Not All Sled Dogs Run Races...Denali National Park Kennel

I've been to two kennels where the owners raise and breed sled dogs and race their dogs. On Thursday I went to a different kind of working dog kennel which all America taxpayers contribute to when we pay federal taxes. This kennel is in Denali National Park and these dogs are used in the park to haul supplies, rescue visitors, and be an integral part in the construction of structures where no motorized vehicles may go inside the park.

The rangers here may put 800 miles on their sleds and dogs during a single season. These dogs were described as football players, compared to racing dogs who are marathon runners. They love to work and do what they can to please the rangers.

Because we pay for their training, upkeep, and medical costs the public should have access to them, so the park gives FREE demonstrations three times a day during the summer. Visitors meet at the Visitors' Center, by way of white dog paws painted on the ground, load park buses, and are driven to the kennel. Once a bus arrives people can go straight to the kennel to love on the dogs, pet them, or just photograph them.

The dogs are housed in three ways. Some are penned up, but not because they are dangerous or even in trouble. Visitors may reach through the fence to rub these beautiful dogs. If the dogs don't feel like being touched at any given time they will go to their houses or at least get out of the reach of a human hand. During the summer these dogs need to sleep or at least rest during the day because it is just too hot for them.

Mixtus slept, Aurora sat politely, and Spur sat close to the fence so he/she could
receive affection.

The next type of setting is the roped off areas. Those dogs will walk up to the ropes and you can touch them politely or give a nice long back rub if they prefer those! visitors cannot walk over to the dog if it means crossing over the roped off area. Most of the dogs would come up and sit, as if to say, "OK, I'm ready for you to love on me..." When they were done they would either go sleep in, on, or around their houses.

Cassin was a very sweet dog but wanted to sleep.

I can't read this dog's name on his house, but he was very interested in everyone who walked to him or by him. Look at his beautiful stance!

Lava. He was more interested in looking important on his house! He even turned his back on me once, then looked around to see if I was still standing there.

The last type of housing were those dogs who had no pens or ropes. They were allowed to be approached if sitting or laying on their houses or just hanging out at their houses. Most of these guys were really fun to interact with, mainly because they had no barriers between them and us. Chultina gave me a big face lick so I reciprocated with a kiss on her face.

Nuna and Sultana were two other favorites of mine.

I got some of Sultana's fur to show my students. As with the dogs at Mike Santos' kennel, the dogs' fur here is given to, or sold to, a lady to make hats and headbands. Each day these dogs are brushed and the buckets fill up pretty quickly!

These dogs love anything that has to do with running. Because the temperatures are way too hot for them to take actual training runs or haul supplies they do a short demo run every few days. When they see it is time for a show they start barking, jumping up and down, trying to get the rangers to pick them. Poor Sultana...Ran on Wednesday so wasn't getting picked today. That did not stop him/her from wanting to go. At several times while others were being hooked up to the gangline this dog had all four feet off of the ground, jumping several feet up!
After a run the dogs get water and rest while the ranger continues to talk about them and their work, then answers audience questions. They still want the attention though...

When the dogs decide they are not interested in working any more they are eligible to be adopted. It is a very competitive application and only people from the northern part of the country can adopt them, due to the climate they need to live in. Huskies do NOT need to live in the south or southern midwest or even the areas where it gets really warm for part of the year. Recreational mushers understand a dog's need to have a purpose, so they may be used for small teams or skijoring. After about age nine apparently many dogs begin to actively search for ways to retire.

DNP also has positions for dog walkers during the summer. When the park closes volunteers come in and take a specific dog out for a walk. Lest you think it is easy, imagine handling one dog who, with a few others, can pull a sled filled with hundreds of pounds of supplies. Now imagine that dog on a leash, not pulling anything, except for maybe you! They do obey but it must be taught to them so they won't drag their walker clear down the path!

The last really important dog is Buck. He doesn't say much, eating is not a problem, nor is cleaning up his messes. Buck stands on his house all day, accepting handouts. He takes coins and dollar bills, anything to help support the kennel. All donations are thankfully received and the dogs benefit from generous donors.

So the next time you visit Denali National Park, you simply must give these dogs a visit. They are definitely a bright spot for most people who have been shuffled from ships to trains to buses, always on a tight schedule. Lucor would certainly appreciate aback rub or neck rub from you!

What's So Great About a Sled Dog Yard?

