Rainy Day Tours

03/22/2025

03/21/2025

I truly feel bad for the people stuck in town or out north unable to return to their homes

03/20/2025

Join us on tour and you too can go tide pooling

03/14/2025

Jessie Holmes wins

Iditarod insight #10
By Nils Hahn
DOG FOOD
What do these athletes eat while covering over 100 miles per day while running this race? Dogs competing in the Iditarod have to consume over 10,000 calories per day, per dog. Most non-mushers don’t realize that sled dogs can be picky eaters. The reason is that they’re being pampered and stuffed with a high-calorie diet. They are being spoiled by the equivalent of the helicopter parent - the musher. Mushers feed their athletes a warm soup in the morning before the start of training. Water gets baited with either cooked fish or some sort of meat mixture. In the evening, after the run, the dogs receive their daily feeding, consisting of a special kibble formulated for these high performance athletes mixed with fish, meat as well as fat. During the race the dogs get a high calorie/fat snack every 2 or 3 hours and a warm meal every time a musher stops and camps. The dry dog food is a special diet, formulated and manufactured just for racing huskies, as this dry dog food would simply be too rich and calorie dense for any other dog - even a very active dog.The meat source can be varied, as mushers feed straight beef, liver, tripe, chicken or turkey skins, herring, salmon, lamb, pork bellies, beaver meat and more. During colder days mushers feed more fatty food such as turkey skins or chicken skins. When it’s warmer the dogs tend to prefer frozen fish and don’t like the fatty food as much. One of the attributes mushers look for when deciding which dogs to pair for the next litter of pups is the appetite of the dogs. A picky or slow eater is a lot more work as well as harder to manage while on the trail to Nome compared to a dog that loves to eat and eats seemingly anything. During high intensity periods of training or during a race the dogs are allowed to pretty much eat as much as they want. Some dogs are hard keepers, other dogs are easy keepers. Mushers are required to carry a dog food cooker in the sled. This cooker is being utilized to either melt snow to make warm water or to heat up water from a source in a village or tent checkpoint. Methanol is the fuel for this cooker and is being provided to the mushers in each checkpoint. Once the water is hot it gets poured into a bucket or cooler along with the cut-up pieces of meat that were sent out to the checkpoints as “food drops” prior to the race. Once this slurry has thawed and mixed with the dry dog food (kibble) it then gets fed to the dogs. Additionally mushers feed frozen pieces of meat, fat and fish to the dogs in order to get more calories into the dogs. In order to keep the dogs' digestive system used to this high-calorie, high-fat diet, most mushers feed a similar diet year-round with some modifications to keep regularity and make clean-up in the dog yard a pleasant experience. Any digestive distress during training is being closely monitored as the dogs need to be in tip-top shape year round and any digestive issues mean the dogs aren’t 100%.
Top-notch dog food - it’s what fuels these dogs to run thousands of miles each year.
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Photo: Drop bags with dog food (and some musher supplies) are prepared by mushers prior to the race and flown out to all checkpoints. Pictured are drop bags at Unalakleet.
Photo by Laura Robertson/Nome Nugget

03/08/2025

03/04/2025

Handcrafted 2-foot yellow cedar paddles featuring eagle and raven designs, $150 each, buyer responsible for shipping.

03/04/2025

For sale Haida wolf yellow cedar paddle $450 buyer pays shipping

Hand carved and painted by Art Shayen of Rainy Day Tours

03/02/2025

Our grand adventures this week Golden king crab, cockle, digging, and Tanner crab breakfast today 

02/26/2025

Tell me you live in Alaska without telling me you live in Alaska
Here I’ll go first

02/15/2025

The Alaskan Iditarod race is coming up. Here’s some of our history.

On February 2, 1925, the heroic dog "Balto" and his musher, "Gunnar Kaasen," made history by completing the final leg of the "Nome serum run," also known as the "Great Race of Mercy." The serum run was a pivotal event in Alaskan history, as it saved the town of Nome from a potential diphtheria epidemic that threatened to wipe out its population. The 53-mile stretch that Balto led his team through was the last and most dangerous leg of a race that covered nearly 700 miles of treacherous terrain.

In the winter of 1925, Nome was struck by a diphtheria outbreak, and the only way to save the town was to deliver an antitoxin serum. The serum, however, was far from nearby, and a group of mushers, including Kaasen, was tasked with transporting it from Anchorage to Nome. Balto's team was chosen for the final stretch, despite the harsh conditions of extreme cold, ice, and snowstorms.

When Kaasen and Balto arrived in Nome, they were greeted as heroes. Balto's leadership during the final push through the blizzard, where visibility was nearly nonexistent, made him a legend. His courage and determination were pivotal in ensuring the success of the mission and saving countless lives. "Balto" was later celebrated across the United States, with a statue of the famous sled dog being erected in Central Park, New York City, in 1925.

Balto's story is not only one of courage and endurance but also a testament to the incredible bond between humans and their animal companions. The serum run, and Balto's role in it, has become an iconic moment in the history of Alaska and the broader story of heroism in the face of life-threatening challenges. The event also led to advancements in public health infrastructure, highlighting the importance of swift medical deliveries to remote areas. The story of Balto and Gunnar Kaasen remains a shining example of bravery, perseverance, and the unbreakable spirit of teamwork.

02/15/2025

Mendenhall Glacier calving caught on video in Juneau

A dramatic calving event at Juneau’s Mendenhall Glacier sent massive ice chunks into the water. Officials warn of instability and urge visitors to stay away for safety.

02/04/2025

We wer flying from Ketchikan to Anchorage the other day and seen Mt Edgecome in Sitka Alaska so I had to share

01/29/2025

Precipitation totals for Ketchikan, Alaska

01/01/2025

New Year’s Day dawned in an exceptionally beautiful manner, and I extend heartfelt wishes to you all for a truly transformative and happy new year.

11/22/2024

Only in Alaska do you haul a one ton pickup with your Trawler!!

Photo from Spencer Richter

11/06/2024

Give Jeremiah a call for all those Alaskan fishing expeditions and make your dreams a reality

10/26/2024

With the 2024 season coming to a glorious end, I express deepest appreciation to every one of our cherished customers, hoping the upcoming year brings you unparalleled happiness and fulfillment.

Thank you so much from Rainy Day Tours

09/19/2024

Cool info had to share because I had no idea

Did you know that the crisp white and vibrant red stripes on a windsock are not just for adding a pop of color to airport terminals, helipads, or high-rise buildings?

They actually indicate precise wind speeds, serving as a vital visual aid for pilots, meteorologists, and engineers to gauge air currents and navigate safely.

Here's how the carefully calibrated stripes provide essential information in the blink of an eye.