It’s A Dog’s Life

After lunch in the Cruiser, we headed out again. The plan was to check out the exhibits at the Visitor’s Center and then go visit the dogs at the Denali National Park Kennels.

Although the website says the VC is open, what they really mean is that there is a desk outside the building where you can pay the park admission fee, pick up maps, and ask questions of the NPS Rangers on duty.

The good news ... the kennels were open. In fact, as we walked the trail from the parking lot at the Park Headquarters the yipping and yapping was an indication of their excitement. Turns out the dog walkers that exercise the dogs this time of the year had arrived and the dogs were begging to be chosen.

These animals are sled dogs. They are culturally significant in that they represent “... both the Native Alaskan and the pioneer experience in the far north; and have a role in the history of Alaska's first national park.” Their presence adds to what makes Denali NP unique ... this is the only park in the US where sled dogs help protect the “... park and the wildlife, scenery, and wilderness therein, and it has been this way nearly as long as there has been a park here.”Read more