Gourmet Dining on the Trail

Church bells rang out Friday to welcome Lance Mackey as he pulled into the Yukon River community, 500 miles from the finish line in Nome. Lance was the first musher to reach Anvik and was treated to a gourmet dinner and $3,500 for arriving first.

The seven-course meal that included braised pork belly, Alaskan bouillabaisse and duck breast was prepared by a chef flown in from Anchorage.

After having dinner with Lance and Tonya, I can assure you no one enjoys good food more than Lance.

Restart in Willow

In this video, The Millennium Alaskan Hotel's Food and Beverage Director,William Wallace, walks us through the preparation of the meal from his portable kitchen in Anvik.

http://www.iditarod.com/flashmap/free/video_015BF384-E5B6-6EEA-F4D49F100197BABA.html?full=1

When Lance arrived in Anvik, he said he'd made a mistake on the trail that could end up costing him the race.
He said dozed off while riding his sled after leaving the Shageluk checkpoint on the way to Anvik, about 500 miles from Nome. When he awoke, he was up a slough without a trail marker in sight.
"I couldn't believe it," Mackey said. "It very well could have cost me the race right there."

At this time, Lance is still holding on to his lead, with Sebastian Schnuelle hot on his trail.

Ceremonial Start, ANC

Sebastian (Sab) Schnuelle and partner Libby Riddles
(first woman to win Iditarod-1985)

Sab and Libby

Restart in Willow

It's difficult for me to choose a favorite to win. I feel that each musher is a winner in his or her own right and just competing in the Last Great Race is quite an accomplishment.

I do, however, have my favorites and I am very pleased with the way the race is currently shaping up. I do wish Aliy Zirkle and Warren Palfrey could move up.

For current standings:
http://www.iditarod.com/race/race/currentstandings.html

Fellow Arctic Camster, Kathy, sent me the following information:

Starting March 15th at 7 PM Eastern DST, on Versus, (channel #603 on DirecTV, not sure what channel on cable or Dish), they will have a running series of the Iditarod 2009 Race. So if you didn't have a good internet connection, like me, for the Iditarod Insider, here's your chance to get caught up on the race. It runs until March 30th.

Link to the schedule:http://www.versus.com/schedule

Full Iditarod coverage, including some free videos:

http://www.iditarod.com/

Happy Trails,

Gumbie

As I mentioned before, I spent a lot of time hanging out with Warren Palfrey's wife, Kate, and their great team of dogs. One particular dog caught my eye, due to his exceptionally sweet face and mild, laid-back temperament.

Gumbie ran the Yukon Quest with Warren last month and according to Kate he was more interested in eating, visiting w/ his doggie buddies and enjoying the scenery than he was in running. Kate said it was obvious to them that Gumbie longed to be a "pet" dog, not a sled dog. With over 70 sled dogs and several house dogs, they can't afford to keep any additional pups.

If all works out as planned, Gumbie will be going to his wonderful, fur-ever home in Oklahoma this summer. It takes a special person to be willing to adopt a sled dog, as there can be a difficult period of transition. Kate requires spaying/ neutering of all adopted dogs and a required one year commitment by the new owner. The Palfrey's are dedicated to finding the best homes for their dogs.

Gumbie is one lucky boy!

Happy Trails,

Best Dogs

Although I was around hundreds of dogs while in Alaska, I missed my own dogs terribly. I phoned home often and several times Hubby would put the phone to their ears so I could say "Hello." This was more for me than the dogs, as I'm sure they had no idea why my voice was coming from that small device. One of the great things about dogs is that they are happy to see you no matter how long you're gone (5 minutes or 5 months).
Even though they could smell "stranger dogs" on my clothes, they were still thrilled for me to be back home with them. They didn't even ask if I brought them a souvenir. That's true, unconditional love.

Home is Where the Dogs Are!!!

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More Iditarod pictures coming later...

