Today was a very cool day here in Fairbanks and it was cool in two ways, one being that the high was only about 20*F and the other is that we were able to see the completion of the Yukon Quest dog sled race. This year it began in Whitehorse of the Yukon Territory in Canada and finished in Fairbanks, Alaska. The two cities alternate as the start and finish of the race. Here is a shot of the winner coming into the finish chute.......
This is a photo of the top finisher of the 1000 mile Yukon Quest dog sled race. This musher and his dogs finished in just over 10 days. Second place was only four minutes behind.
and here is a short video of the second finisher coming in about 4 minutes after the winner.
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Lunch was a pot luck affair at the ARCUS office here in Fairbanks. The delicious dishes were all prepared by the wonderful staffers. After lunch we headed to the University of Alaska Fairbanks' (UAF) large animal research facility. They do research with musk ox, caribou, and reindeer. They are especially interested in the digestive system of the musk ox. This photo shows a musk ox and the plug that scientists use to sample the contents of the "rumen", on of the four parts of a musk ox stomach.
![Musk Ox Stomach Plug](/files/members/rob-wilder/images/dsc00816.jpg "Musk Ox are a type of animal called a ruminant. They are herbivores that have a four part stomach. The researchers at UAF have installed plugs that allows them to take samples from the "rumen" the first of the four stomach sections.")
Musk Ox are a type of animal called a ruminant. They are herbivores that have a four part stomach. The researchers at UAF have installed plugs that allows them to take samples from the "rumen" the first of the four stomach sections.