bears and cuddling puppies

[mumom95]

Ok, we are now officially planning our independent land tour ( I still have to change the cruisetour to a cruise, but we have decided to do the land part on our own). So thanks for all of the advice.

 

Now, we are starting to work on excursions.

 

Two things I definitely want to do is see bears eating (up close as much as possible) and cuddle sled dog puppies. Any advice on what excursions I should sign up for to have the best shot at doing these.

 

We are going to be in Anchorage, Seward, Talkeetna, Denali

 

And our cruise will dock for the day in Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan.

 

Any advice on great excursions would be appreciated

[winterstar]

I can't comment on the bears, but I did get to cuddle husky puppies. We signed up for the Husky Homestead tour through RCCL. They take you to Jeff King's home and get to view the dogs and hear about the Iditarod. As you step off the bus, they will hand you a puppy. However, there were about 4-5 shuttles full of people on this tour. We did in fact get to hold a puppy, for only for a matter of minutes as they had to be passed around so everyone got to hold one. We really enjoyed this tour, as Jeff King is an excellent speaker, but that was the extent of contact with the dogs.

[MrsMoose2001]

where is this tour please? for the puppies?

 

I so love puppies and dogs and would love to see them and maybe cuddle with them.

[nicaphile]

On the road from Anchorage to Talkeetna, you pass through the town of Wasilla. There is an Iditarod center there and, from what I have heard, you can visit with the pups there for free. They have a website if you google it

[Yukon]

Bears will depend on when you're going - the best area depends on the time of year. For husky puppies there lots of options. The Jeff King tour is at Denali Park, the Iditarod Center atb Wasilla is free, as is the puppy part of Caribou Crossing at Carcross.

 

Murray

[GlacierLady]

Congrats on going on your own,a great decision. :) Seward has 2 different kinds of options for dogsledding and puppies.Godwin Glacier which is a helicopter ride with landing on the glacier dogsledding and Ididaride which has the cart type.Both usually have puppies available to hold.Ididaride has a kennel tour if all you want is puppies.:)

 

No bear excursions in the Seward area but they are seen at Exit Glacier, along side of the road and in town frequently more as winter moves in.

[mbisson]

Please don't get confused on this excursion. It's dangerous to watch puppies and try to cuddle bears. ;)

 

-Monte

[winterstar]

The excursion was called HUSKY HOMESTEAD and we booked through RCCL. I'm sure you would be able to do it independently. Check out www.huskyhomestead.com

[MrsMoose2001]

Thanks I'm only doing the inside passage rt vancouver, maybe some other time or maybe I'll see something advertised. will check out that website.

 

 

I'm going on Radisson they didn't offer anything like that anyway,

[Cruisechick82]

Several people on here have stopped at Carcross, I believe out of Skagway to visit sled dogs and puppies. If you rent a car to visit Emerald Lake out of Skagway, it is on the way.

 

If you are planning a glacier flight/dog sledding excursion on your cruise, they also let you cuddle puppies from what I've read.

 

It would be really neat to hear out the Iditarod though!

[mumom95]

I'll try to make sure I keep it straight, cuddle puppies, not bears.

 

Thanks for all the advice.

[mbisson]

mumom,

Have a great cruise!

 

-Monte

[hvsteve1]

Mrs. Moose,

 

Huskey Homestead appears to be near Denali. We did RSSC earlier this summer. Sled dogs are not going to be very available on the inland passage because,despite all the pictures of glaciers,the passage is a pretty moderate area weatherwise and has climate more like Seattle than Nome. The only sled dogs we saw were on the glacier air tour where they keep some sled dog encampments on the glaciers because that is where the snow is. Most sled dog opportunities are on the land tour. The Park Service has dogs in Denali and the Iditerod headquarters,near Talkeetna,also has dogs available. We were there with the Radisson people and,believe me,they will have puppies for you to cuddle. If you go to Fairbanks,you will have a sled dog experience if you do the Riverboat Discovery tour.

