Iditarod 2007

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, or "Iditarod", is Anchorage's most popular winter event. Mushers and dogs cover over 1,000 miles from Anchorage to Nome, in temperatures ranging from a lukewarm 30F to windchill -100F. The ceremonial start takes place in Anchorage, sometime during March, and the real start happens the next day in Willow, an hour north of here. Yesterday was the ceremonial start. I spent about 3 hours walking up and down 4th Avenue, freezing my toes in the 2F weather and wishing I was wearing real fur (apparently PETA doesn't have a presence up here, at least according to the fashionable furry clothes being worn by mushers and spectators alike - actually, I did see a PETA bumper sticker on an Alaska truck: "People Eating Tasty Animals"). Highlights of the day: 1) feeling like I was in a real city, thanks to the large crowd of tourists (downtown is never that busy), 2) free hot cocoa at the Anchorage Tourism Bureau log cabin, 3) hearing and seeing all the lower 48ers and feeling like an Alaskan.



Dog handler waiting for his team's turn.



Dogs are brought to the start line in wooden dog cages mounted on trucks.

More to come.