Location: Skwentna Roadhouse
Time: 6:00 PM
Hello Everyone!
If my information is correct you are all home having a snowstorm! Meanwhile,
here I am in beautiful Alaska having dog sled rides and going for lovely walks
in the woods. It is so much warmer than I expected!
Today was the first quiet day since I’ve arrived. It felt good to relax
a bit. The place we’re staying (last night and tonight) is
called a roadhouse. It’s like a lodge, or a large cabin. It has lots of
rooms upstairs with bunk beds.
Downstairs is a large dining room and living room. You have all your meals
here, because there is nothing else around. Because of the Iditarod going through
yesterday, there were 36 people staying here. Every bed was taken and there
were some people sleeping on the floor! Not me! I was one of the lucky ones
– on a bottom bunk.
When you look at my picture of the roadhouse, you’ll notice all the snow
machines parked outside. That is how everyone around here travels. Remember
– there are no roads, so no cars. Once the snow melts, they switch to ATV’s,
which stands for all-terrain-vehicle. They are also called four-wheelers.
There are also many rivers here, so in the summer they travel by boat as well.
In Skwentna there are only about 80 people, and they are scattered around
an area about five times larger than Belmont! There used to be a school here,
but it closed in June of 2000 because there were only 8 kids for the following
year. So, now those 8 are all home schooled. Do you know what that is? See
if you can find out. Think about the “pros and cons.”
I went out on a dog sled ride this morning.
Kelsi came with her seven dogs. It was great! I sat in the sled and she stood
on the runners and yelled out the commands. The lead dog was Johnnie. He responded
very well to all of her gees and haws! Do you remember which is left and which
is right?
Kelsi is in 10th grade and her brother is in 6th.
This, of course, is their first year of home schooling. She wishes there were
more kids around so she could go to school.
I asked her how they get their groceries and things they need. She said
every other week they go by snow machine (or boat) to Wasilla, which is 20 miles
away. It takes four hours to get there! Next time you’re in the car and driving
for 20 miles, time how long it takes you.
Now, when they get to Wasilla, they have a car parked there. Then they
are free to drive around and do all of their chores. Quite different from our
lives!
After lunch we walked to the checkpoint, which is about a mile and a half.
It was very different than yesterday, when there were so many people waiting
around for the 68 mushers! This afternoon when we went there, Bob
Morgan was the only musher remaining. I spoke to him and he told me that
his dogs needed to take it slow, so he was in no hurry. There were 15
dropped dogs waiting to be picked up.
We had a long talk with Joe Delia. He is
the postmaster. The post office is right at the checkpoint,
and his house is there too. He told us he’s been the postmaster for about
30 years. Outside his home he has a cache. He
is a hunter, and this is where Alaskans keep their food to be safe from the
bears. Yes, there are bears around here, but I’ve been told they’re still hibernating!
On our walk back to the lodge, we saw the state bird! Can you find it in
the snowy picture? Can you find more than one? That’s a sure sign that
I’m here in beautiful Alaska!
Well, dinner is now being served, so I’ll sign off. We leave early tomorrow
morning for our next checkpoint – McGrath! We’ll be there for three nights.
Miss you all!
Mrs. McClintock |