Today was my day off, so instead of hanging around the lodge I went to Wolf's Den Kennel in Cantwell, AK., about 20 miles from where I am working. My students write mushers after the Iditarod and one of them had Mike Santos as her musher to follow during this year's race. He wrote her back a letter she just loved. I try to thank everyone who sends letters back to answer the kids' questions. One thing led to another and he issued an invitation to visit the kennel. What an experience it turned out to be.

He picked me up in the kennel truck and immediately made me feel at ease. His wife is a teacher also so that connection alone gave us plenty to talk about. Once we arrived at the kennel we went to see the puppies. He's got three litters of fairly new ones, one so new their eyes aren't open yet.

Those I did not get to pick up but there was no need, mainly because he took the other two litters out of their boxes, one group at a time, and handed me one of the older little guys. I've held three week old puppies before, but this time there was no rush to give them back or put them back with their mom. We sat talking, enjoying the puppies, watching them have a great time exploring the area.

Then he took out the middle litter and it was either the first time they had been out actually walking on the gravel or one of their first experiences. It was fun watching them navigate the yard near their box, all the while squealing at each other. When one starts the others join right in. (This goes for the big dog yard too.) They walked a little, talked about it, walked some more, and eventually lay down for a short nap. It truly is a dog's life! There are two other puppies Mike has been keeping for someone else this year. They are Keppler and Knievil. Kepler is a beautiful tan and blond/white dog whose personality is just nothing but outgoing. Knievil is black and demands his own brand of attention. These two got to spend a long time roaming the puppy pen while we went on a run with eight of the big dogs.

Mike names his puppies after he sees their personalities. These three litters will have L, M, & N names so I'm trying to think of what might fit them from what I saw today. But I am smart enough to know their personalities will change drastically over the summer so anything I might suggest may not fit at all come July, August, or September. I'm looking forward to watching those puppies grow via their website.

After the stint with the puppies Mike hooked up eight of his team to the four wheeler and you would think he was auditioning for the grand prize of something...well maybe he is-The Iditarod! They are all jumping up and down, running circles around in their area, hoping to be picked to go running. Once we took off the dog yard settled down and most of them went to sleep. It is too warm for them this time of year so they conserve their energy by laying in the shade of their houses or go into the house to sleep.

We took off on a trail that has hills, curves, mud trenches, and straightaways. The dogs are pulling the four wheeler that is set in neutral so it will move but only under dog power. They could pull it in park also but that's not the point to this training. We stopped several times to give them a rest, mainly because they will run until made to stop. In 60 degrees that means stopping several times. One key to knowing when to resume the run is when they can all effortlessly swallow at least twice in a row. That was new to me.

Mike unhooked all eight of them so they could free run for awhile. They took off and we followed, most of them getting way ahead, several were running beside us, and several behind us. The ones in front would turn around as if to say "What is are you waiting for?" Then as we got closer they would take off again.

We got to a spot in the middle of nowhere where they ran and played in the fields between the Talkeetna Mountains and the Alaska Range (my only way to describe it geographically)!

Mike told me about the mountains, Denali National Park, the trails they take when training, and a plethora of other things. He is quite an insightful man and I could tell he was born to live here. As he says, "I'm an Alaskan born in Massachusetts". He's either built all of the buildings on their property or moved existing buildings, making improvements on all of them. He also builds for other people in his "spare time".

Eventually it was time to get back to the kennel (must have been time to feed the dogs) so they were hooked back up and off we went. On the return trail we passed an old bus just parked on another trail. Apparently Alaska has buses parked everywhere. If you haven't read "Into the Wild" that is probably the best known of the bus stories here. But I digress...

Once we returned dogs were all unhooked and Mike asked if I was hungry or did I want to feed the dogs first. And my correct answer was feed the dogs first! During a race you ALWAYS feed them before yourself-after all they are your ride! Mike measured out enough for half of the yard, mixed it with water, then told me how much to give each dog. I went out and you would have thought I was the Queen with knighthoods to bestow upon them! I walked up and down each row doling out the required amount to dogs who were biting at the bit to eat, to others who were quite polite, standing there giving me room to actually put the food in their bowls; and others who were content to sit and wait for me to finish before they even got up to eat. By the time I was finished the ones I started with had licked their bowls clean and were now playing with them in the dirt. And don't you know I had exactly enough for all of them? When you do this long enough you figure out what is needed and food is not wasted, nor do you have to go make more.

Next came the water. That took three trips because, #1- most of their water buckets were below half empty and water weighs more than their food and #2, they needed more water than food. Having finished that task I walked around talking to some of them I had not met up to that point. Everyone on the yard is anxious to be petted, rubbed, and talked to. Most are losing their undercoats now also so I got a lot of hair on me and my clothes. Dog fur...the other condiment in a musher's house!

