While many adventurous travelers were disappointed to see the famous bus from the “Into the Wild” book removed from its original iconic location, it was just announced that the bus will now have a new permanent home: at the Museum of the North, at the University of Alaska.
Here are the details.
The story
I won’t repeat everything. In our detailed article about the bus’ removal, we covered:
- the story behind the bus in the Alaska wilderness (and why it was a popular pilgrimage)
- why they removed it (TL;DR to stop people from dying)
- the spectacular video of the bus being airlifted by a helicopter
The new location
For all the reasons mentioned in that previous article, a lot of people wanted the famous Bus 142 to remain publicly-accessible as a form of tribute.
The good news is that a deal was apparently been reached.
The University of Alaska, located in Fairbanks (the state’s second-largest city) operates the Museum of the North.
That’s where the bus will be preserved in the future. Many institutions across the country applied, but they wanted to choose one that was close by: it happens to be about 200 kilometers from the original location. Given how remote the “Magic Bus” was, that’s pretty decent and it would’ve been hard to do better than that.
Alaska’s Natural Resources Commissioner Corri Feige said: “I believe that giving Bus 142 a long-term home in Fairbanks at the UA Museum of the North can help preserve and tell the stories of all these people. It can honor all of the lives and dreams, as well as the deaths and sorrows associated with the bus, and do so with respect and dignity.”
So you’ll still be able to go on an epic journey to Alaska to see the bus… but it’s a journey that will be a lot different (and safer) than it would have been 2 months ago.
That said, I doubt there is any shortage of amazing adventures in the US’ largest state.
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Summary
The famous Bus 142 will soon be publicly-accessible in Fairbanks, Alaska.
What do you think of this development? Tell us in the comments below.
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Featured image: bus removal video screen capture (photo credit: Military Thread)
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