Our new excursion started early at 7.15am. We were to do ATV
(all-terrain vehicle, or quad bikes), in an area just adjacent to, but not in,
Denali National Park.
Lesley was nervous to begin with, and was comfortable at 6 miles per hour, but eventually we got up to 17 miles per hour. It was fun. We went up hills, down hills, through mud, over rough ground, over river onto the river bed to park beside an ancient glacial moraine of gravel, then through the river for a while before returning via various tracks.
On the way we saw our
first real wildlife – a moose cow and her two juvenile calves.
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| mother |
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| one of the calves which stopped and stared at us |
When we got back
we did some washing in machines and hung it all around the room to dry with the
ceiling fan and small fan on.
After lunch we got the shuttle bus to the Visitors Centre of the Denali
National Park.
They have dog teams, one of the few parks to have them, to work
in winter transporting scientists and equipment to and from research sites.
They are working dog, not racing dogs, so are larger and with thicker fur. We
went to a demonstration after seeing the dogs – the dog absolutely love doing
their work and they were all excitedly going berserk saying ‘pick me, pick me’
and bouncing around. A team was chosen and the dogs brought to the lead on
their back legs – the dogs are used to this and it is for safety for dog and
handler. The dogs are fast and would take off if given a chance. They were
harnessed up and set off around a track pulling a wheeled sled. We also saw
seven three-week old pups, which will be trained to pull when they are older.
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| the pups |
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| this one loved scratch and forced its head against Lesley's fingers |
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| the tack room |
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| pick ME - the eager kid who constantly shoves his hand in the air in the classroom! |
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| making a donation |
Back at the hotel, then over the road to the shops to wander in and out.
Also got some lovely Thai food – a yummy green curry that was quite spicy!
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| a somewhat wonky building |
Number plates spotted:
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