Seward, Alaska

Stoney Creek RV Park in Seward

Downtown Seward

In case we forget we are in Alaska...

Glacier Walk

That is Marie & I coming along on the dog sled

Murray & Marie cuddle future Iditarod champions

After a fun visit to Costco on Monday, we had a very picturesque 2 hr drive from Anchorage down to Seward in the Gulf of Alaska. Back in 1793 a fur trading post was established where the town of Seward sits today. Such a pretty spot with majestic mountains surrounding the port. With a population of around 3,000 people, Seward is a lucrative US fishing port, and three major cruise lines travel between here & Vancouver.

We passed numerous glaciers on the way here, and close to town is the Exit Glacier. Murray joined Marie & Eric for a hike up to the glacier this morning. See the red 'X' for where they walked up to in the time they had before we had to start on another outing.

Seward is the home of the Seavey family - in 1973, Dan Seavey helped found the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, a 1,000-mile sled dog race that used to run from Seward to Anchorage and onto Nome. Now the race, run at the end of March, is 1040 miles and goes from Anchorage to Nome. In 2004 Dan's son Mitch won the Iditarod race, finishing the 1,040 miles in a time of 9 days 12 hours 20 minutes and 22 seconds. The dogs & their operators (mushers) usually work in the winter with snow under their sleds, but being summer, we get to be taken for a ride on a track - so instead of ski sleds, ours have wheels on them! See a video I took on our ride today. The grey rubble you see is glacial silt and the rough track toughens the pads on the dogs paws, helping them cope better with chill of the snow. Taking tourists for a ride exercises the dogs and keeps them in condition, as well as as dollars contributing to the running costs of the operation. Each sled has 16 dogs and one 'musher'. During the Iditarod race, they run the dogs for six hours, then rest them for six hours. If any dog has an injury or is unable to run for any reason once the race starts, he is dropped off at one of their check points, and the musher has to continue with one less dog. It is all part of the conditions of the race. Dog Mushing is Alaska's state sport. It sure was an interesting 2 hours - as well as the ride, and spending time with the new pups, we watched a video of segments of various Iditarod races to show how perilous it can be, and had a demonstration on the actual clothes the dogs and mushers wear (keep in mind it is often 40 - 60 below zero). I had known very little about Iditarod racing, so I came away with a whole new appreciation of what they do for fun up here in Alaska's winter wonderland!