Both of us were very reluctant to get up and moving this morning (because we’ve been staying up late because of the light) but we did as we had a booking to go and meet some puppies.
It was quick 10min drive to the Seavey’s Iditaride Sled Dog Tour.
We completed our booking and had a short wait till our tour started. Then we went to see the dogs. They were so excited. Barking and jumping and desperate to get some pats.
It was amazing. The dogs got so loud when they saw the harnesses. All wanted to be one of the 16 picked to run. The sled is anchored to the ground and we quickly found out why when they all started pulling before we were ready to go. This white one was particularly keen.
Finally they were all harnessed and we were off. Such power. The musher actually keeps the brakes on to stop them from going too fast.
Such a fun experience. Even if we don’t get to experience this on the ice I’m now happy :-). When we got back we were able to pat the dogs. This one was especially demanding with his need for pats.
And I just love this one lying on his kennel – too cute.
You could tell the dogs were very well looked after – not a dog poo in sight and the water very clean. Nearly 100 very happy and well cared for dogs.
Next up was meeting the new puppies.
How cute is this little face?
And then there was Chinook – the only pure Siberean Husky. And about twice the size of the other dogs.
After a truly wonderful 90mins here we headed out for a quick look at Exit Glacier.
It’s apparently the most accessable glacier in Alaska and only takes about one hour for a return hike….unfortunately we didn’t feel we had enough time…
as we had to get to Cooper Landing for our scenic float on the the Kenai River. We arrived in plenty of time and had a lunch of wraps before making our way down to the water to get into our lovely waterproof clothing. We only took the waterproof camera and for some reason some of the photos didn’t turn up.
It was a lovely trip down the river and we spotted our first bald eagle and Kevin spotted our first moose.
After we finished floating down the river to Jim’s landing (which took nearly 2 hours) we were driven back to our cars (which took 15mins). On the way our guide recommended Sackett’s as a good place to eat. Even though we’d had lunch at 12.30pm, it was now 3.30pm and we were hungry enough to share a meal.
We got a grilled cheese and mushroom sandwich. Sounds a little weird but boy was it good. Unfortunately I took the photo too quickly as Kevin was itching to get his paws on it – hence you can’t even see the cheese & mushrooms…..
Then we were back on the road for the 2.5 hour drive to Homer. We quickly headed into a very flat countryside – which was so weird after being having surrounded by mountains since we arrived.
But towards the end of our trip the mountains came back into view – although they are across the water. This is view coming into Homer – the land you can see jutting out is Homer Spit.
Our RV park is actually in town (the one on the spit was twice the price). But we’re happy with our location.
We got settled for the night, showered, blogged and had another frozen dinner.
Tomorrow : We go on a small plane to go see some bears.
I wouldn’t be able to leave that place without stealing at least two puppies.