"Waltz with the Wilderness"

Hello everybody:

 

 

I am glad to announce that I have finished editing "Waltz with the Wilderness", the audio documentary corresponding to my trip to British Columbia, the Yukon and Alaska last year, in the summer of 2004.

 

 

First of all, I'd like to thank all the people who helped me realize this project.

 

 

All the people who took the time and were willing to be interviewed and with whom I had the privilege to have memorable conversations:

 

Marilyn Howard, Gerry Clare, Everett Haney, in Dawson Creek; Marl Brown and Sandra Brown, in Fort Nelson; Chad Rudd, Richard Beaulieu, Minnie Charlie and Roanna Dick, in Watson Lake; Bev Buckway, Ghazaleh Kazeni, George Roberts, Jim Robb, in Whitehorse; Freda Roberts, Dick North, Victor Reece, in Dawson City; Nigel Wilson and Heidi Charlton, Donna Blasor - Bernhardt, in Tok; Susie Sandy, Beth Abbott, in Delta Junction; Kelly Hill Scanlon, Kerynn Fisher, Rita Pitka, Joel Titus, James Ruppert, in Fairbanks; June Reakoff, Jack Reakoff, in Wiseman; Peter Christian, in the Brooks Range; Pat Hall, in Prudhoe Bay.

 

Then, at random, all the people who contributed to the realization of this project one way or another:

 

John, Christian Kuntz, Billie, Colm, Rob Fissel, Ivan MacIvor, Dominique, Laurel, Rebecca Jansen, Helaire Echohawk, Nita & Don Niver, Lisa Shon Jodwalis, Lenore Heppler.

 

And my two 'favorite readers': Deborah Ruch and Kathryn Mahoney.

 

 

As my project consists of connecting and traveling along scenic and historic roads forming the "Panamerican Highway", which crosses the Americas from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, I am going to travel south in a few days, following the "West Access Route" from Dawson Creek, via Vancouver, British Columbia, to Seattle, Washington, and along the "North Pacific Highway" (US 101) from Olympia, Washington, to Brookings, Oregon.

 

 

After this trip, this fall, I will finish putting together a webpage on the internet so that everybody will be able to access more information (links, documents, audios and pictures) and listen to the series of audio documentaries ("Waltz with the Wilderness" lasts about 30 hours altogether). In the meantime, you will temporarily have access to the first episodes of the documentary series on the internet in the Pacific Northwest subdivision of "Boundless Frontiers", the audio documentary along the Lewis & Clark Trail, at:

 

 

www.recfm.com/silotheque/oratoraum/boundless_frontiers/pacific_northwest.php

 

 

Look at the list of questions; at the bottom, after "Where is the next frontier?" you will find four episodes of "Waltz with the Wilderness".

 

 

» The next frontier: 'Waltz with the Wilderness' / Canada / Dawson Creek /

 

'Where are you in the world?' (21.3 MB)

 

» The next frontier: 'Waltz with the Wilderness' / Canada / Dawson Creek /

 

'What is the historical significance of this area?' (33.0 MB)

 

» The next frontier: 'Waltz with the Wilderness' / Alaska / Tok /

 

'Where are you in the world?' (47.2 MB)

 

» The next frontier: 'Waltz with the Wilderness' / Alaska / Tok /

 

'How did you get here?' (66.5 MB)

 

 

I am also working on other means of publication (CD's etc.). I am looking forward to receiving your questions and comments.

 

 

Best regards.

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

December 1941: the Japanese have just attacked Pearl Harbor. Soon they will occupy part of the Aleutian Islands at the outer edge of the territory of Alaska. In the US there are fears that Japanese forces might soon land in Alaska in order to use the territory as a base for an invasion of the West Coast of the United States. Action is needed. Troops and supplies are needed in Alaska to prevent a catastrophe. A road is needed.

 

The American and Canadian governments sign an agreement to build a highway from one of the northernmost train stops on the continent, at Dawson Creek, British Columbia, to Delta Junction, Alaska Territory, where an already existing highway, the Richardson, follows an old trail south to Valdez and west to Fairbanks. In 1942, the Alaska Highway, as it is known today, is completed. For the first time one can travel by road to Alaska, that is, the military. The highway will not open for civilians until long after World War II.

