Day 10 Mt. Mckinley Princess lodge/ Talkeetna, Sun Dog Kennels Dog Mushing, Anchorage
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| Talkeetna Visitor Center |
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| Welcome to Talkeetna Historic Park |
We have rescheduled our dog mushing excursion from 8:30AM to 10 AM today and thus, we had a little bit more time to sleep (get up at 7 AM, yeah) and enjoy our breakfast. After our “morning business”, we packed and left our luggage outside of the room, and then we took the shuttle bus from the lodge to Talkeetna for breakfast and dog mushing.
We hopped on the 8AM shuttle bus and arrived Talkeetna around 9AM. We brisk walked through the town and arrived at our destination--- Talkeentna Roadhouse. (http://www.talkeetnaroadhouse.com/cafe-and-bakery.html) I like the TV show called “Man vs Food” by travel channel ® and it has a chapter that talks about Alaska. One of the restaurant that Adam (the host) recommended was the Talkeentna Roadhouse (http://www.travelchannel.com/video/adams-favorite-mvf-meal-12389) and he was impressed by the tastiness of the food, the authethicity of the home-cooking, and the genoursity of the portion. We ordered half portion of the Roadhouse standard breakfast (we exchanged bacon fo reindeer sausage) and a side order of a sourdough hotcake to share. Even the ½ portion had filled us up, I couldn’t imagine what would happen to us if we order the full version.
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| Talkeetna Roadhouse |
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| Sourdough Pancake |
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| Standard Roadhouse Breakfast (half portion) |
After breakfast, we walked to the Sun Dog Kennels store in downtown Talkeetna and staff drove us to the real site to meet with the dogs and musher. Dogsledding was used for transportation, hunting and travel back in the old age until the invention of snowmobile. Travel got easier but dog sledding was at risk of being extinguished. Luckily, the tradition got preserved because of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race held every March in Anchorage.
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| Sun Dog Kennels |
Like Olympic, Iditarod has a story behind it. In 1925 Nome Alaska, there was an episode of diphtheria death and at least 80 people were exposed to the bacteria. 1.1 million units of antitoxin serum were needed and at least 5 more people had died while waiting for the serum. A team of men and sled dogs worked together through the blizzard condition and delivered the serum in 5.5 days instead of the usual 25 days (through the usual mail route). A lot of children were saved on the costs of sled dogs’ life and part of the reason that Iditarod is held is to remember the heroic “serum run” from Nulato to Nome.
We arrived the “real site” for dog sledding around 10:15 AM and we could feel the “heat” from the enthusiastic dogs. I have never seen that many dogs in one place and all were barking and jumping at the same time. I asked the staff if the dogs were mad or tense since they saw 2 strangers walked in. The staff said the dogs were excited and trying to do all the tricks to get attentions. The owner had us sit in the cart and the team would choose the best dogs to participate in the running. We had 2 lead dogs, 2 swing dogs right behind the lead dogs, 6 dogs behind the swing dogs and 2 wheel dogs in front of the cart.
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| Who is the lucky one? |
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| Run Run Run!!! |
It was funny to see that when the dogs got picked and they would communicate with the friends who didn’t get picked yet-- sounds like the lucky dogs were telling its friends what tricks they need to do in order to be picked. And don’t get fooled by the harsh barking-- all dogs were very friendly and they loved to play and run with human. We sat in the cart being pulled by the dogs and see how the dogs changed direction with the owner’s whistle. I enjoyed the ride and wished it were winter so that we could ride the sledge on the ice. We stopped at the river so that doggy could rest and get rehydrated, then they took us back to the site and learned about how Sun Dog Kennels prepares for the Iditarod race each year.
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| Iditarod route for Odd and Even year |
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| Rest~Re-Hydrate! |
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| Beautiful dogs with good manners |
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| Still beautiful~ but doesn't care about how its look |
According to the owner, he will pick the best dogs for the race each year and each team can send 12-16 dogs to participate. Owner needs to ship the frozen food for the dogs before the game started and the food are packed in multiple small packages so that individual package will be sent to each checkpoint of the race. There are minimal requirements for the “survival package” such as a 1.75 pounds- 22 inches long (handle) axe, an at least 5 pounds sleeping bag, an operational cooker and pot that is big enough to boil at least 3 gallons of water (to heat up the food for the dog), at least 8 booties for each dog, a sled that is big enough to carry an injured or fatigue dog, etc. (For details: http://www.canismajor.com/dog/iditarod.html) It was interesting to see how the musher prepare for the game and what challenges he could have during the race.
