Iditaslush....the ceremonial start to Iditarod endures low snow.

 i had set my alarm for 6:30 am...i have again for tomorrow.  i'll have to be better tomorrow though.  i hit snooze until 7:30 am today.  it was drizzling out and i just had a hard time getting motivated on so little sleep with the rain coming down.  turned out to be pretty good downtown though. apparently a lot of people had a hard time getting motivated to get down there.  lots of folks but certainly not the usual amount for a ceremonial start.

 aside from the center of the street, where city workers had spend the night laying down a snowy trail, the rest of the streets were dry.  it was windy though.  the trail through town was slushy.

 i'm hearing that one dog, who wasn't actually participating but was there, escaped.  last i heard the dog was hit by a car and did not survive.  so not the best start if that is the truth.

 i had a decent spot when i settled in to watch the teams line up so i stayed there until Jeff King went past.  i think he was 59 or 69?  can't recall. i debated heading to another part of the trail and watching the teams go by there, but in the end i just headed home to the girls and errands.

 did run into a few friends downtown.  it's a popular Anchorage event so you are bound to see some familiar faces.  i always like checking out all the trucks and doggie hutches before the races.  lots of variety.

 the dogs like their little boxes.  actually many weren't that enthused to get out in the rain.  that stopped quickly though and the dogs were as happy as normal to get started down the trails.  actually, i don't think the dogs care what the weather is, they just like to run. much enthusiasm was seen throughout the day.

 the streets get taken over by trucks and dog teams.  that parking structure in the background is a popular viewing spot.  it is a pretty sweet view from up there.

 i made it there by 8-8:30 sometime.  plenty of time to wander around and check out loads of action.

 came home and paid for my insider.  always a good way to go.  busy packing, straightening up stuff, laundry, dishes, pack more.  not as efficient as i would like, but that really is the norm for me.  not sure how cold it will be up north.  for the moment, Fairbanks is getting loads of snow.  i think up to 10 inches at least in some parts.  hoping the roads are decent.  Jeff King reported on his fb page that there were cars in ditches and such...totally hoping to avoid that.

 oil is changed and so the car is ready to go.  stopped by grocery store for a few more memory cards for the camera.  charged up some batteries.  no doubt i will pack way too much.

 i really should be asleep right now.  bit of a headache keeping me up anyway, so i figured i'd write a note and hope the excedrin kicks in.

 saw the usual cast of characters out there.   guess a full 1/3 of the mushers this year are females.  who will win is anyone's guess. i'm still hoping for Aily.  it's just time for a female to take top place...but there are always a goodly amount of mushers out there that have already won or can win.  dogs, weather....all are factors.

 i just enjoyed looking at all the sweet puppies.

 wishing Blossom could join me up north at least.  she would so love all that fresh snow they are having.  Rio would not be as impressed i suspect.  V will take care of them.  i need to pick her up at work in the morning.  that should help with the morning motivation...

 except we just sprang ahead...what???  i totally forgot about that.  dang it!!  morning is coming much faster than expected!! yikes!

 always love the little faces peeking out from the boxes.

 and the occasional eyeball. haha.

 there was a group with all these military handlers.  the handlers actually look like they had it pretty rough out there in all that slush.  hard enough controlling  an excited group of dogs, let alone trying to do it in a slushy mess that you can't get traction on.

 keystone pipeline is a no go for the moment.  the senate was unable to get rid of the Presidents veto.  i'm cool with that.  i'd like to see a bit less destroying and bit more protecting going on.

 as you can see...no snow on the ground

 this is never the case...really...dogs standing on the street at the Iditarod...crazy!

 the scene.

 here is the truck that goes with the military team.  don't know much more than that...will have to explore it more.

 the Koch brothers are at it again.  trying to buy the Anchorage Mayoral seat.  they already bought a senate seat....all this money sent on elections is just so ridiculous.  so frustrating..i always think of what the money could go to.  how much that is wrong could be righted with that kind of money.

 this musher was so warm out today, he rode the 11 miles through town in shorts.

 the other day we were re -routed on my drive home.  turned out there was a pedestrian fatality.  hit by car.  i figured.  they only close down the roads when a death has happened.  be careful out there...we may not have a lot of snow but the conditions can still be bad.  watch out for each other.

 there actually is talk again of doing away with these time changes.  i do find them a bit annoying.  i'll have to go fix my clock.  so it's a good thing i couldn't sleep.  i totally would have started the day totally behind.

 the teams begin to get lined up.  takes a lot of dog handlers to keep those dogs from blasting through..they are super strong.

 this old style wells fargo sled always goes first.  it's pretty cool.

 some cool designs on trucks.

 dogs and kayaking...gotta love that combo.

 now that i have lost an hour i really should crash for the night.

 this was such an unusual sight that i had to take a photo.  old beat up trucks are the norm at the Iditarod.  it's pretty spendy to run these races and not everyone is able to make up for that by winning..even winning is probably not enough to always sustain yourself. i'm sure the winners depend on  corporate sponsors.  just being a popular musher can be enough to get corporate sponsorship.  this musher that owns the FJ is a rookie though.

thankful for.  A.  dogs, dogs, dogs!  B.  a weekend away to watch more dogs...hoping for a safe journey to/from Fairbanks.  it's a long drive and i hope the weather holds.  C.  that it didn't pour rain today but instead cleared.  windy still but for today that was fine.