Posted by Nancy D. Brown

Chena Hot Springs Sled Dog in Fairbanks, Alaska

 You can hear the sled dogs barking before you reach the kennel. The sled dogs run circles frantically around their dog houses; some bark, while others wait patiently with eager anticipation.

“Pick me! Pick me!” the sled dogs say with their piercing blue eyes, bushy wagging tails and excited sled dog howls.

Once the sled dog selection process has been made, the sled dogs of Chena Hot Springs kennel are clipped into their harnesses and ready to go to work.

Typically, Iditarod sled dogs are not the furry white pure bred Siberian huskies that Disney has marketed to us in movies. In fact, the best athletic sled dog is a mixed bag of energy and stamina, has a thick fur coat and a desire to race.

While the sled dog ride at Chena Hot Springs Resort is only 15-20 minutes in total ($60), the excitement and energy from the sled dogs is contagious as soon as we slide into the sled. The Chena Hot Springs sled holds four people and a sled dog musher. Once the sled dog musher gives the command, the sled dogs are off and running. Our ride is a scenic loop around the property, crossing alongside a beaver den.

There are many places to go for sled dog rides in Alaska.

Chena Hot Springs Sled Dog Ride in Fairbanks, Alaska

Iditarod Sled Dog Racer Dallas Seavey and the Seavey family run Ididaride Sled Dog Tours in Seward.

Four-time Iditarod Champion Jeff King offers a chance to hold sled dog puppies during a Husky Homestead Tour at his Goose Lake Kennel in Denali Park.

In Fairbanks, the Riverboat Discovery stops at Trailbreaker Kennels, home to Dave Monson and the late four-time Iditarod Sled Dog Champion Susan Butcher.

If you have a chance to take a sled dog ride in Alaska, make sure you read “How to Pack for an Alaska Winter Vacation.” On my March 2010 visit to the Chena Hot Springs Resort, it was 20 degrees below zero. If I hadn’t been wearing an Apocalypse Design Parka, Icebreaker murino wool socks or Steger mitts and mukluks, I wouldn’t have been dressed properly for the cold weather conditions.

Have you been on a sled dog ride? What are your favorite things to do in Fairbanks, Alaska?

Chena dog sled photo by Nancy D. Brown

Posted by Nancy D. Brown

Anchorage, Alaska Visitor Information Center

The first place I take a visitor from out of town is to the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, amazing trails right in downtown with views of mountain ranges, and the waters of Cook Inlet, and along the trail Earthquake Park.

When I crave a local brewpub I turn to Glacier BrewHouse, FireTap Alehouse or Snow Goose Restaurant, where I can dine on local favorites like the fresh catch of the day, a wood-fired pizza, and wash it all down with a local microbrew.

To escape work I head for the trails the wind through Anchorage Parks and greenbelts for a run, a bike, or a quick cross-country ski.

For complete quiet, I can hide away in the Chugach National Forest, or more than Chugach State Park, the nations third largest state park is within the Municipality of Anchorage boundaries!

If you come to Anchorage, get your picture taken in front of the Log Cabin Visitor Information Center on Fourth Avenue.

If you have to order one thing off the menu at Simon and Seaforts, get the Asiago Alaska Halibut.

Anchorage is my one stop shop for Alaska products and gifts found nowhere else: smoked salmon, handmade baskets, Ulu knife sets, Ivory, Jade and wood carvings, gold nugget jewelry, mukluks and moccasins, Qiviut woolens, the list goes on and on. First Friday Art Walk is a great way to see local art work on display and even have a nibble of food in the galleries.

Snow City Cafe, Anchorage, Alaska

When I’m feeling cash-strapped, I go to City Diner for a great meal at a price that can’t be beat. Snow City Cafe is a great place for breakfast. Order the crabby omelet or Kodiak Benedict.

For a huge splurge, I go to Sullivans Steakhouse.

Photo ops in Anchorage include hooking a huge salmon literally steps from downtown in Ship Creek, or aboard a boat just yards away from the deep blue Portage Glacier.

The best vantage points are taken by walking to the top of Flattop Mountain, taking the tram or hiking to the top of Mt. Alyeska for a panoramic view of the Chugach Mountains and Turnagain Arm. Alyeska Resort, in Girdwood, is only 40 minutes outside of Anchorage and is worth an overnight if you have the time.

The most random thing about Anchorage is the Running of the Reindeer and Outhouse Races that speed down Fourth Avenue during Anchorage Fur Rendezvous.

In Anchorage, an active day outdoors involveswalking the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, kayaking at Eklutna Lake, hiking at the Eagle River Nature Center, skiing the Chugach Mountains, or fishing for halibut or salmon.

My favorite walking route is through the forested Campbell Creek Greenbelt.

Alaska Reindeer Sausage in Anchorage, Alaska

Anchorage best museum is the Anchorage Museum. Have lunch or dinner at the hip Cafe Muse.

For a night of dancing, go to Chilkoot Charlies or Rumrunners.

For late night dining, Humpy’s Great Alaskan Alehouse is the spot. I watched a Reindeer hot dog eating contest here during Fur Rondy activities. It was wild!

To find out what’s going on a night or on weekends, check out the Play section in the Anchorage Daily News or, Anchorage’s alternative newspaper, the Anchorage Press.

You can tell a lot about Anchorage and the close proximity of wildlife by visiting the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center South of Anchorage on the Seward Highway. Bears, eagle, moose and other Alaska animals share space on the centers grounds.  The AWCC is currently host to a herd of Wood Bison to be released into the wild.

