Tricia Brown Books
For Alaskans at Heart
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Alaska Again
Filed under UncategorizedMay 24
- Hang a Right
Every year, dozens of people fail to really understand this sign at Haines Junction, Yukon Territory. Either way leads to Alaska, but unless you take a right turn at this crossroads, you’ll end up in the coastal community of Haines, Alaska, which deadends on Lynn Canal. Not what you had in mind if you thought you were progressing toward Fairbanks. We turned right, and drove onward to Kluane Lake and pulled into a campground at Burwash Landing late at night.
Yesterday, we pushed onward toward the border and the giant “Welcome to Alaska” sign, where we found another gathering place—a pair of bicyclers from Germany who’ve been traveling since 2008, a couple from Alabama who claimed their camper was held together with duct tape, and a mob of Kiwanis members who were reinstalling a plaque at the border. People handed cameras off to each other to be included in their own photos. They exchanged road stories, and they drove onward a few hundred feet and waited in line for processing at the border crossing.Today we toured around our old hometown of Fairbanks. Summer in the Far North can’t be beat. It was 75 degrees and sunny most of the day. As I write, it’s 11:35 p.m., and bright enough to read the ingredients on a cereal box. Perry keeps reminding me to imagine myself in a down parka and bunny boots, standing in the dark. Okay, I remember those days, too, but moving through the sweet, well-lit landscape that is Fairbanks this time of year, I’m not ready to crawl back into the freezer, even in my memory.
- Milepost at Fairbanks
The “end of the road” milepost along the banks of the Chena River in Fairbanks is yet another gathering place to mark a finish. And yet the real finish line lies in Delta Junction, Alaska, 98 miles away, where a nearly identical milepost stands outside the visitors’ center. We paused at both places for photos, feeling pretty satisfied. And yet we’re not done driving! Tomorrow, we’re going south. No, no, only to Anchorage, not yet back to the Lower 48. We have a few more days yet. Loving’ it!
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Do Not Feed the Bears
Filed under UncategorizedMay 22
Hey Bear!
WELCOME SPRING
The beautiful new green shoots along the Alaska Highway are an attractive nuisance—at least to us tourist types. In reality, this is the fresh salad that the bears are craving. Yesterday we saw about eight black bears, two grizzlies, and another eight or ten giant woodland bison. Oh, yeah, and a couple of caribou. Everybody’s up and moving, and there’s little traffic on the road. Basically, unless you honk or make other obnoxious people noises, they don’t care if you’re there—over there, in your metal shell. So yeah, we always stay in the vehicle to take the pictures, and give them the right of way.
There are exceptions, of course. We came over the rise of one hill and saw two Stone Sheep frozen in place, wondering which direction to run, because a young guy was approaching them on foot. He had a guitar across his back. Had he been serenading? Performing a musical experiment? Bottom line, he had no business harassing the wildlife. I took his picture for later…we’ll see if it shows up in the next edition of the book.A nice soak yesterday at Liard Hotsprings—a must for any time of year. But this is a holiday weekend in Canada. Monday is Victoria Day, and while a dear young Canadian mother at the hot springs couldn’t tell me what the country does to honor Victoria, she told me people do make family camping an emphasis. (She also sweetly suggested that maybe Victoria Day was when they named Victoria the capitol?)OK, we’re off to Whitehorse, Yukon, and places beyond today…after I do the dishes.Just remember, never feed the bears. Particularly, never feed them a peanut butter sandwich, as it tends to stick to the roof of the mouth, and really makes them mad.
NO PB&J!
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Roadside Treasures
Filed under UncategorizedMay 20
We found this little guy along the Alaska Highway, many miles after leaving Mile 0 this morning and pointing the little RV northwest. The weather wasn’t the greatest for photography, but we’ve still been blessed with some sunbreaks along the way. Photo copyright Tricia Brown
It was fun to hang around the “World-Famous Alaska Highway” sign in Dawson Creek, even at this time of year when tourist traffic is still sparse. Within minutes we met an Alberta man who’d left his job and was encouraged by his wife to take off and see Alaska with his camera. He’s always wanted to do it, and finally he’s doing it.Then a German couple drove up to pose by the sign. They’re making a pan-American trip, having starting at the southernmost tip of South America in 2006, driving a squat, industrial-looking Toyota RV. While we were talking, a minivan came roaring up, a young guy hopped out and climbed up on the cairn under the sign and had his picture taken in a blink, jumped down, and they roared away again.And then, just as we were about to leave, a big luxury car with Alaska plates pulled up and an older couple stepped out to photograph each other with a box camera. I offered to take their picture together. What a pleasure to meet the Gages, on their way Outside for some family celebrations. He was wearing a WWII Veteran hat, so I asked if, by any chance, he had worked on this highway. No, he said, he was in Germany at the time, serving in Patton’s Army. Further probing told me that George C. Scott played the general very realistically. “I met the man,” said Mr. Gage, “and I didn’t like him much.”All these lives intersecting in one very active place in the far reaches of Canada. All following an adventure of their own making.
