I love the Iditarod. It's so crazy. And I finally got to go up to see the official start in Willow. I've been to the ceremonial start in Anchorage several times, but then all the mushers pack up, drive up to Willow, and the next morning, they start the real Iditarod trail (1049 miles... though the actual distance varies based on the trail for the year, they always say 1049 because of Alaska's 49th state status). Willow is a TINY little town and the official race start takes place on Willow lake You heard me. It's ON the lake. So people snowmobile out there if they want, people set up ice fishing tents, and they actually light fires on the lake. (Scientifically, I really still can't figure this out. How do the fires not just flood or burn through the ice until the wood falls into the lake? As I was commenting on this, one guy explained: "If you pour enough gas onto it, anything will burn." I'm still confused.)
Above is Dallas Seavey. He won last year and become the youngest racer to ever win the Iditarod. This year was exciting. Martin Buser (who has won in the past) took his mandatory 24-hour rest within the first 72 hours and thought he'd blast through to the end. At one point, he was 16 hours ahead of everyone else (even counting their 24-hour layovers). But he burned out and the race became between Aliy Zirkle (came in second last year) and Mitch Seavey (Dallas' dad who has also won the race before). At the second to last checkpoint (which was 7 days into the race), these two were only 19 minutes apart. Mitch (pictured below) won the race.
We took the obligatory "kids at the Iditarod race start" so they can remember forever that they were there for such an historic event. Which is probably good, because they spent the rest of the time playing in the snow and eating snacks and would have been as happy in our backyard if we had fresh snow. But they had a really good time.
The collection of furs at the Iditarod is entertaining (you'll notice I tried to fit in with my orange hunting hat). This first man with the beard is my favorite picture I took at the Iditarod.
Then there's this hat. Check out that mouth!
This guy's not even trying.
To get to Willow for the Iditarod, we drive an hour north, park in a school parking lot, and ride a school bus the last hour to Willow. The bus was an event in itself and the girls had a blast. The first picture is the "before" picture and the second one is the "after." As you can see, the girls were still in pretty good spirits when the long day was done. They're at such a fun age.
I did feel a bit strange about the bus home from Willow, however. We were there to cheer on, high five, and wish well several mushers as they started their 1000-mile journey to Nome. It was exciting. It was a party. It was cold. And then we got on a nice warm bus to head to our nice, warm houses. And they would be stuck, alone in the wilderness, for the next 8+ days. But they signed up for it (and that is something I NEVER want to do). So off they went and we all had a blast!
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