In the spring you should attend the Senior Native Youth Olympics. Alaska youth demonstrate their skills in traditional Native games that are based on life skills of past generations. The games test hunting and survival skills, and increase strength, endurance, agility and the balance of mind and body.

In the summer you should attend Solstice Weekend. Great events like the Mayor’s Marathon and Half Marathon, Pridefest, the Summer Solstice Festival and Hero Games and the Slam’n Salm’n Derby all loaded into a single weekend celebrating the longest day of the year.

In the fall you should visit two of the states best college sporting events. The University of Alaska Anchorage hosts the hottest college teams on ice during the Kendall Hockey Classic in early October, while the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout draws top-class college basketball teams to Alaska for a pre-season tournament during Thanksgiving weekend

2010 Iditarod Sled Dog in Anchorage, Alaska

In the winter you should go to the Tour of Anchorage Cross Country Ski Race, Anchorage Fur Rendezvous, and the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race I was fortunate to have covered the 2010 Iditarod Sled Dog Race. Check out my YouTube video, too.

A hidden gem in Anchorage is the Alaska Native Heritage Center. The center is a showcase of Alaska Native art, tools, and crafts, featuring great live tours and demonstrations of native life, dance, and crafts. It is nestled in the woods in Northeast Anchorage, but you’d be remiss to pass it up. Check out my post on the Alaska Native Heritage Center.

For a great breakfast treat or espresso, go to the Middle Way Cafe or Kaladi Brothers Coffee.

Just outside of downtown Anchorage you can visit Alyeska Resort; have lunch on top of Mount Alyeska at Seven Glaciers, a AAA Four Diamond award-winning restaurant.

The best way to see downtown Anchorage is to pick up a map from the Log Cabin Visitor Information Center on Fourth Avenue and take the Anchorage Downtown Walking Tour. Or, see downtown by Segway with SegTours of Anchorage.

If you have kids, you won’t want to miss Alaska Wild Berry Theater, reindeer petting area, H2Oasis Indoor Waterpark, and WildRide Sled Dog Rodeo.

What are your favorite things to see and do in Anchorage, Alaska?

Thanks to Jack Bonney and the Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau for assistance with this post.

Photos by Nancy D. Brown

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2010 Iditarod Sled Dog Race

Posted by Nancy D. Brown

2010 Iditarod Sled Dog Race, Alaska

There’s a whole lot of harness-banging going on in Anchorage, Alaska today. I’m at the March 6th ceremonial start of the 2010 Iditarod Sled Dog Race – the Last Great Race – taking place across the Alaskan wilderness.

MUSHERS FROM NEAR AND FAR

Dog mushers come from as near as Willow, Alaska and as far as Aberdeen, Scotland and St. Anne, Jamaica to compete in this 1,049 mile Iditarod sled dog race to Nome, Alaska. Seventy one mushers will guide their Iditarod sled dogs as they manuever over Rainy Pass, the highest point on the trail, through bumpy Nikolai, and over frozen tundra, eventually reaching Nome, Alaska.

Quick Iditarod sled dog mushers are rewarded in Cripple, an abandoned mining town and the race’s halfway point. The first musher to Cripple is rewarded with a $3,000 check.

CHICAGO MUSHER COPES WITH CANCER

Chicago Musher Pat Moon has been dealing with more than logistical problems as he tackles this Iditarod Sled Dog Race. Moon, 33, has been fighting non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a blood malignancy. Iditarod Update: Unfortunately, Moon crashed into a tree on Tuesday while navigating a gorge and had to be dropped from the race.

JAMAICA ROOKIE

Jamaican Iditarod Sled Dog Musher Newton Marshall

Another rookie musher, Newton Marshall of Jamaica, will have to cope with drastic Alaska weather conditions during the Iditarod Sled Dog Race. Unlike his native Jamaica, hurricane-velocity winds and blizzards are common as the trail crosses Norton Sound to Koyuk.

WHO WILL WIN 2010 IDITAROD SLED DOG RACE?

Who will be the first to cross the finish line in Nome, Alaska to win the Iditarod sled dog race? Will it be Alaska’s Jeff King? The 54-year-old King, a four-time champion, hopes to end his Iditarod career with a bang. I certainly remember holding puppies at his Husky Homestead Tour in Denali Park.

What about Lance Mackey of Fairbanks, Alaska? Mackey hopes to win his fourth straight Iditarod Sled Dog Race. Update: Mackey won his fourth consecutive Iditarod Sled Dog Race.

Let’s not forget about DeeDee Jonrowe, a breast cancer survivor, Jonrowe started the 2003 Iditarod Sled Dog Race just three weeks after finishing chemotherapy.

Young musher Dallas Seavey, 22 of Seward, hopes to follow father Mitch Seavey, the 2004 Iditarod Sled Dog Race champion, in bringing home the title.

On the other end of the age spectrum, Chuglak’s Jim Lanier, at 69 years of age, will be singing to his sled dogs as he races the Iditarod. Lanier, along with his wife and son, serenaded us at the Iditarod Sled Dog Musher’s Banquet with their beautiful voices. Is that what keeps his dog’s running?

Finally, four-time champion Martin Buser of Big Lake, Alaska, holds the Iditarod Sled Dog Race record of eight days, 22 hours and 46 minutes.

Who is your favorite to win the 2010 Iditarod Sled Dog Race? What are your favorite things to do in Anchorage, Alaska?

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Thank you to the Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau and Alaska Travel for allowing me and inside look at the Iditarod Sled Dog Race.

Photos and video by Nancy D. Brown

Anchorage