Where the adventure begins
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Head ‘em up, move ‘em out!
Filed under UncategorizedMay 18
Fort Whoop-Up, Lethbridge, Alberta
ALBERTA’S OLD WEST
We’ve been driving through a land that’s so foreign to us, it feels like we’re extras in a Western movie. Today we explored Lethbridge, Alberta, the home of Fort Whoop-Up, where the Yankee whiskey traders made money off their Canadian neighbors on a well-used trail between Montana and the Canadian West. Here also is where the last great Indian battle occurred in the late 1800s. But as for today, it was quiet—three goats, a couple of cowboys, and some pale-faced Yanks named Brown were in the middle of the fort. We did get a personal roping lesson from Phil, the fort’s teamster and carpenter, who said he’s been “cowboying” for years. He’s the real deal. OK, I’m not about to put in my picture during roping lessons, but I will put in Perry’s—he was much better than I at this hand-eye coordination thing anyway. Onward to Edmonton and points beyond this afternoon. Stay posted.
The Horseless Cowboy
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Oh, Canada!
Filed under UncategorizedMay 17
Exploring B.C.
ROADIES
Perry and I are on the road again to update my research for The World-Famous Alaska Highway: A Guide to the ALCAN and Other Wilderness Roads of the North. In this first week, we’re doing those “other wilderness roads” part, and trying to cover as many miles as possible. Mile 0 of the ALCAN is a long ways away.
Perry patiently stops often, whenever I see something I like and want to pause. And we’re making good use of an iddy-biddy RV from Cruise America. It’s a one-way rental, and we’ve figured out how to store our things and move around each other, basically by taking turns.
We’ve seen formal gardens, lots of cattle and pasturelands, entered the rolling, arid hills around Cache Creek, and in eastern B.C., we viewed a mama black bear and her twin babies (who were standing up out of curiosity). Yesterday we crossed from Prince George, B.C., over to Calgary, Alberta, via the Icefields Highway. It’s got to be one of the most beautiful routes in North America. Yes, there was still snow down to the road at times, and those mountains overhead were booming.
A steak dinner in Banff last night, and today we’re headed to Calgary’s Heritage Park. We’re driving south next to cover some of the towns and attractions along the route from Sweetgrass, Montana, to Dawson Creek, B.C.
Riverside camping in B.C.
We’re going through long stretches with no radio reception, and I brought only three CDs—Hawaiian, Irish traditional, and Frank Sinatra. What was I thinking?
Reminds me of the old days we regularly traveled the Parks Highway in Alaska between Fairbanks and Anchorage. We had a basic minivan with no cassette player (yeah, I said a long time ago), and we just talked and talked. Nothing like a long road trip to get caught up with life.
More later!
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Braggin’ Rights
Filed under UncategorizedMay 4
Pride of Oakland City, Indiana
A New Book in the Family!
EDD ROUSCH: A Biography of the Cincinnati Reds Star
ISBN 978-0-7864-4407-6
McFarland, April 2010.
A new book to be proud of, even though it’s not mine. Still, I’m compelled to spread the word, because this is an excellent selection for your favorite baseball nut, written by my favorite baseball nut, my award-winning sportswriter cousin, Mitchell Conrad Stinson.
Just released by McFarland, it’s the biography of the deadball batting king and Baseball Hall of Famer, Edd Rousch. The publisher writes, “[The story] centers on the events of the 1919 Black Sox World series, but covers Roush’s life in full. Born in Indiana, Roush would eventually receive two National League batting titles and become a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. The work contains interviews with Roush as well as a large collection of photos, many from the Roush family collection.”
Many years ago, when Mitchell was still a young teen-ager, he had the good fortune to meet Rousch in person, and wisely brought along his tape recorder when he interviewed the baseball great. When Mitchell grew up, he entered journalism and his career has taken him to newspapers in Indiana, Guam, Kentucky, and Alaska. Speaking of Alaska, Mitchell was a reporter on the Wasilla newspaper, The Frontiersman, when Sarah Palin was just entering local politics.
I’ve got my copy of Edd Rousch already, inscribed by a man who knows I prefer following the mushing circuit to major league sports. Nonetheless, he writes, ”If you can’t get into it, just insert ‘dog sledding’ every time you see the word ‘baseball.’ Both center around smelly, scruffy teammates who scratch themselves in public. So it’s not a stretch.”
Yeah, he’s got a great sense of humor, too.
Click on the book cover to go to the official Edd Rousch home page.
