Saturday, March 6, 2010

it's that time of year again......

one of the coolest things about alaska is iditarod. while the rest of the world has croqus' and daffodils beginning to sprout, and warm weather, shorts, and flip flops just around the corner, we in the frozen north are just that, froze. so we tie 10 or 12 dogs to a sled and go for a 1012 mile race! it's fun. it helps us to not feel so bad about the fact that we are still sportin' snow suits instead of spring dresses.
so i hauled all the kids down to 9th and Cordova, to see the ceremonial start to the 2010 Iditarod. the real things starts tommorrow 40 miles away around the Knik arm of the Cooke inlet, in Willow Alaska.

we got there a little early and to kill time they put a pop can in a tree and tried to hit it with snow(ice)balls. can you see it?

quinton scored some fantastic seats.
jace thought he was real funny hugging the parking meter.
kids on the berm. they didn't last long this year. We only saw the first six teams. (there are around 72 teams in the race including a guy from jamaica whose legit and whom i didn't get to see cause the little ones were freezing) See the little booties on the dog's feet? one of the mushers threw a used one to the kids and said, "here's a dog bootie for ya!" it is the single most awesome alaskan souvenir i have.

15 comments:

Kritta22 said...

Wow! That looks like so much fun!

Meagan said...

Sometimes I forget what it is like to have snow. Here it's unlikely that anyone will be at the park if it's less that 55 degrees. And if they are there, everyone is decked out in layers and layers. I think it would be awesome to see that race.

Amber Jensen said...

That looks like a lot of fun! Steve and I watched the Iditarod series on Discovery (I think) last season...loved it!

Kirsten said...

Man you were way smarter than us! We went downtown and had to try to find parking and deal with the crowds. I'm jealous of your dog bootie, that's so cool!

Lori said...

My Averie is learning about the Iditarod in school, so I showed her your pictures and she thought they were so cool! I wish I could send some sunshine your way:( sorry it's so cold! but I am jealous of all the amazing experiences you're having. How many people can say they've seen the Iditarod teams?

Jessie said...

Just one more thing to add to our list of things we would love to go and see one day!

Unknown said...

Mags, the doggie boot is a true heirloom keepsake from your adventures in Alaska! Hugs Shan

Dawn Davis said...

we went for the "fur rondy festivities" a few weeks ago...we managed to do practically nothing because it was so cold. Britton would have loved the dog sled! Looks like it would have been fun!

Team Burtenshaw said...

Totally cool! (Freezing cold I should say.) ...that would be so awesome to see!

Marianne said...

what great memories you are going to have

vwestermeyer said...

Wow! That looks like so much fun ... and my husband would so love to be there!!

Nicole said...

I just LOVE reading your blog! You always make me laugh. This was my favorite post last year and its again this year too. I find it so cool you get to see this! I want a doggie bootie!

Mary Monster Mary said...

We didn't go this year and I was sad. My kids think it's fun for a very brief period, mike could do with out it all together. He's not a dog lover at all and sees no fun in watching all those noisy dog. Me, I would love to think I could be a musher myself. This year we paid for those little rides on the dog sleds. It was fun. Glad you got to go. Fun pictures.

Shannon said...

Well, I still have 4 feet of snow on my front lawn and icicles hanging off my roof. I feel like I'm in Alaska!

Kris said...

I LURVE(!) the Iditarod...we missed it this year while we were away and that made us sad. But at least we got a taste of spring while we were in Canada. I can't remember if I've ever commented on your blog before but I am glad you found a way to avoid the private blog issue.
PS: my comment moderation word is "noidses"...I thought that was apropos. Heh.

K.

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