Few things are more iconically “Alaskan” than dog sledding, and when planning for Travis and Carrigan to visit that was one thing we all agreed we wanted to do. The Iditarod Trail Race Headquarters was just a few miles from our base camp in Knik and advertised dog sled rides - so that was the first order of business on the first full day of their visit. Unfortunately, when we arrived, we discovered that they were not doing the sled rides this season because their trainer/musher had bailed out on them. After a brief discussion about how they might want to update their website so that folks that have traveled from around the world to see their dogs don’t end up disappointed and tell everyone they know what a bad experience they had, we left with a slip of paper with the phone numbers of other mushers in the area. “Most of them are booked out weeks in advance, but you might be able to get a reservation.” Thanks.
Our next destination was Independence Mine and Hatcher Pass, but we decided to stop in Wasilla and get the fixings for a picnic lunch. Krazy Moose Subs to the rescue! This deli is in the original town mercantile and is filled with local historic photos – and moosen of all types, presumably “krazy.”
Everything about Krazy Moose Subs was delightful and the subs (and cookies) proved delicious.
The road up to Independence Mine twists its way alongside the Little Susitna River, and as soon as we reached the tree line we were greeted with snow! Carrigan has lived in the south since elementary school and Travis is a Florida native – so snow was a real treat.
Independence Mine lies further up in the jagged mountain tops. Unlike the placer mining and dredging in the Fairbanks area, Independence was a “hard rock” gold mine. The 206 workers that lived here blasted and tunneled into the heart of the mountains to dig out over 140,000 ounces of gold ore before the mine was shut down in the wake of World War 2.
Today the mine is a collection of 22 buildings in various states of repair that tell the history of the mine, the miners, and the 26 families that lived there. The historic ruins made a great backdrop to enjoy some krazy good subs.
Travis and I were playing with the drone (this is one of the few parks where drones are explicitly allowed) when two young guys approached us. I was thinking “here we go again…” when one of them said, “Hey, didn’t I see you a couple of days ago flying over in Willow?” I was like, “Nope. I don’t think so. Definitely wasn’t me at the gas station in Willow.” They turned out to be very nice and we spent quite a bit of time talking about drones and the process to become a commercial pilot.
After our picnic, we spent several hours exploring the museum exhibits and ruins. Pati shared her expert knowledge of gold panning with Travis and Carrigan and they even managed to find a few gold flakes in the nearby creek. And there was more snow to explore! As we were walking around on the small glacial snowfield, I shared a story with Carrigan about a time I was with a coworker in West Yellowstone in deep winter. I had stepped out of our car and was walking across the snow to take a picture. The next thing I knew I was “post-holed” and buried in the snow up to my chin. As I was saying this, Travis, with impeccable timing, let out a cry! We turned to find he had broken through the snow crust to find himself post-holed in the snow and ice! Poor Travis. He was stuck in the snow and we were having a good laugh. “Like that?” Carrigan exclaimed. Yep. Just exactly like that.
Once we recovered Travis and safely navigated off our mini-glacier we left the mine and continued driving up Hatcher Pass. At this point, the pavement ends and Travis took to the wheel to get some experience driving the Jeep in 4-wheel drive. We searched for some snow to drive on but had to settle for snow banks to drive between.
The road eventually loops back around to the town of Willow. As we approached the town Travis said, “Hey guys, is that the mountain?” Sure enough, even though we were over 160 miles away, there was Denali in all its glory!
As we turned South to head back toward home base Pati consulted the list of mushers we had picked up that morning. Dream a Dream Dog Sled Tours was just a few miles down the road. We rolled up and were greeted by Ken, the owner. Ken shared that they did only provide tours by reservation and that they were full, but Pati worked her magic and we left with a reservation for 8:00 AM on Friday – the last day before Carrigan and Travis had to head home. With any luck, we would get our dog sled ride yet!
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