Iditarod 37, 2009!

What an incredible day! On Sunday I went with the Berrigan family to watch the official beginning of the Iditarod dog sled race. I'd heard of it, been interested in it, and it's always been a novelty, but to actually see the dog teams, the gear and mushers leaving on such an epic journey was breathtaking. It was a huge event; they had a ceremonial start earlier in the week down in Anchorage, but the real start was in Willow, about an hour away from my home. We drove out in lines of traffic and parked in a lot comparable to those of the state fair. Puppy vendors, craftsman, furriers and other vendors had booths set up, along with coffee stands and concessions. The start took place down on the lake, right on the snow-packed ice...throngs of people lined the gauntlet as each mushing team took off. They were staggered by two minutes, and there were 67 or 68 dog teams this year, each with 17-21 dogs on them. How awesome. I took pictures with my old Minolta, and those haven't been developed yet; I'll post them as soon as I find a place around here that'll develop my film. In the meantime, the pictures I'll post are a few from my digital camera before it died, and from Lori's collection. Love!

little Husky pups...so stinking cute!




The kiddos and I...behind us is the gauntlet across the lake!