Here is a picture of June and the tour guide in the pup's pen. The pups are Alaskan Huskies. Alaskan Huskies are a mix of Husky and other breeds. Their mutt heritage makes them a hearty stock and of a more compliant nature than a purebred Husky.
Here is an Iditarod finisher. The Iditarod is 1,100 miles and the dogs run 100 miles a day!!!
This is a map of the Iditarod routes. The northern part of the red loop is run one year, and the southern part of the loop is run the next so as to involve more communities. The mileage difference is said to be only about 10 miles.
The owners of the kennel have had several dogs featured in Mushing Magazine. The white dog on the page is the dog, Big Ben, that June petted.
If you'd like to read about the dogs, you could probably find an archived copy of the article online. This was published in the September/October 2009 issue.
We said our goodbyes to June and Earl at the end of the sled dog tour as they had already been to Oswald's Bear Ranch. Oswald's was just four miles away, so we were able to do it in the same day.
It was in the 80's and the bears were enjoying their pond. I felt like joining them.
Although the habitats were nice and the bears obviously well cared for, we didn't find the self-guided walk-about very exciting. I think having seen bears in the wild they weren't very exciting behind the high fences. We saw some bears lying near trees. They would be easy to mistake as logs.
We decided that seeing one of the huge bears coming down the pathway around the enclosures would be extremely exciting, but are glad that didn't happen!!! 
For those of you who know cooking isn't my specialty, check out this gourmet bologna sandwich I made! Who says you can't eat well on the road!
Traveling down the road the animals did stints in the camper and the backseat of the truck. Otis is right at home sleeping between Prin and Sugar. Charles is happiest remaining in the camper.
Right up through Saturday before our departure, I was completing shelter projects. When we cut the plastic for the sneeze guards we had an extra 12" wide strip left over. I had been mulling over ideas for using it. It came to me close to our departure to use it as barriers on the backs of the cages to help keep litter from being kicked out of the cages. It's experimental, and the shelter staff will see whether the idea is a keeper. The idea of creating walkways behind the cages for sweeping up wayward litter was spawned from the litter guards.
The new cage arrangement is being tested, and the staff will tweak it as necessary. I'll miss my shelter activities and all the people involved with making it the best it can be for the animals. They've given me a great send-off that will keep me thinking of wanting to come back!
One more cat special was posted for September before leaving! Love those kitties! I plan to make flyers for future specials from the road.
Here's one more cute picture of Baby Otis. I've gone on so long it's put him to sleep where he stood. Hopefully you've enjoyed our day's adventure!