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| Wife of the owner trying to explain about the "Survival Package" |
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| A bucket that at least holds 3 gallons of water |
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| Puppies~ new born |
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| Puppies~ 4-6 months old! |
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| Mt. McKinley |
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| Map of mountains |
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| Captain Cook Hotel |
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| A view from the window |
We went back to the lodge and took pictures of Mt. Mckinley--since there were some sunny spell. Then we had lunch, gather ourselves and be prepared for the shuttle bus going from the lodge to Anchorage. It took about 3 hours to commute to Anchorage and we arrived hotel Captain Cook around 6PM. It was the Memorial Day Holiday and the streets were dead quiet. We walked from the hotel to Humpy’s Alaskan Alehouse in Anchorage for dinner. (http://www.travelchannel.com/tv-shows/man-v-food/episodes/anchorage#map-scroll) We ordered a horseradish crusted halibut ($21.99), white bean sausage soup and an extra ½ pound red king crab leg ($22.99) and they were all very good. I was planning to order the famous berry crisp ($7.99) for dessert but too bad that there wasn’t any more space in my stomach. After dinner, we walked back to the hotel since all the stores (except for restaurants) were closed on the holiday, there were no point to walk around. We called it off for the day.
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| Humpy's Man VS Food Contest |
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| White Bean Sausage Soup |
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| 1/2 pound Red Alaskan King Crab Leg |
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| Horseradish Crusted Halibut |
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| Berry Crisp- as seen in Bon Appetit Magazine |
第十天, 麥金利山旅館, 雪橇狗拉車體驗,安克雷奇
我們把雪橇狗拉車體驗由原訂的早上8時30分延後至早上10時，因此，我們能騰出多一點點的時間休息（早上7點才起床啊），並享受我們的早餐。 梳洗過後，我們把行李整頓好, 然後放在房間外. 接著，我們便乘搭館內穿梭巴士從旅館到塔爾基特納去吃早餐和體驗雪橇狗拉車。
