Waterbury, Vermont - February 26, 2009
It's late afternoon in Little River State Park.
Most folks are headed home, but not everyone.
A team of ten sled dogs are itching to hit the trail.
Zappa, Sonny, and Emmy Lou are a few members of this vocal group.
Appropriately, most are named after-- you guessed it-- musicians.
And on this day, the dogs are serenading Mac and Betty Ann Garrett of Virginia; in Vermont celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary.
"I doubt if any of our friends have ever been dog sledding," Mac Garrett says. "We'll have to see when we get back."
The tour is the only one offered in a Vermont state park.
Musher Rob Farley started the business 15 years ago.
"Early on in the 80s I used to watch the Iditarod on ABC's Wild World of Sports and I thought, wow that's cool," Farley remembers.
The two hour long trip moves along at a comfortable pace of about 7 mph, weaving and winding through the Little River campground.
"Going through the campground is like visiting a village that's isolated from the rest of the world there," Farley explains. "This place is a magical park."
But the place feels even more magical once the sun has set.
Dogs and sled disappear into a dark abyss.
"It sometimes kind of shakes your comfort level out here and those demands of the dark that you fear out there, it kind of makes you deal with that sort of stuff," Farley says.
A handful of mushers offer after-hours sled dog tours in Vermont.
A different twist on an age old sport.
While some passengers may find it unnerving, the dogs absolutely love it.
They are ready to hit the trail again as soon as the tour has ended.
"With the moonlight, I just tell you it will change your life forever," Farley says. "It's like being in a black and white movie there."
A night chock full of movies and music in Little River State Park.
A two hour ride costs $300 a couple and Rob Farley also offers tours during the day on weekends.
Click here for more information on those tours and others in the state. Keagan Harsha - WCAX News
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