a few Iditarod shots then i'm off to bed

 

these first ones are probably the winner of the 2023 Iditarod...Ryan Redington.  he was first into White Mountain so will be first out after his required 8 hour rest. it's only 77 miles to Nome from there. 

i'll be back to work tomorrow, will have to just watch the standings from my phone, then i'll get on the Iditarod insider and watch some video's. 

was watching a few video's tonight. there was an amazing one with teams out on the sea ice with the sunset or sunrise  behind them.  just beautiful. 

a few scratches as always. they usually just say for the best for the dogs and leave it vague. i know Sass was out for some sort of dental issue. i think there may be a few dentists out there but doubtful they are in any position to set up shop out there. haha. 

i finished up the first three of my stretch.  i had a crazy night in the ER doing holds. the "this patient will be going home soon so you don't need to know much about them" turned into a bit of a cluster.  but eventually it wasn't too bad. next night i had sitter duty, first in Peds then in ER. third night, again in RCU. less ICU of late.  i did figure out one of the ICU nurses went to float pool nights so they are generally put in ICU slot before me if they are there. seems to happen anytime someone with ICU goes there. they have less places they are trained to float to. this one works just registry so doubtful she will be adding many units.  

my last night i fell right before i got into the building.  no workmans comp for me.  i fell on the meaty part of my ass.  a few bruises but other than a bruised pride, i'm fine. 

met up with a friend, SJ, for dinner last night.  dog park yesterday.  North Bivouac today.  

those bears will soon be coming out.  i walked out there last week and someone had written in  big letters in the snow BEAR! had they seen one or were they just randomly writing bear?  will never know. no action at the bear tree yet.  still sleeping. 

i did take a drive out to Portage Lake. last i'd heard it was open water.  when i got there, the ice skaters were out in force. still seems a bit sketch to me, but haven't heard of anyone going through. 

weather has been warming into the mid to upper 20's during the days with our longer days. snow is melting.  then it gets a coating of ice by morning to the ice bug boots are getting put to service again. 

these are from the restart in Willow. next weekend a little overnight is planned for Bird Creek with friends. 

always nice to escape. 

always love the tongue shots. the dogs love to run. 

my little dogs love to run as well. 

worked on Sunny Boys hair this evening.  time for a trim.  it comes up fairly often.  always trying to brush out the knots that form fast.  i suspect the snow balls do not help. certain area's are harder to get to. in the spring i may just shave his legs and let the bell bottoms or leg warmers restart after that. 

the many faces of these pups. so cute.

Dallas Seavey is out on the trail, hitting stops.  checking on friends/dogs of his that are out there this year. just enjoying it all i suppose from the side lines. 

saw him out at one of the checkpoints snapping photo's of dogs 

new official photographer. not sure if that is new this year or if that changed since covid.  lots of unofficial photographers out there as well. 

hoping the race survives for many more years. 

gop had gotten their way under trump and he'd rolled back regulations on  the Dobbs/Brady act...did i get that right? and also on the train regulations.  then we have that major train derailment with subsequent spill of toxins and a few banks failing.  of course, as usual they will scape goat the dems and act all innocent. it's them though.  they are the constant problem.  always focused on social bullshit instead of focusing on real world issues.  their hatred and foolishness makes moving forward impossible. 

i'd much rather be "woke" than "unwoke". woke is awareness, kindness, problem solving.  unwoke is hatred and bullying, racism and control. they want everyone to look and think like they do and to follow the same crazy religious crap that they do.  of course, what the many different christians do not realize is that they will all  be too woke for the evangelical christian nationalist fools once they get power.  their agenda is an extreme agenda that will eventually have no room for the other christians that they now only tolerate in order to get their votes.

that is the downside to living in a box and believing crazy conspiracies.  eventually, you become the next conspiracy. 

a group of women are suing the state of Texas for putting their lives at risk over the crazy anti abortion crap there.  an apparently abusive guy is suing his ex-wifes friends i guess for helping her get her abortion. Florida is resembling a fascist state more and more.  how is this happening? how are they not rising up against this runaway governor who wants to become potus?

