First Saturday in March the Iditarod sled dog race across Alaska will start in Anchorage. Finish in Nome, 1100 miles away. I just finished two books about the race that I enjoyed very much.

Gary Paulson, Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod, is the story of Paulson's trek across Alaska, how he got started in Minnesota, moved to Alaska, and ran -- or followed his dogs. This is a well-written book with a very taut style, lots of self-deprecating humor, quite a bit of introspection: why would anyone do this?

Don Bowers, Back of the PAck: An Iditarod Rookie Musher's Alaska Pilgrimage to Nome, is a diary of a two year effort. In the first attempt, Bowers had to scratch in the first couple hundred miles. In the second, he literally is the last official finisher. Lots of the somewhat technical stuff, e.g., how the trail gets laid out, how supplies get into the bush, what happens if a dog or musher is hurt.

Guess I'm too old to buy some dogs for next year.

Tim

I've been following some of the Alaska races this year. My daugther is a teacher in Bethel Alaska and she was able to be a volunteer with the Kuskokwim 300. She was in contact with the check points and helped update the website during the 300 mile race.
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I read this a few years ago - Yukon Alone By John Balzar
It's about the Yukon Quest which is running right now.

gettin-away

I have Yukon Alone sitting on my bookshelf, unread. Better get to it. Thanks.

Ancient_Angler wrote on Feb 18^th, 2007 at 4:55pm:

Guess I'm too old to buy some dogs for next year. Tim

Tim,

Don't you know you can't teach us old humans new dog tricks??

Jimbo   8-)

Ah, Jimbo....what's to say?

Ancient_Angler wrote on Feb 19^th, 2007 at 4:24pm:

Ah, Jimbo....what's to say?

Hmmmm... that's a "ruff" question that "fetches" several possible canine (assinine?) responses:

Don't growl, Bow Wow.

Stop barky, Sparky.

Take it slow, Fido.

Don't be sassy, Lassie.

Pack it in, Rin Tin Tin.

Don't be so poopy, Snoopy.

You're an ancient feller, Old Yeller.

******************************

These "dog days of winter" make us scratch & itch for the ice to thaw.

Just don't eat that yellow snow, bro'....


Jimbo   8-)

Or there's a line from an old country song to the effect, I knew she was not for me, "cause she never cried when Ol' Yellow died."

Tim

Thought you might like this link. It's a webcam at the airport in McGrath...near one of the check points for the Iditarod. The camera position is changed during the race to catch the action.

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Gary
gettin-away

Thanks, Gary. I'll check it out. Did 50 miles on Tuesday and Wednesday behind dogs in Northern Michigan. One of the dogs on my team has done Ititarod 4 times. And while I was gone, I read Yukon Alone.

A Iditrod veteran is something to be proud off!!

Where in Northern Michigan? I live in Flushing near Flint but I head north every chance I get. Don't know if you've ever seen the program on TV called "Great Getaways." It used to be "Discovering Michigan; The Northern Experience." The host of the show is one of my brothers.

Anyway, my daughter in Bethel Alaska wants me to look into transferring to Alaska. I work for the Post Office so there's a good chance I could get somewhere in the state. She's planning on staying there for as long as she can. She has cerebral palsy so the conditions in Bethel are hard on her. If I were closer it would be easier for her to stay......and I've always dreamed of moving there.  ;)

Enjoy the race.