我們乘搭上午8時的巴士，於上午9點左右到達Talkeetna。我們快步走過市鎮,到達我們的目的地--- Talkeentna Roadhouse。 （http://www.talkeetnaroadhouse.com/cafe-and-bakery.html）我喜歡的旅遊飲食電視節目 “Man vs Food”其中有一章是介紹阿拉斯加的餐廳，主持人Adam推薦這Talkeentna Roadhouse 餐廳因為他對這家餐廳的家庭式操作, 食物的烹調口味及毫不吝惜的份量印象深刻. （http://www.travelchannel.com/video/adams-favorite-mvf-meal-12389）。我們只點了半份Roadhouse的標準早餐（我們要求馴鹿香腸, 不要煙肉）及點了一小份的酸奶熱香餅。即使是半份的份量也把我們的肚子塞滿了，我無法想像如果我們點了整份早餐,後果會是如何。
早餐後，我們走到市中心的雪橇狗店門市部去報到, 然後工作人員便開車帶我們到真正的雪橇狗拉車場地. 在開發初期,雪橇狗車是阿拉斯加主要的運輸工具. 無論運送貨物, 打獵, 交通…全都依賴雪橇狗車. 直到發明了雪地摩托車, 人們便開始依賴摩托車而棄用雪橇車. 摩托車令交通運輸變得更容易，但同時亦把雪橇狗車這文化推至被熄滅的危險邊沿。幸好每年三月都會在安克雷奇舉行艾迪塔羅雪橇狗拉車比賽，雪橇狗車 的傳統及文化因而得到了保存。
和奧運會一樣，艾迪塔羅雪橇狗拉車比賽也有它背後的故事。在1925年, 阿拉斯加的諾姆市爆發了第一宗因白喉而死亡的個案，至少有80人亦受到細菌的感染。 他們需要110萬個單位的抗毒素血清而至少有5人在等待救援的時候, 還沒有等到抗毒素血清便死去了。有一群英勇的壯男自告奮勇的說要把血清送到疫區． 他們帶著雪橇狗沿著郵路而過． 即使是在暴風雪的環境裡亦不減他們的銳氣． 他們在5.5天內抵達疫區，比平常的25天快很多。雖然有許多雪橇狗在這運送血清過程中犧牲了，但卻救活了許多孩子． 舉行艾迪塔羅雪橇狗拉車比賽的一其中一個原因就是要記念這些英雄，記念他們從Nulato把血清送到諾姆這偉大的行為．
我們在上午10時15分左右到達雪橇狗場． 我們在外面已經可以感受到那些熱血沸騰的雪橇狗那興奮的心情。我從來沒有見過有那麼多狗在同一個地方聚集，而且它們在同一時間又跳又叫。我問工作人員狗狗們是否看到了陌生人所以生氣或緊張？工作人員笑說狗兒看到了客人所以興奮；它們更試圖做所有的特技來獲得關注。狗主讓我們坐在車上，然後與其他工作人員一起選擇最好的狗為我們拉車。我們有2隻狗領袖，2隻方向狗，6隻跑狗，及2隻導向狗。
我觀察到一個很有趣的現象── 被挑選了的狗狗會和他們未被挑選的朋友們溝通，就像一個幸運被挑選了的狗告訴自己的朋友們，說他們需要做些什麼動作來引人注目，以被揀選。不要被它們凶惡的狗叫聲誤導了, 其實它們都非常友善，而且他們都很喜歡跟人類玩及跑步．我們坐在車裡看著狗狗們拉車，看看狗主人的一聲哨響便改變了狗隻們的跑道方向。真希望現在是冬天, 那我們便能夠乘坐雪橇在冰雪上滑行。我們在河邊休息，讓狗狗們喝水降溫, 然後再跑回Sun Kennels雪橇狗場去了解他們每年是如何準備艾迪塔羅比賽.
據店主說，每年他都會挑選最好的狗去參加比賽，而每隊可以派最少12隻,最多16隻狗參加比賽。在比賽開始前, 狗主需要把狗狗們冷凍的食物 以小包包裝好運送到比賽的主辦單位, 然後每一包食物將會被運送到每個檢查站。這就是在比賽期間狗狗們每天的糧食了. 每一位參賽者都有最底要求的“生存配備”，例如他們必須攜帶一把至少1.75磅，22英寸長的斧頭，至少5磅的睡袋; 煮食器具及 最少能夠煮沸3加侖水的鍋（用作加熱狗食物），每隻狗至少有8隻腳套，雪橇車的尺寸要至少能夠放下受傷或疲累的狗，等等, 等等（有關詳情：http://www.canismajor.com/dog/ iditarod.html）有機會去了解參賽者如何準備比賽及怎樣去刻服比賽中的挑戰及困難, 這實在是一個難能可貴的機會。
上過教育課後，是時候去見可愛的小狗了！狗主的太太給我們帶來了兩隻小狗，而小狗帶來的時候還在睡覺呢! 也許他們還小，沒有足夠的皮毛來保暖; 當我抱著他們的時候, 他們還在瑟瑟發抖呢。接著，我們便到4-6個月大的小狗那裡跟他們玩---嘩!! 他們是如此好玩及活力充沛的啊！和他們一起玩真的很開心—可是很累. 後來我也因為太累而”退出”。告別那些可愛的小狗後，狗主的太太便開車送我們回到塔基特納市中心。她在Sun Kennels的門市部放下我們，我們便跑到對面去, 乘搭公主旅館的穿梭巴士了。
回到旅館後, 因為有短暫陽光的關係, 我們立刻替麥金利山拍照。我們吃過午飯整頓一下後, 便準備乘搭穿梭巴士由旅館到阿拉斯加的安克雷奇。由旅館到安克雷奇大約須要車程3個小時. 我們在下午6點左右抵達庫克船長酒店。 由於今天是陣亡將士紀念日(公眾假期)，整條街都是死氣沉沉的。我們從酒店走到Humpy’s Alaskan Alehouse去吃飯。 （http://www.travelchannel.com/tv-shows/man-v-food/episodes/anchorage#map-scroll)），我們點了芥末麵包糠煎大比目魚（$21.99），白豆香腸湯和半磅重的紅皇帝蟹腿（22.99美元），所有食物都非常好吃。我本想點叫他們有名的berry crisp漿果酥（7.99美元）可是我的肚子已經沒有更多的空間了。晚飯後，我們返回酒店休息，因為所有的商店（除了餐廳外）都因為今天是假日而全都關門了．
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