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 Last post! Today we woke up at the Sealife Center. We got to say goodbye to all of the animals like the seals and sea lions. From there we stopped to do some last minute souvenir shopping in Seward. Then we went to see Seavey’s Iditarod dogs. This family has been racing in the Iditarod for generations and have won multiple times. One member of the family, Mitch Seavey, holds the record for the fastest time completing the race. We were able to meet the dogs and help them train. The dogs pulled us for about two miles in a cart. The dogs were very excited to be able to run, they were jumping and barking as soon as the handlers pulled out the harnesses. After the ride we were able see the puppies, there was a litter that was three months old and one that was only a month old. The three months old loves to nibble. After we were all done with the puppies we were able to see all the gear that a musher wears during the race, we also learned about how the dogs were taken care of during the rac
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 We all got back safely last night (minus a few missed bags).  Here is the next to the last post. Today our group headed to Seward, Alaska for the last two days of the trip. We enjoyed an amazing whale watching tour with Kenai Fjords. Our whale tour included seeing sea otters, harbor seals, humpback whales, and killer whales. We also got to see a glacier up close and enjoyed special drinks made from the glacier ice! The next stop for the day was the Alaskan Sealife Center. At the Sealife Center, we were able to see the “behind-the-scenes” of the center when it is closed off to the public. We looked at the aquariums that contains seals, sea lions, various fish and birds! Our group learned about the background of sea lions and looked closely at the components of a sea lion’s scat. We are resting next to the Alaskan bird habitat, seals habitat, and seal lion habitat for our big day tomorrow with the Iditarod dogs and our trip back home.  Paige and Alexis
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 Hey all,  We have limited access in Seward. So our last posts will not be until we get back.  Thanks for following along with our course.
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  This morning started off pretty relaxed with a presentation about the ecological impacts in the Cook Inlet. We did a lot of brainstorming about the processes and steps to trying to understand how the environment is being affected currently and how to try to help. Later on we went to the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center where we learned about the research they do on seabird populations and habits on the Kachemak Bay, which is home to the largest seabird refuge in the world. They’ll send scientists out to the islands for months in the summer to do their research on different seabird species and how they can help keep the populations and environment healthy. We got to look around the different exhibits around the Center about different species and important work and research they do on the islands. They even had one where we got to see how much the tides changed and where they were currently. Once we got back to the cabins it was time to finish our volleyball tournament. We had
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  The day began with a relaxing morning of moose sausage, home fries and waffles. Some even brave enough to try Birch Syrup. As the morning began to come to an end we gathered our things and headed out to the Wynn Nature center. Before we took off we stopped for coffee at one of the best coffee places around Hot stuff Coffee and of course gas. Arriving at the nature center we found snow awaiting us, some of us unprepared in sneakers. As we went on a short hike we learned about early spring edibles like cow parsley and types of cranberries. After a struggle through the different types of snow our simple but snowy trek soon came to an end and we headed off to the docks to study the creatures that grew there. The creature’s of the dock ranged from Seaweed to anemones to sponges along with barnacles and even starfish.  -Leann and Michayla
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  We were a group of lumberjacks today! Well kind of.. we traveled back up to the Kenai area and made our way to the western entrance of the Swan Lake canoe  trails. We were split up into two separate groups and we divided and conquered different trails that connect the lakes in this neat trail. Our group traveled through the lakes and trails ending at the trail between Contact and Martin Lake. Each of these trails were cleared to become more easily accessible to those who want to explore the Swan Lake Trail. We couldn’t use power tools since we were located in a Federally owned Wilderness State Park (Kenai National Wildlife Refuge). Some tools we used include loppers, zubats, katanas and a 2 man saw! An image of the map of the Swan Lake Trails are pictured below. Most people hike through the entire trail in a little under a week. They will bring tents and other items that allow them to camp out in different areas throughout.  Jenna and Kennedi
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  Today, we visited a local school in the small village of Nikolaevsk, Alaska. Nikolaevsk School is a K-12 institution, yet only has 6 students in total, only one being in the high school level.  We met the students and informed some of them about our college experiences, the differences between college and high school, and some of the other changes college can bring. Afterwards, we completed several workshops with the six students. The workshops were Bone Articulation, Microscopic Plankton, Fictional Writing, a Science Workshop, and Clay Pinchpots. We were broken up into five different groups and traveled to different workshops throughout the day, as well as enjoyed recess and snack breaks. It truly was a nostalgic moment to be back in a primary school, some of us even ate our lunch on cafeteria trays and played on the scooters during recess! We were honored to get the opportunity to meet and work with Billeen Carlson, the teacher at Niko, as well as her amazing students, and it was
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