Resorts And Safari Companies

As part of their training as Elf Guides, students of the Northern Lights Elf Academy take field trips to various resorts and safari companies near the college.

Rainbow Lake Holiday Resort
Several miles north of the Academy, in the foothills below Mt. Horace, this resort is the first the Elves visit. It is reached by a winding side road through a heavily forested area, after traveling for half an hour on the James Dalton Highway.

History:
"Rainbow Lake Holiday Resort was built in the early nineties and catered mostly to hunters and fishermen and the like, but when the internet became available, the owners saw the potential for expanding their business. Teaming up with the other hotels and resorts in the area, as well as the newly formed safari companies, they created family-oriented holiday packages which, naturally, include a visit to Santa Claus." - Charlene Davidson

The lodge was rebuilt three years before Elf Academy takes place to make it handicapped accessible.

Packages:
Family oriented packages are emphasized from about Thanksgiving to Christmas Day, but there are adult-only Christmas to New Year's getaway packages being offered as well.

Employees:
Charlene Davidson, Welcome Manager

About 20 elves (anticipated)

Activities:
snow-shoe walks

husky sledding

reindeer sleigh rides

snowmobile trips.

Gates of the Arctic Resort
It is an hour away from Wiseman to the west, just on the outskirts of the national park and reserve by the same name.

Lightfoot Reindeer Safaris
Lightfoot Reindeer Safaris is an aptly named reindeer farm. It is situated in Chandalar, east of Wiseman.

Employees:
Max and Lucy Lightfoot (owners)

Activities:
Reindeer sleigh rides

Teaching parents to drive the sleighs

Reindeer:
The reindeer at Lightfoot Reindeer Safaris have been trained to the halter, just like horses. They have been given names out of Icelandic and Scandinavian legends. Sigurd is the Norse hero who kills the dragon Fafnir. Fjalar is the name of a Dwarf mentioned in the Dvertagal or 'Reckoning of Dwarves', which is found in the Icelandic Poetic or Elder Edda, the same ‘Dwarf list’ from which Tolkien drew the names of his Dwarves for The Hobbit. Gandalf, of course, comes from the same list. Tuoni (Lord of the Dead) and Tapio (Lord of Forests) are from the Finnish Kalevala. Freyr is the name of one of the Norse gods.

Daeron - Sigurd.

Glorfindel - Fjalar.

Elladan - Tuoni

Elrohir - Tapio

Nimrodel - Gandalf. The reindeer is a gelding, which causes much humor among the Elves, but the Lightfoots don't get the joke.

Mithrellas - Freyr

Arctic Gate Safari Company
Located in Wiseman, it is run by the same family (but a different branch) that owns the Gates of the Arctic Resort.