Alaska attempt daily report

Boy Henry, It's getting crowed back here. Whis I couda caught that door, ut i was watching the road on Google earth. Time to put another thumb tac on the map.
 
That seams to be a normal thing with a ford the rear door kissing the rear fender. My uncle Mercury did that when his son open the rear door while the car was going down the road. Mu uncle warm his butt for doing that trick. Keep th pictures rolling in. I sure do enjoy them. My wife hid the car keys from me today. So I had to stay home today and wash the dishes again. I am going to buy her a one way bus ticket to Alaska.
 
The Military Vehicle Club made an Al/Can anniversary tour, and reported locally that every Chinese- made inner tube used Failed!!! Keep the cell phone charged. Newc
 
Hi Craig, Yes I am really enjoying your great drive down here in Melbourne, Australia. Your photos are just beautiful. Give puppy a pat for me. Gods speed and safe driving. Best regards, Kevin.
 
If your mechanical brakes are like the ones on my 38 coupe,you would make it all the way cause you couldn't stop
 
Newc said:
The Military Vehicle Club made an Al/Can anniversary tour, and reported locally that every Chinese- made inner tube used Failed!!! Keep the cell phone charged. Newc
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I was on the MVPA 2012 Alaska Highway convoy. I drove a 1943 Willys MB (a wartime jeep). I don't recall problems with Chinese tubes in particular but we did have a lot of flats. There was another group that summer too. We MVPA guys had about 100 vintage vehicles. I think the other group was a little smaller. Maybe they reported the tubes problem.
 
petehoovie said:
Bummer about the ding....But, how is 'Old Henry' running?
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I hope I don't get jinxed by saying that Old Henry couldn't be better, not even a cough, sneeze, nor hiccup. If I could just pull my share of the load guiding him and taking care of him as well as he carries and takes care of me, we'd be a whole lot better off.

Now, to jinx the jinx so it won't bother me, I will remind about the two rear tires that needed balanced and I noticed Thursday that the parking lights weren't on when I thought they should be. Probably something to do with the 69 year old wiring I'm still using.

There. Now I've said it. I hope he keeps going as well as he has so far.
 
tamnalan said:
I was on the MVPA 2012 Alaska Highway convoy. I drove a 1943 Willys MB (a wartime jeep). I don't recall problems with Chinese tubes in particular but we did have a lot of flats. There was another group that summer too. We MVPA guys had about 100 vintage vehicles. I think the other group was a little smaller. Maybe they reported the tubes problem.
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Since I put liners on all of my wheels, the flats haven't happened like they used to.
 
This is fun. I ember as a kid Travelling to Lake Louise and the glacier was right down to the water line. No so much anymore. If you are landing to drive into Skagway your brakes are going to get a real workout! Down gearing will be your friend. Good luck and be safe. Pet your dog for me.
 
Great Craig ! If there's no room left in the back i'll ride in the trunk. Skagway eh? The first time I heard of that place was when we read Jack Londons "Call of the Wild" at High School. The scenery is breath taking as usual. John Steinbeck wrote "travelling with Charlie" , reckon you could write "Travelling with Henry."

take care

GB
 
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Graig, your trips and comontary are WAY. Better than anything on nat geo channel, I wish I had your laid back attitude,we are awY in our model A and after 1600 klms the cam gear got noisey,so we headed back towards home,after driving 550 klms it went quiet,so we turned around and kept going.we are of to darwin,a 3200 klm trip. But man it's hot,no snow on our trip.
We are only travelling about 450 klms per day.
Take care and need we say it enjoy yourself.
Lawrie
 
woodiewagon46 said:
Henry, 725 miles in 13 hours, man you are giving that little flathead a workout. Slow down and take it all in! Sorry to see your mishap but these are the things one encounters on road trips. Did you know that Ford offered "Automatic Rear Door Safety Locks" in '46 for exactly this problem. Glad to see that it didn't stop your trip. We had planned on doing some camping on our cross-country trip until a Tarantula as big as my hand crawled out from under our car. One of the other guests saw it and said "it's the snakes and scorpions you need to worry about". Well that ended any camping thoughts we had.
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I just realized that my Google Maps on my computer with which I calculated the mileage had switched automatically to kilometers instead of miles. So, Friday I only drove 352 miles plus the extra 134 out of the way. So, total of 486 rather than the 725 I'd said. Just one more SHE problem that looks like are going to plague my life on the road as they do off the road.
 
Day 4

A little shorter run today. I spent quite a bit of time in the morning reporting the previous day through the national parks. Total of 325 miles today, total of 1,431 miles so far.

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Today started on my favorite kind of road that we'll be on clear to Alaska and beyond, a lonely two lane gently rolling and curving over the terrain. Not a lot of variety but still very pleasing and comfortable.

This is pretty much how it will look for the next several days.

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We see this kind of sign at the beginning of the long stretches. I need them. One of my weaknesses is that I don't watch the gas gauge close enough.

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The temperature warmed up so I could open the window again. It makes for a better angle for my wrist so I don't get the tendonitis.

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Note the bugs on the vent window. They were pretty heavy. Rain-X didn't help much with them on the windshield.

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Nor the front of the car.

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Sometimes the little girly dog likes to just lay right at my hip and rest her head on my thigh.

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When I was climbing a long hill I started to get a little pinging, which is very rare. I glanced over at the altimeter and it showed 500 something (meters - 1500+ feet). That's getting down to where the air is thick and causes that pinging. I may need to retard my timing a little. More likely, if it's only occasionally, I'll just nudge the choke out a little temporarily until it's gone on the climb.

Eventually, we arrived at Dawson Creek which is the beginning of the Alaska-Canadian Highway the will take us there.
 
Yea, the bugs can get pretty thick up here. A lot of travelers of the alcan put window screen material over their grill for the trip. You don't have to clean as much off, and they can get so bad as to clog your radiator and effect cooling.
Loving the trip, I see that you posted another " Interior" shot for me. :)
 
Really loving the trip Professor. Those pictures of the mountains outside Jasper are nothing less than spectacular. Glad Old Henry is cooperating. Best wishes as you push on.
 
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