Day 46: Sunday, June 30, 2013

What better way to spend a beautiful, warm,  sunny Sunday afternoon than to take a tour on the Riverboat Discovery.

We took a tour down the Chena River on the Riverboat Discovery

We watched bush pilot take off from the water

After landing, the pilot came next to the boat

The paddle

Our first stop was at the kennels of late Iditarod Champion, Susan Butcher, for a sled dog demonstration. Susan won the Iditarod sled race four times and passed away from leukemia in 2006.

Susan Butcher’s Trail Breaker Kennels

The puppies are learning to go over the logs

The dogs are anxious to run

And they’re off!

Coming back from their run

The boat docked at an Athabascan Indian Village where two native tour guides showed us what life was like in the village.

Reindeer came out to greet us as we approached the village

We spent some time at an Athabascan Indian Village

Our tour guides in the village were great. Imagine modeling that fur in 80 degree weather!

Up close with the reindeer

Fur Pelts

One of the Alaskan Husky sled dogs

Mush!

Henry with a Grizzly Bear skin

The same family has been operating cruises on the river for many years. We passed by the original Riverboat.

Ted and Ruth Ann, our friends from Michigan who we were with in Haines, arrived at our RV Park yesterday. They left Haines after we did and traveled a different route to get here. It was good to visit with them again this morning.