[MrsMoose2001]

:mad: I'm not going to the interior, I'm going to Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway (and Haines on the fast ferry for 1/2 day independly) and Sitka. No interior for me this time.

 

I booked the entire trip and hubby just asked me yesterday why I did this, main thing was I didn't want to fly 3 times instead of 2x. I'm going non-stop to Vancouver and non-stop home from Vancouver as I have ear issues with planes.

 

I also didn't want to be away more than I am because I didn't want to leave my mom for more than the 9 days (1 night each way in Vancouver). But I didn't tell her that so she doesn't feel bad, I just said it's because of the extra flying.

 

Maybe someday I will get to go back. I'm American and I told hubby, if you like Alaska, maybe we will retire there.

 

To bad I won't get to cuddle the puppies, I really do love dogs, I love most animals, but to cuddle with the puppies, oh well, I'm still happy to be going to Alaska.:)

Thanks so much for the info. If you know of anyplace in Juneau. I was going to do the heli tour but they told me the puppies are gone now so I didn't bother.

 

The Taku Wilderness Lodge I got mad as I kept reading about Scarface the bear, and his family and how he comes and eat the scraps, and when I called, they said, Oh, he died a few years ago, I felt so cheated I refused to book that tour. I said, you need to update your website and they said we know, everyone asks about Scarface.

[missjanet]

Two years ago we were on the Princess Star for a cruise to Alaska. We had signed up for an excursion where you took a helicopter to go dogsledding out on the ice, but it was cancelled due to poor weather. Instead we went on something they called Alaska Dog Sled Adventure - dogsledding on wheels. It was a lot cheaper than the other excursion - $99 instead of $389. But the best part was the puppies!!! There were two female dogs with litters - one group was one week old, the other was two weeks old. The people running the trip wanted us to hold the puppies so they would get used to people & I gladly obliged. One of the real highlights of our cruise was this excursion - my husband & I had so much fun cuddling puppies & scratching dog tummies in addition to riding those sleds. I don't know if this excursion is still offered, but I highly recommend it.

 

Janet

[MrsMoose2001]

Oh do you remember what port that was? That woudl be great, I would pay them just to cuddle the puppies a highlight for me as well.:)

[hvsteve1]

I wouldn't cancel the heli tour just because there are no dogs. The one without the dogs spends more time in the air and touches down in more places. The heli tour was one of the real highlights for us. It is like landing on another planet and is something you will probably never get to do again.

 

BTW...as regards retiring to Alaska-even most of the people who live in Alaska don't live in Alaska. So many of the people you will run into on the trip will not be there to see the firstg snowflake. They say unless you are a real winter outdoors sports fan,you will go stir crazy with the long nights and winter cold.

[MrsMoose2001]

Actually I'm doing a lot of flightseeing, Misty Fijors and I'm going flightseeing in Sitka, and weather permitting, I'll be flying back from Haines to Skagaway.

 

The heli tour even with the dog sleds was something we were going back and forth on since they don't let you take any "bags" on the tour. Hubby doesn't want to leave his camera equipment and I won't leave my handbag so no "puppies" was a good reason.

 

I found a place outside of Skagway, and it will all depend on my time and when I get back from Haines, as high on my list is the 10 min tour of the Red Onion.l

 

Oh well can't do it all in one trip. As someone who spent 2 years living in Alaska said "2 years and I didn't see it all".

 

Yes, I would be happy in a city like Anchorage, I love winter and skiing and snowmobiling, ice skateing, it's the summer that I don't do anything except go from one a/c to another and do no summer sports whatsoever.

the one thing that would keep me from retiring to Alaska is the mosquitos.

 

I took flying lessons for awhile, when I was 15/16 as I wanted to be a bush pilot in Alaska. And I'd still own central a/c in Alaska for the few days that I might need it, that's how much I can't take heat. I get so physically ill, and miserable in the heat.:)

Long nights, oh well, for me, my life would probably be the same, I don't even notice the long winter nights, I do notice the summer nights when even with the a/c on I know it's hot outside and don't even want to go out.:)

 

Thanks for the info, most appreciated. Now those puppies are in my brain, lol. I do love dogs so much. They are so loyal and give unconditional love and affection.:)

[missjanet]

I checked my cruise diary & it was in Skagway that we did the sled dog on wheels excursion. I have such happy memories of being with those sweet dogs & puppies - my absolute favorite thing. I hope you get to hug some pups!!

