Overheading Juneau?

The weather is marginal in the capital city, s maybe I will get home sooner than later. I hope that it is not. Marginal in Ketchikan, I had not planned on being in Seattle today!! So I made it home to Ketchikan mostly rain and a little snow this morning. I forgot to tell you that Angie's time this year was 12 days 8 hours, 50 minutes, and 3 seconds. She did so well, and now on to other things! Have a great spring! Faith

Homeward bound

Sign being held at the Anchorage"IDITAROD FINISHER 2013" "and CONGRATULATIONS UNCLE ARCHIE". The young woman had a baby in her backpack....the musher walking into the terminal stops on the tarmack to watch her sled and puppies unload from the combi plane....the last a comment from a passenger, the same musher, "I am letting my two year old sleep in the house these next two weeks, he earned it, he kept me from walking into Nome and I owe him." Ah, the Iditarod....planes full of mushers ready to be home, nursing sore muscles, even worse, injured muscles. Getting kennels filled with dogs home to kennels after mushers get home to kennels. Another last heat race begins to be based on memories and stories. Keep them in your hearts!

A Banquet, a goodbye, and a bottle of wine!!

Well, it's my last day in Nome for another year. I watched Angie resplendent in her mushing kusum and her rookie belt buckle get her packet with musher goodies and her applause. All the mushers had gotten off the trail in time to sit down and be feted by their kin and colleagues. Lots of chocolate covered strawberries. Lots of food, more than enough for everyone. My favorite moments: Aily Zirkle telling the story of her Grayling village welcome; Seavey the elder singing a great poem; Seavey the younger telling stories about being a mushing dad of a two year old and having Dora the explorer songs playing in his head while poling to Nome! It was a long and fun night and then full of goodbyes. Then Angie bottle of wine appeared at the table in front of me- I had bid, but kept getting bid up. Mark bought me the bottle of wine!! Thanks, Mark. We all took him to the late evening flight. I got a ride home from the Taggarts and I had to pack. They were off top feed the dogs and then Angie flies out tomorrow. Dana had dried my laundry again. Wow, I don't know how to thank my family here in Nome. The Handelands are awesome! Love and hugs to all!

Nome bound, a celebration, and a day to rest!

Angie's dog Chop was in the dropped dog yard this morning when I arrived at 6 am.It,was cold and clear, many dogs went home this am, getting loaded into kennels. Now that I am thawed out, my estimate is about 1030 pm The kennels are built, Chop is rehydrated and feeling better, the chocolate cake is ready to cut! We are ready to welcome Angie to Nome!! 11 pm and she is here!! Hooray!!! Chip was dropped in Safety but came in on St. Patrick's Day! Angie had kennels with straw, and then came inside and we had cake!! Home about 2 am. The next morning she had musher meetings. They went on and on. I fed dogs in am and then worked a dog yard shift. Then we snacked them in pm. About half oft the doggies liked the peanut butter dog biscuits, the other half was not interested, would rather have meat. Oh we'll, you cannot win them all. Stovepipe looks a little grater than last year. They mostly rested in their kennels while the wind howled and blew snow into them. Turned them so their kennels got less snow. This night I crashed after dinner at the Husky--and there were Northern Lights!!!

The Wind's a blowing...and Angie's on her way to Elim

So it's another beautiful day, but the wind has brought in single digit temperatures...which sets the trail up as long as the drifting snow doesn't obscure the trail....maybe some snow today... The rest of Angie's kennels have arrived, and are now safely stowed, ready for building before her team gets into Nome. It is only a day or two before we see her plus her 12 dogs(Chop was dropped yesterday).Yahoo!! Update 7 pm: so, it's been a busy afternoon, with mushers arriving (almost five in a row) and dog teams beginning to leave for points homeward. Angie is now in Elim, and her next stop is....White Mountain! 8 hour mandatory rest!

A New Day, a new Iditarod winner....

Mitch Seavey was the leader under the arch yesterday, but the sentimental favorite was Aily Zirkle, who had a wall of red KP kennel jackets inside the chute to welcome her in. Both were more than gracious at the post race interviews. And tired. And hungry. It never ceases to amaze me the energy that it takes to do this race. Meanwhile the burled arch saw lots of activity all night, with a bit of a reprieve in the early am hours. I rose late to see the new pope announced and then caught a ride to the airport to meet Charlene and John and Mark, got them to their respective housing, and then headed off to work in the dog yard as John Baker was coming in. It was another glorious sunny morning with blue skies and puffy clouds. Perfect for dog yard work. Angie is out of Unalakleet and doing great, I am thinking we 'll see her Friday sometime. Cheers, Faith

It's a Close Race!

