a network of roads and highways connects every city and town in North America. Many times when I was a teenager, in the heat of the summer, I had an urge to just go out into the greater world to visit someplace new.

Growing up in a small isolated community without a highway to the outside world was difficult. As a teenager, myself and my younger brothers had access to a half-ton truck but we never really had anywhere to go. On hot summer evenings, we drove aimlessly around in circles with our friends. We got to know every pothole, rut, rock, puddle and rough stretch of road that ran through town.

As soon as I got my driver's license, I felt like I had received a passport to the world. Travel was possible as long as I managed to make it off the Rez and into a southern community with a highway nearby. Whenever I get the chance to go down a stretch of Highway 11 in northern Ontario, I always think about the endless options for travel anywhere in North America. Merely the realization that I can get in my vehicle or on my motorcycle and head down the road to anywhere in North America still astonishes me. Now on hot summer evenings, I can feel the sense of relief and satisfaction in knowing that I can head out on that freedom road.

I keep telling my friends back home that travelling in Canada is so easy and well worth the effort. There is no great expense as hotels can be a bargain along the Trans Canada and if you want to cut costs you can always bring a tent. It helps to take a plug-in car cooler along so that you can save on meals also. We think nothing of paying large amounts for a trip to a foreign country, yet many of us rarely think of just driving down the road. In Canada, most people do a lot of driving anyway. Most of the things we need these days require us to commute from one end of town to another. On average, most car owners in a small city or town are spending quite a bit of time in their vehicles to get groceries, to get mail, go to the store or to deliver family members to a destination. Driving takes on a whole new dimension when you head out on a long road trip.

One of my favourite memories of the road is a trip I took out to the east coast with a friend of mine. Even though we drove through several days of rain and cool weather, I got the chance to see the St. Lawrence River and the small Quebecois towns on its southern coast. I was amazed and excited to pass into New Brunswick early one morning. We stopped at a small Native community in the northeast corner of the province where we visited with some people who sold fresh lobster. I have always imagined lobster to be very expensive and difficult to find. After a short conversation with some new friends I was happy to pay a few dollars for some freshly boiled lobster. I found myself sitting at a picnic table on a pebble beach eating fresh lobster, while I stared out into the ocean beside an open fire. Lobster never tasted any better.
One summer a few years ago, I rode my motorcycle to British Columbia. I sped through rainy weather throughout the Ontario leg of the trip. As soon as I passed into the Prairie Provinces, the sky seemed to open up and the sun came out. There are few greater highway moments than a drive on a motorcycle over miles and miles of prairie asphalt on a hot summer day. The ride seems infinite and it gets kind of meditative.

I felt a sense of wonder and awe when I saw the shadow of distant mountains on the horizon. I drove though Crow's Nest Pass in Alberta on my birthday and my arrival at the foot of the Rocky Mountains was the greatest present I have ever given myself. I spent some down time with the flu but once I got back on my feet, I spent several days exploring the winding and twisting mountain roads of the Finger Lakes region of British Columbia.

Whenever I get the chance, I encourage people to take the time and money to explore right here in our own back yard. I also encourage them to take a different route and go somewhere off the beaten path that they have never been before. The possibilities and the adventures are endless.

There is nothing like that feeling of starting a trip, the anticipation of the miles ahead and the relief of knowing you are leaving all of your worries behind, at least for the time being. I always look forward to the hum of highway, the road ahead and the freedom of being able to go almost anywhere. It is smart to remember that fantastic saying - Life is a journey, not a destination. 

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