Touring the Wintry Great Beyond: Sled dogs, snowmobiling, and pie making.

• Author: Mottl, Judy
• Position: TOURISM

Steve Young and Diana Engel live on different continents along different coastlines. Young hails from Coffs Harbour, Australia, and Engel calls North Carolina home, but the two travelers share a compelling passion: Alaska's famous Aurora Borealis and the exhilaration of traversing Alaska via a dog sled.

A trip to Sirius Sled Dogs, situated at the edge of Murphy Dome, was long on the seventy-two-year-old Engel's bucket list and part of Young's love for travel--so much so that Young has visited Sirius Sled Dogs twice within three years.

Within the "bed and sled" recreational experience, visitors are provided a compelling Aurora view while staying at an off-the-grid cabin with just a few other guests and fifteen sled dogs that power sled excursions. Owner Nita Rae is planning on opening a B&B-style lodge in early 2018.

"It is a special experience. The interaction with the dogs for me was very memorable," says Young, noting interested visitors should foster a love for canines since the sled dogs are a big part of the experience.

"Little events also added to the magic--the dogs told me with their keen perspective that a fox was passing by below the property, and there was also an encounter with a small moose crossing the road when driving back to Fairbanks in the darkness of night after my visit," he recalls, adding that after both visits he felt enriched and "to be honest, quite privileged" to have shared Young's world at such close quarters.

For Engel the excursion proved just as memorable, though sled dog travel wasn't initially on her visit to-do list. But it was on a friend's, so after the two found Sirius Sled Dogs online they quickly realized the trip would be a perfect choice given their separate interests.

"A close friend of mine always said when I went to see the [Northern] Lights, she wanted to come too. And she always wanted to go dog sledding," explains Engel, describing Sirius Sled Dogs' sled dogs as the "most amazing" dogs she's ever encountered. The excursion was "exhilarating," says Engel, as the two learned a great deal about sled dogs and, of course, enjoyed viewing the Aurora Borealis with no city lights impacting the spectacular view.

But traversing Alaska via a sled dog and experiencing the Aurora Borealis are just two of an increasing number of unique winter recreation options beckoning visitors to the 49th State.

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