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Teacher on the Trail™
Engaging lessons based on Insider video clips.
Our four-legged correspondents write for all ages..
Collection of all things Iditarod.
Latest Teacher on the Trail™ Posts
One picture…I took thousands of images while on the trail and in the weeks building up to the journey. To choose just one is a challenge. After scrolling through, I have finally picked a picture I have gone back to many times. To me, this picture represents so many parts of the Iditarod. Teamwork, determination, …
Hanna Lyrek is the 2022 Iditarod Rookie of the Year, the first of seven rookies to cross the finish line in Nome. What is the definition of an Iditarod rookie? Technically, it is musher who has never finished an Iditarod, someone out on the trail for the first (or second, or third…) time, who has …
Our Alaska adventure ended back where we started in Anchorage. We had come full circle, and to conclude our explorations we visited the Alaska Native Heritage Center to learn more about the Indigenous groups that live in Alaska. The Alaska Native Heritage Center is a wealth of information and history, but also a place to …
Dogsledding has been part of life in Alaska for a very long time. As snow machines (mobiles), planes, and four-wheel drive vehicles started appearing in the remote areas of Alaska, the sled dog began to disappear. The Iditarod was established as a race to revive the use of, and appreciation for, the sled dog – …
Relationships. For me that’s what this event is, and always has been about. Whether it is the relationship between the mushers and the “true athletes” – the dogs (as most of the mushers would say). Relationships amongst fellow mushers… …
Our love of Iditarod starts and ends with the dogs. For my family, visiting a kennel on our recent vacation to Alaska was non-negotiable. We wanted to learn more about summer training, dog care, and the challenging road to running the Iditarod from veteran mushers. Oh, and I was extremely excited to pet some puppies! …
Glaciers are something you have to see to believe. I live in western New York, an area formed thousands of years ago by glaciers. They gave us hilly landscapes and the gorgeous Finger Lakes. However, until I saw the glaciers in Alaska, I didn’t truly understand their size and power. On our visit to …
Alaska is filled with an incredible diversity of wildlife. There are marvelous creatures we don’t see often in the lower 48, and it is difficult to truly understand their majesty and power. For our trip this past week we compiled a “bucket list” of animals we hoped to see in the wild. Moose were at …
If you know anything about teenagers you can easily imagine that I am the definition of “most annoying mom ever.” My poor children never get to just take a vacation. I torture them with natural wonders, cultural experiences, and – the most important part of any trip – “local cuisine of the day.” My kids …
“This is the biggest mistake of my life,” I said to myself as I boarded the Alaska Airlines flight as an Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™ Finalist last February. To be fair that isn’t the first time I’d uttered this phrase. In fact, it is my “go-to” response whenever I am overwhelmed by fear and …