On to Alaska with Buchanan

As our train climbed the White Pass in Skagway, Alaska, I was captivated by large white letters painted on the mountainside.

ON TO ALASKA WITH BUCHANAN

These words have a compelling history tied to George Buchanan, a successful Detroit merchant in the 1920’s. After a trip to Ireland at age 18, Buchanan felt the best education was “going and seeing things” plus understanding the value of the dollar.   

In 1923, he began to take groups of boys to tour Alaska starting from the port in Skagway.    Each boy had to work and earn 1/3 of the expense, convince his parents to pay 1/3 and Buchanan covered the final expenses. The expectation was that the lad would “pay it back” later by financially helping another boy take the trip. 

This continued for 15 years, from 1923 to 1939, and eventually included girls when the boys’ sisters lobbied for their own trip. Over 500 young people took part in this opportunity from 1923-1939.  Supposedly, one group of boys painted the words to commemorate their inspiring leader. I got goosebumps when I heard what a difference this one man’s vision had for so many young people. Risk, faith, hard work and adventure are all tied up in one vision.  

Like Buchanan and my own father, I believe in the power of travel to educate and inspire. My first opportunity came at age 15 when an amazing woman decided to take a group of high schoolers abroad.  And my parents agreed to it! And I had to work for it. Sounds a bit like Buchanan, right?  It was a life changing trip in many ways and began my love for exploring.     

But don’t worry, this blog is not all about my fabulous adventures around the globe. I got sidetracked for a bit: work, raising kids, finding my way. Sound familiar?  

For many years, the biggest adventure was red-eye flights with antsy small children to see their grandparents. As they got older, my family didn’t have the same wanderlust spirit; I have definitely wondered how I screwed that up.   

Now as a woman of “a certain age”, it’s my time to explore again! The kids are young adults, the spouse is a tad less work focused, and cancer took a few years from me. I don’t want to wait any longer. The love for travel is still there although jet lag is a bigger challenge.  

I hope you will follow me along the journey through this blog as I explore this next chapter of living.