[Yukon]

>>Oh well can't do it all in one trip. As someone who spent 2 years living in Alaska said "2 years and I didn't see it all". <<

 

I came up on holidays in 1985, moved here in 1990 and seldom travel anywhere outside Alaska and the Yukon - I've got LOTS to see yet!

 

Murray

[MrsMoose2001]

Hi Murray,

 

 

That's exactly what I mean, there is so much to see and do in Alaska, I really think I'm going to love that part of the world. I've always been fascinated with Alaska and I think I would love it there. Obviously you do.:)

 

I keep telling hubby, we won't see it all or do it all, not possible, and he knows it, and if I can plant my two feet on Alaskan soil, I'll be very happy. If I can hug the puppies, I'll be even happier. If my ears pop and the phones work, and I come home healthy with nothing bad have happened, I will say it was the best trip ever.

 

Thanks for all your advice and help

PS, any more phone info/help would really really be appreciated.

[dare2dream]

MrsMoose2001,

I just returned from our HAL AK cruisetour. The first shore excursion I booked was to the Taku Lodge because I wanted to make sure I got that tour before it was sold out.

 

 

We flew to the lodge on a floatplane. COOL. When we arrived they were cooking dinner on the outdoor firepit grill. The salmon smelled fabulous. Hound dogs are roaming around and employees are working to get everything ready for dinner. Our group was roaming around the lodge and enjoying the beauty of the area and DH and I were chatting to the guy at the grill. As we are chatting something catches my eye and I see a bear has wandered into the backyard. The bear was less that 50 feet away. It is not too large and is moving slowy. I yell to others in our group, THERE'S A BEAR IN THE BACKYARD!! The cook screams for the other lodge employees to get the dogs into the house. Then a sweet little college age girl that works there grabs a ten foot stick that was resting up against the lodge and goes running at the bear to scare it away. It runs up a tree. Everyone runs over to see it and take pictures. It is not going anywhere, it stays in the tree.

 

The bear is friendly and visits the lodge quite often. Her name is Scarlet. The cook thinks she is pregnant because they saw her mating in the spring. She is a bear who knew what she wanted and was calling the shots with with male bear. She is now fattening up for the winter and for the cubs to be born later.

 

The cook was very happy that I mentioned that there was a bear nearby. He said some guests just stand there with their mouths open and he doesn't know about the bear until she is almost to the grill ready to eat!

 

The food was soon prepared and we all went in to eat. The food was delicious but the show at the grill was even better. DH and I had a great seat looking out a big picture window at the grill. When everyone was inside Scarlet hopped on top of the firepit and licked the grill clean. She really took her time and did a thorough(sp?) job. She walked all over the fire pit and got to every inch of that grill that she could. This is one of my favorite AK memories.

 

Scarface may be gone, but our Scarlet is not gone with the wind yet, she is making mischief at the Taku Lodge.

 

Just had to share my fun story. I hope your trip has many wonderful adventures for you too.

 

 

Brenda

[MrsMoose2001]

Oh that is so cool, thank you for sharing. I wonder if Scarlet is a relative if Scarface. I heard that he was a grandfather when he died.

 

I'm so happy you had this wonderful experience. I wanted to do Taku, but because Scarface was gone, I changed my plans. I'm not sorry as I what I booked is something I've wanted to do to and it was a choice.

 

Your experience was wonderful thank you so much for sharing.:)

[Host Caroline]

oh.. phooey.. you are Canadian and cannot rent a car and go into Canada so I just erased my suggestion of going to Caribou Crossing... drat.

[MrsMoose2001]

I don't understand your problem about renting a car and going into Canada?