Alaska #3

Iditarod ceremonial beginning day was today. After all the excitement getting my dad back into the hospital before dawn Alaska time, we ate breakfast and prepared to head out for the start. They surprised us this morning. Instead of the crock-pot full of oatmeal, they broke out the ubiquitous waffle machine. In fact at this establishment, they trusted you to make your own waffle. We walked in to find a fellow scraping waffle crumbs out of the machine. Apparently he didn’t see the lubricating spray provided. After his total waffle failure, the attendant came out with a brush and cleaned up the ragged mess. I then proceeded to utilize my waffle expertise (honed by many days on the road) and bang out waffles for both Jerry and me. I filled the cups slightly above the fill line knowing that this particular brand of waffle maker required a slightly fuller charge to produce perfection . When mine came out slightly deficient, I went back and touched up Jerry’s to properly charge the machine. Waffle perfection was achieved, and we snarfed down the all carb all the time breakfast in preparation for the day’s festivities. We went back to the room, and donned our cold weather garb preparing for the day. Jerry and Brenda perfected a new method of getting dressed. It’s called open the window when it’s 20 outside. Finally we all got going, and headed up to the starting line. Jerry and Brenda had made it up there ahead of us, and Jerry fearing I couldn’t make the hike was headed back to get the car and drive me. As it turned out the motel had a shuttle that ran as long as anyone wanted to go that dropped us off right near the starting line. Jerry needed more clothes anyway, and so we hopped the shuttle and were back up there in no time. It was pretty d_mn cold this morning with a wind blowing as well. It was amazing to see all the snow they trucked in for the event. Wher e the streets were bare yesterday was a couple miles of snow 4-6 inches deep today when we got there. The route to the starting line took us past many of the teams getting their dogs ready. It is a very interesting sport. Not only do you have to get yourself ready, but also you have to handle the logistics of getting at least 12 dogs ready and fed and everything else to make it all happen. We trekked up to the starting line and secured spots where we thought we could see what went on. For a moment I thought I was at a NASCAR race as a lady butchered The National Anthem but as bad as it was she really belted it out and it felt great. They had all the politicians making speeches and about 10 folks cut the ceremonial ribbon to open the 36^th Iditarod. Then the real fun started. They would bring up each team and then count them down to start. The dogs would be so excited they would be all jumping and hopping. One of them on the team would begin to bark and sing, and the other s would all join in. They were some of the prettiest happiest dogs I have ever seen. They seemed like they were just happy to be in harness and getting ready to run. When they were turned loose, they would fly down the street to big cheers from the crowd. Today, they only ran 10 miles to the outskirts of town. There they would stop and be trucked to Willow, AK. which is 2-3 hrs to the North. Reason for this is there really isn’t enough continuous snow pack this far south to allow proper mushing. The teams start one every 2 minutes, and we watched them until it was approaching lunchtime. We decided to go back to the Alaska Salmon Chowder House for lunch. We got there before the real rush and got a table right away. Today Vickie had a big bowl of clam chowder, Brenda had a big bowl of chili, Jerry had a small bowl of Manhattan style Halibut chowder and a sockeye salad sandwich, and I had authentic style chicken ramen noodles. (complete with tofu strips—my sister would be so proud). I t all was great, and restoked the system to maintain body heat. Thinking of heat, we did find that the little warmer packs that Vickie had found us prior to the trip came in really handy for our feet. Our pack boots did the job really well, but the warmer packs made the difference between being very comfortable and slightly uncomfortable in the foot department. After lunch we went back and continued watching the start. We were able to see our new acquaintance from yesterday start, and hung on to see all 96 entries pass the starting line. With the start complete, we headed back down the hill to the motel, but along the way I spotted something that advertised a movie all about the Iditarod. Turns out Brenda had met the lady who ran this venue, and promised her we’d come and check it out. It was an odd sort of adult playground, with computer games that are kind of hard to describe. But you know me, I’ll try. They had a fishing chair complete with pole, and you tried to reel in a 65-po und salmon. The game pulled like you really had a big fish on the line. Somehow it recorded a score of how you did catching the fish. Was a lot of fun. Then they had a hot air balloon ride over Prince William Sound simulation. You stood in a real balloon basket with a TV screen for the bottom. It was very beautiful and realistic. Also, there was a real life dog sled with a computer simulation projected on a screen in front of you and you felt like you were really riding a dog sled. Finally they had a 30-minute movie all about the history and workings of the Iditarod. We were fortunate to have a woman in our small movie audience that had participated in the race several times. She talked with us and gave us a real feeling of how it all worked. She said that the dogs were like athletes, and as a musher, you were like their coach. She went on, you were dealing with 12 minds, and what you had to do was get them to work as a team. At times you had to be a Vet, physiologist, mother, chee rleader, whatever it took. Also, you had to keep their spirits up to want to run. She talked about how they loved to run and unless they got older and infirm, you really couldn’t take it away from them. From watching the movie, the hardships for the mushers are unbelievable. They have to single handedly mush (drive) the sled all day, then after they stop, they have to get the dogs bedded down, inspected for injuries, and fed (again alone) then take care of themselves. They also have to camp under very primitive conditions in the cold. The physical toil plus sleep deprivation takes it’s toll on the participants. It takes a very hardy soul to even complete an Iditarod let alone win one. One girl told me the dogs burn 10,000 calories a day. I said even I could loose weight with that kind of energy expenditure. All in all this event is truly a unique symbiosis between man and dog that goes far beyond just a competitive sport. I can’t believe how much I enjoyed just being here to see an d try to understand what goes on. Tomorrow we are going to drive up to Willow to see the actual full on for real start of the race. I’m really looking forward to that. Tonight we are headed out to the Sourdough Mining Co. restaurant for dinner. Jerry and Brenda had found this place when they were here in the summer. In the meantime we’re unlaxing a little and doing our own things. My sister just called and dad has been admitted to Forsythe Medical Center in Winston-Salem. Things are looking up for dad. He has a better group of Dr’s. and they are not looking at his condition with cancer blinders on. He was comfortable last night, and sounded much better on the phone. On the way to dinner tonight, made an interesting observation. If the roads in Greensboro or Martinsville were like they are here, the city would be closed until the spring thaw. According to the motel shuttle bus driver they had a 40-degree thaw followed by teens. What it di d was coat everything in a sheet of ice similar to a frozen lake. Sidewalks, parking lots, side roads, you name it. Driving is quite a treat unless you are on one of the main highways. We had a nice dinner—food was good—portions were way to large as usual. I had a smoked brisket sandwich that was way tasty. Jerry and Vickie had baby backs, and Brenda had a smoked pork sandwich. Specialty of the house was corn fritters with honey butter. They were excellent. Back to the motel, and up this morning to head for the Willow start of the actual dog race. More later.

Wes