Caribou Crossing Trading Post

Hi Blog!

On our road trip from Whitehorse to Skagway, we made a stop at Caribou Crossing Trading Post just outside of Carcross. This is the quintessential Yukon tourist experience. In fact, tourist by the thousands sign up to take a bus ride from Skagway just to take a sled dog ride and play with the huskie puppies. Luckily, we arrived before the tour buses.

If you are curious about polar bears, grizzley bears, brown bears and black bears, then visit their Animals of the North exhibit.

You can get up close and personal with all sorts of stuffed critters. With the way wildlife responds when Great White rumbles by, this may be the only glimpse of a moose we get this trip.

We spent a good bit of time in the exhibit room dedicated to the North-West Mounted Police, which later became the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. We learned a lot about the boys in red and how they brought law and order to the stampeeders. If that wasn't enough, just being able to stroll the grounds is worth the price of admission.

Next up was a visit with the husky dogs. Did you know the Alaskan husky is not considered a pure breed. It is defined only by its purpose, which is that of a highly efficient sled dog. The husky is a blend of various Nordic breeds, chosen particularly for skills such as pulling and team player abilities. The husky is the sled dog of choice for world-class dog sled racing sprint competition. None of the purebred northern breeds can match it for sheer racing speed. Alaskan huskies are moderate in size, averaging perhaps 40 to 60 pounds for males and 35 to 48 pounds for females. Some of them superficially resemble racing strains of the Siberian husky breed (which is part of the Alaskan husky genetic mix), but are usually smaller and leaner with a more pronounced tuck-up.

If we were so inclined, we could have taken a dog sled ride to experience how fast they can go. However, these teams were being readied for the cruise tourists who would soon be arriving. We decided to get out while the gettin' was good.

Even though we were about to be invaded, we couldn't leave without spending some time with the husky puppies. There were three husky dogs in the enclosure. They had treats for sale. Needless to say, these were the best feed dogs at the trading post. At the far end of the enclosure, the mama dog and her puppies had a pen to themselves. Here Kathy is saying hello to mama husky "Yoda." (Yes, she got treats, too.)

One of the dog wranglers invited us in to hold the puppies. This little guy looks like he just woke up from a nap.

After getting her fill of puppy kisses, Kathy went on to visit the rest of the menagerie. This dynamic alpaca duo kept her busy.

They were not shy about posing for photos.

After exhausting our supply of kibble and bits, it was time to hit the road. Unfortunately, we weren't quick enough. The first of eight tour buses has already started coming in. We waited for a gap and made our escape.

Stay tuned. More adventures to come.