On Saturday we woke up, packed our lunches, and hit the road for a day of fun! As we were driving in town to get to the Glenn Hwy we saw 2 moose. I had never seen a moose before in real life and it was awesome! I was so thrilled to be able to see a couple so close by. We got on Glenn Hwy (many of the few roads in Alaksa) and drove to a town between Wasilla and Talkeetna to go dog sledding. I was so excited to experience such a thrilling opportunity! When we drove into the area, there were Alaskan Huskies all over and they each had their own dog house. As the director explained to us the process of the mushers hooking up the dogs to the sled, we watched how they did it. They hooked up 3 different sleds with 8 dogs attached to each sled. The dogs were so excited once they knew it was their time to go for a run. It is amazing to see how excited they are compared to how excited my dog gets. I have always thought my dog would get so excited to go for a walk, but compared to the Alaskan Huskies who are born to dog sled my dog does not compare. Once the dogs were hooked up, the musher took 2 students each on the sled. One got to stand on the back of the sled and one sat down. We got to take turns throughout the ride. The views were awesome and it was wonderful to be able to experience the excitement of dog sledding (especially in Alaska!!!!!). The dog sled team averaged about 7-8 mph around a groomed loop trail in the field and woods. After I was done with the sled ride, we got to pet the dogs, see puppies, and learn more about what they do. We got to tour the area more in depth and learn as we went. One interesting thing they had was a building where there was a treadmill for the dogs to run on in the summer so they don’t get too hot running outside. The building had fans and controls the temperature so the dogs can run easier since they are so use to the cold. The treadmill was huge. It could fit 11 dogs on it and the dogs would be hooked up to a harness. Some of the other things we saw and learned about were the meat cutter for all their food, how the puppies will eventually become part of a sled team as when they start running, and some of the retired dogs. All of the dogs on this property are owned my Dallas Sevey. Dallas is a 4 time Iditarod winner so it was awesome to be able to be around such professional dogs who have done amazing work throughout their lives. After dog sledding we traveled to Talkeetna which wasn’t far from the dog sledding. It was a very small town, but somewhere were tourists find intrigued to visit. We walked through town, stopping at gift shops and a small bakery. I got some Alaska souvenirs while shopping at the gift shops. Overall is was a great Alaska day and got to experience something I never thought I would of done.
On Sunday we woke up early again to travel the other direction to explore Seward. On the way to Seward, we stopped to take many photos as the mountain views were great! We also stopped at an artisan well to fill up our water bottles. There was a huge pipe sticking out of the mountains where a heavy flow of water was coming out. The taste of the water was good! As we got to Seward, many of the students went to the Seward Sea life museum, but Sarah, Megan H, and I wandered around the town. We first wandered around down by the water. The view was incredible. The mountains were right on the other side of the water and the water looked teal blue. We also saw a couple seals near shore and they popped their head out a couple times. As we walked some more we found the sign where the Iditarod starts and read some Iditarod informational signs. It was cool to be able to be where the Iditarod actually starts and it was cool because the Iditarod was going on at the time. As we wandered up towards the stores, we went into a couple of the shops to look around. Many of the shops were closed for the winter season so we weren’t able to see much of the town. I loved all the views throughout the day though because I have never seen such beautiful mountains and views like this in my life. I can’t explain it as the pictures don’t explain what you really see in person. On our way home from Seward, we got stuck on the Seward Hwy for over an hour due to an accident. The snow had started to come down hard and the roads were slippery. Because Alaska doesn’t have a lot of roads, the Seward Hwy was the only way we could get back to Anchorage so we had to wait for the road to become clear. Great day of scenery and I hope to go back again soon. I would love to come back in the summer to see what Alaska looks like then.
On Sunday we woke up early again to travel the other direction to explore Seward. On the way to Seward, we stopped to take many photos as the mountain views were great! We also stopped at an artisan well to fill up our water bottles. There was a huge pipe sticking out of the mountains where a heavy flow of water was coming out. The taste of the water was good! As we got to Seward, many of the students went to the Seward Sea life museum, but Sarah, Megan H, and I wandered around the town. We first wandered around down by the water. The view was incredible. The mountains were right on the other side of the water and the water looked teal blue. We also saw a couple seals near shore and they popped their head out a couple times. As we walked some more we found the sign where the Iditarod starts and read some Iditarod informational signs. It was cool to be able to be where the Iditarod actually starts and it was cool because the Iditarod was going on at the time. As we wandered up towards the stores, we went into a couple of the shops to look around. Many of the shops were closed for the winter season so we weren’t able to see much of the town. I loved all the views throughout the day though because I have never seen such beautiful mountains and views like this in my life. I can’t explain it as the pictures don’t explain what you really see in person. On our way home from Seward, we got stuck on the Seward Hwy for over an hour due to an accident. The snow had started to come down hard and the roads were slippery. Because Alaska doesn’t have a lot of roads, the Seward Hwy was the only way we could get back to Anchorage so we had to wait for the road to become clear. Great day of scenery and I hope to go back again soon. I would love to come back in the summer to see what Alaska looks like then.