PB 300 new page 15-16-17.indd - Plymouth Club

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Introduced in BULLETIN 276, Fairbanksans Scott and Lynn Grundy and Bill and Joyce Chace have become known to the club. Tales of their perambulations in the sub-arctic regions of Alaska and Canada have appeared in issues 280, 291and 292. by Scott Grundy Fairbanks, Alaska Last year I wrote about our fantastic road trip up the Dempster Highway to Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada, with the Anchorage club, in BULLETIN 291. We had so much fun I decided to organize a tour for our local club. I proposed a civilized (mostly paved roads) 1,500mile round-trip from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Canada. Club members leapt at the opportunity! We limited ourselves to ten vehicles so we would not overwhelm facilities, and we adopted the name “Adventure Before Dementia Tour 2009.” (I love the name!) Our assortment of vehicles ranged in age from a beautiful 1932 Studebaker that was hauled behind a vintage ‘73 Dodge Travco motor home to a mint low-mileage 1976 Volkswagen convertible. As Alaskan Plymouths On The Road Again last year, Bill and Joyce Chace drove their 1952 Cranbrook and my wife Lynn and I drove our comfortable 1955 Belvedere. We departed Fairbanks early on June 28 as we had to push to make the dinner show in Beaver Creek, Yukon Territory, Canada. The major mishap this day occurred when the driver of the motor home was “attacked” by his wife with a dry chemical fire extinguisher while underway. The driver’s window was open and the car following thought the motor home was on fire. She claimed the discharge was accidental. Sure! We made it to Beaver Creek in time for dinner and enjoyed the show, especially when a small plane “crashed” through the roof! The singing was amazing and world class. The next morning we headed south to Whitehorse on a frost-heaved but well-maintained segment of the Alaska Highway. We spent three wonderful nights in Whitehorse. The town, people, food, museums, S.S. Klondike sternwheeler, etc., were terrific, and one couple even squeezed in a side trip to the Takhini Hot Springs. But best of all was the Frantic Follies [FROM BOTTOM TO TOP] The group stops at a mountain lake; the women pose with a “stage Mountie” at Beaver Creek; the Plymouths with the SS Klondike sternwheeler at Whitehorse, Yukon. -34- Vaudeville Show. It was by far the
est show we experienced on the trip, and we saw them all. The Canada Day (July 1) parade in Whitehorse was very enjoyable. The weather was super, and there were many beautiful children who really enjoyed the attention we provided as we wished them a happy Canada Day and entertained them with strange-looking vehicles and funny sounding horns. Our rigs were heavily adorned with Canadian and Alaskan flags. We lined up roughly according to the age of our vehicles. When the senior lady of our group heard “oldest first” she thought she was going to have to lead the parade, but the regal ‘32 showcased our vehicles. The celebration continued on to the Rotary Park where we displayed our cars and the locals thanked us profusely for coming. Love those Canadians, eh? The drive to Atlin, British Columbia, Canada, included stops at the Miles Canyon swinging bridge, beautiful Emerald The Miles Canyon swinging bridge Lake, Carcross Desert (known as the smallest desert in the world), “downtown” Carcross and other highlights. Atlin is the most beautiful dying town I’ve ever visited. Atlin Lake hosts the highest point of land in freshwater in the world -- Birch Mountain, elevation 6,755’ -- on Teresa Island. Beautiful downtown Carcross The next morning the VW led us to the northern-most palm trees (spruce trees ”planted” with their roots in the air). Another member led us out of town to the Pine Creek Falls. It’s amazing how much water twists through that narrow gorge. Then we were off to Skagway, Alaska, via the spectacularly beautiful southern section of the Klondike Northern “palms” Highway. Lynn and I departed early because we had logistics -35- to coordinate for our group in Skagway. This was our first drive on this highly scenic route, so we took several pictures and arrived in Skagway last! Most of the group took the narrated Streetcar Tour that afternoon in the reportedly refurbished 1927 B Series Mack buses from Disneyland. It was a little disappointing to learn that the original earlier vintage canvas-topped White buses had been returned to Yellowstone National Park about five years ago. We also questioned the validity of the Mack claim, as everything other than the Motometer on the hood and some body parts seemed to be of a relatively new design. Regardless, we all found the fantasy ‘27s enjoyable. Our driver/narrator was delightful, and she loved our group. We gave her lots of new material regarding Bobby Sheldon’s car, the first to be built in Alaska (in Skagway no less). A spectacular fireworks display occurred that evening at the waterfront in fabulous weather. Queued up for the parade in Skagway, Skagway, Alaska The 4th of July parade in Skagway was very enjoyable, too. We had a Model T touring car from Whitehorse join our group. The crowd loved us. Later as we walked the streets in our club T-shirts, we had many folks commend our group. That afternoon we drove out to Dyea and hiked the rigorous Chilkoot Trail (well, only the first 100 feet of this historic access route to the Klondike gold discovery, so we could take a group photo). On the historic Chilkoot Trail Trail
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PB 300 new page 15-16-17.indd - Plymouth Club

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