We spent a day north of Anchorage in Wasilla and Palmer and it was a day full of animals. We lived in Wasilla for three years (2007-2010). Our first stop was at the Iditarod Headquarters. The Iditarod is a dog-sled race that started to remember a historic dog-sled run by Balto and Togo to get diptheria serum to Nome. We got to watch a video about the Iditarod and then we all got to go on a short dog sled ride with a musher who has run his dogs in the Iditarod – Riley Dyche. (https://www.darkhorsesleddogs.com/the-musher/)

We drove by our old house and the lake we used to walk to before having lunch at Krazy Moose Subs (best subs we’ve ever had – they opened back when we lived there). We also drove by the dance studio my oldest took her first ballet class at and the newspaper I used to free-lance for while we lived there.

Then, we headed to the Musk Ox Farm. What’s a Musk Ox? It’s an almost prehistoric creature that is only found in Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Siberia. Their fur (qiviut) is “harvested” to turn into yarn. From their Web site: Qiviut is eight times warmer than sheep’s wool and is one of nature’s finest fibers with a micron count (diameter) that is approximately thirty percent more fine (skinnier!) than the finest cashmere and is not itchy or scratchy like wool. We took a walking tour and got to get pretty close to them. (Musk Ox Farm: https://www.muskoxfarm.org)

Next up was the Reindeer Farm. Reindeer are domesticated caribou. We got a family picture with a reindeer, but our kids also got to pet baby reindeer and feed a moose some birch tree branches. There were pigs, turkeys, elk, yak, cows and alpacas. We were told that you shouldn’t touch reindeer antlers because it hurts the reindeer when you do. (Reindeer Farm: https://www.reindeerfarm.com)

Our day ended at another favorite restaurant from when we used to live in Alaska – the Noisy Goose Café in Palmer right across from the Alaska State Fairgrounds. My husband and I reminisced about the times we visited the fair – seeing giant vegetables and some of the crew from Deadliest Catch.

Next post … glacier, snow and gold-panning …