Time: 10 PM
Location: Wasilla
Hi, hi, hi!
I just realized that I never told you about the Musher Banquet on Thursday
night. This is when the mushers get their bib numbers that you see them wear.
It also is the order in which they leave the start.
The banquet is held in a huge arena, like the Fleet Center. The one in
Anchorage is called the Sullivan Arena. The whole floor area was covered with
tables. We estimated that there were 100 tables, each with about 10 chairs.
So, how many people were at the banquet? And, each person paid $50 for a ticket.
How much did we pay all together?
It was lots of fun walking around before dinner and taking pictures of the
mushers. The first picture I took was of Hobo
Jim. Do you remember who he is? Yes, he wrote the Iditarod song! I took
a picture with him but it didn’t come out very well. I also got a picture with
Russell Lane. The lighting in the arena was not very good, so I stopped
taking pictures.
Today was the start of the Iditarod. I’d been waiting for this day for
a long time! We got down to 4th Ave., the starting point, at about
8:30 AM. The race was to begin at 10 AM. How long did we have to wait? While
waiting I took a winter picture with the
Balto statue. See how it compares to the summer one I showed you.
It was so exciting all along 4th Avenue! The mushers and their
teams were all parked along the street according to their starting numbers.
We walked all around and I took pictures
of more dog trucks, dogs
and people. One musher I really liked was Mike
Williams. It felt like a big street party. Everybody was so friendly!
It was a beautiful day, but a bit colder than it had been. One of the things
I noticed that was so nice, was seeing the mushers walk around and wish
each other well. Although this is “the Last Great Race” and each one wants
to win, they still respect each other and are friends. It was nice to see.
Just before the actual start everyone had to get out of the street and onto
the sidewalk. Luckily, this very famous second grade teacher from the Burbank
School had gotten a VIP Iditarod badge, and was therefore allowed to be right
in the street alongside the mushers! What excitement – and what noise! Once
the teams started running, all the other dogs started to howl. They wanted
to go too!
I took so many pictures that it’ll be hard to decide which ones to post!
But, of course, whatever I don’t send I will still have with me on the computer
when I return. There is no way to really describe how fabulous this experience
is.
What is strange is that this whole experience is going to be repeated tomorrow!
The race usually restarts in Wasilla but there hasn’t been enough snow, so the
restart is in Willow. I don’t know if you can find that on a map – it’s a very
small town. This will actually shorten the race by about 10 miles.
Anchorage was busy because of the race, but it wasn’t as busy as I thought
it would be! It was empty compared to Boston at Marathon time.
After the race the pilot’s wife drove us to Wasilla and we settled in to
our Bed and Breakfast. It is on a lake, with a great view of the Chugach Mountains.
The highest one is Pioneer Peak. It’s over 7000 feet. The sunset was glorious.
Another day, another place, many new experiences and stories to tell. But
for now, good night. |
