Saturday May 10, 2018 - Tekeetna AK
Today was an excursion day so early this morning we packed up some sandwiches and started to drive towards Tekeetna, AK for a sled dog tour. As we drove in we were greeted by many Alaskan huskies. As we got dressed in our snow gear they hooked the dogs up to three sleds for us with eight dogs each. Above is a picture of my dog sled team. As they got the harnesses out the dogs became so excited it was easy to tell how much they loved to run. Even as they were hooked to the sled the younger dogs would try to run bolting ahead even though the brakes were on and the sled would not go. The younger dogs would continue this motion again and again because they knew that eventually the sled would start moving. Two of us students and one musher went out on each sled and went through the field, some trees, and around a loop that they had groomed so the snow was not too deep. The view was spectacular and we were able to look out to the mountains on this warm sunny day. Our musher explained that sometimes when the sky was completely clear you could see Denali (Mt. McKinley) but today it was slightly too cloudy for it to be visible.
After our dog sled tour we had a tour of the farm area. There was a treadmill sort of machine in a temperature-controlled building where they were able to hook up twelve dogs at a time. This way the dogs could even go for runs in the summer when it would be just too hot for them outside. They showed us the meat cutter, which was used to cut the many many pounds of salmon and beef given to each dog a few times per day. We also saw the puppies that were just a few months old. The puppies had not started pulling sleds yet but were just getting used to being around people and other dogs as they grew up. These puppies were bred to be sled dogs and you could tell this by the amount of energy and strength they had already before they even knew how to channel it into running.
These dogs all belonged to Dallas Sevey, four-time Iditarod winner. The last thing we saw on our tour was his Iditarod trophies which were displayed in the shed. The picture above shows this display. The dogs that they used to run the tours were dogs that Dallas had previously raced and won with and who had started to retire as well as younger ones who were just learning from the older ones. The farm itself had a wide range of Alaskan huskies ranging from the dogs that had fully retired from racing and no longer had any interest in running to the few month old puppies who had not yet started to do dog sledding. During this time I was able to cross dog sledding off my bucket list, got to play with the dogs, learned more about dog sledding, and was able to take in the view of the beautiful mountains.
After this experience we drove up the road a little ways to Talkeetna, which is a small touristy town. The picture above is the Talkeetna town sign. Here we walked through some gift shops, took some pictures, and stopped at a small bakery. Today was our last full day together as a large group as some students will start heading to other sites after our day at Seward tomorrow. I will be heading to Iguigig early Monday morning for my first bit of Alaska capstone experiences.
Today was an excursion day so early this morning we packed up some sandwiches and started to drive towards Tekeetna, AK for a sled dog tour. As we drove in we were greeted by many Alaskan huskies. As we got dressed in our snow gear they hooked the dogs up to three sleds for us with eight dogs each. Above is a picture of my dog sled team. As they got the harnesses out the dogs became so excited it was easy to tell how much they loved to run. Even as they were hooked to the sled the younger dogs would try to run bolting ahead even though the brakes were on and the sled would not go. The younger dogs would continue this motion again and again because they knew that eventually the sled would start moving. Two of us students and one musher went out on each sled and went through the field, some trees, and around a loop that they had groomed so the snow was not too deep. The view was spectacular and we were able to look out to the mountains on this warm sunny day. Our musher explained that sometimes when the sky was completely clear you could see Denali (Mt. McKinley) but today it was slightly too cloudy for it to be visible.
After our dog sled tour we had a tour of the farm area. There was a treadmill sort of machine in a temperature-controlled building where they were able to hook up twelve dogs at a time. This way the dogs could even go for runs in the summer when it would be just too hot for them outside. They showed us the meat cutter, which was used to cut the many many pounds of salmon and beef given to each dog a few times per day. We also saw the puppies that were just a few months old. The puppies had not started pulling sleds yet but were just getting used to being around people and other dogs as they grew up. These puppies were bred to be sled dogs and you could tell this by the amount of energy and strength they had already before they even knew how to channel it into running.
These dogs all belonged to Dallas Sevey, four-time Iditarod winner. The last thing we saw on our tour was his Iditarod trophies which were displayed in the shed. The picture above shows this display. The dogs that they used to run the tours were dogs that Dallas had previously raced and won with and who had started to retire as well as younger ones who were just learning from the older ones. The farm itself had a wide range of Alaskan huskies ranging from the dogs that had fully retired from racing and no longer had any interest in running to the few month old puppies who had not yet started to do dog sledding. During this time I was able to cross dog sledding off my bucket list, got to play with the dogs, learned more about dog sledding, and was able to take in the view of the beautiful mountains.
After this experience we drove up the road a little ways to Talkeetna, which is a small touristy town. The picture above is the Talkeetna town sign. Here we walked through some gift shops, took some pictures, and stopped at a small bakery. Today was our last full day together as a large group as some students will start heading to other sites after our day at Seward tomorrow. I will be heading to Iguigig early Monday morning for my first bit of Alaska capstone experiences.