Author Rose Rybachek's fascination with Alaska's Elliott Highway

began the first time she and her husband drove over it to Livengood during the summer of 1959. It was a narrow, winding, gravel and dirt road that wended its way through stately groves of birch trees, past scraggly spruce, over barren hills with magnificent views, past huge rocks, over several picturesque rivers, and through blueberry fields.

Through the years, Rybachek's family experienced many adventures along the scenic Elliott Highway. Bumps in the Road offers a glimpse into the lifestyle of a fiercely independent and resourceful family experiencing extreme conditions along the remote highway, better known as the Haul Road, which was made famous by the hit television series, Ice Road Truckers.

With her wry humor, Rybachek tells a series of tales showing that survival along the mid-century Elliott required ingenuity and not a small amount of luck, embodying the spirit one would expect from true pioneers of Alaska.