After a long day of travel, we arrived in Anchorage on the eve of the Iditarod ceremonial start. We were met by our daughter Carlisle and in no time were at our friend Barb's house on the corner of 10th and Cordova. For years, Barb has provided needed shelter and food for weary travelers like ourselves. She epitomizes the saying of "walking in as a stranger and leaving as part of the family". Alaska is so large and rural, that many folks must work away from their families for weeks at a time. For them, Barb's is a home rather than a motel room. The following day, many past lodgers returned to celebrate the race with Barb. Advantageously, her house sits beside the 11 mile route taken by mushers in the ceremonial start.
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| Fur was worn without shame.
We quickly fell into the pre-race day brunch routine of egg and ham casserole, hash browns, buttermilk pancakes, link sausage and best of all, mimosas and bloody marys. The mushers' profiles were carefully surveyed and 4 mushers were chosen to receive a complimentary cocktail lovingly prepared by George, one of the many pilots Barb has housed over the years. The first mimosa would go to our Talkeetna friend, Anja Radano, running in her first Iditarod, next, a bloody mary for the mushing mortician, veteran musher, Scott Janssen, a funeral home owner from Anchorage, then, Andy Pohl, aka the choir boy due to his angelic boyish face and finally, Katherine Keith, a musher from Kotzebue. Katherine has not only climbed Devil's Tower, hiked the Pacific Crest Trail solo from Mexico to the Canadian border, completed 6 ironman triathlons, but also survived the tragic drowning deaths of her husband and young son. After this sad event, she went back to school, got her pilot's license, became an EMT and earned a degree in Energy Engineering. She now shares a kennel with former Iditarod champion, John Baker where they care and train more than 70 Alaskan huskies. All of our selected mushers seemed worthy recipients of our cocktails.
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Our new friend Rob helps his grandson, Junior, extend out for a slap from Wade Marrs. Two bright blue booties were tossed his way, bringing a huge smile to his face.
Carlisle and I walked from Barb's the few blocks to 4th Ave and the start line. Here we were met by the barking of huskies while they waited to depart. Each team was led to the line and announced. Iditarod volunteers, often ten or more to a team, strained to hold the anxious dogs back with the musher standing hard on the brake. There was no doubt these dogs were ready to race. Music played and spectators from near and far enjoyed the sights.
With light snow falling and after watching 67 teams and over 1000 dogs mush through downtown Anchorage, we bid Barb and friends farewell and headed north on slippery highway to our cabin in Talkeetna. We saw numerous accidents and cars off the road, however, Bucky was more interested in counting moose, ending with a total of 41. They waddled up to their bellies in the deep snow eating the tips of willow poking through . I was relieved when we safely pulled into our drive.
The following day we drove about 30 miles south to witness the official Iditarod start on Willow Lake. The day was clear and sunny.....perfect for families to arrive by airplane, snow machine and like us by car. Some folks skied out onto the lake. Cookouts filled the air with the smell of burgers and dogs. We passed a few picnics that were hard to walk by and I had the feeling no one would have objected to us grabbing a beer and a dog. We were anxious to find our friend Anja and her Swamp Dawgs to wish her good luck. She was easy to locate with the dog trucks parked in a circle and in numerical order by bib number.
2017 Champion, Mitch Seavey
We waited, shuffled along the fence and I couldn't help but wonder what Anja's thoughts were as she was about to set off on a huge adventure, one she had prepared years for. It was my hope to make contact one last time over the flimsy orange fence used to keep spectators out of the track. Bucky and I had walked away from the start and further out onto the lake where the crowd was thinner. The food smells were overwhelming and I readily accepted a homemade chocolate chip cookie from Mary, one of Talkeetna's best bakers. Scott Jenssen wearing bib number 23, driving one of two teams of Siberians Huskies in the race, passed by. Most mushers run Alaskan Huskies which are mixed breed dogs. Some look like sled dogs, but others look like hounds. Next, would be bib number 24, Anja!
I yelled Anja's name and she turned my way, leaning out over the runners to reach for my hand. I thought back on Junior doing the very same thing the day before. As our mittens touched, I had a chance to wish her luck before she was whisked away. I smiled for a long while after that. It was exciting to be part of something so meaningful to a good friend. The snow on the lake, heated by the afternoon sun, flew up behind her lead dog Butcher's feet as they pulled forward. Could this young dog possibly know what lay ahead?.....987 miles to go!!
Presently, Anja is in Nikolai. She has been on the trail for over 200 miles. While we sleep, she'll be traveling by headlamp during the cool night. She's required to take one 8 hour and one 24 hour lay over. It's always interesting to see where the mushers choose to take their rest. It often results in position change among the leaders. Reports are that the trail is soft between Nikolai and McGrath with temperatures around 30 degrees, just what mushers hate. Anja has dropped one dog and I have a feeling it could be my favorite, Stella Blue who barely made the team.
If you are interested in following Anja and her Swamp Dawgs use www.iditarod.com or like her fb page, Swamp Dog Kennel. She's bib number 24, Anja Radano.