Team Zappa made it into Nome! She arrived in 47th place after quite a race to the finish!

You couldn’t miss her coming down Front Street in her uber bright Posh House Parka!  Her team seemed a little overwhelmed by the traffic, crowds, and people in Nome. Her team tried to make a right hand turn up a side street pretty shortly after coming up the hill onto the street.  Fellow racer Karin Hendrickson was nearby and lent a hand getting them back on track.   What a smile Monica had on her face!  She was met under the arch by her mom and her partner Tim.

She and Tim talked about the dogs almost right away!  A lot of the talk revolved Blue Steel who became an immediate crowd favorite as he rolled around on the snow, presented his belly for belly rubs and then closed his eyes for a nap right under the arch (while still on his back!).  But, was he really napping? Nope!  He’d sneak an eye open every once in a while to make sure people were still watching him. “He seems to think he’s on this race to be a super model dog. He’s always posing!” Monica joked.  Apparently, he was quite a rascal on the race… wouldn’t run in lead, chewed several lines, got into fights.  She didn’t drop him because he worked hard.  You could see the affection in her smile and eyes and hear it in her voice as she teased him for being a “bad dog.”

“Can you help me now?” she asked Tim as the siren sounded for the next musher.  She’s had to do it all for herself for so long… I’m sure it’s going to be a huge relief to lean on someone else for a bit.  I can just imagine how much it warmed her heart to see Tim and her mom under the arch waiting for her, and how sweet it’s going to be to have a hot shower and sink into a warm bed and just relax for awhile.

Monica said it took her a lot longer to get here then she expected.  The run from Elim to Safety took her fifteen hours!  So she rested for a bit in Safety before making her final run into Nome.  No matter how long it took, she made it to Nome and that’s all that matters!  Her goal all along was to get her young team to Nome still feeling happy and healthy…. looks like she did that and much more! Congratulations Monica!