100-year-old car to drive Alaska Highway

I just got back from my annual foray along the Alaska Highway, and chanced to meet this fellow. This is Marl Brown and he is the curator of the Fort Nelson Heritage museum in northern British Columbia. Part of the display of the museum is a garage filled with more than 20 vintage automobiles owned by Marl. And every on of these old cars runs.

Marl is pictured here sitting behind the wheel of a 1908 Buick Model 10. Next June, when the car is a century old, Marl, who is 75, plans to drive it along the Alaska Highway from Fort Nelson to Whitehorse and back--that's about a 1,200-mile round trip.

His plans now are to go pretty early in the month, so if you're headed to Alaska early in the season next year, keep a lookout for Marl and this meticulously restored 1908 Buick.

And by all means stop at the museum when you're in Fort Nelson. It's right next door to the West End RV Park. This is one of the better small-town museums in the north and offers a lot of information about the building of the Alaska Highway and other area activities. If you want to see Marl's cars, though, you will have to ask. The garage is normally locked and only opened by special request.