Produced by the Shell Lake Boat Company in Shell Lake, Wisconsin, “Highway to Adventure” is a 1950s-era film that takes accompanies Alaskan explorer Father Bernard Hubbard along the Alaska Highway, referred to in this film as the Alcan Highway. (Hubbard was a Jesuit priest, geologist and explorer who popularized the Alaskan wilderness.) The highway runs through Canada and connects with continental United States with Alaska. The film opens with “polite officials” greeting motorists as they enter Canada and stop at “modern” hotels and restaurants as they pass through the Great North. The film is filled with breathtaking, scenic views including many of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks as the film crew heads to the Alcan Highway. We travel along Kicking Horse Pass (mark 03:13) across the Continental Divide on the Alberta and British Columbia border, then stop at Radium Hot Springs Lodge (mark 04:19). Mountain views and waterfalls fill the screen as the film continues before we stop at Teslin Lake (mark 06:20) on the border between British Columbia and Yukon to set up camp — and pull out their Eddie Bauer sleeping bag. After heading out on the water for a fishing trip, the crew catches a glimpse of smoke from a forest fire in the wilderness at mark 09:42, but the viewer is told that because of the remote location it will be up to the next rainfall to extinguish it.
By mark 12:50 we reach Juneau and start a “sea trip to adventure” (on a Shell Lake Boat) with the film crew capturing more scenic views and an occasional whale breaking the water (mark 20:00). Icebergs move majestically past at mark 21:03 and we’re reminded how their Johnson motor and Shell Lake Boat help them carefully navigate the waters and hazards. We reach the waters of Yosemite Valley National Park at mark 24:30 and spot a grizzly bear and her cub in the water (mark 25:05). After making it to the shore, the crew pull out their gear at mark 28:20 and fish for salmon and trout. Following the successful excursion the camera looks across the water and into the painted sky at mark 30:45 as the sun sets.
