Ilse Abshagen sits on the Ugly Duckling, looking through binoculars in 1961. (Photo courtesy of Christiane Leitinger)

For the past few months, Christiane Leitinger has been hunting down a vehicle previously owned by her parents, named the Ugly Duckling. 

The journey took her from Juneau to Haines to Anchorage tracing the path her family  took in 1961 when they drove from Florida to Alaska in the World War II-era GMC that is part car, part…

Lizzy Hahn is a reporter and photographer from Nome. She has worked in newsrooms across Alaska including the Anchorage Daily News, Nome Nugget and UAF Sun Star.