Sanka W. Dog

Zoom Lens – German Rookie

Rookie musher, Silvia Furtwängler, has been mushing for twenty-seven years and was inspired to do the Iditarod after completing the 2003 Yukon Quest, another 1,000-mile race. Silvia was born in Germany and has since immigrated to Norway where she owns a tour guide business and thirty-seven sled dogs. Currently she and her sixteen Iditarod dogs …

Zoom Lens – Bacon’s Acres Sunset

As the sun sets this evening, there are two days left before the start of the Junior Iditarod and only 10 days until the restart of Iditarod on Willow Lake. Right now it seems to be snowing all around us except for this break in the clouds to the west. Musher Kirk Barnum from Idaho …

Solo Musher Nenana to Nome

It was late at night and he was weak. The last of his hot drink and snacks had been devoured by noon. The rest of his food was stowed deep inside his sled bag. Retrieving it was not an option. His mind was on the safety cabin ahead and the directions locals had offered him …

Naming Sled Dog Pups

If you’ve gotten a baby brother or sister, a puppy or a kitten, there’s always the question of what should it’s name be. Do you remember the process of selecting a name? The name has to “fit” and it has to be just right. Maybe you used a book or maybe the name came from …

Forty-Seven Mushers Ready for Iditarod XL

  The final Saturday of June marks the beginning of the upcoming Last Great Race. It’s the Volunteer Picnic and Musher Sign-up at Iditarod Headquarters in Wasilla. The festivities began at 9:00 under cloudy skies with a forecast of rain. Luckily for the hundreds of folks in attendance, possibly 1049, the precipitation held off and …

Matanuska Colony

The recent stock market crash of 2008 wasn’t the first serious economic setback in American history.  Back in 1929 the market crashed – seriously crashed and folks found themselves in very bad times for a very long time.  People were without money and jobs.  Newly elected President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the “New Deal” with …

Zoom Lens – Final Four

Kurt Barnum of Idaho was the 44th musher to guide his dogs under the Burled Arch in Nome. Barnum is a forester by profession and a dog servant by avocation. He especially likes raising his own dogs from puppies. Each one has different character traits and Kurt finds the to be “simply amazing.” Gentle Giant …

Zoom Lens – Whitey

When Justin Savidis crossed the finish line, he earned his rookie buckle and finished what he’d started out to do last race. You might remember that Justin’s dog, Whitey, went AWOL between Nikolai and McGrath. Justin took his 24-hour layover and searched for his dog. The foxy pup was spotted on many occasions but didn’t …

Zoom Lens – Races on Front Street

When it comes to races on Front Street, none is as famous as the finish of the 6th Iditarod. Rick Swenson and Dick Mackey had been within a few hundred yards of each other for many of the miles to Nome. Murphy’s Law awaited the two mushers as they charged toward the Burled Arch. Mackey’s …

Zoom Lens – Is it Balto?

Handler just sent us this story and picture. It’s too cool. Being a sleek fast sled dog, I can’t imagine being one of those stocky powerful dogs from Greenland. With their thick coats, they must get very warm. As a matter of fact, I bet they don’t run with booties. Their feet are really tough …