Iditarod dropped dogs at sunset...

 can't go wrong there, right?

 i had stopped by earlier but saw no dogs.  my errands seemed to be a bust all day.  wanted to drop off old paint containers but can't do that til tomorrow.  did unload old clothes and got my stove delivered.

 seemed a busy day, i was at home and it looked like it might be a nice sunset so i loaded up the dogs again and headed over to the Lake Front Hotel...figured I'd see if there were any dropped dogs, if not, I'd just take the dogs some place pretty.

 there were 80 dropped dogs. i guess weather had prevented  some transports so they all came at once. the crew was busy with the dogs, feeding, bedding them down and doing final vet checks.

 they appeared to have a mobile vet station set up and several vet techs and volunteers. with that many dogs, it must have been a bit madness.

 many of the dogs will be picked up by folks designated by the Mushers, others will  end up being taken to the local prison, which has handled drop dog cares for years.  works great for all it seems. inmates who have proven themselves worthy get the opportunity of a life time...dogs are healers. 

 we should put more dogs in schools, not guns.  may i say i was very proud of all those students who did the walk out today.  brings me hope for the future...perhaps, just perhaps we will have citizens inspired to participate and vote...what better education than what they did today.  many risked discipline and others were refused to be allowed out so instead stopped where they were and took a knee for the 17 minutes representing those last 17 lives lost in FL school shooting.  impressive.

 we use dogs in hospitals for healing and now we have a few security dogs as well. far better plan i think.

 steady stream of teams crossing into Nome these past hours.  16 teams total are in. Aliy came in 15th, with Jessie Royer to follow her...the first female teams across.

 i think Jessie Holmes came in 7, rookie of the year...top finish for a rookie.  i think Joar may have done better in his first finish...he's done well in all his runs..this is his first win though.  he's usually pretty short on words i guess.  i can relate to that.  they did get him talking the other day.  nice to see his personality come through and his excitement at, at the time, potential of winning.  why it mattered to him.

 he greeted Nic when he came in.  hugs.  I'm sure this loss will sting Petit for some time.  seemed annoyed a time or two about the confusing trails at that point, but Joar never got off course, so there is that.  it really just goes under shit happens when you've driven a team of dogs that far on little sleep in wind and crappy weather.  hopefully he sees, how great he really did.  I'm sure he knows in his heart it was his win...despite the loss, he and his team of dogs had this...crap happened, but he had it. that in no way means Joar did not get the win fairly.  that is how things happen in this race...and in life really.  no matter how well you do, no matter how hard you try you may never get the big reward for it all.

 try being a nurse for decades...most of the time your patients will never know what you did for them in your 12 hours.  we don't get any big prize for a job well done...sometimes you just have to know in your heart what you have accomplished and have a silent pride in this alone.

 hadn't noticed that there were two teams that hadn't moved for hours...nearly 48 hours.  they had left Grayling but were stopped by a storm i guess.  must have holed up together at least i guess. I'm sure we will hear more of this story at some point. i guess a crew came out as a foot of snow had fallen and the snow machines went over the trail and they have both now made it to Kaltag, i think that is the check point.

 another musher had left Kaltag and then returned. I'd heard through dubious sources on iditarod live chat room that he was returning to Kaltag to scratch.  looking now, i see that he has again left Kaltag and the other two are resting in Kaltag. i really thought they would all three be scratching tonight.  so far i am wrong.  good for them.  hopefully, things are a bit smoother.

 most reports in Nome from the teams are that there was a lot of snow and snow storms...i think Nic had joked, Be careful what you ask for.  for several years we have had low snow on these routes and had to move it a few times to Fairbanks for this reason. 

 the snow has been punchy at times and the teams have been much slower than they may otherwise be. 

 there are always the elements out there, mother nature keeps this interesting.  the conditions change along a 1000 mile route and different teams may find different challenges along the way.

 these dogs look so chill.  some like the hay, there are also fleece blankets, but a few do not like those at all.  they get fed and then they bed down and chill, wait for their vet checks and to be picked up.

