10k: Ye Ole School Road Trip: 1920 Studebaker Special 6 Touring
This next feature comes as a tip from Zach Z who includes a recipe for being eaten by a bear a fun roadtrip. In his words:
So I figure this is the ‘real’ way to have the ultimate Alaska
roadtrip. After all, isn’t it about the journey, and not the
destination?1. Pick up this old 1920 Stude
2. Commission a spare tire or two…
3. Hit the highway, aimed generally eastward, before driving south.
4. In the words of Supertramp, who undoubtedly had just this scenario in mind, take the long way home.
5. Question the meaning of life as you stare into a bonfire on a star filled night after you spend a month stranded in the Alaskan wilderness with your “friend” Zach who you were pretty sure wasn’t a cannibal when you started this godforsaken road trip…but the idea of lathering up his left foot with a thick glaze of Bullseye BBQ sauce and roasting it over an open pit is looking mighty good because the last of the trail mix crumbs ran out two weeks ago and you can’t keep eating wild clover…why does he keep looking at me like that…
(DT Editor Vince) Okay, I added this last step, but the idea of an old school road trip would be incredible, but I think it would be best to travel in a group. Perhaps try and find a few other people to do a “The Great Race” style roadtrip.
Given the apparent absence of side curtains of any kind, you will want to consult the long- and short-range weather forecasts carefully when planning that legendary road trip.
My late father was a Model-T guy on the homestead on the Canadian prairies in the 1920s. He had a lot of winter driving stories (many involving horses at the end) but I never thought to ask him about the matter of weather protection in the cockpit. Too bad that opportunity is no longer available.
#5. What? With a gammy leg?
I will need a spittoon and a bottle of yukon jack.
Wait, where's the 'See a better way to get eaten by bears that doesn't involve a broken down bus at the end of a long road?'
Yeah, it would be quite a trip, and you'd have to be a few screws loose to make it work – that said there's enough traffic during the summer that even if you did break down, it's not as though you'd be forced to crack out the bone-saw and bbq. Plus, plenty of berries and salmon in the summer.
I do see the occasional outing of individuals (I assume from Europe) who shipped their vintage hardware (jags, astons, etc) over (and or modern hardware – there be a lot of odd, german apocalypse-o-camper-mobiles on the road, too) for a tour from AK to somewhere.
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Given that these cards were designed to be driven on unimproved roads (being less charitable, we'll go with 'horse trail' with indifferent fuel (being less charitable, we'll go with 'anything from kerosene to heating oil') and across all manner of terrible terrain, as well as being mechanically feasible to repair on the side of the road with hand tools and stolen fence wire, with sufficient ground clearance that they're their own lift….local summer should prove no problem as long as you travel with no fixed itinerary, your country lamps in good repair, and have plenty of patience and a decent mechanical aptitude for either fixing what goes wrong or finding somebody who will.
The trip of a lifetime, no Sourtoe meals ( foododdity.com/yes-thats-a-human-toe-in-your-drink-the-sour-toe-cocktail/) required. Give it a try, and write it up.