Alaska: Reindeer Farms and Dogsledding

As we worked our way up from Kenai Fjords National Park on our way to Denali National Park, we had two mandatory stops. First, our neighbor Sheri told us we HAD to visit a reindeer farm. Second, Leona’s only request for the trip was that we went dogsledding.

So we booked a self guided tour at the Reindeer Farm in Palmer to meet some reindeer and all the other animals on site- alpacas, bison (rescued), moose (rescued), Shetland cattle and elk. We got to feed all the animals except the elk.

Fun fact: reindeer antlers grow at a rate of 3-6″ per day! During the growing season, if someone were to touch the antlers, it would feel like they are on fire to the reindeer because of all the active nerve endings during growth……..so we didn’t touch the antlers, but they looked super soft.

After a solid 90 minutes at the Reindeer Farm, we drove another two hours north to Talkeetna, which was a cool little town. It was also the kennel for Dallas Seavey, the winningest dog musher in the famous Iditarod Dog Sled race, a 1,000 mile trek across Alaska each March. Dallas has won it six times. He runs huge dog sledding operation outside of Talkeetna, so it was the perfect place for us to visit. Upon arrival, we got to meet the 200 dogs on site. The Iditarod runs with 16 dogs and they have multiple teams based on maturity, skills, and age. The dogs are breed for coat thickness, paw size, and muscle development. Most only weigh between 40-75 pounds, but can pull 2-3 times their body weight. In addition, they LOVE the cold weather- their ideal racing temperature is below freezing to let them run at a pace of 8-10 miles per hour for 8-12 hours.

As the staff was grabbing harnesses, every single dog started barking because they all wanted to pull the sled. It’s the only thing they want to do in life. Once the dogs got rigged up, Mary and I each steered the summer sled, which look like off road go-karts. The girls each sat in the front seats and had great views of the dogs pulling.

After a few loops, we learned some more about the Iditarod and then got to meet some five week old puppies with their momma.

The evening was spent along the Susitna River with 4-5 other RVs with some free riverside boondocking.