I also now understand the difference in top coat and undercoat. The topcoat is straight and more coarse, whereas the undercoat is curly/spirally and softer. Mike's neighbors take the shedding fur and weave it into hats and headbands. I can imagine those things make you quite toasty in the winter. We sell them at my gift shop too...so my guess is the dogs I had fun with are part of those headbands.

Finally the last job to be done was scooping the yard. This is probably every handlers least favorite job, but it is made easier with a rake and a large dust pan (the same kind you might use in your house with the handle or what I see people cleaning the streets and sidewalks with in China). You rake and scoop, rake and scoop. With two of us doing it the job was completed rather quickly. It is all dumped in a large barrel and where it goes from there I do not know (didn't think to ask).

After burgers and chips it was time for me to go. What I thought might only be a two or three hour trip through a dog yard turned into seven hours of entertainment, education, and friendship making. Mike Santos is a very kind man, humorous, willing to talk dogs all day, and loves to share his knowledge and love of Alaska to anyone who will listen. What a grand way to spend an afternoon- I'll scoop for him anytime, especially if it means learning more about racing and dogs, and talking to someone intelligent who has a good eye for books. Thanks so much my friend.

Alaska...no better place to be

I have now officially worked for one week, but it does not seem that long. It is not difficult work, but it is certainly more tiring than my nine month one. I have nowhere to sit, even when there is no traffic in the store. When there are no shoppers we have endless stocking, dusting, rearranging, and putting back of items people have put down wherever. I have met such fun people from many states and countries. Most of them come up here after a train ride from either Anchorage or Fairbanks, spend two or three days, then get on another train or a bus, take it to Anchorage and Seward, and board their cruise ships for a seven day trip down through the Inner Passage. The stories they tell about their wilderness adventures in Denali National Park have made me excited to see it also. There is plenty of time for that before I leave.

Our gift shops have many of the same things you'll see in any gift shop at any tourist area. However, we do have a few unique items. You can buy necklaces made from caribou and moose antlers (they do fall off you know- no animals are killed for this jewelry), bandanas that say "Bark Ranger" and "My family only bought me this bandana" for the dog, Beer soap, thimbles made from the soft fur of several animals (it sheds-it's not harvested by killing the animals), park ranger uniforms for babies, and everything has a carabiner attached to it- key chains, bottle openers, compasses, whistles, etc. One of my favorites is a bear bell- used to let the bears know you are in their area- the bell is attached to a piece of leather or strong cloth and hangs on a carabiner. There is a downside to working in a gift shop- people find way too much stuff to buy! Maybe by the middle of July I will not want all of what's on my list.

I am back on my walking schedule. Because I am so unfamiliar with the trails here and cannot find anyone to walk with at this point I am only walking up and down the Parks Highway. I do have a whistle just in case I do see a bear, but none so far. Wednesday night I decided to go toward the main part of the tourist area which is where Denali National Park's main entrance is. I had no intention of going all the way, just about three miles and would turn around to make the return trip. I thought the distance from my hotel to our sister hotel was only six miles so I decided what the heck, I'll go the distance. Once I had gone over the three mile distance it would only make sense to keep going. What I did not realize was the distance was not six miles, rather eight! This trip was quite uneventful, as I hoped it would be, but it took 2 1/2 hours (remember I'm still a little gimpy on one ankle and didn't want to push it!). Several shuttle buses passed me going each direction and at several points I really wanted to flag one down. I knew they wouldn't stop though so I kept pushing on. I did get some beautiful photos at 9:00 PM of areas I had not previously photographed.

I love walking at this time because it is fairly quiet, the sun is not burning down on me, yet it is very much still daytime at 9 PM, and the clouds tend to be pretty cool looking. On Wednesday when I was almost finished my walk I walked by a bridge with a surprise under it.

Apparently it has not been warm enough to melt everything, especially things shaded by a bridge.

The stillness is very peaceful, the plant colors are vibrant, (due to the amount of time the sun does shine in the summer) and the whole experience is so calming. I hear birds in the distance, I see chipmunks and squirrels cross the road, and am attacked by many, many mosquitos. Even at this time of day/night there are flightseeing trips still going on. The sound of airplanes echoes in the mountains and small prop planes can be seen circling the mountain peaks and preparing for their descents.

This is Alaska and I am so thankful to be here.