MamaArcher's Blog

The Last Great Race

This past weekend was one we will always remember.  Our family along with thousands of others went for the start of the Iditarod in Anchorage and then to Willow Lake for the restart of the race.  This is an event that not many can say they have witnessed.  It was loads of fun!  We didn’t stay for the whole thing, it was just too long in the cold for our preschoolers but we are already considering volunteering next year to help along the trail.  I thought I would share about what the Iditarod is.  Here is a snippet from the Iditarod website.

You can’t compare it to any other competitive event in the world! A race over 1150 miles of the roughest, most beautiful terrain Mother Nature has to offer. She throws jagged mountain ranges, frozen river, dense forest, desolate tundra and miles of windswept coast at the mushers and their dog teams. Add to that temperatures far below zero, winds that can cause a complete loss of visibility, the hazards of overflow, long hours of darkness and treacherous climbs and side hills, and you have the Iditarod. A race extraordinaire, a race only possible in Alaska.

From Anchorage, in south central Alaska, to Nome on the western Bering Sea coast, each team of 12 to 16 dogs and their musher cover over 1150 miles in 10 to 17 days.

The race pits man and animal against nature, against wild Alaska at her best and as each mile is covered, a tribute to Alaska’s past is issued. The Iditarod is a tie to — a commemoration of — that colorful past.

The Iditarod Trail, now a National Historic Trail, had its beginnings as a mail and supply route from the coastal towns of Seward and Knik to the interior mining camps at Flat, Ophir, Ruby and beyond to the west coast communities of Unalakleet, Elim, Golovin, White Mountain and Nome. Mail and supplies went in. Gold came out. All via dog sled. Heroes were made, legends were born.

In 1925, part of the Iditarod Trail became a life saving highway for epidemic-stricken Nome. Diphtheria threatened and serum had to be brought in; again by intrepid dog mushers and their faithful hard-driving dogs.

The Iditarod is a commemoration of those yesterdays, a not-so-distant past that Alaskans honor and are proud of.

Taken from Iditarod.com.

We took a few photos in downtown Anchorage where they had the ceremonial start but forgot the camera battery when we went to Willow. Oh well…. When in Anchorage things are a bit different. The mushers and dogs are not out in the open wilderness they are in the midst of downtown so fresh snow has to be hauled in and put in the streets for them to run on. There is definitely a different feel to the event when you are out on the lake and not having to stop traffic. The lake was fun! We were out on the frozen lake and there were dogsled rides, tons of snowmachiners, fur vendors, and people wearing their parkas and furs. I think I even saw a few people in only t-shirts(brrr). It was a grand time!

The Iditarod is a great thing for any homeschooler to study as a unit study or for anyone to take some time and learn about. You can learn all about the Last Great Race on Earth and follow the race via video, photos, current standings and more. Visit Iditarod.com and if you really want the inside scoop you can become an Insider (which we are) or even better you can pay a little extra and follow the mushers via GPS. Have fun! Now I leave you with a few photos from the start downtown.

dog team

dog team

dog team

going right past us

musher going right by us