In praise of “beaters” – my F-150
My old F-150 doesn’t get much use anymore. Other than hauling firewood, lumber, rocks or snow, she just sits in a portable garage hidden beside the house. This morning I took it into town to fix a gate at our rental house, though. As I was driving down the Alaska Highway, I looked over and the way Monty and Kayla were settled in brought back a lot of really nice memories.
The fur-kids always loved this truck – none of the nonsense they get when we go out in the Outback, relegated to the back seat! Cuddled up beside me, often with one of their heads in my lap. But that was a simpler life – when we lived in the cabin at Carcross. Would I go back? No, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t miss it occasionally.
After the gate job was done I went by the airport and there were a couple of MoT Cessna 550 Citations on the ramp, so I stopped for a few photos. Monty kept a close eye on me 🙂
On Fireweed Drive, almost home. The windshield has lots of cracks in it, but it’s no worse now than it was 10 years ago, so as long as the Yukon never brings in “safety” inspections it’ll do just fine.
At 21 years old she isn’t pretty anymore. She only has 153,000 km on the odometer, but those are hard miles, crawling over boulders, bulldozing through willows on overgrown mining roads, slamming through snowdrifts with a plow on the front, hauling loads that were far beyond what she was built to carry. Ah, the places we Explored together! Most of the “hard play” days are over now, and with the few miles I put on now I expect she’ll be with me as long as I need a workhorse.
In March 2012 I added another photo, of the old girl still hard at work clearing the driveway.
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