The Iditarod Alphabet 2017 S is Sled: Fun in Galena The first sleds were traditionally made of wood, but today they are much more high-tech. Many mushers today make their sleds from a variety of materials, including hockey sticks. The sled hold all the mushers’ gear including extra dog booties, dog food, cooker, snow shoes, …
The Iditarod Alphabet 2017 R is for Red Lantern The Red Lantern Award is given to the last musher to reach Nome. This award is given to honor the perseverance of the musher and their team. First Red Lantern Award winner was John Schultz with a finishing time of 32 days, 5 hours, 9 minutes, …
The Iditarod Alphabet 2017 Q is for the Quiet Quiet is a great word to discuss the Alaskan wilderness. As mushers and teams make their way to Nome, there is a lot of quiet along the trail. They pass through parts of the state that is home only to the animals that live there. When …
Tanana has been such a welcoming community since the minute my plane landed. Upon arrival Shannon, a wonderful local woman, picked a small group of us up and brought us to the community center. On our drive in she pointed out where the Native Hospital used to be, where the local store is, and …
The Iditarod Alphabet 2017 P is for Parka A parka is a large windproof jacket with a hood, which is designed to be worn in the cold weather. Each musher has a parka that is worn on the trail to protect them from the extremely cold temperatures. Very often a parka will have a fur …
The Iditarod Alphabet 2017 O is for Optimism Optimism is defined as the hopefulness and confidence about the future or the successful outcome of something. As the race began today, there was lots of optimism at the start line. The optimism of rookie musher, Roger Lee, was quite evident as his team neared the start …
The Iditarod Alphabet 2017 N is for Nome Nome is home to the finish line of the Iditarod. The town is located on the Seward Peninsula Nome was once a booming gold mining town of over 30,000 gold seekers, but the current population is down to only about 3,600 people. Now, each March between 50-70 …
The Iditarod Alphabet 2017 M is for Musher A musher is the driver of a dog sled team. All 72 mushers picked their starting position on Thursday, March 2 at the Musher Banquet. There are seventeen women and fifty-five men racing this year. Ryan Redington will be leading out the group wearing bib #2, and …
The Iditarod Alphabet 2017 L is for Laura Neese Laura Neese is an Iditarod rookie musher and she is racing out of Nature’s Kennel. Laura first learned about the Iditarod when she was ten years old, and since then she has dreamed of completing the “Last Great Race on Earth”. When Laura was fourteen she …
The Iditarod Alphabet 2017 K is for Kennel An Iditarod kennel is a place where all the dogs call home. There are kennels all over the state of Alaska and the lower 48. Nature’s Kennel is located in McMillan, MI, and is run by Iditarod veteran Ed Stielstra. The kennel is named after one of …
