AUGUST 5 (evening) and 6 (morning), 2002 |
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AUGUST 5 (evening) and 6 (morning), 2002 |
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So what does one do in the evenings in Seward, Alaska, where it stays light until 10:30 pm? We decided to go moose hunting! A park ranger guided us to a location where one had recently been sighted, and Rick was able to spot this moose enjoying a meal of leaves in the woods. |
| So what do you do at 9 pm? How about a hike out to a glacier? This shot was taken at Exit Glacier at about 9:30 pm. |  |
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The next morning we checked out Seavey's Iditarod Adventure. The Seavey family includes three generations of veterans of the Iditarod, including Mitch Seavey who finished fourth in 1998. This a picture of the dog kennel area, where around 60 dogs are housed in these plastic barrels. The dogs sit quietly until the harnesses come out, and then the sound is deafening! They all want to be picked to pull the sled! |
| One of our tour guides was Jim Gallea, a two time veteran of the Iditarod. Here he shows us the sled and equipment that they use in the race. We enjoyed the stories he shared and his patient answers to our curious questions. |  |
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We were allowed to hold these adorable 11 day old puppies. They like the puppies to get used to being around people, so this is part of their early training. (Don't let my cat see this picture!) |
| I was quite fascinated by this dog named Tread. We watched him play and chew on this rock, which seemed to be his unique hobby. Our guide said he was one of the smarter dogs and was an experienced Iditarod race dog. Maybe he knows something about rocks that we don't know! |  |
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The most fun part of this tour was the dog sled ride.
In the summer the dogs have their "weight training" by pulling carts filled
with tourists on the trails around the camp. The dogs love to pull,
and it was amazing that a dozen dogs could pull a heavy cart filled with
even heavier tourists (especially after all that cruise food)! Our
trip through the woods covered several miles. What a blast!
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