Alaska Excursions: Husky Homestead Tour

This was our second excursion, and I think it was the one that most people in our group had been interested in and really looking forward to.

One of the things that was cool about the excursions and travel during the trip was that the bus drivers were all trained as guides, too, so they were able to make good use of any transportation time to give information about wherever we were driving or the activities we were heading toward. In this case, our driver Trenton was not just our driver, but also gave part of the presentation at the homestead. He had a quirky dry sense of humor, and knew a ton about dog sledding. Turns out he fell in love with the sport and with Alaska many years ago and moved up there to be closer to it all. We got to hear about his personal journey with dog sledding and how he came to work at the homestead, which was really neat.

When we arrived at the homestead, we were greeted by staff who passed out puppies for everyone to hold. It was pretty fun snuggling up with a couple of cute puppies and watching everyone else do the same.

After everyone had a turn, they started shepherding us to an outdoor area where we would hear a bit more about the homestead and dog sledding, plus watch the dogs take a training run. There's really no way to describe what it felt like to be there: the dogs clearly knew what was coming, and they just went crazy barking and jumping! They picked a few dogs (maybe 8?) to hook up to harnesses attached to an ATV, and as soon as they were set, they were off! We also got to see a dog run on the wheel (a big version of what gerbils and hamsters use--they originally just had one for puppies, but then built one for the adult dogs, who seem to like it, too.)

For the next part of the program, we moved indoors for more details about the Iditarod Race from Jeff King, our host and several-time winner of the race. He's still racing today, and often finishes in the top 10. Well, actually, he'd say the dogs are racing; he's just holding on.

I'm not sure what I expected, except that I knew we'd see dogs and hold puppies, but we actually learned a lot, too, which was great! And, everyone who spoke had a great way of connecting with us and making it engaging and funny. Here are a few cool facts we learned:

• There are about 36 adult dogs on the property.
• They breed dogs to go on the racing team, and dogs that don't make their team are often sold to others (sometimes, the Iditarod is won by another team with several dogs from their homestead!).
• Our holding the puppies is considered an important part of their training--they need to be able to interact with people well to be successful. 
• To keep up with naming the new litters of puppies, Jeff's daughters came up with the idea to have a theme for each litter, so each puppy would have a name that went with the theme. Some of the ones I remember are: cheese, criminals, Disney characters, etc. The names were really cute!
• During the race, the dogs eat 10,000 calories each day!

And now, the pictures...

The youngest puppy there, and the only one in its litter, named Lucky.

Getting ready for their run.

Our bus driver, Trenton.

They called this "dog yoga."

The wheel.

Our host, Jeff King.

The indoor presentation space.

Check out the Husky Homestead website for more info. Their 5-minute video gives a good idea of what the experience is like, and Mark also took a video of the employees getting the dogs ready for their training run which captures the energy and excitement of the dogs. If you're ever in Denali, make sure you check this place out!

Alaska Excursions: Byers Lake Nature Walk

This was our first excursion, and it turned out to be one of my favorites (ok, I'll probably write that a lot, but really--it was excellent!).

Our guide Rachel picked us up at the Princess Lodge and drove us about 30 minutes to the lake. On the drive, we had our first moose sighting! We also learned a bit about driving in Alaska in the summer. Basically, there are only a few highways in the state, and with the long, harsh winters, summer is construction season. It seemed like every road we drove on was under construction, often causing significant delays, and this outing was no exception. It was a bit rainy, though, so we were hoping by the time we got there, the storm might blow over.

We weren't totally in luck with the rain, but the tour company had some rain gear there for us to put on, then we were on our way. Despite the light rain, it was beautiful from the start. We spent about an hour walking on the trail along the lake, and our guide gave us really interesting information about what we were seeing. We learned all about the native plants, and Rachel made a point of letting us sample some of the edible ones like fireweed, wild roses, and tree sap. We also learned about a wild looking plant called Devils' club and a few other plants like fiddleheads and some poisonous ones. We got a nice view of the lake from a little dock, and after a while, we turned around and retraced the trail, with our guide giving us new information and answering all of our questions as we went. Somewhere after the halfway point, we caught a break and the sun came out a bit!

Here are some pics:

Rachel explaining the plants
(this is Devil's club, I think).

A view of the lake.

Our tour group.

The sky is starting to clear!

The growths on the tree are called conks.
Rachel says they only grow on dead trees.

We learned all about burls, too!
Growths that happen when trees
try to contain an infection.

Blue sky!

One of a few cabins people can rent at the lake.

The moose!

As we got on the bus, Rachel gave each of us a little sample of some all natural Alaskan made balm, and we drove back to the resort, seeing the moose again on the way. We had found out in the course of the tour that Rachel and her roommate lived in a cabin in the woods, and she mentioned that she often foraged for edible plants for dinner. My dad joked with her at the time that maybe we should all come to hear place for salad that night, and she joked back good naturedly that we were welcome, but she didn't have electricity or indoor plumbing. Well, on the way back, Dad convinced us (we happened to be sitting in the back two rows of the van) to stay in the car after the others in our group got out. When she asked us what we were waiting for, Dad said, "I thought you were taking us to your place for dinner!" She laughed and laughed, and genuinely offered to take us. Of course we didn't go, but as we were getting out of the van, we all realized that early on in the tour, we had learned that she was born in ABQ and lived there till partway through elementary school, when her family moved (to Alaska, I think). So we had a little conversation there swapping information and realized that her grandma had been the principal of Dennis Chavez, where we all went to school, and that I'm acquaintances with her best friend from 1st grade! Our parents also went to the same high school, Sandia, probably at the same time. It was such a wild conversation, and Dad ended up inviting her for dinner with us at the lodge restaurant, but she wasn't able to work out her transportation. At any rate, it really made our day to find those unexpected connections, and it reminded us all of Pop-Pop, who was always running into people he knew in weird places. :-)

Suffice it to say, this outing, and our guide, set the bar high for the rest of the trip!

