We don't typically post professional-quality videos to Our Alaska (ours are usually more of the GoPro, strapped-to-the-helmet variety), but when Marty Stano uploaded the video "Alaskan Road Trip" to Vimeo, its slick production value caught our eye, and the subject matter is perfect for summertime in Alaska, when tourists descend upon the state in force, arriving from sea, air and ground, via the Alaska Highway.
Anyone who's driven from the Lower 48 to Alaska knows what a long slog it can be. Sure, it doesn't start out so bad, but once the charm of the Canadian countryside wears off and you just want to get to your destination, stopping for another moose crossing the road just makes you angry. So for those who have driven the highway enough in their lifetime, a condensed 55-second version of it is just the ticket.
It was a full itinerary for Stano -- a filmmaker from Ann Arbor, Mich. -- and Kelly Gallagher. Stano laid out their route in an email:
Ann Arbor, MI - Chicago - Milwaukee, WI - Minneapolis, MN - Badlands N.P. - Mt Rushmore/Blackhills - Big Horn N.P. - Yellowstone - Glacier N.P., MT - Calgary - Banff - Jasper - Dawson Creek - Whitehorse - Dawson City - Valdez - Kennicott/McCarthy - Palmer - Anchorage - Homer - Seward - Denali - Fairbanks - Chena Hot Springs - Haines - Ferry to Juneau - Sitka - Ketchikan - Prince Rupert - Vancouver - Seattle - Portland - Back Home to Ann Arbor, MI
Whew. All told, the trip took about three months, and was supported by a fundraiser on the popular small-scale donation site Kickstarter that raised more than $7,000. Stano wrote about the many kickstarter contributors in a post on his blog, "The Pan American Dream," and you can see the original Kickstarter page here.
Not just a youthful lark to the Last Frontier, Stano and Gallagher also hosted a young filmmakers' workshop in Palmer, where students did everything from learning shooting techniques to editing their own film over the course of three days, with the finished product screened at the Palmer Food Film Festival. A blog post about that experience (as well as the finished video) can be found here.
To see more of Marty and Kelly's excellent work -- and to see how they fit three months worth of supplies into a little Chevy Aveo -- check out the Vimeo page or the YouTube page, and visit their blog here.
While "Sarah Palin's Alaska" has finished its eight-week run on TLC, Alaska Dispatch continues to take a look at the Last Frontier as it's experienced by residents across the state -- urban and rural, young and old, from all walks of life. You've seen "Sarah Palin's Alaska" -- now welcome to Our Alaska.