Ceremonial start fun

 and a few other shots from this week.

 i attempted to nap a lot on Thursday in preparation for work.  in the end i got an on call and was never called in. a hit to my PTO bank no doubt but i did feel a lot better when i woke up Friday.  i am still coughing and snotty but overall, i feel better.  my brain feels more clear.  i have done better on walks. not totally back to baseline, but today between going downtown for the Iditarod festivities and walking the dogs i put in over 7 miles without issues so yea! 

 still on the inhalers and all that.  will be for several weeks as is normal.  above the dogs dropped the tennis ball and it went under the ice.  they did eventually figure out to break the ice and it didn't go further down the little creek .

 there was a pretty halo on the trail yesterday.  i'm starting to get the worse sounding but i'm feeling better cough.  was joking downtown today that if people stop in front of us and obstruct our way or start to push in on us we should start coughing....that would move folks out of the way.

 i ran into a guy on the trail yesterday, we ended up walking a bit.  our dogs have the same mother but a year apart.  he said that a doctor friend of his had texted him and said AK has a positive case of Covid-19. i haven't heard anything and last i heard they've only got 100 test kits and have only tested about 10 people.   who knows who has this thing.  don't test anyone and pretend all is just fine.  seems to be the way of this administration.  fake it, lie, create drama, hope the bug passes.

 always fun to go downtown.  as long as i don't stay too long in the main start line it's not that crowded so i can wander a bit and watch all the festivities from behind the camera.  i'm sure it helps an introvert like myself cope with all the people to be behind the camera...it's like i'm there but not really there.

 right after i arrived i saw this friend from Ketchikan.  she volunteers for the Iditarod, mostly at remote check points.  so it was a great chance meeting.  we chatted for a minute then she was off doing chores. hoping her a fun year and safe travels for all.

 the old theater is a good back drop for dog teams.

 as it turns out, i started out exploring the teams at Lance Mackey's truck.  i texted my friend and we opted to just meet there since he was at the end of the road that was blocked off.  just easy and everyone up here loves Mackey...and a lot of folks all over really.  he is super nice.  he hasn't had an easy run of life. he loves his dogs and he loves mushing. 

 his kennel is the Comeback Kennel.  that fits the life of Lance Mackey.  he's had quite a few medical issues. 

 this pup below was a real jumper.  there were no doubt around 800 dogs out there barking and jumping. so excited to go for the run through town. 

 i like coming downtown early and watching them unload the dogs slowly and set up the sleds.  it's a casual atmosphere out there. the party event before the real event gets started up in Willow.  they used to do a short run between Anchorage and Eagle River and that time counted...it was only 15 miles and they opted to stop adding in the time and instead just make it a ceremonial start here and auction off Iditariders.  they pay several thousand dollars to take a ride in the sled through town. 

 i think it's an auction of sorts.  highest bidder, of course the more well known mushers bring in more cash.

 this pair of bald eagles have a nest on the Powerline trail between the tank trail and the gasline trail. i enjoyed watching the pair in their nest yesterday.

 poor pups will have to stay at home tomorrow. by the time i get back it will probably be too late for a real walk...or i'll just be a bit tired after the weekend.  took them for a decent walk this afternoon....though for these two, todays walk is forgotten quickly when tomorrow comes.

 plan is to head out to Willow with friends to watch the 57 teams head off to Nome for the restart. supposed to be lots more snow coming so conditions could be less than great. we should be a group going out though...so that will help.  less cars on the road.  hopefully, it's like today and not as predicted.  just light snow, light winds. 

 i enjoy watching and taking pictures of the other folks who get to Iditarod...by volunteering.  most focus on the mushers...and that is fun too, but i do enjoy watching the happiness in the volunteers out there and their interactions with the dogs.

 my assumption before i'd started going and meeting these dogs was that they would be stand off ish and maybe even mean.  the truth is from a young age most of these dogs are handled by a variety of folks and spend a lot of their day with humans.  they do look forward to their runs and in most of these kennels there can be many dogs and several handlers who will rotate taking them on the trails along with the owner/musher. they are generally well socialized and friendly.

 the other thing that surprised me was how small they are.  i think we all saw bigger dogs like huskies and malemutes and assumed that that was how big these guys were.  they are generally 40-60 pounds.  so pretty small really.

 they get super excited when they see the sleds come down and get set up.  they know that means they get to go for a run. 

 so many of these dogs are Lance Mackey's crew. 

 he was working on his team and the set up.  interrupted many times by fans and press wanting to ask questions.  he is very obliging and pleasant with all the attention. 

 he's a pretty distinct and unique looking character.  part of that is from cancer treatments he's gone through.

 his dogs seemed to be fairly calm as well.  a reflection of their musher perhaps.

 the plate on one of his sleds.  of course, i saw several dogs lift their legs on the thing.  ick .

 each dog has it's own personality.  i should have asked him which was his lead dog.

 is it this guy..

 or this guy sitting on the back of the truck. 

 i'm not very good at interrupting or injecting myself into conversations with celebrities...and up here mushers are celebrities.

 he had that smoke in his mouth but it wasn't lit while we were there. 

 this one dude is always at big public events with his cross.  he called over to Lance and asked if he could pray for him and his dogs. Lance obliged.   thought the photo turned out pretty nice. 

 he tolerated me with my camera..as well as the many others who passed by snapping his photo.

 as we were there this guy cruised by...he shows up every year around these events dressed in his sasquatch fur. i mean there really aren't that many events that are fur friendly these days.  Fur Rondy and the Iditarod are pretty fur friendly. i mean i don't think you'd normally wear this to the opera or the movies...

 loved the other humans eyeing him.  i just snapped pictures...you don't dress like that and not expect a few photos to be snapped.

 he seems pretty proud of this fur he wears.

 a capture of Lance with the Sasquatch dude watching over him.  he had both the Sasquatch and the cross dude there at the same time. 

 spring forward. an hour less of sleep.  i should head that way soon.  tomorrow will have to be the day i try to catch up on that to do list. 

 it did work out nice today as the recall Dunleavy folks were out there so i got to re-sign. 

 our one Senator was out there as is her usual.  got her vip pass so she makes short runs with dog teams to the start line.

 that is Lance...

 ropes and lines all over the place.  harnesses, booties.  a lot of gear goes into this sport.

 a bit after my friend arrived we started wandering around to check out other trucks. 

 see who was who. 

 check out the cute pups.

 and see what celebrity mushers we could catch a glimpse of

 or just watch the handlers do their thing.

 mostly, the musher brings their own handlers i think.  their home crew.  but there are also other volunteers that help with getting the team to the front line.

 of course, everyone now takes selfies with their charges. how could you resist that. 

thankful for A.  a fun day downtown.  B. snow, but perhaps we get a wee break so we can get to/from Willow safely.  C.  this event that happens each year.  it's our dog party.