That brings memories of our last year in Alaska when we invested in a Chevy Greenbrier Van, with a Corvair rear engine. It was perfect for the fellows to go hunting for caribou (easily accommodated half a dozen caribou, dressed out) and moose, and was one of the few vehicles that could plow through deep snow there. The previous owner had added a personnel heater in the back, so it was toasty for all passengers.
When the summer of 1966 came, we were to return to The Lower 48, and I upholstered the long seats on either side that spread out to make beds - and made side curtains to match, planning to camp out every other night on the journey. We spent $300 to ensure the engine was in top condition, and at one minute into 1 June, finally headed back to civilization.
By 0200, we had to put on sunglasses, driving southeast.
Bernie finally decided to get some sleep in the back and let me drive a while. ERROR!! As I approached the end of the paved highway near the border of Alaska with The Yukon Territory, looming ahead was nothing but a sea of mud! It had rained heavily there, over a torn up stretch about to be repaved.
DILEMMA - I knew with the 70 hp engine, if I slowed down at all, we would never get going again, and we hadn't seen another car for a couple of hours. No way to get help in total wilderness.
Picture the dog and four humans aboard, asleep, suddenly flying through a quagmire, Mommo at the wheel, going like Gangbusters, mud streaming past the windows..:))
LOL
That succeeded, however, in getting us through the border (unmanned), and to the rest of the Alaska Highway, then all gravel.
The passengers settled back to sleep again, and I plowed on - toward The Next Disaster. Going around the top of the Rocky Mountains is a bit tricky.
They woke again with me going up, nearly to the peak of one long stretch on the two-lane road, only to have two road graders working in tandem, only slightly apart rather than side by side, coming around it toward me!
No way to stop or get out of the way, with several thousand feet of a drop to my immediate left, and to the right, a mountain wall - to do anything but grit my teeth, hit the accelerator, and snake through a tiny gap between them! Whew - needless to say, at the first opportunity, I was replaced as the driver..:))