The LIFE of Lee and Karen Duquette
before becoming the Two RV Gypsies
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A helicopter ride from Juneau
to go dog sledding on The Norris Glacier in Alaska
May 26, 2004

Karen Duquette in flight gear
dogsled adventure article
The helicopter

Below: Juneau Icefield is a spectacular expanse of mountains and glaciation, which an be up to 2,000 feet thick. It is the source of all the glaciers in the area, including Mendenhall, Taku, Eagle, Herbert, the Norris Glacier and 37 other glaciers within a 1,500 square mile. Almost 3/4 of all the fresh water in Alaska is stored as glacial ice.

Karen Duquette viewing Taku Glacier Taku Glacier

Below: Views from the helicopter

view from the helicopter view from the helicopter
view from the helicopter view from the helicopter
view from the helicopter view from the helicopter
another hilicopter Hole-in the-Wall Glacier.

The Grandeur of Glaciers: Glacier ice often appears blue to the eye because it absorbs all the colors of the spectrum except blue, which is scattered back. Below is the Hole-in the-Wall Glacier.

Hole-in the-Wall Glacier. Hole-in the-Wall Glacier.
Hole-in the-Wall Glacier.

Below: A little bit of rain while riding in the helicopter.

A little bit of rain A little bit of rain

Below: The helicopter arrived at The Norris Glacier - one-fourth mile up, with 15-20 feet of snow on top of the glacier. The ONLY way to reach this glacier is by helicopter.

helicopter arrived at The Norris Glacier helicopter arrived at The Norris Glacier
Lee and Karen Duquette on Norris Glacier

Below: There were 200 dogs are on the North Glacier on this date. To get them here, the seats were removed from the helicopter and 20 dogs were flown in at a time. There are 8 to 9 dogs on a team with 10 teams running on this date. There are two sled behind each team of dogs, The Muster drives the front sled, The dogs are fed 3 times a day with 10,000 calories per day and they burn the calories off. Some of these dogs compete in the famous Iditarod races.

Lee and Karen petting Cheese

Below: Lee Duquette and Black Toe, the biggest dog on the glacier

Lee Duquette gets a kis from Black Toe Black Toe, the biggest dog on the glacier

Lee Duquette and the sled dogs.

Karen Duquette and
Mr. T
who has been a lead dog in the Iditarod

Lee Duquette and the sled dogs Karen Duquette and the sled dogs
sled dog huts sled dog huts
sled dog huts and the sled dogs

Below: A small partial view of the massive glacier.

Lee Duquette filming the massive glacier massive glacier

Below: Karen and Lee Duquette were ready to do some dog sledding with Matt the Musher

Lee Duquette and sled dogs Karen Duquette ant Matt
Lee and Karen Duquette ready to do dog sledding

Below: Photos taken by Karen Duquette while dog sledding.

sled dogs dog sledding

If you are not the lead dog, the scenery never changes.

dog sledding on the glacier dog sledding on the glacier

A boat tour to the Sawyer Glacier

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