The good ole days of Alaska travel
A few years ago, I bought part of a collection of slides that were shot on a drive to Alaska in 1948. I got 160 of them, a friend in Germany got 120 or so, and there were probably more that went to pl...
Forum Discussion
Murray, I hope you weren't driving in 1961 as I believe you were about 3 years old, at that time. LOL This is based upon my thinking that you and Sue T are about the same age and I know she was born in 1958. She and I share the same birthday month and day, but I was 16 years old the day she was born. LOL I tease sue about being a 4 year old toddler, playing in the mud puddles out front of her dads gas station/garage in Beaver Creek, YT that first summer I drove up. LOL
I first drove to Alaska from southern Oklahoma in June 1962, as a 20 year old. Have written much more about some of the early driving and flying trips on my web site. http://www.pajbcooper.com/Alaska%20Hwy%20Early%20days.htm
I need to learn to use Photoshop to polish up some of these old faded photos.
What I remember more than the mud was the noise of the rocks and gravel hitting the underneath side of the vehicle, hour after hour, day after day for 1,523 miles. Fairbanks at the time was considered the end of the Alaska Highway in those days. Big marker there by the visitor center on the Chena River marking the end.
The gravel road and the weather were just part of the adventure of the drive. Many times I just stopped for a day or three to let the road dry out a bit, etc.
The Tok Cut-Off, usually considered to be part of the Glenn Hwy, was built, using the term loosely, during WWII, about the same time frame as the Alaska Hwy (Alcan project) was being built. At Glennallen, the Richardson Hwy passes through on the way to Delta Junction and on to Fairbanks from Valdez. The Glenn Hwy from Palmer to Glennallen was an extension of the Palmer Road, built to get the homesteaders there from the Anchorage area. The Parks Hwy wasn't finished till the early 70s. The Tok Cut off was put in to save about 125 miles of travel on military supplies coming up from the Lower 48, over the Alaska Hwy headed for Anchorage. The Tok Cut off is normally in bad shape, very prone to earthquake damage at times, permafrost, etc. I suspect the Cut Off was opened for traffic in the real early 1940s.
I made 9 RV round trips over the Alaska Hwy prior to it being substantially paved. There was a bit of pavement around Whitehorse in the early 60s. A diffenent group of people on the Alaska Hwy in those prepavement days. Not too many old geezers, like I am now, doing the drive. Now days virtually anyone can make the trip successfully with a good vehicle and a high limit credit card, and reasonably good health. We all carried a lot more vehicle parts back in those days. It is still a super fun trip to make and I hope to get in a few more trips in my lifetime. Like I have mentioned, I have done 13 RV round trips, to/from Alaska, about a half dozen by small aircraft following the Alaska Hwy, landing on it, eating and spending the nights at the roadhouses on the highway and 8 or 10 more round trips by car or pickups. Most of my aircraft trips were one way north, as I worked some as a ferry pilot, flying outside commercially, picking up my ride somewhere in the lower 48 and flying it back to Alaska for a dealer there.
I first drove to Alaska from southern Oklahoma in June 1962, as a 20 year old. Have written much more about some of the early driving and flying trips on my web site. http://www.pajbcooper.com/Alaska%20Hwy%20Early%20days.htm
I need to learn to use Photoshop to polish up some of these old faded photos.
What I remember more than the mud was the noise of the rocks and gravel hitting the underneath side of the vehicle, hour after hour, day after day for 1,523 miles. Fairbanks at the time was considered the end of the Alaska Highway in those days. Big marker there by the visitor center on the Chena River marking the end.
The gravel road and the weather were just part of the adventure of the drive. Many times I just stopped for a day or three to let the road dry out a bit, etc.
The Tok Cut-Off, usually considered to be part of the Glenn Hwy, was built, using the term loosely, during WWII, about the same time frame as the Alaska Hwy (Alcan project) was being built. At Glennallen, the Richardson Hwy passes through on the way to Delta Junction and on to Fairbanks from Valdez. The Glenn Hwy from Palmer to Glennallen was an extension of the Palmer Road, built to get the homesteaders there from the Anchorage area. The Parks Hwy wasn't finished till the early 70s. The Tok Cut off was put in to save about 125 miles of travel on military supplies coming up from the Lower 48, over the Alaska Hwy headed for Anchorage. The Tok Cut off is normally in bad shape, very prone to earthquake damage at times, permafrost, etc. I suspect the Cut Off was opened for traffic in the real early 1940s.
I made 9 RV round trips over the Alaska Hwy prior to it being substantially paved. There was a bit of pavement around Whitehorse in the early 60s. A diffenent group of people on the Alaska Hwy in those prepavement days. Not too many old geezers, like I am now, doing the drive. Now days virtually anyone can make the trip successfully with a good vehicle and a high limit credit card, and reasonably good health. We all carried a lot more vehicle parts back in those days. It is still a super fun trip to make and I hope to get in a few more trips in my lifetime. Like I have mentioned, I have done 13 RV round trips, to/from Alaska, about a half dozen by small aircraft following the Alaska Hwy, landing on it, eating and spending the nights at the roadhouses on the highway and 8 or 10 more round trips by car or pickups. Most of my aircraft trips were one way north, as I worked some as a ferry pilot, flying outside commercially, picking up my ride somewhere in the lower 48 and flying it back to Alaska for a dealer there.
