Last week I dropped in to visit my friend Justin while he was at work at the Robert G. White Large Animal Research Station – or LARS – to see what is going on in the exciting world of ungulate research.  LARS is a research facility dedicated to muskoxen, caribou, and reindeer studies.  Several of our friends work or have worked at LARS over the years but I had never visited to take the tour - just skied by the caribou on occasion.

Here we are, posing by the gift shop, pre-tour:

Our friend Rudy also works at LARS.  Rudy is Austrian and he is hilarious.  I'm not saying the two things are related, but they are both true.

Rudy has a way with all the ladies:

Tours are given at LARS from Memorial Day to Labor Day - here is a schedule as well as contact information.  The muskoxen are fascinating and strange - very prehistoric-looking.

There were new muskox calves, as you can see.  They were very cooperative for the cameras.

The muskoxen didn't do much besides eat and walk around a bit, and they aren't terribly large, which is why I found this display kind of shocking:

Um.  Ow.

They seemed gentle enough, and happily ate all of the willow branches Justin had to offer.

The caribou weren't shy, either, and Justin said I was lucky, as the animals have been uncooperative for the tourists in recent weeks.

Caribou calves are painfully adorable:

It seems all of the animals are suckers for the willow branches:

Justin was an entertaining and informative tour guide.  For example, I learned what an ungulate is, right in the beginning of the tour.  He fielded the questions of the tourists well, and even gave them a nice soft-sell on the Qiviut* goods available in the gift shop.  Justin also told funny jokes, including one about the animals being Union and thus, on a timetable.  It got a big laugh and I got a big kick out of watching Justin in tour guide mode.  Justin is one of my favorite people ever and if you get a chance, I highly recommend befriending him.

*Incidentally, if you are in the market for a luxury Alaskan garment but you don't want to wear "fur" the Qiviut is a great option.  These ugly muskox produce some of the finest, softest wool in the world and the garments are incredible.

Upcoming posts: canoe trip!  This last week will be known henceforth (and someday in my memoirs) as my "Lost Week".  Details coming soon...