Alaska Vacation Overview

For a few years, my parents have been wanting to take the family (Mom and Dad, Julie, Grandma, Mark, and me) on a big family vacation. This winter, after much discussion, we decided to go to Alaska. My mom took care of booking the trip and making the main decisions about the itinerary, and Mark and I researched and recommended the excursions. We were gone from June 9-20, and it was an amazing experience! I've got a ton of pictures and lots of memories that I'd like to document here, so apologies in advance if you get Alaska overload!

The trip had two main parts: land and sea. Here's an outline of our itinerary:

• Day 1: Travel to Anchorage, where we met up with the rest of our family. We spent one night there at the beautiful Captain Cook hotel. 
• Day 2: A bit of time to walk around Anchorage in the morning before a 3.5 hour motor coach ride north to the McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge near Denali National Park. Later that afternoon, we enjoyed a lovely nature walk around Byers Lake.
• Day 3: Some time to relax and explore the Lodge in the morning, a movie there about the Northern Lights, then a 2 hour drive to the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. In the evening, we saw the Husky Homestead tour.
• Day 4: We were up early for the bus tour of Denali National Park. In the afternoon, we spent some time shopping at the lodge and in the touristy shops across the street. 
• Day 5: Another early morning to board the 9 hour scenic train back south, from Denali down to the port at Whittier where we boarded the cruise ship.
• Day 6: Scenic Cruising at the Hubbard Glacier. 
• Day 7: Scenic Cruising at Glacier Bay National Park. 
• Day 8: A day in Skagway, kayaking and riding the scenic railroad. We also did a bit of shopping in what turned out to be my favorite port. 
• Day 9: A day in Juneau. We started with a float trip down a glacier-fed river, then did some walking near the Mendenhall Glacier. That evening, Mark and I watched The Imitation Game on the ship's outdoor movie screen (they call it "Movies Under the Stars").
• Day 10: A day in Ketchikan. We took a small boat called a "Seahawk" to an island where we had a guided walk through the rainforest. That evening, Mom and Dad made reservations at one of the ship's specialty restaurants (the steakhouse) to celebrate my birthday and Grandma's birthday.
• Day 11: At sea--we enjoyed some beautiful coastlines and saw some porpoises from the deck. 
• Day 12: The end of the adventure in Vancouver (though we didn't see much of the city, as we simply boarded a bus to the airport). 

Overall, we had such a wonderful time! It was great to see my family during the summer, and also to experience the beauty and magnitude of Alaska. While the trip was long (and I think we were all a bit worn out by the end!), there's not a thing I would skip. In fact, I hope Mark and I have a chance to go back, either to some of the same places or to see another part of the state. So, if you're interested in more details about the trip, read on. Also, if you've ever considered visiting Alaska--save up the money and DO IT! You won't regret it. :-)

Bunker Hill

As many of you probably know, Mark's mom's family has been having annual reunions at a place called Bunker Hill Retreat (near Mountain View, MO) for decades. We all thought last year was the final reunion there (as it's become harder for Mark's grandmother, who has paid for everyone to go, to be away from her home and routine). But in the late spring, Mark's parents decided to organize a trip for just them and their kids to get together. We were lucky to find a time we could all get there, in early June, and had a great time catching up and enjoying this unique place again.

The group was Mom and Dad, Katie, Heidi and the kids, Damon and his girlfriend, Grandpa (Dad's dad, for his first visit to Bunker Hill), and Mark and I. While we certainly missed seeing cousins, aunts, and uncles, it was a really nice trip. We also stopped in Springfield on the way to see Gran and Aunt Sue. Check out these cool features from Aunt Sue's garden:

Also in Springfield, we had breakfast at a cute restaurant called the Aviary:

Once we got to Bunker Hill, as usual, we spent a lot of our time playing games (this year, larger-group games were most popular: Taboo, Mafia, and the Ungame, for example). The guys went golfing twice, and the ladies spent some time exploring the cute shops in downtown Mountain View (about the size of downtown BG, but even quieter, if you can imagine). A few of us also stopped in the public library once or twice to take advantage of the wifi. Zach and I spent some time on the river in a canoe, though we weren't able to venture as far up river as we have in years past--the water was the highest I've ever seen it, and we weren't able to paddle against it (and I was afraid the current was too strong to safely hop out and pull the canoe along). Another interesting thing this year was the cooler weather--no one ever needed to turn on the AC in the cabins, and I spent most of the time wearing extra layers. I don't have very many pics, but if I get more from Mom and Mad, I may update this post then. (Thanks, Damon, for yours!)

On the drive home, Mark and I sacrificed some efficiency to stop at some silly roadside landmarks: the world's largest wind chime, the world's largest rocking chair (coming soon!), and the world's largest golf tee.

The trip was short but sweet! After coming home, we had a few days to finish preparing for our next adventure--the land/sea vacation in Alaska hosted by my parents (photos and more coming soon :-).