On the Road Again – Spring 1956
In the spring of 1956, my parents packed up a four-door sedan and drove the ALCAN Highway—1,700 miles of mostly unpaved road—with two toddlers, cloth diapers, a Coleman stove, and a canvas army tent.
No GPS. No cell phones. No roadside motels with warm breakfasts. Just grit, maps, and a sense of adventure.
The Alaska Highway (also known as the Alaskan Highway, Alaska-Canadian Highway, or ALCAN) was originally constructed during World War II to connect the contiguous United States to Alaska through Canada. It begins in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, and runs through Whitehorse, Yukon, ending in Delta Junction, Alaska.
Completed in 1942 at a length of approximately 1,700 miles (2,700 km), the highway was legendary for decades as one of the most rugged, challenging drives in North America. It opened to the public in 1948, and thanks to decades of rerouting and reconstruction, its length was reduced to 1,387 miles (2,232 km) by 2012. Today, it’s fully paved—but back then? Not even close.
My parents did it with toddlers in the back seat and no idea what lay ahead. That’s the kind of story that makes you realize where your resilience comes from.
Beginning of the ALCAN Highway
No Car Seats. No Paved Roads. Just Determination.
A dirt road, two toddlers, no car seats—and a two-week journey north. What an adventure.
I can’t imagine packing and unpacking that Coleman stove, canvas tent, and all those cloth diapers every morning and night. I doubt the weather stayed this sunny and mild the whole way, either.
It was all an adventure
I doubt it was this sunny and mild the entire trip
The tent had a small vent on one side and a flap over the front door. We kept it for years and took it on many camping trips as we grew up. That thing earned its miles.
Almost there…