Sled Dogs are Loved

I realize that some people believe that sled dog racing is a cruel sport. I cannot honestly say that all dogs are treated equally, just as all children, unfortunately, do not receive the same care. However, I can say that I only observed healthy, happy, and loved dogs.

I watched this young lady walk to each dog in her family's team, sharing whispers, hugs and kisses.

The Bond

Wishing his buddy a good race.

Getting a rub down before the harness.

Jeff King started the race carrying 2 of his dogs in the sled.

He refers to his team as, "a set of fine china".

Sled dogs are bred and live to run, just like race horses. Sled dogs love to run like Labs loves to retrieve.

Yes, the conditions are often harsh and cruel on the trail, but I can assure you that the mushers take better care of their dogs than they do themselves.

There are veterinarians at each checkpoint to monitor the dogs' health. If a vet determines that the dog is unable to continue, the dog is given excellent care at the checkpoint until it can he flown back to Anchorage.

I am an animal lover (especially dogs) and I would not support any activity that I considered cruel or inhumane. After spending time with Wayne and Scarlett Hall and their dogs in Eagle, and now having been to the Iditarod, I am more convinced than ever that professional sled dogs are some of the happiest, luckiest, and most loved dogs in the world.

Happy Trails,

Ready for the Trail

Taken at restart in Willow...

Home from the Iditarod

I HAD THE MOST INCREDIBLE TIME!!!!

I arrived in Atlanta 6:30am yesterday (Wed.) and I'm still not thinking clearly, but I wanted to post a couple of pictures....believe me, there will be many more to follow.

I was having dinner with Lance and Tonya Mackey within 3 hours of arriving in Anchorage!

Lance is 2 time Yukon Quest and Iditarod champ.

My friend Janet has been an Idita-Rider for the past three years (twice w/ Lance and this year w/ Harry Alexie). Janet had VIP passes to every event, including the Mushers' meeting, which reminded me of the first Pre-planning meeting of each school year. You could easily identify the rookies and the veterans.

I was as close as possible (back of my head in above photo) for the official Mushers' group photo taken by Iditarod photographer Jeff Schultz. Jeff was standing on a ladder to get this shot.

My view from the floor.

We were all given a glass of champagne for the toast.

This was a great opportunity to mingle and talk with mushers, who are friendly, gracious, and sincerely appreciative to everyone. Mushers are like no other professional athlete, as they have no false sense of self-importance.

Many more great musher photos to follow...

Statue on 4th Ave. honoring all sled dogs.



One of the many dogs I fell in love with this past week.

This guy belongs to Warren Palphrey from Yellowknife, NWT.

I spent a good bit of time hanging out with Warren's incredibly dedicated, hard-working, dog-loving wife Kate and their great team of dogs.


Kate and Gumbie

Gumbie is a special dog and will be featured on a later post.



We met fellow Arctic Camsters, Christine Burton at the Mushers' Banquet.


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I must say, the best sight for me was Hubby standing at the top of the escalator at the ATL airport yesterday morning. I missed him so much and wished that he had been there to experience it all with me.


Happy Trails,

Happy Trails

As many of you know I am leaving Wednesday morning for a long awaited, much anticipated adventure.

I'm flying to Anchorage for the start of the 2009 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. I have been a race fan for many years and I'm thrilled to finally make this dream come true. I'm not taking a laptop so there will be no posts until I return next week.

This is a great site for watching Saturday's start on 4th Ave. in downtown Anchorage. (Better than the one I originally posted)

http://www.borealisbroadband.net/vid-4thanddmega.htm

I plan to be there sometime Saturday, waving to all my Arctic Camster/Blogger/Hometown buddies.

I'm posting a picture of my "Race Day" apparel, so you might recognize me from all the other bundled-up fans. (Thx for the cool hat, Sista-Sue)

As excited as I am, I hate leaving my family (Hubby and dogs). They will get along fine without me, I only wish you could explain to pets why you won't be around and, more importantly, that you will return. I realize that dogs live in the moment and it is us humans who have separation anxiety issues. At least this is a vacation where there will be an abundance of dogs. (But that's our secret, right?)

