Down the Wild River North

In suburban Arizona, 1964, Connie Helmericks announced to her two daughters, 12-year-old Ann and 14-year-old Jean, "We're going to make a canoe expedition to the Arctic Ocean." And for two successive summers, that's exactly what they did. Connie Helmericks, arctic adventurer and author, was a wild spirit who yearned for adventure in an era of obedient women. In 1941, when she was twenty-three, she persuaded her husband to leave Arizona for the Alaskan wilds. Her successful books and their documentaries came later. She passed away in 1987.