A trip to remember..

With my dad...

We started out in a 10 year old pickup and a 20 year old camper, headed to Alaska in the middle of winter.

It was a plus 10 degrees Celsius in Seattle and little did we know we would run into temperatures at minus 45 degrees Celsius in Alaska.

Everything was going along just fine and we started realizing up north most things are closed in the winter and that 40 gallon gas tank would come in handy more than once. 

Then the propane heater broke, froze up actually and we spent a really cold night In the morning we found a store selling ceramic heaters and we bought two. Yes this meant that we needed power but we found out as long as a place was open they would let us use it. This we found out was a great decision too. 

Up in Fairbanks we used one of the heaters to thaw out the carburetor, used the other to keep food from freezing while sitting in a local store staying warm. 

Down to Anchorage where we stayed at a family's friend house. Minus one Celsius. T-shirt weather. 

Since we decided to take the ferry home we headed out to Whitehorse. In Tok Alaska the engine started to have issues. Only repair shop was in Whitehorse. We learned that a storm was coming in and at that time of year it just meant a snow storm was coming in. As soon as the intake manifold gasket was fixed we headed south to Skagway Alaska.

What we didn't know at the time was the storm was all ready hitting the pass we had to go over. Dad was the navigator, I was the driver. The truck was in second gear, gas pedal to the floor while dad watched out for the poles the line the highway with to keep you on the road. 

When we reached the Canadian border the Guard came out of his house puzzled. First thing he asked was where did we come from. We found out the pass was closed a few hours ago and that we NEVER should have been on it. He walked away shaking his head.

The ferry ride down was much more uneventful with maybe the exception of the red light district of Ketchikan Alaska

We have sense been back to Alaska in the Summer and went over what we found out was a two lane not much shoulder road. 

On this fathers day I just wanted to remind him of "that time" that will forever be in my heart. 

Happy Fathers Day, dad

This is a photo of a photo taken over twenty years ago.