After the disappointment from our dashed dogsled experience, I began to seek out other options. When I called the Iditarod headquarters looking for mushers who could possibly introduce us to wild world of dogsledding, I got the name of one Jeff King. Jeff has won the Iditerod 4 times and lives with a whole mess of Huskys right outside Denali. I secured a meeting for us with him and all his pups. After Mr. Bullington steered our big ol’ residential vessel down a little dirt road to his house, we were greeted and immediately handed little puppies! Yippee! Who doesn’t love a fresh little puppy in their arms?!? Jeff is fo' real serious about all things Iditarod. And he talked A LOT and for A VERY LONG TIME about lots of dogsledding details. I learned that I am probably not cut out for a race such as this, or any race for that matter. But, I am totally cut out for strapping up a team of dogs and letting them pull me through the Alaskan Wilderness in a golf cart! That is just good clean fun! Wheee!
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| Doggies cool off in Jeff's pond |
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| Mush! |
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| The Man, The Myth, The Legend |
We had to make a quick stop at the 3 Bears Grocery/Hardware/gas station for provisions. We’ll be “camping” in Denali but without any hookups. Can I just say that RV camping isn’t really camping? It is hiding behind the smoke screen of camping but with running water and a toilet that flushes. If I never sleep in a tent again, it will be too soon.
When we returned to camp, I started dinner prep after kicking everyone out to the great outdoors. I listened to The Indigo Girls, drank wine, chopped veggies while the kids explored, put up Enos and helped John build a fire. We parked ourselves in a campground that was completely booked 8 months ago, now we are among a very small number of campers. The Welcome Centers are closed, the buses are running on a very limited schedule, but Y’ALL! We have this glorious national park ALL TO OURSELVES!!! We hiked for 4 miles and saw maybe 10 people. I remember a couple of years ago when we were in Yellowstone it was like Atlanta traffic with a few Buffalo crossing the road. Now is the time to see our National Parks! Flights are cheap! If you are going to have to educate those little stinkers your own selves, you might as well do it somewhere pretty!
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| Thomas' Culinary Experiement: Grilled Ruffles |
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| Served on a piece of bark... |
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