Not only did we find a campground with other kids, the Clemons family showed up as well! 🎉 Adventuring is always more fun with friends so today we headed to the Iditarod Headquarters in Wasilla together.
We were excited to learn about the history of dog mushing and the Iditarod which is known as “The Last Great Race on Earth.”The biggest takeaway from our visit was that we could taxidermize Riggs and keep him furever. 😂In 1925, Togo led his team to deliver the antitoxin serum needed to stop the diphtheria epidemic in Nome, Alaska. As big fans of the movie Togo, it was interesting for the kids to “meet” the star. 😳Joe Redington, Sr. is remembered as the “Father of the Iditarod.” He created the epic dog sled race from Anchorage to Nome along a historic route to help preserve the role dog mushing played in Alaska’s history.After the museum we headed outside for a dog cart ride. Hurtling along at twelve miles per hour felt quite fast behind a team of Alaskan huskies.
After the ride was over (much too quickly!) we were able to spend some time getting to know the team.Riley Dyche is a local musher who has raced the Iditarod.His dogs were so sweet and fun to interact with!Those blue eyes!It wasn’t all just fun, games and petting dogs – we learned a lot from Riley too. 🤣 One of the most memorable facts was that his team of dogs will go through 1,000 booties during the course of the one Iditarod race.Elleny and Kennedy found their favorite dog of the bunch.Adler is ready to train for the Jr. Iditarod!A great experience for these kids (and parents) who are learning through traveling. 🐾We then headed back to Hatcher Pass for the afternoon and spotted a paraglider soaring like a bird around the steep cliffs.We set out on a hike to find Gold Cord Lake that is hidden in a steep-walled couloir (it was a new vocabulary word for me too) at the top of this ridge.The trail is located in the Independence Mine State Historical Park which is an abandoned gold mine. Everett checked the stream for gold because you just never know what is out there!Snowball fights in the summer never get old.The trail through the alpine tundra was muddy but that just made it more fun for the kids. 👍 👍Going up…Supposedly the lake is right over the top but we still couldn’t see anything from here.We finally found the lake and it was beautiful!At 4,500 feet above sea level, finding ice in late June wasn’t unusual but it sure was cool. 🧊The entire lake is held back by the boulder field that we had just hiked up. 😵💫Everyone, and I mean, everyone posed for their picture at the lake. There’s a reason they call me the mamarazzi! 😂Going down…Riggs went off leash for this part of the hike so that he didn’t pull Matt down the side of the cliff.Can you spot the Hutton kids? 👀Who’s a good little hiker?After our hike we walked around the buildings of the Independence Mine.Or what was left of them. 😱Independence Mine was a gold mine that was home to 204 workers who recovered over 150,000 ounces of gold before the mine shut down in the wake of World War II. The Little Susitna River begins high up at Mint Glacier and flows down along Hatcher Pass.It was slightly terrifying to watch two adventurous kayakers navigate through the ginormous boulders of the Little Su but they made it. 😮💨On the drive back home, Adler searched for a snack and Riggs snuggled down for a nap. It was a long, but good, day!
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