People, Places, or Dogs
How ironic is it that you can be right in the middle of all the Iditarod action but not know what’s happening along the trail? I’ve worked as a communications specialist at Skwentna Checkpoint for eight years and the same has been true for all eight years. The race runs through the checkpoint sitting below …
Thank you Brent Sass! Sounds strange to say thanks to a guy who wisely withdrew from the Iditarod after sustaining a head injury during the Yukon Quest. Sass and Allen Moore were on track for an exciting finish. Prior to the finial checkpoint of the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest, Sass and Moore were playing leapfrog on …
The doors opened at 5:00 and there were plenty of ardent Iditarod fans as well as volunteers, mushers and sponsors in the large windowed lobby waiting to be the first to enter. The musher banquet held at the beautiful Dena’ina Convention Center in downtown Anchorage on Thursday evening prior to the race is always a …
With all the concern of where the re-start would be, it was a relief to hear the final decision and move onto things like speculating about the elite-ten. What looks good on paper and in theory doesn’t always turn out to be true when the runners hit the snow. As with anyone trying to pick …
It was a bright sunny fleece and light jacket sort of day in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan when I had the good fortune of walking through the dog yard at Nature’s Kennel. Ed and Tasha Stielstra host an annual Musher Symposium and Teacher’s Conference late in September and this was the Sunday morning …
When it comes to training for Iditarod, there’s a word of advice out there shared by long distance mushers – the best way to train for a 1,000-mile sled dog race is to run a 1,000-mile race. That pearl of advice gained credence with Lance Mackey. In 2007 Lance won the Yukon Quest and turned …
There’s nothing better than hands-on real-life experiences for learning. Thanks to musher and educator Tim Vandermeuelen, Symposium participants went to work making necklines and constructing a doghouse. Tim handed out pre-cut and marked lengths of braided nylon and the indispensible fid to everyone interested then the fun began – push the fid through the rope …
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 …
DeeDee Jonrowe came out to greet Jim Lanier at the burled arch today. It gave me an opportunity to congratulate her on placing in the top ten again and ask her a couple of questions about her 31st Iditarod. In her bright pink kusbuk with the huge Shell logo on the back DeeDee is rather …
There’s a coffee shop located in the McGrath B&B. It’s a favorite stop of many volunteers as they work in or pass through McGrath. Myself included. You can purchase a Mackey Mocha, Frappe, Smoothie, Latte, Breve, Americano or Tea. When ordering a Mackey Mocha yesterday, I noticed a very large trophy displayed between the fireplace …