it's craziness all around. all the insane and stupid laws they are trying to pass to ban anyone and everyone who they don't agree with. 

it's frustrating and baffling.  sadly, i know many who are undoubtedly in full support of this madness, not seeing the truth of where they are taking this country. all i can hope is in the end they will lose just like those who fought our nation over slavery ownership rights. eventually right prevails and wrong fails..but many die in the process. they are doing their best to create a situation where many in the trans/lgbqt population either kill themselves or get killed. Christians are expert at hatred now. so like Jesus, not. 

things are getting tougher in Ukraine. they have less to pull from despite the many failings of the russian military. this world and all the power/money hungry assholes can be a very unfair and depressing place.  so hard to see this greed translate into total destruction of the innocent lives that become pawns in a battle that really has little to do with them and their previously peaceful lives. 

as if there isn't enough stress in the world. i am now seeing commercials attempting to sell butt crack deodorant.  really? another place on our bodies that we have to be conscious of odors.  are people going to start smelling each others butt cracks like dogs smell butts. 

of course, in Alaska, with bears waking up soon...we are better off out there with some real human odors over some smelly stuff that may tempt bears....they are smelling our butt cracks. probably from a few miles away. 

on this day they were just leaving for Nome, now they are nearing Nome.  what a difference a week makes.  it's also always the sign of the ending of winter and the beginning of longer/warming days

more snow coming but we are coming out of the winter season. 

always lots of activity around the dogs running

getting ready for the first teams to come past on  long lake in Willow.

they moved the start sign up the hill and moved the teams getting prepped where we couldn't get to them as well.  that was a bummer. 

this cute face is from the early morning ceremonial start. i'm off to bed. 

thankful for A.  truly Alaskan adventures to enjoy...even if others are the ones going on the adventure. B. no injuries with fall, even if a small part of me wouldn't mind a pulled muscle and a few weeks off on workmans comp, haha.  C. only 2 nights to go and another stretch off.  let the fun begin

mostly dogs....

 these are the wide angle still...

 the front teams are closing in on the finish.  i guess the very low sub zero temps have been replaced with snow and some wind.  Burmeister broke trail coming into Koyuk and was passed by Dallas Seavey right before arriving in Koyuk.

 i suspect he is happy to rest his team a bit and let Dallas's team break trail and wear themselves out a bit heading into Elim.

 just so much fun watching the teams run.  just cool...all those dogs.  gotta love it.  well not everyone does, but it really is a thing to see.

 Left Rio behind to do the Monday walk.  just Lena and i...we booked out the big loop, which is 4.1 miles.  trying to remember to use my mapmyfitness app and get a feel for how many miles these walks are.

 my knee actually felt great walking.  did the whole loop at my basic pace.  still a ways to go just getting my body in to a better place physically.  was planning on hitting the pool again today but after my massage and leaving Rio for the second time today i really felt guilty.  she was not ok with being left behind that second time...i'd only been home for an hour after coffee and groceries. took a lot of me to get her settled in as i headed to the massage.

 i think i will put in a yoga tape and try to balance out the exercise that way.  would be good to work on my yoga and flexibilty.  have always enjoyed yoga and it's been awhile.

 starting to work my way through the many dog pics that i have with the zoom lens.  looks like some nice ones in there so will take awhile to work through and to share here...no doubt longer than the Iditarod will go on.  it's that time of year..the blog turns to the dogs.

 the massage felt great today as i was getting a bit of a headache and she worked on my knots.  i always have knots that need to be forced to comply.

 with this spring weather so early i will probably cut the Monday walks out early and leave myself some ability to venture out a bit more.  always love to drive and hike in new places.

 the trail today was total ice.  we both had cleats.  temps were warm actually, but windy.  chinooks no doubt.  a few heavy mixed snow/rain came down while we were out and for sure some fresh snow is on the mountain tops.

 temps back up to the 40's though so all will melt quickly.

 get the article sent off to the editor at the Alaska Dispatch news a few minutes ago.  next big task is getting organized for taxes.  that time is fast approaching.  should just make an appointment for my next stretch off and get them done.  it's always painful though.  just organizing it all.  every year i vow to stay organized for the next year and i never totally get it together.  at this point i doubt that will really change.

 beautiful day out there today.  nice to take layers off and enjoy the sunshine.  bears will be all over soon enough.

 still seems fairly safe out there now though.

