From there we watched a demonstration on how to pan for gold, and were given a bag of pay dirt of our own. Something tells me it was probably rigged, but hey -- it was still fun. 
We didn't come away millionaires, but we did manage to pan out about $12 worth of gold between the two of us! This was Mikes...I had about the same amount.
That afternoon, we boarded the riverboat Discovery, which took us down (or was it up?) the Chena River. 
We stopped here at Susan Butcher's dog camp, Trail Breaker Kennels, and visited with Susan's husband, David Monson.
He taught us all about the selection and training of a good sled dog team, and about his wife, Susan. Susan was the first woman to win the 1000 mile long Iditarod in Alaska, and she ended up winning a total of 4 times. Unfortunately, Susan passed away 2 years ago from cancer. Just before she died, Susan wrote a children's book about her lead dog, Granite. Susan, Granite and the dog team not only ran the Iditarod, but climbed to the top of Mt. McKinley together. They are the only dog team to have ever climbed the mountain. If you are interested in purchasing a copy of her book, it is available at http://www.amazon.com/. All of the profit from the sales goes toward the education fund for Susan's young girls. 
We also made a stop at an Athabascan Indian Village. We learned all about tanning hides and preserving fish and meat. This photo is of a drying house. 
We also watched a native Athabascan woman sewing skins together and doing bead work for a parka. One of the parkas she made has earned a spot in the Smithsonian Institution. This parka took her about 6 months to sew, and is valued at about $16,000.
We stopped here at Susan Butcher's dog camp, Trail Breaker Kennels, and visited with Susan's husband, David Monson.He taught us all about the selection and training of a good sled dog team, and about his wife, Susan. Susan was the first woman to win the 1000 mile long Iditarod in Alaska, and she ended up winning a total of 4 times. Unfortunately, Susan passed away 2 years ago from cancer. Just before she died, Susan wrote a children's book about her lead dog, Granite. Susan, Granite and the dog team not only ran the Iditarod, but climbed to the top of Mt. McKinley together. They are the only dog team to have ever climbed the mountain. If you are interested in purchasing a copy of her book, it is available at http://www.amazon.com/. All of the profit from the sales goes toward the education fund for Susan's young girls. We also made a stop at an Athabascan Indian Village. We learned all about tanning hides and preserving fish and meat. This photo is of a drying house. We also watched a native Athabascan woman sewing skins together and doing bead work for a parka. One of the parkas she made has earned a spot in the Smithsonian Institution. This parka took her about 6 months to sew, and is valued at about $16,000.Next stop on our tour - Denali National Park. Don't miss it!
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