A closer look
Knik, Alaska was once the bustling 'Dog Mushing Center of the World' and home to the Last Chance Saloon, a spot where gold prospectors blew their life savings on cheap whiskey before disappearing into the lethal frozen tundra. Today, it's essentially a ghost town, but it sits right on the route of the grueling Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Mushers and their dog teams blast through this desolate, spooky outpost, probably wishing they could stop for a stiff drink like the doomed miners of the 1900s.
