It’s just about high noon and Jim Lanier drives his team down Front Street to the burled arch. He was met by his wife Anna and their son Jimmy. Jimmy came into the shoot a little out of breath as he’d done double duty. He’d gone down the road about half a mile to catch …
My trip here from Unalakleet was via Cessna 180 in severe clear. Severe clear is the term used to describe a sky that is completely cloudless and intensely blue. Our mission was to pick up dropped dogs from Elim and transport them and me to Nome. At one point during the incredibly beautiful flight, I …
There’s a guy out there with green and yellow harnesses and sled bag. Being from Wisconsin, I thought he might be a Packer backer but such is not the case. Luan Ramos Marques is from Brazil. The Brazilian Flag has a blue starry globe on a background of green and yellow. A banner with the …
Unalakleet, pop. 750, is on the Norton Sound, an inlet of the Bering Sea. The sound was explored by Captain James Cook in 1778. He named the inlet after Sir Fletcher Norton, Speaker of the British House of Commons. The people of UNK are accustomed to winds and extreme cold in the winter. The community …
Monday evening and two races were going on in Unalakleet. It’s an annual affair in Unalakleet, both the Iditarod and the cross country ski race. Ski Instructor, Nancy Persons, and the ski team host their ski race across the slough from the checkpoint. The children participate in ski school on Saturdays from the first snow …
Matt Failor, driving the Buser “B” team parked and went to work making them comfortable. The temperature was in the teens but add the sunshine and it felt much warmer. Matt provided his athletes with plenty of cool water, kibble and frozen snack sticks and well as straw for a recharging nap. He planned to …
DeeDee Jonrowe is parked next to one of the man-made berms in Unalakleet. She’s changing to a coast sled while the eleven dogs on her team enjoy a nap on straw. A huge shell is printed on Jonrowe’s sled bag signifying Shell Exploaration’s sponsorship. Then I spotted her booties. Hot pink with a shell imprint …
Take a close look at the eyes of these dog. You’ll see the iris is mostly blue but there is some brown pigment mixed with the blue. It’s not unusual for a dog to have one blue eye and one brown eye. Those dogs a referred to as “bi-colored.” When a single eye has both …
A short distance from the checkpoint is the hub for dropped dogs. Dogs dropped at smaller checkpoints are flown to this hub via bush plane. From here the dropped dogs are loaded onto a larger plane and flown to Anchorage. Currently there are about 130 canine athletes waiting to show their boarding pass for the …
McGrath is located where the Kuskokwim and Takotna rivers meet. The population of the village is roughly 400. There are two stores along with a restaurant. The school in McGrath has nearly 50 students. The village has a public library, a regional health clinic and an air strip. A person traveling to or from McGrath would go …
