When I first heard about Living Social, I thought to myself, “What a great name for a company! That’s practically my mantra!” Just like Living Social, I believe that nearly every experience is better when shared with friends. In college I shared a house with seven other girls (with only minor cleaning and long distance phone bill arguments), there were 24 friends at my skiing/snowboarding-on-Spirit-Mountain-and-then-partying-at-Grandma’s Restaurant-bachelorette weekend in Duluth (where many of us stayed in a real live tree house!), and even my honeymoon wasn’t exempt. Halfway through our honeymoon in Chicago, my husband Aaron and I met up with two good friends from Michigan (and their six-month-old son). The more, the merrier, right?
And just like Living Social, I like surprises, I like fun experiences, and I like a good deal (let’s be real here, who doesn’t like a good deal?). I also like it when someone else takes care of the planning details. (Just ask Aaron which one of us planned the majority of our wedding. I’ll give you a hint. It wasn’t me.)
It was almost as if Living Social read my mind when I opened a recent email regarding a thrilling winter activity I’ve been wanting to try ever since I first wrote about dogsledding for this magazine back in 2006.
This adventure isn’t just about dogsledding, though, it’s a tri-fecta of fun wintery activities—dogsledding, a horse-drawn sleigh ride, and snowshoeing!
According to Living Social’s website, “Our adventure begins bright and early at the Park and Ride at 2750 Cleveland Avenue in Roseville, where we’ll board a comfy coach bus for the trip to Positive Energy Outdoors, about 15 miles north of Duluth. Be sure to bundle up: Once we step foot on that powdery, white ground, we’re in for a day-long snow experience with three different activities. We’ll get a tour of the kennel (so we can make friends with the gorgeous Alaskan Huskies), help harness and hook the team, and then take a one-mile ride around the beautiful property, gazing at forests and bogs as the wind rushes past. Of course, we won’t be able to see the whole place in a single ride, which is why a horse-drawn sleigh ride—complete with cozy blankets and black velvet cushions—is also on the agenda.”
The site goes on to say that participants will enjoy a vegetarian chili cookout before embarking on a snowshoeing trip across pristine Fredonburg Lake. After that, adventurers will head to a wood-stove heated tent for hot cocoa and s’mores, then go to Black Woods on the Lake for dinner. “Sitting around the table, chatting with new friends, we’ll be so glad the dog days of summer are over, and that the dog days of winter have just begun.”
This is the last weekend this adventure is offered, at a price of $320 per person. Book quickly! This deal won’t last long. “Come Gee! Come Haw!” (I sound like an experienced musher already!)
For more information, visit Living Social.