Richard has two sons from a previous marriage. My oldest stepson, Robert,
from Vallejo, California, flew into Anchorage shortly before Ryan flew
out and spent almost a week with us. Ryan and Robert got to spend a little time together. Tonight,
Robert flies back to San Francisco (where he works for the San Francisco
Fire Department), and then he'll go directly back to work in the morning.
 |
| Robert and Dad |
We
had a really good time visiting and seeing some of the beautiful sights.
He has been on a cruise of the Inner Passage of Alaska, but he agreed that
isn't really seeing the REAL Alaska. I always ask the "kids"
(big and little) what their favorite thing was. Robert's was the tour to
the Ididaride (isn't that a clever name).
Ididaride Dog Sled Tours are run by the Seavey family. They are three
generation Iditarod winners. In 1973, Dan Seavey (father of the
owner of Ididaride) was one of the founders of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog
Race, a 1,000-mile sled dog race from Anchorage to Nome. He placed
third in the first race and fifth in the third race.
Dan's
son Mitch ran his first Iditarod in 1982 placing 22nd. In 1995, Mitch ran
his second Iditarod and placed 20th. He has competed in every Iditarod
race since. He won the Iditarod in 2004. In 2013, Mitch became the
oldest to win the Iditarod at age 53. In 2012, one of Mitch's sons,
Dallas won the Iditarod Championship.
The
Seavey Dog Sled Tours run in the summer with wheeled sleds and also in the
winter. This is what I consider a real Alaskan adventure. It begins with a two-mile dog sled ride. The
minute the dogs see the harnesses brought out, they begin to bark and jump
around. The most excited dogs are the
ones picked to be harnessed to comfortable wheeled sleds.
 |
| Robert in blue shirt and hat on wheeled dog sled waiting to hear "Mush" |
They told us that most people can’t own mushers because they demand so much attention. They need to run several times a day, every day. They are happy to be hooked up and pulling sleds. The minute the sleds leave the kennel, the dogs not chosen stop barking and lay back down.
The dogs pull
the sleds through the Alaskan wilderness to the base of Resurrection Mountain and
along Box Canyon Creek. The guide explains how they train and steer the dogs,
and tell stories from the trail.
Upon return to the
kennel, there is a tour of the beautiful kennel facilities, a guest is dressed
up as an Iditarod musher, and then you get to cuddle the adorable husky
puppies. This tour was chosen as one of Alaska’s Top Twenty Attractions, and is
a must-do for all visitors to Alaska.
 |
| 5-week old husky puppies. They are so cute. |
A Little History of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race:
The most famous event in the history of Alaskan mushing
is the 1925 serum race to Nome, also known as the "Great Race of
Mercy." A diptheria epidemic threatened Nome, especially the Alaska Native
children who had no immunity to the "white man's disease". The nearest quantity of antitoxin was found
to be in Anchorage. Since the two available planes were out of commission and
had never been flown in the winter, the governor approved a safer route.
The
20-pound cylinder of serum was sent by train 298 miles from the southern port of
Seward to Nenana where it was passed just before midnight on January 27 to the
first of twenty mushers and more than 100 dogs who relayed the package 674 miles
from Nenana to Nome. The dogs ran in relays, with no dog running over 100 miles.
 |
| Robert took this picture of his Dad at a watermill-run grinding stone where Richard has sharpened his knives every time we've gone through Moose Pass. With two more trips still scheduled to be made, he should have the sharpest knives in the world. Hey, maybe I should keep an eye on all those sharp knives. I do still have to go through no-man land of Canada. Yikes!!!
Until next time,
Dolores
|
No comments:
Post a Comment