Well, it's so close!! There's a mile between the leaders now. And a lot of us are hanging on to every tracker report. Angie's kennels have arrived, thanks to Hunter's expertise and ability to fix flats, the kennels all got to the dog lot. Deb and I had our first turn in the dog lot, cold and crisp, and not a wisp of clouds. Fog in the am that burned off. So beautiful, now all we need is the dogs and mushers. I will report as the day draws to a close. Angie is going to be here in a few days...we are all pulling for her!! A late update: the two leaders are now past Safety! Whew, what a race, no one has ever seen it this close...we are all pumped, and now that the Tracker is down? We wonder when they will hit Front Street. Meanwhile, Angie is in Unalakleet, which is really good. Her run times have great, so go Angie go!

At the Mini

Mini convention center that is. The place was humming for the Dog Lot meeting. So far no conexes are set up, or chains pulled. The lot, soon to be filled with barking dog teams (estimated to begin arriving with the lead teams some time tomorrow early evening) still requires snow removal. The arch is now stretched across front street, and the banners are flapping in a cool wind. I took the morning exploring the craft far and walking through town, which had received a recent snow. My favorite of the snow sculptures was "angry birds" and "chillin in Nome, the latter an overstuffed chair and remote in front of a tv set. Very creative. So too were the artisans in the craft fair, the oldest going to be 98 this year. Angie update: she is doing great, and moving through some rough trail. SHe has 14 dogs. More later as the day progresses. 10 pm. It is an evening update. Angie is pulling ahead several places, with another dropped dog. She is on her way to Kaltag. She seems to be holding her pace, and we all look forward to seeing her before the week is out Go Angie Go!! Meanwhle the race for the finish line is on, and it is anyone's guess, and down to about four teams. By this time tomorrow the 41st Iditarod winner should be under the burled arch. It is very exciting!!

My Nome Home The Bering Sea B&B

Well, it is midnight in Nome and all is well.Chaos at the airport getting our bags, mixed with stacks of dog kennels and boxes and totes full of gear, people from town coming to pick up family members and parkies(parkas) ruffed with wolverine fur mixed with Carharts caked with dirt...everyone was glad to be home. Mr. Handeland brought his truck to cart me and three suitcases to their home with a view of the Bering Sea out the dining room window. He and Dana unloaded and carted them upstairs to my room, with the exception of frozen items staying in the Clubhouse, a little nook outside the house with a door. Which is where all the dog biscuits went to live. The race continues to be very interesting, with the top four beginning to balance rest run cycles with shorter stops at checkpoints. It is a race to win now for the last three hundred miles. Angie was still mushing as I put my head on the pillow, maintaining an excellent pace during difficult parts of the trail. Temperature here in Nome was 2 degrees Centigrade when I landed and they had had a snowfall. Not super old for this time of year. Glad to be in a bed for the night, sending safety prayers to all the athletes, Faith

On the way to Nome.....a little late

Well, it's snowing in Anchorage and the plane to Kotzebue and Nome is a little late. Two hours to be exact. Time to finish the Jack Reacher novel I started and hope for the best. Especially getting out of here tonight. Angie has dropped two dogs, Carmack and Hershey, but is doing terrific. Between weather and giardiasis the trail leaders have had a time of it. More later, Faith

Getting to Nome...via Air!

Here it is the Saturday before I leave for Nome, sending dog kennels from Ketchikan for Angie's team. She is now in Iditarod, the half way point, has 15 dogs, and is doing great. Deb and Hunter Davis, this year KRBD reporters, will be giving morning reports from Nome to southeast Alaskans here at home. I have many people to thank! First my friend Betsy who made awesome totes and jewelry for Angie, her mom, and friends. Second my friend Penny Luse, who swooped in at the eleventh hour and made 98 dog biscuits for me, and Gretchen at Groomingdales and Don and Marna at Island to Island Vet who donated kennels and all those that helped with getting equipment to Nome, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. So all that is left is the packing. Besides gifts for my host family, there's food, water, and all the rest of everything you need to work in the dog yard. Hey, what happened to my snow pants??? Finally I found them Friday night...phew, what would I do without a little last minute stress? The real work is being done by the dogs and their mushers, it has been exciting thus far. Should get another message out to you tomorrow....Faith. PS having trouble attaching photo of the mound of stuff I am packing today. Will try again later.