Day 14: Idre Fjäll, Norway & sled dogs!
— at Idre Fjäll.
Today was full of wonderful surprises. We checked out Idre Fjäll, the ski resort just up the road from where we’re staying. There’s much less happening here in the offseason, but we saw they had a gondola ride up the mountain, and that you could go see the sled dogs!
When we got there, we saw a sign for dogs but when we followed it, we couldn’t see any evidence of them. Ana called, and they said they don’t have them at the resort during the summer unless you pre-book an event, but that we could come to their home kennel just up the road at 5:00 to meet the dogs – so we decided to do that.
Next we went to look for the gondola, which took awhile to drive around and find the start point. Not much signage or staff around. But we finally found it, and rode up to the top of the mountain. Though the dirt & gravel of the ski slopes with no snow wasn’t too scenic, the stunning vistas at the top more than made up for it.
Next, we decided we were close enough to the Norway border that we had to hop over. Drove about half an hour to a scenic lakeside village – another country checked off!
Then we headed to the dog center. We had NO idea what to expect but it was so wonderful! The couple who owns Adventure Dreams dogsledding spent over 90 minutes with us. First we met two week-old puppies 
. Then we hung out in the pasture where they let out the 32 Siberian & Alaskan huskies in groups to run around and play. Next we helped feed all the dogs, after which they chilled out considerably, and we were invited to “cuddle” our favorite ones. This couple clearly loves these animals and are dedicated to helping them leave happy lives (which includes the sled “work” they are bred for, in the winter). Many of the dogs are rescues and came from bad environments. The visit cost about $28pp but that seemed more than fair for the personalized experience, and to support their mission. They’ll actually be moving to a larger property in September where the dogs will get upgraded kennels.
We’ve really enjoyed our time here in Idre! Tomorrow we have a looong (700 km) drive back to where Ana & Alex live, for a few days in southern Sweden.
