Denali Dog Care is up and running…literally!

We are already off to a great start. We have 4-footed visitors coming from all over the lower 48 and Canada!

We have been enjoying the views of the Healy Alaska Range as we go on walks and run around in the yard.

So far we have had a husky, lab, Boston terrier, beagle, and poodle mix.

So while you are out camping in Denali National Park, hiking the Alaskan trails, taking the Denali National Park bus tour, or out enjoying Interior Alaska on an ATV tour, bring us your pets!

We are enjoying an Alaskan adventure of our own. Make sure you stop by our gallery for some fun photos of our new Alaskan friends.

Summer Jobs In Denali, Alaska

Spring is coming to Denali, Alaska! If you would like to work at Denali National Park, Alaska for the summer, there are two companies that you can look into.

Aramark and Princess Tours are the main hiring companies up here. For more details check out their websites!
There are also several local businesses that hire summer employees. If you would like more information about the local businesses, feel free to contact us.

 Yes, I know that it is only March, and that I am in the mountains of Alaska…but I’m excited for spring to get here! It has been around –20 at night, but then warms up to about 10 above during the day.

I decided to go ahead and get my garden seeds started. I’m going to keep them in the sunroom until the last frost, and then I’ll move them out to the greenhouse.

Last year I didn’t start the seeds in the house until May, and they didn’t do as well. Maybe I’m being over zealous and will regret starting my seeds so early, but seeing some green does my heart good!

There is still about 6-8 inches of snow on the ground outside, and NO signs of green out there!

I am using seeds from the Denali Seed Company. They are a company that specializes in growing gardens in Alaska. In their own words: 

"Denali Seed Company has been in Anchorage for over thirty years and supplies gardeners with farm fresh, quality garden seed. Our varieties have been tested in and are proven performers in arctic and sub-arctic growing conditions.”

So I am going to give them a try and see how I fare. This will be my 4^th growing season in Alaska, and my 3^rd in Denali…and I am slowly getting the hang of things. It is amazing to see how quickly the plants grow once we have out 24 hour light. They seem to grow an inch over night! I should measure them sometime just to see if they really do grow that much.

Our growing season isn’t very long up here, four months if we are lucky. This year I started sunflowers, corn, a variety of squash, onions, broccoli, and marigolds.

I haven’t had much luck with growing corn yet, and I’m told that it just doesn’t work this far north…so we will see. 

If you have any tips on growing corn let me know! The potatoes, beans, and salad mixes seem to do really well, this year I’m going to add spinach to the list.

My other new venture is an outside garden. I’m hoping that between the dogs and the kids, the moose will stay away! We are going to have to haul in some topsoil from somewhere; our ground is mostly sand, moss and rocks! 

Is This Our Denali, Alaska Winter?

I don’t think we are in for a typical Denali, Alaska winter, but a very unpredictable one. We always have snow by the end of September, and by the second week of November the hockey rink is frozen over…not this year. Mother Nature started things off in Alaska like any other winter. We had snow by the second week of September, very normal, but then she changed her mind.

The weather warmed up and we had an Indian summer…something that I didn’t know Denali, Alaska could have. It warmed up to 40°- 50° and life was great. It wasn’t until the last week of October that Mother Nature remembered that it was supposed to be winter in Alaska.

She dove in full force and blanketed the ground with a bunch of snow then dropped the temperatures down to below 0°. We even had a day where the temperature was -20°. The residents of Denali, Alaska were very impressed with her handy work…then something remarkable happened…after having a day of -20°, we woke up to 30° above!

What is that all about? Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for global warming reaching Alaska, just not used to it yet! So here we are. It is the end of the first week of November, 20° above and snowing…a lot. Wow. Remarkable.

This Denali, Alaska winter has been quite unpredictable. The question is, will Mother Nature keep it up? Or is she just teasing us into thinking that we are going to get off easy this winter? I’m not taking any chances. I’m using the warm weather to go out and get some more firewood…just in case!

You can keep track of the weather for yourself on our website and let us know what your predictions are. Has global warming reached Alaska? I guess only time will tell.

Beautiful Morning In Denali Alaska

It’s a beautiful winter day. We had a wonderful fall through most of September and October. It wasn’t until a few days ago that winter returned in full force. November brought with it cold temperatures and about six inches of snow. The general consensus among the locals…’it’s about time the snow showed up.’ If it’s going to be cold, we might as well have snow.

The sky is a clear blue with not even a trace of clouds. The air is no longer crisp, but a cutting cold that cuts into your lungs. An experience that happens only when it drops down below 10°f. if you think that cold weather shuts down the town of Denali, or Alaska for that matter, then you are greatly mistaken.

Alaska is a place of extremes. In the summer we have 24 hour light and 24 hour play. In the winter we have the Northern Lights, cold clear skies, and happy sled dogs. The Alaskan Malamute and Huskies thrive on temperatures that hover between -20°f and -10°f.

My Alaskan Malamute happens to be in seventh heaven today. It is about -17°f with clear blue skies and snow on the ground. He has made several circles around the house now, having a hard time concealing his excitement for winter. He is ready to go.

He comes and stares at me through the window, willing me to come outside and hitch him up the sled so we can go for a run. It wouldn’t be such a bad idea if the swine flu hadn’t taken out the whole family for the past 3 weeks.

But it has, and not only our family, but the whole town. Apparently, Alaska hasn’t had the flu hit yet…everyone just decided to go with the swine flu instead…yuck. Can’t wait for flu season.

So we will stay inside a few days longer until everyone has had ample time to recover, then it will be snowsuits and sleds, and one happy malamute.