Doggies in Denali

We had the morning half free so the tour guide had suggested that we have a look at the dog sledding show which was given by the park rangers or there was another one which was a paid show. As we weren't too sure whether you'd be able to wake up or not, we decided on the free show IF you could wake up.

Well, we managed to get you out of bed on time. First to get up was daddy and the room felt rather cold. Why? Because your daddy was outside taking pictures and he left the sliding door open. And when he got in, e was complaining about how cold it was. But then again, I guess it was worth the cold. This was the picture he got from our balcony:

After breakfast and a shower, we headed back to the hotel lobby where we waited for the complimentary hotel shuttle which drops people off at the little down nearby or the Visitor Center in the park. When we arrived at the Visitor Center, we hopped onto the park bus which waited a while for more passengers before bringing us to the kennel where the sled dogs were kept.

When we arrived, a Park Ranger, Jamie hopped onto the bus to brief us about the dogs and their behaviours, what to do and what not to do with the dogs and about the 3 little sled dog puppies (not that small sized.. ). Then we walked a short distance and saw them:

There was a sled on display which we took pictures with and at a fixed time, we all stood at the stands and waited for Jamie to do the dog sledding demonstration. Before that he gave us a history about dog sledding and how that area became a national park. After that he got the dogs all ready for the demonstration. It wasn't just us who were excited. The dogs were all excited too. They were barking and barking as the Park Rangers carried them to be harnessed to the sled. And once they were ready.. away the went...

Before we left for the buses, we walked one more round to look and pet the dogs again. We even took a picture with this particular dog which really seemed to like you. In fact Jamie the Park Ranger had already told us that the dogs would like "little people" in particular. But if the dogs were to get too rowdy we were to walk away from them. There was one dog which just went crazy when he saw you and kept barking at you.. maybe to ask you to play with him?

This is the nice dog which was happy to let you pet him:

Lava the sled dog

We were not allowed to feed any of the dogs, except for this dog, Buck.. hehe.. he really loves dollar notes and would make do with coins too:

On the way back we hopped onto another bus and the bus driver was telling us a lot of interesting facts about the Denali National Park. Just as we were arriving at the Visitor Center.. we caught sight of this:

... as moose! It was busy eating the leaves and couldn't be bothered by the many buses and cars which were parked on the roadside and the many camera and eyes watching it! We finally left the moose and arrived at the Visitor Center.

While waiting for the shuttle from the hotel, we decided to take the opportunity to take pictures. It's a good thing daddy bought a new tripod, making it easier for us to get a family picture with everyone in it and no need to ask someone to help us take a picture (and worry about whether they are able to use the camera).

Isn't the view breathtaking? We headed back to the Denali town for lunch and then headed back to the hotel after that to repack our back for the Tundra Wilderness Tour.