2010: Ohio to Alaska

Pixels 2 Minutes

I’ve driven between the midwest and Alaska a total of 6 times:

And I’ve got some photos from these epic 4,000-mile journeys. This post is the fourth post in the series.

June 2010: Toledo, Ohio to Anchorage, Alaska

After the failed experiment of living and working in St. Louis (long story), I headed to my parents’ place outside Toledo, Ohio to take a break and look for work in Ohio (mostly Columbus).

But this was 2 years into the total financial market meltdown, so work wasn’t so easy to find and I had no network to rely on. I was also missing my wife, who stayed back in Alaska while I tried out this “Lower 48” thing.

To cover my bases I talked to some folks in Anchorage about opportunities and landed one. The financial crisis never really hit Alaska like the rest of the country, so it was a safer and more familiar choice.

So in June of 2010 I packed up what I had with me and ventured out yet again to make this cross-continental journey.

First I headed to Minnesota to stop off and see my sister, then it was onward on a new path into North rather than South Dakota.

Heading north this time I took a modified path so I could see “Dog River,” the fictional town in Canada’s popular sitcom Corner Gas. This took me up through Minot, North Dakota and into Saskatchewan for the first time.
Back in 2010, the Corner Gas outdoor “set” was still there — I have no idea if it’s still there today. What’s remarkable about it, however, was that it was a scale model. It was perhaps 80% of real-life size. So I’m not quite sure how they shot the show on this location — maybe it was purely for the exterior shots. I know the interiors were shot in a studio in Regina.
Driving the Alaska Highway in the summer means driving through construction zones. Much of the highway is gravel and it gets re-graded in sections all summer long. They also lay down tar and other materials in an attempt to keep the dust under control. PRO TIP: Never take a convertible on this trip.
This wind vane at Muncho Lake, BC was on-brand for sure.
Turns out the Bison are on the highway for summer runs through the Alaska Highway, too. This big guy was just one of perhaps 40 or 50 on and around the road near the YT/BC border.
Back in Alaska, on the road from Tok to Glenallen. This summer evening shot captured Mt. Drum towering over the other peaks of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.
After several months away from Alaska, I got home to a warm, fuzzy welcome. Ophelia—born and raised in Anchorage—is still with us today, though probably not for much longer, as she’s already 16 years old.

Once back in Alaska in mid-2010, I would stay another 3 years, doing some formative work in my career and feeling pretty good about “fitting in” in the community, which tends to be pretty welcoming of newcomers.

But the pull of family and prospect of more career opportunities would draw me back down the Alaska Highway once more in July 2013. That story and those photos are up next week.

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2 thoughts on “2010: Ohio to Alaska”

  1. Pingback: 2024 Weeknote 23 : Back from the Summit, with ideas – Digital Polity
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