A True Alaskan Adventure

This afternoon we had the wonderful privledge to get "hooked up" through Brett's work with a helicopter ride to a dog sled camp. So not only did we get to take a helicopter ride for free but we also got to play with Huskies and go for a dog sled ride. It was truely spectacular! We loved every minute of! To give you an estimate of the tourist industry here, this small 1 1/2 hour trip cost an adult $500! Yikes! Luckily, we got to do it all completely free. It was very cool to be able to see Juneau from above and be able to look at what we've been living in for a couple of months. The glacier looks completely different from the air. The dogs were so cute. They are so full of energy and all they want to do is go, go, go. The dogs are actually being trained for the iditarod. They use hauling tourists around all summer as a way to get in shape for the race. The mushers and handlers live up in the icefield for 6 days a week. They only get 24 hours off a week. They live in small huts that acutally look quite cozy. They are the only people in Juneau that have a tan. The sun always shines up there because they are above the clouds and the sun reflects off the snow. They all look like skiers from Utah in the winter time. Most of our dogs came from rescue centers where Adam, our musher, rescued them from abusive or bad situations and is now training them to pull. He is also keeping his friends dog in shape. One of his dogs is the "spokes dog" for the local brewery. He was very pretty - blue eyes and all. Needless to say, we had a blast!