An early start the next day allowed us to arrive at Martin Buser’s home and dog sled tour at 10 a.m.  It was drizzling rain. As we arrived, the caretaker was about to feed the 80 or 90 dogs that were there. Martin has won the Iditarod race four times and presently holds the record for the fastest time. It is a fascinating race, and instead of me trying to tell you all about it, I suggest you go on-line to read about it at www.buserdog.com – click on Kennel Tours. The fellow that gave us our tour works for Martin while he is on a glacier during the summer giving sled rides. This helps train the dogs all year and provides income since that is what Martin does for a living.

The dogs, the equipment, the stories, the race – they were all fascinating. We watched a film about Martin and the race and at the end, the caretaker brought each of us a puppy to hold. Puppies are the best. I think they were five or six weeks old. They were little balls of fur. Then we went to an amphitheater to learn more about the sleds, the food, the clothes – everything about the race and the conditions they endure during this challenge. Some of the better racers will get their apprentice to race a second team. This allows young dogs to experience the race, and it helps to get them ready for the “first team.” 

They start the race with 16 dogs and I think they have to finish with at least five. Again, you can go online to learn more. The race is over 1,000 miles and was originally achieved when there was a need for a vaccination in Nome (I think), and the only way to get the vaccine there was to bring it by dog sled from Anchorage. 

Glaciers, here we come. Our next adventure was down to Whittier, and we took a cruise to view glaciers. In this area of Alaska (in this area of the world), they experience 400 to 900 inches of snow each winter.  That is 36 to 80 feet! Over time the snow packs down and becomes solid ice. The weight of the ice causes it to move (slide) down the mountains and valleys where it is formed. Some glaciers are formed high in the mountains and some are touching the sea. They “calve” into the sea as they melt. The glaciers in the mountains create creeks and rivers as they melt. Interestingly, the rivers are a chalky grey color.  The water coming down the valley looks like a river of grey Pepto-Bismol. That was the only thing about Alaska that was not pretty. Interesting, surprising, but not pretty. This has been going on for millions of years so much of the bay at Anchorage has filled with the grey silt from the glaciers.

Our mode of transportation to view the glaciers was a large, fast catamaran. We could travel at about 45 miles/hour and were able to motor around Prince William Sound to view 26 different glaciers. Some were up in the mountains, with others down to the sea. Otters, birds, seals and eagles were the wildlife viewing and entertainment. The cruise was about five hours long and included lunch. There were approximately 200 people on the boat. Great trip!

Next stop…The busiest float plane airport in the world. Alaska is a huge state. If you divide it into two pieces, each of the pieces is bigger than Texas. Even so, there are very few roads in Alaska. The primary mode of transportation to most of Alaska is by airplane. These small airplanes land on rivers and lakes and some areas have small landing strips of grass and/or gravel. In the winter, areas are reachable by ice roads that will accommodate snow machines or specially equipped ice trucks. For example, Chelatna Lake Lodge’s owner added a lodge, house and four cabins to the various original structures that were there when he purchased the lodge a few years ago. To accomplish this, he hauled in 900,000 pounds of machines and material. This was done using massive trucks with huge ice tires that carried 90,000 pounds a trip. This is more than twice what a tractor trailer would haul.

Anyway, we were going to Chelatna Lake via a float plane. It was a cool airplane. We flew about 1,000 feet above the ground so we could see the world as we flew along. It was a beautiful day and we could see McKinley as we flew northwest out of Anchorage. This was one of our best views. 

The Lodge was great www.chelatna.com. Our cabin had a view of the lake (eight miles long and a mile wide), which is surrounded by mountains and some snow-covered mountains about 20 miles beyond the far end of the lake. Food was great. Fishing was OK. The trout were waiting on the salmon to spawn and were very picky about what they would bite. We could only fish the first few holes down the creek that was spilling out of the lake. I did catch a 24-inch rainbow trout. I just wish we had caught a few more fish.  The salmon were everywhere. We hooked a few, but they were very sluggish. When these salmon start their journey from the sea to their spawning grounds, they are silver in color and very good to eat.  By the time they get to this area, which is close to their spawning grounds, they are red and some have humped backs. They are not as good to eat, so we released all of them - just like the trout.

While at the lodge, we took a couple of trips up the lake in a lake boat. Once with our wives, and once just David and I. Both trips were beautiful and interesting. At every little tributary that was spilling into the lake there were numerous salmon, and they appeared to want to go on up the small streams to eventually spawn. On one trip we saw a female moose. She was spectacular. We happened upon her as we were returning. We were going full speed about 100 yards from the bank and she was down by the water. She galloped alongside the bank for a short period before she disappeared back into the wilderness. Some other folks saw a bear the next day at the far end of the lake feeding on the salmon.

Another float plane trip back to Anchorage the next day. We had some time to kill before we hooked up with our friends so we rented bicycles and took off on a bike route around part of Anchorage. About halfway on the trip we entered a fairly remote forest (semi-wilderness area) and there in front of us on the bike path was a mother moose with her calf. Obviously, she had the right of way. She was browsing along munching on tree leaves. We watched her for a few minutes and then passed by at a safe distance. It was really great.

The next day, our friends took us to a local park very near their house in Eagle River where we were able to watch a salmon preparing the bed where she would lay her eggs. She swam on her side and flip her tail vigorously to fan the bottom of the creek. Each time this made a larger indentation in the bottom of the creek. Eventually, she would lay her eggs there.

Our last sightseeing trip was to a gold mine. We walked around and read about the mine that was now abandoned. However, there was an active gold mine nearby. Very interesting!

Forgive me for this wordy entry, but there was too much to talk about once the Alaska trip became my subject matter. I have seen TV programs about Alaska; however, seeing it for myself was a most enjoyable experience.

Scottie