Photo Scrapbook

Michigan Symposium Features Lewis & Sass by Terrie Hanke

As regular as the leaves change color and days shorten in fall, mushers and teachers gather in Curtis, Michigan for the Musher Symposium and Teacher Conference organized by the owners of Nature’s Kennel, Ed & Tasha Stielstra. Brent Sass, keynote presenter from Eureka, Alaska was complimented by a host of other experts in the world …

Eye on the Trail – Back of the Pack by Terrie Hanke

“It was always Joe Redington’s hope that the media would recognize and report on all the mushers in the back of the pack. Joe felt that each musher who entered the race was just as important as the fastest. Each musher and his dogs were undertaking a feat that required courage, strength, endurance, ingenuity, brotherly …

Eye on the Trail – Finishers Celebrate by Terrie Hanke

Doors opened for the Finisher’s Banquet of Iditarod XLI at 1500, (actually now that the race is over we can go back to civilian time 3:00 pm). Folks filed in, claimed what they hoped would be a good seat then anticipated an outstanding dinner served by the Millennium of Anchorage. Mushers, fans, family and friends …

Eye on the Trail – Final Four by Terrie Hanke

As of 17:30 on March 16th, Cindy Gallea is a veteran of ten Iditarod Races. She’s sat out the last two years but found that she missed the time with her dogs on a trail characterized by its solitude and beauty. Even though she didn’t get her dogs out for as many training miles as …

Eye on the Trail – Telephoto Telpin by Terrie Hanke

Mikhail Telpin and his Chukchi dogs spent a little extra time under the burled arch this morning.  Telpin said that he’d heard from Quest mushers that Iditarod was easier.  After signing in and completing Iditarod 41, Telpin is a veteran of both races.  Mikhail said that Iditarod was equally as tough if not tougher than …

Eye on the Trail – Foreign Flavor for Saturday by Terrie Hanke

A windy morning in Nome had an international flavor. Brazilian Luan Ramos Marques crossed the finish line at eight minutes after eight. Russian Mikhail Telpin lead his team under the burled arch just a few minutes before 10:30. Both the Brazilian and Russian flags had been flying over the burled arch earlier in the week …

Eye on the Trail – Ever Smiling Taggart by Terrie Hanke

Shortly after 23:00, a faint glow appeared far in the distance and then it disappeared – ditto, ditto, ditto. Several minutes later, the faint glow expanded to a recognizable light bobbing up and down, right and left. Light snow fell, no stars, some wind with moderate Nome temperatures. Some minutes later the light turned into …

Eye on the Trail – Williams Family in Nome by Terrie Hanke

Spectators in Nome have two choices for premier Iditarod watching. The obvious is along the chute on Front Street in front of the Nugget Inn. The other requires a bit of a hike toward the east end of town to where the mushers come off the Bering Sea and follow the ramp onto Front Street. …

Eye on the Trail – B X 2 + Bailey = OME by Terrie Hanke

Musher arrival in Nome for Thursday capped off with the Beringtons and Jodi Bailey. Iditarod volunteers enjoyed a thanksgiving dinner at the bunk house/dinning room and then headed to the burled arch to welcome and give thanks for three more mushers safely into Nome. Again, when asked about the trail, the three women spoke of …

Eye on the Trail – Engaging Race by Terrie Hanke

Travis Beals was anxious to get to Nome. Every Iditarod musher looks forward to Nome but Beals, but the youngest musher on the trail, had a special reason. He left Safety at 13:46 behind Matt Giblin, Karin Hendrickson and Justin Savidis. He put the pedal to the metal, shifted into high gear and sped the …