Until I was 12 we lived outside of town in the country. We had 3 huge fields to play in and all the kids in the area about 25 or so played hide and seek in the fields of tall weeds all summer long until dark. There was an old barn close by and we used to sit on the back stairs and tell each other scary stories. I was allowed to ride my bike in a 4 square mile area because there was very little traffic.
When I was 10 I tried to ride my bike to Golden. At that time there was lots of open space between towns. A state patrolman stopped me and my dog and took us home in his patrol car because he thought I was a runaway. My mom was very upset with me because I hadn't asked permission before hand.