Today dawned bright and early at Yentna Station…3:45 a.m. to be exact. Wide awake and ready to embrace all the letter “G” had to offer, it began by climbing onto the back of a snow maching for a 2 hour ride to the finish at -35 degree. Goggles became my first challenge as they were iced over and I simply couldn’t see much. Holding on and going with the flow became my goal.
As the sun began to rise, seeing the glorious morning and glistening snow was magical. We kept a close eye on the GPS as the Jr. mushers got closer to the finish. What a moment! As Stanley Robinson rounded that final turn and gave the last “gee” command, his graceful dogs crossed the finish line with what appeared to be smiles on their faces. He became the grand champion as a rookie musher, making all his hard work pay off. He wore a genuine smile on his face as his dad, Wally, lifted him from the ground, celebrating his victory. This amazing race creates such growth, giving the mushers even more perseverance than they had just two days ago.
This evening brought the annual Jr. Iditarod banquet where many gathered to pay tribute to these genuinely gifted and gutsy mushers. As I was leaving this gorgeous little girl with glasses approached me saying, “You came to my school!” After a photo with her and a hug, I left feeling really and truly great about how this day played out. Another gratifying Iditarod experience!
“Go” ahead and try this!
- Geography- It’s the perfect time to map out the trail and calculate miles between checkpoints. Exploring the Alaska map, adding in challenges the mushers will face is another possibility.
- Gear- Check out my November lesson on Iditarod gear and financial literacy.
- Gold- Creating a lesson about the Alaska gold rush can be as simple as having Chalkie AI create a passage complete with comprehension questions.
- Graphing- Have students graph data throughout the race: temperatures along the trail, miles traveled, number of dogs, etc.
- Guess the Checkpoint- Give students clues about checkpoints along the route and see if they can guess which one.