 Aily and King both seem to be falling back more and more these last miles, don't think either will be in any position to make a run for first...but both may make the top ten. we shall see...as someone said, after last year nothing is final until the team crosses under the burled arch in Nome.

 the sleds which look pretty full and heavy in these pictures have been whittled down quite a bit.

 Karen set up for picture taking.  Jill in the background

 had to take a break and get some snacks.  northern light check, neg.  move laundry, check....mix up some gatorade, check.

 Rio is very relaxed now.  she just wants to be with me.  she really is a love, but that much love can make you nuts some days.  haha.

 the extreme cold temps have for sure been a factor this year.  every year and each area can have it's own challenges.  you can't check the weather at one end and expect it to stay that way at the other end or in the middle.

 temps below zero are a challenge on a day to day basis.  i hike to about -20 if the wind isn't howling, but i frequently will adjust it so i do a few shorter walks in that temp rather than think i can stay out for hours.   my seatbelt gets tough to buckle in those temps, it's tougher to get my front door open.  the car is a bit sluggish to get it's engine warmed and running smoothly.

 at -40 you can feel it when you try to breath in and out...let alone trying to care for a team of dogs.  the booties going on and off would be a real challenge.  you need your fingers and thumbs to get those booties on and secured.

 many of the mushers have got frostbitten on a few fingers/toes/noses and such this year.  you would need to be watchful of the dogs too as their pads are sensitive and could also get frostbitten.

 when we dropped our temps to just below 0 here in Anchorage that last stretch apparently a cat got frozen to the sidewalk.  the cat has wandered out of it's house and was found with it's belly frozen to the ground.  the cat was rescued and was eventually reunited with it's human half.

 my cats just stay indoors only.  not a great place for outdoor cats in my opinion.  in the summers there are creatures that may eat your cat and in the winters..well it just gets chilly out there.  people here do have indoor/outdoor cats though at times.  some cats just won't stand to stay inside.

 breezy escaped one night and it was pouring rain.  after trying several hours to get her out of the rain i finally just went to bed.  the next morning she was at the door, soaked to the bone.  she wanted in.  she hasn't shown any desire to return to the wild since then.  she did scratch the hell out of the sealant stuff on the door.  that still needs to be repaired.

 really will need to get a good handy man this spring to do some of the repairs around the house that have gotten neglected.

 not really up on world news this week.  sleep, work and the iditarod.  it's a nice break from the realities out there.

 will have to catch up on some WARIS stuff again . it can all wait a few days while the dogs run.

 this is Baker...he has a bale of hay on the back there. no doubt planning for a camp out or break somewhere between check points.

 i think i headed back down the road toward the hotel after he went past..it was almost over and i was getting a wee bit chilly out there.  so these next few were from the road headed back to the hotel

 always interesting the different sled styles.  this one has hay in it as well it looks like.

 this one is pretty basic...and below..the guy is wearing a google earth 360 camera?  not sure really.

 after i dropped my friends at their hotel to check in (we had a late lunch there as well)  i wandered around down town.

 so just some sights from around downtown.  several tourists out and about.  the Japanese tourist industry is crazy busy it seems in Fairbanks in the winter.

 we will be able to ride our bikes on the trails here soon..the ice is mostly off some trails on the coastal parks.

 better head to bed and possible a bit of yoga first...see how i'm already backing off of that idea...

thankful for 1.  doing the big loop today, felt great 2.  a relaxing massage.  3.  my crazy yet lovable Rio Catalina.