Alaska vacation - Day 1, Seward, Alaska

(Day 1 of our Alaska vacation - Seward, Alaska.)

I'm touring the Alaskan countryside this week with two relatives, my mom and her sister. I'm trying to play it safe with them, so Day 1 of the trip is back to familiar stomping grounds in Seward, Alaska.

We arrived in Seward this afternoon, and I got them onto a 6 p.m. summer dog sled ride with the Seavey family dog team. The dogs you see here are actual Alaska Iditarod sled dogs. The Seavey family (and many other Iditarod sled dog trainers) run their dogs during the summer to keep them in shape. However, instead of pulling a dog sled over snow and ice, they pull a large sled with wheels, so Alaska tourists like us can enjoy an Iditarod dog sled ride in the summer.

First, here's our dog team as we stopped for a break on the trail:

Next, here's a few dogs that need to grow into their ears. They are pups being groomed as future sled dogs.

One thing you'll notice is that real sled dogs don't look much like those television and movie sled dogs. Pure-bred huskies and malamutes make great dogs for movies, but the best sled dogs are actually hybrids.

Finally, there are these little puppies. They don't look like they'll be pulling anything any time soon.

And in totally unrelated news, the "Bucket of Butt" lives! I thought the bucket was gone, but I was just going to the wrong place. This is some of the best fish I've ever had. Somehow they lightly-bread and lightly-fry halibut, combined with a terrific dipping sauce. It's expensive, but excellent!