Dog Playdate

Although we live on 29 acres, the dogs are not allowed to "roam" the property. There are too many "things" for them to get in to (and deer poop to eat).

Last year, Hubby built a 150' x 50' enclosed exercise area for them.



It's great because everyone can be off-leash together!

We all love it!

I can't think of a better way to spend a beautiful day

than outside with the ones I love.

Sassy says, "Raddy is wonderful!!!"

Happy Dance

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Happy Trails,

Sled Dogs, The True Heroes

For the past several weeks I have featured an Iditarod musher on Monday. As this is the last week before the race starts, I decided it's time to feature the real stars of the race- The Sled Dogs!

Throughout history, the sled dog has been to Alaska what the horse was to the Lower 48.



The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race commemorates the most famous event in the history of Alaskan mushing, the 1925 serum run to Nome, also known as the "Great Race of Mercy". A diphtheria epidemic threatened Nome, especially the Inuit children who had no immunity to the "white man's disease", and the nearest quantity of antitoxin was in Anchorage. Since the two available planes were both dismantled and had never been flown in the winter, Governor Scott Bone approved a safer route.

The 20-pound (9 kg) cylinder of serum was sent by train 298 miles (480 km) from the southern port of Seward to Nenana, where it was passed just before midnight on January 27 to the first of twenty mushers and more than 100 dogs who relayed the package 674 miles (1,085 km) from Nenana to Nome. In the serum delivery, the dogs ran in relays with no dog running over 100 miles.

The Norwegian Gunnar Kaasen and his lead dog Balto, arrived on Front Street in Nome on February 2 at 5:30 a.m., just five and a half days later. The two became media celebrities, and a statue of Balto was erected at Central Park in New York City in 1925, where it has become one of the most popular tourist attractions.



However, most mushers consider Leonhard Seppala and his lead dog Togo to be the true heroes of the run. Together they covered the most hazardous stretch of the route, and carried the serum further than any other team.

The Iditarod was the brainchild of Dorothy G. Page (the "Mother of the Iditarod"), who wanted to sponsor a sled dog race to honor mushers. With the support of Joe Redington, Sr. (the "Father of the Iditarod"), the first Iditarod Trail Seppala Memorial Race was held in 1967 and covered 25 miles (40 km) near Anchorage. The purse of USD $25,000 attracted a field of 58 racers and the winner was Isaac Okleasik. The next race in 1968 was canceled due to lack of snow, and the small $1,000 purse in 1969 only drew 12 mushers. The race was originally called the Iditarod Trail Seppala Memorial Race in honor of Leonhard Seppala. (thinkquest.org/)



Most of today's mushers agree that the dogs are the true heroes of the race. To most mushers it's all about being out there with your dogs, doing something that you love.




As far as treatment of Iditarod dogs, Deedee Jonrowe sums it up well in her book Iditarod Dreams, "I'm sure that the average Iditarod dog gets better care than 99 percent of the dogs in America...Iditarod dogs are fed the best food...They get regular feedings each day and regular exercise. As far as I'm concerned, my dogs are members of the family."




There are mushers out there who might never win a race. They may never take themselves too seriously either. But they will provide excellent care and love for their dogs, and enjoy being on the trail with an animal they consider their equal. That's the beauty of the sport.

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The Southern snowstorm missed us in Northeast Georgia. We watched reports of the snow piling up in the Atlanta area, anxiously awaiting it's arrival here. We had a few snow showers and then it was over-POOH!!! I guess I'll just head "WAY UP THERE TO ALASKA" to see some snow.

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In Memory of Klaus

Bogart Handsome Devil, Airedale Terrier Puppy Dog Blog

Sunday is for Family

Mother and Me

(Date and Location Unknown)

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If anyone recognizes this statue, I'd love to know the location.

(I'm guessing-Erie, PA)