Iditarod 2014 continues...

 there are still many teams left out there.  only one has left White Mountain at this time so it will be awhile before the next team gets into Nome.

 i checked in a few times and watched a few teams come in while i made dinner. they often come in groups over an hour or so.  with the winds blowing like they were there is always safety in numbers.

 Jeff King did a phone interview with Alaska Dispatch so if you want to read his accounting of the night then that is the best place.

 the winds got to be horrific. he did the best he and his team could.  in weather like that i think you just try to keep moving forward to a safe place.  it got to be too dangerous to move.  he bundled up his dogs, covered them with his sleeping bag, put on every stitch of clothing he had and then used his body to try and protect the dogs.

 eventually he began to get too cold and decided to leave them in this safe place and go on foot to Safety.  he could barely move in the wind and a group came through with snowmachines and he took the ride, this means he accepted outside help which means he's out of the race.  it was life or death though.

 from the report one of the snowmachines got caught in a gust and flipped over.  he also recalled while he was driving his team his cook stove shot off the sled in the wind...like a rocket.  no way to retrieve it.

 he got to Safety and a crew from the Iditarod Insider emptied a sled that they were pulling behind their snowmachines with camera gear and they went back with him to fetch the dog team.

 at first he worried they dogs were dead but they all lifted up their heads and were loaded up.  once in Safety he settled in the dogs and fell asleep.  Dallas came through as they were arriving with Jeff and the team and they kept this information from Dallas.  he blew through.  surely Aily was aware of what was happening though.  she'd been out in the worst of it with him.  she'd had no idea where the trail was but thankfully, the story has the happy ending of mushers and dogs all being alive.

 in the end, winning is not worth risking your life for, or the life of your dogs.  i have the utmost respect for these mushers for putting their dogs before the possibility of a win.  sometimes you win and sometimes you don't.  in the end Mother Nature is there and is the ultimate power over all.

 I'm sure those who have never experienced these sorts of conditions will find it unfathomable.  i suspect the winds had calmed just a bit by the time Dallas got to the parts that had  been the worst for Jeff and Aily.  they were still quite dangerous.  he felt safe enough to carry on and did so without much difficulty it seems.

 King is safely in Nome now and his team is safely back home i think.

 calm day for me.  tried to get some of those tasks done at home that must be done eventually.  wrote a note to the guides for this summers trip just to remind them we are still planning on coming and to let them know i will send a deposit in the next week or so.

 picked up my lovely prep for my procedure...can't wait for that!!  will need to get the time off work and find someone willing to take me and bring me home and then chill with me for a bit to make sure i have no complications.

 went through the pile of junk mail that i always leave in the same spot for this purpose. i guess it would be more efficient to do this as i get the mail, but that isn't always feasable.  hate all the little bits of paper that seem to pile up everywhere.  i really need to do a big paper shredding and get tax stuff together.  should make tax appointment and get the car in for an oil change...so much to do...aack!!

 massage is scheduled as is my hair cut.  tasks...oh bother as Winnie the Pooh would say.

 must also say that yesterday was my 1000th post.  not sure if that is a good thing or a pathetic thing?  it means i waste a lot of time writing a blog.  i think it keeps me sane though and it also encourages me to get out and explore more so that there is something interesting to write...even if nobody really reads it.

 i know it does get read.  thanks to those of you who have come and read these posts from time to time.  it may not bring me fame or fortune, but you cant' put a price on sanity. i guess there are worse things to waste your time on, right?  and it's super cheap...i could be gambling on the internet or shopping.

 some days the blog is my only interaction with the outside world.  today would be a day such as that.  a few texts here and there and had to speak to people to set up appointments, and on the trail "hey"'s.

 much of my life is spent with just myself and the dogs.  overall, i can't complain, they are good company.  always a pleasure.  they are great motivators for my daily walk.  if i could convince them to motivate me to get to the gym that would be even better.  will have to ponder how i can work the dogs into that.

 still coughing.  it's so annoying and exhausting.  just took some cough medicine. i've been taking it in the evening these past few days...which could explain why i feel too tired to hit the gym.  i just need a rest from coughing from time to time.

 my brain feels normal.  loud noises can still bother me and i think i still slip over words every so often.

 i convinced Rio to join Blossom and i on the walk today.  just did a loop of Rovers Run.  it was a nice day out there.  the trail was a bit of an ice run.  warm...so weird how early spring has come this year..

 would have preferred to continue with a real winter.  every year has it's own rhythm and you just adapt to it.

 Bejna above.  he's still out there.  no scratches today that i saw. that number remains at 19, which is quite high for the year.

 making my way through the dog pictures.  haven't even looked at the photo's from yesterday and took none today.

 not much to take photo's of on the walk today.  same old, same old.

 back to work tomorrow night.  my days off seem to pass way to quickly.

 an NHL hockey player collapsed on the bench during a game. Peverley was resuscitated and is doing fine.  not sure what his underlying issue is.  hopefully, he will be able to return to play at some point.  sounds like they were prepared for such an event and it all went smoothly to get his heart beating right again.  very scary though i'm sure for all his teammates.

 nice to just relax and read a bit.  catching up on my latest Readers Digest and Nat Geo mag. a few favorites.  i try to just order the magazines that i know i'll read.  the other one i get is Alaska.

 this is Cym Smyth.  watched him come in while i was making my chicken lo mein.

 haven't made that for quite a while.  i go through phases.  living alone i find for me, i just get in these ruts of eating certain things for a bit and then i get bored with that group of foods and move on to others. in between i may just snack until i find something i'm in the mood for. i often joke that one day i'll just get sick of everything i've eaten for all these years and stop eating...that will be the end of me.

 i've never seen eating as some grand thing. it's just a means to an end.  we need fuel so i have to eat.  mostly it's a bother.  cooking and clean up, figuring out what to eat.  i suppose some of us have less sensitive palates so we probably bore more readily to food choices...or perhaps i just am not a very good cook.  it's all fine, just a bother like a said.

 liked this guys face

 i was sure he'd load sideways...but got lucky

 in one of the articles i read the writer said something like, i'm not wealthy enough to have a gluten allergy.  it is kind of funny.  all these dietary restrictions people put themselves on..they are expensive in many cases.

 was watching one of the James Herriot episodes and they get a vet in who doesn't drink or smoke or eat any meat.  in that time this was quite unusual and was seen as a real bother.  the guy didn't even use salt.  he was clearly ahead of his time really, but it can be a bother all these special diets and how everyone expects the world to just adapt to their dietary needs.

 probably a reason the dinner party has lessened.  people meet at restaurants more as it's just easier than trying to meet everybody's needs.

 adorable huskies with green booties...doesn't get much better than this!!

 guess i could begin the shredding process before hitting the sack, it is a great feeling to get the papers under control.

 these dogs have almost completed their journey by now.  amazing athletes!

 also amazing relationship between dog and human.  grateful that God gave us dogs to share our lives and burdens with.  it's a great gift.  to think they evolved from wild dogs to house pets and that they exist in such variety of size and temperaments.  it's really quite amazing!!

 chihuahua to mastiff to pomeranians to malemutes.  that we have been able to manipulate their genes to suit so many needs.  these are alaskan sled dogs.  they are also a created "breed", unofficial.  i was surprised when i first volunteered to go down to the hotel where dropped dogs show up after their race time is over.  they are much smaller than i expected.  there was a russian in the mix last year and he brought over his own russian sled dog variety.  their coats were much more dense it seemed.

well, my dogs are snoring and i think i will join them soon.  keeping all those dogs and mushers still out on the trail in my thoughts...may they all be safe.