The Turning Heads Kennel tour and dogsled ride was one of the top experiences of our entire two-month road trip to Alaska! The setting, beautiful wooded acreage across from the Resurrection River, set the tone and was followed by friendly and efficient check-in at the office/gift shop. The tours are small (ours had only six guests), designed for all ages, and provide generous amounts of time for interacting with both the staff (who were happy to answer all the questions I peppered them with) and the dogs (who were well socialized and happy to receive all the love I peppered them with). Seward native Callista (niece of Travis Beals, owner of the kennel along with Sarah Stokey, and who has run the Iditarod for about ten years now) and an assistant demonstrated mushing equipment and told us about the Iditarod, making sure to inform the adults and also to engage the five year-old in the group. We then proceeded to the kennel and learned about the dogs, their care and training, and their unique personalities, before being let loose to meet and interact with these star athletes, many of whom were Iditarod veterans. then the highlight of the tour for many, especially the kids - the PUPPIES! We got to play with and snuggle eight of them, all littermates from an Iditarod mom. The grand finale was to watch the process of selecting dogs to pull the “sled” (they used eleven dogs on our tour) and of harnessing them, which was fascinating. Then off (!!) through two miles of trails, Callista skillfully geeing and hawing the team around corners and keeping them motivated to perform, finishing up the ride, to everyone’s delight, at a row of wading pools for the dogs to drink from and jump in to cool off. It was a great experience; I never dreamed I’d ever get to ride behind real Iditarod dogs or meet a real musher (Travis was present at the end)! And all very reasonably priced, I’d like to add. If you still don’t see why this was a nightlight of our Alaska experience, experience it for yourself, and you’ll join the many who have rated this five stars!