 we hit two dog  parks between errands for dog walks. U-Lake.  i took a loop out of the park and back in.  saw this woman on a trail that connected into where i was...i saw that she did not notice that there was a moose sleeping near her. i gave her directions she had asked for...

 i think that moose really through her off. 

 it is pretty crazy how close you can be to such a large animal and still not see it.  she was fine but i could tell she was spooked because instead of going where she had asked directions about she was following me. i asked if she was new in town..she was... then i just let her join us on our walk back to the park.

 later i went to the other dog park near the airport on jewel Lake Rd.  there was moose right by the parking lot, i snuck around her and then started walking only to find there was another moose ambling down the trail in front of me...

 trapped between two moose i guess.. they were far enough out that i was never in any danger, but i did have to do some different paths to get back out of there.

 so a bit of an errand day.  back to work tomorrow night.

 happy i opted to head down there. i was rewarded. 

 this is the first time i was told we aren't allowed to touch the dogs. figure it may have had to do some with the whole Dallas/pee incident...or just because with 80 dogs, they need to be much more cautious.

 i usually give them dog massages, oh well.  i enjoyed just taking some pics and talking to them all.

 enjoyed a beautiful sunset over Lake Hood.

 the pups were curious about me too. 

 such cute pups. 

 different groups of them get dropped off at different times so some were just eating, some were getting vet checks and some were sacked out.

 they had a section further away with signs all around saying, Dogs in Heat...no hanky panky at the checkpoints...

 though it does seem that many love connections have been made over the years along this 1000 mile race.  seems like a lot of work to get a date, hehe. 

 i asked if any of Brads dogs were there, they seemed to have dogs organized by bib number groupings. the few i asked didn't know and it looked like everyone was busy so i didn't want to be a bother.

 i know some of Wade Marrs dogs were there. he scratched.  he was sick and he didn't want to imprint the dogs with a negative run. 

 a few snowflakes fell today. it's more of the heavy and wet stuff.  a bit more work for me to get through as well as the dogs. 

 my pups seem happy with their day out there. 

 Tusker kept barking last night at the back door.  no idea what he felt he was seeing.  Ivy didn't seem concerned and she seems to be the main guard dog.  i retrieved him and brought him upstairs, he finally settled in.  who knows.  dripping from the meltdown?  a squirrel?  a cat?  don't think it was a real intruder situation.  they'd have to get past Ivory Rose!!

 happy sleeping dogs in the sunset. 

 I'll still post more pics from the restart, but i figured these were cute and a little change. 

 usually as the teams come in i start to mix it up a bit.  put in some pictures from walks.

 pictures of sleeping puppies may make you sleepy.

 this face should perk you up.

 really liked the intensity in this guy below. was pretty happy with several of these.  always a fun thing to do...check out the dropped dogs

 what a face this guy is making.

 politics...still a mess.  more firings, people dragged out without their coats.  so many without adequate security clearance...emails...seems pretty silly at this point.  more dead Russians, little said from this administration...can't upset Put...the GOP stopped the investigation...didn't interview important folks and those they did interview they allowed them to just refuse to answer questions.  what a joke.  the whole lot of them need to go!

 i usually check into the iditarod site to power watch teams coming in to Nome.  fun to watch.  emotional at times.

 another has come in just as I've been looking at pictures and writing. 

 tried to watch a movie last night, but that movie was a bit too creepy for me.  this lot here is in the 60's...does anyone recognize any of Brads dogs here?  4 more teams out of White Mountain heading for Safety...it will be a bit before the next group of teams arrives. that group includes Hugh Neff.  the next group that is into White mountain includes Jeff King and Anna Berington. she's doing great. 8 teams currently shown in Koyak with Brad. better stop talking...I'm out of pictures for the night. 

thankful for: A.  close encounters with moose  B.  healthy pups off the trail C.  safe arrivals in Nome for teams...i have a little yin/yang necklace with paw prints on it..i tend to wear that until all the teams are in.