Today was a day of exploration. Rather than sitting in a stuffy conference room, warm and well-stocked with caffeinated beverages, we ventured out into the icy arctic air. Our goal? to witness the final stage of the Yukon Quest sled-dog race, akin to the more famous Iditarod in scale - covering the more than 1000 miles between Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada and Fairbanks, Alaska, USA in two short weeks. (quick - physics and math students - what is the average speed of the dog teams? for extra challenge, assume 8 hours a day of rest time)
A sled dog waiting for her compatriots to finish the Yukon Quest 1000-mile dog race, at the finish line in Fairbanks.
The annual Yukon Quest dog sled race finished in Fairbanks Alaska, after two weeks and 1000 miles.
At about 11 am, the first team rode in victorious to an applauding crowd. A few short minutes later, the second-place finishing team rode in, a very close race as these things go.
Lunch at the ARCUS office was tasty and varied - pasta, salmon dip, reindeer pizza, and slices of moose, finished off with some incredible blueberry pie with tart wild blueberries.
A short drive later, we arrived at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks (UAF) Large Animal Research Station to visit some arctic "charismatic megafauna" - aka cool animals!
A musk ox from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks Large Animal Research Center.
Santa's ride. These are also from the UAF Large Animal Research Center. Similar but not the same as caribou.
A caribou from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks Large Animal Research Center.
The staff introduced us to musk ox, caribou, and reindeer, explaining how arctic natives have hunted and domesticated these animals over centuries for food and goods. One important product is qiviut, the fine under-layer of fur that keeps musk ox warm, which is used to make soft warm yarn.
This musk ox was brought indoors so we could investigate his layers of fur. Under the long coarse protective hair, musk ox have a layer of soft downy hair that keeps them really warm.
We ended the afternoon at the UAF museum, an unapologetically modern building housing traditional artwork and ideas from the arctic community of Alaska. My favorite room: The Place Where You Go To Listen - a new-agey interpretation in light and sound of the rhythms of Alaska's seasons, seismic activity, and the Northern Lights. Every house should have one of these rooms.
The museum at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.