Today I went out with Bree Bardarson of Bardy’s Trail Rides. Bree was born and raised in Alaska and will take you through the beautiful natural areas surrounding the town of Seward on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula, as well as the areas of devastation caused by the 1964 earthquake. On our ride, we also rode on the beach. Who would have thought about beach riding in Alaska! Be prepared to take in a variety of wildlife on this ride and be on the lookout for bears.

I rode a five-year-old Tobiano Paint horse named Orca, who was wonderful. Bree rode Max, a big, black 16-year-old Percheron Quarter horse mix. We rode by Resurrection River on our way to the beach. Bree took me through a marshy area and we had a short canter on one beach before heading to a farther beach to see the hundreds of Arctic Tern. The Arctic Tern is a bird that flies all the way from Antarctica to Alaska, approximately 25,000 miles, to lay their eggs, have their babies and then fly back. That’s a long trip! These birds aggressively protect their eggs by dive-bombing any potential predators. They did this when Bree’s dog and Greg, our cameraman, got too close. Greg almost lost his hat.
From the beach, we could see the small harbor town of Seward, where we would spend the next few days, in the distance. We headed back to the woods, riding through lupin, these bright purplish blue flowers and other wildflowers in bloom. The wildflowers make Alaska so pretty in the summer, especially when juxtaposed with snow capped mountains. Stay tuned for more adventures in the wilds of Alaska!

Learn more about Equitrekking on PBS and the Equitrekking episodes on DVD and learn about exceptional equestrian vacations, including riding in Alaska, at EquitrekkingTravel.com.