Bumps in the Road
My Family’s (Mis)Adventures along Alaska’s Elliott Highway, 1957-1980
by
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In about 20 minutes, Betty and Jimmy showed up at the gas station where I was waiting, and we all clambered into her pickup for the 12 mile drive out to our home in North Pole. The Weps started on the first try, and we all crawled into the cab and headed back toward the car.
We were about half a mile from where the car was sitting, when we all heard a loud bang! “What was that?” Jimmie asked.
“Darned if I know, but something is wrong.” I replied, as the Weps kind of skewed from side-to- side.Stopping, we got out and looked. Wouldn’t you know! The back tire on the driver’s side had blown. “We should be able to get this changed in a jiffy,” I said.
After getting the jack in exactly the right position, we got the Weps jacked up enough to take off the tire, but that stubborn tire refused to budge. “Hey, look at this!” I exclaimed. “That split rim has somehow gotten itself hooked over the brake drum, and it won’t come off.” Instead of having a normal tire rim, for some reason the tires on the Weps had a split rim, and boy, was that sucker “split!”We used screwdrivers, the lug wrench, and anything we could find, but could not pry that split rim off the brake drum. We were really relieved when a truck pulled up behind us, and the driver jumped down from the cab.
“What seems to be the trouble, Ma’am?” he asked. Upon being shown the problem, he confidently offered to get his big hammer and pry bar from the truck. Just what we needed, I thought. So, off he went, and was soon back with the tools in hand.Whap! Whap! Whap! He hit that sucker for all he was worth, but it refused to budge. After trying for about 15 minutes, he finally said, “Ma’am, I’m sorry, but I’d best get this load up the hill. I’ll stop on my way back, and see if we can’t get that thing apart. If not, I can give you a ride into town, and you can get a wrecker.”
“I have an idea,” I told him. “What do you think about taking the winch cable, running it up around one of those trees in front of us, back around this tree that is just opposite of the wheel, and hooking it to the tire? Do you think that would work?”“Ma’am,” he said, “I don’t think so. For one thing, you’d have to watch out for traffic, or you might catch someone. For another, I don’t think the winch could pull that rim off. No, Ma’am, you just wait here, and I’ll stop on my way back, and I’m sure we can get it off when I have more time.”
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About the Book
Author Rose Rybachek’s fascination with Alaska’s Elliott Highway began the first time she and her husband drove over it to Livengood during the summer of 1959. It was a narrow, winding, gravel and dirt road that wended its way through stately groves of birch trees, past scraggly spruce, over barren hills with magnificent views, past huge rocks, over several picturesque rivers, and through blueberry fields. Through the years, Rybachek’s family experienced many adventures along the scenic Elliott Highway. Bumps in the Road offers a glimpse into the lifestyle of a fiercely independent and resourceful family experiencing extreme conditions along the remote highway, better known as the “Haul Road,” which was made famous by the hit television series, Ice Road Truckers. With her wry humor, Rybachek tells a series of tales showing that survival along the mid-century Elliott required ingenuity and not a small amount of luck, embodying the spirit one would expect from true pioneers of Alaska.
About the Author
Rose Rybachek is a lifetime member of the Pioneers of Alaska. She has served as editor of The Alaska Miner, was a columnist for the Fairbanks Daily News Miner, and the All Alaska Weekly. Rybachek was president of the Alaska State PTA and the Alaska Miners’ Association.