 

Nowadays thousands of tourists, travelers, locals and adventurers use the Alaska Highway to experience a "Waltz with the Wilderness" (Richard Beaulieu) and to reach some of the last places on earth where they can experience "self - reliance and solitude" (Jack Reakoff). The road officially starts at "Mile 0", in Dawson Creek.

 

Traveling north from there, we are going to meet many locals and some travelers in northern British Columbia, the Yukon and Alaska. Local historians will tell us about early pioneers and life nowadays; local artists will discuss how they reflect local culture and nature in their artwork; people who have worked on the highway, Native people (First Nations) representing many of the indigenous cultures in the Far North, trappers, subsistence hunters and gatherers, people who came to start a new life after having experienced persecution, stress, disappointments, and who have found a new destiny, local politicians, they all will share their stories and personal anecdotes. A lot of information and introspection will be given by them and others, like writers who tell their own adventures, travelers who came to Alaska on a tandem, people of the younger generation who try to build a future for themselves in the North, environmental activists, teachers, a park ranger and a bus driver. The idea is to have people from all walks of life answer the same questions and then to line up their answers as if they were all sitting around a global table to tell their stories and to provide insight into history from their perspectives. They're allowed to speak their minds and to talk freely, without any paraphrases or restrictions on use of language.

 

So let's take the Alaska Highway from Dawson Creek to Whitehorse. Then we will follow the North Klondike Highway from there to Dawson City, traveling in the footsteps of hundreds of thousands of prospectors who came here during the Gold Rush of 1897 / 98, including a young writer by the name of Jack London. Out of Dawson City, the Top of the World Highway follows the mountain ridges in Canada and becomes the Taylor Highway in Alaska which hooks up with the Alaska Highway at Tok. From there the trip will take us all the way to Fairbanks. The Elliott Highway connects Fairbanks with the Dalton Highway 70 miles north of there.

 

Along the Dalton Highway we will witness - via the testimonies of many locals - the outstanding scenery of the Arctic; the Brooks Range, Gates of the Arctic National Park and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Our journey will end at the Arctic Ocean at Prudhoe Bay. Even nowadays the Dalton Highway still is a wilderness road.

 

"Waltz with the Wilderness" is a series of audio documentaries. Music and reading performances reflecting the local cultures enrich the documentaries. The mp3 files can be downloaded in 15 to 45 minutes per file depending on its size.

 

 

Part I (Canada):

 

Dawson Creek, Fort Nelson (British Columbia)

 

Watson Lake, Whitehorse, Dawson City (Yukon Territory)

 

 

Part II (United States):

 

Tok, Delta Junction, Fairbanks, Wiseman, the Brooks Range, Prudhoe Bay (Alaska)

 

 

The Questions:

 

Where are you in the world?

 

What's between here and there?

 

What will the weather here be like tomorrow?

 

What are your favorite destinations?

 

What are your favorite walking destinations?

 

What's the historical significance of this area?

 

What historical event here would you like to have witnessed?

 

What adventure story would you like to be part of?

 

How did you get here?

 

How have your family traditions changed over the years?

 

Is it getting better or worse here?

 

How did life start out here?

 

How could I survive here?

 

What has happened to humor in your country?

 

Which minority do you think you belong to?

 

What kind of President would you be?

 

How would you like to make the world a better place?

 

How much do you think before it's alright?

 

How do you like them apples?

 

What do you think you're doing with yourself?

 

How can you define beauty?

 

What does your dream date look like?

 

How did you sleep last night?

 

 

The People:

 

Marilyn Howard, Gerry Clare, Everett Haney, Marl Brown, Sandra Brown (British Columbia)

 

Chad Rudd, Richard Beaulieu, Minnie Charlie & Roanna Dick, Bev Buckway, Ghazaleh Kazeni, George Roberts, Jim Robb, Freda Roberts, Dick North, Victor Reece (Yukon Territory)

 

Nigel Wilson & Heidi Charlton, Donna Blasor - Bernhardt, Susie Sandy, Beth Abbott, Kelly Hill Scanlon, Kerynn Fisher, Rita Pitka, Joel Titus, James Ruppert, June Reakoff, Jack Reakoff, Peter Christian, Pat Hall (Alaska)