22525 Rusty's Last Vacation - 1984
A reprocessed version of one of my classic "vacation getaways" from the 1980s. I leave tomorrow morning. I'm not going anywhere that looks like this...
Truth is, however, that I didn't think I was going anywhere looking like this in 1984. I had driven my battered old Toyota up the 737.5 km Dempster Highway, north of Dawson City, Yukon, in August. Yes, August, but this is pretty far north. The leaves were changing from green to yellow, something was in the air. When the first snowflakes began drifting down on my camp at Engineer Creek, I didn't think much of it, but it snowed all the next day, and the day after that.
Finally I got tired of toughing it out in my tent, and made a run for safety. Summer tires... not exactly the Road & Track Car of the Year... poor visibility... the only other vehicles on the road were big semis, and the drivers were giving me thumbs up as we passed. I stopped to watch a grizzly bear ambling over a hill and vanishing into the swirling white. I went over three mountain passes that day, and only failed on the third: too steep, not enough traction. Luckily a road crew was working there (although they were the reason that stretch of road was so bad), and one of them hauled me up that hill, punching a few extra holes in my undercarriage for good measure. I drove the 600 km south to Whitehorse with my hiking boots swimming in three inches of muddy water.
I've been up the Dempster three times since then, as late as mid-September, without seeing snow - sometimes winter just comes early. Rusty gave up the ghost the following January and had to be towed away. I still love road trips. Will be back on or about September 15 with more photos to share and tales to tell. Not expecting snow.
Photographed north of Dawson City, Yukon; scanned from the original Kodachrome 64 slide. Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 1984 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
22525 Rusty's Last Vacation - 1984
A reprocessed version of one of my classic "vacation getaways" from the 1980s. I leave tomorrow morning. I'm not going anywhere that looks like this...
Truth is, however, that I didn't think I was going anywhere looking like this in 1984. I had driven my battered old Toyota up the 737.5 km Dempster Highway, north of Dawson City, Yukon, in August. Yes, August, but this is pretty far north. The leaves were changing from green to yellow, something was in the air. When the first snowflakes began drifting down on my camp at Engineer Creek, I didn't think much of it, but it snowed all the next day, and the day after that.
Finally I got tired of toughing it out in my tent, and made a run for safety. Summer tires... not exactly the Road & Track Car of the Year... poor visibility... the only other vehicles on the road were big semis, and the drivers were giving me thumbs up as we passed. I stopped to watch a grizzly bear ambling over a hill and vanishing into the swirling white. I went over three mountain passes that day, and only failed on the third: too steep, not enough traction. Luckily a road crew was working there (although they were the reason that stretch of road was so bad), and one of them hauled me up that hill, punching a few extra holes in my undercarriage for good measure. I drove the 600 km south to Whitehorse with my hiking boots swimming in three inches of muddy water.
I've been up the Dempster three times since then, as late as mid-September, without seeing snow - sometimes winter just comes early. Rusty gave up the ghost the following January and had to be towed away. I still love road trips. Will be back on or about September 15 with more photos to share and tales to tell. Not expecting snow.
Photographed north of Dawson City, Yukon; scanned from the original Kodachrome 64 slide. Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 1984 James R. Page - all rights reserved.