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  Anchorage, Alaska, United States
Monday, March 3, 2008

Two down and 7 to go. I'm acclimating to everything but the ice. It certainly makes navigating the streets and sidewalks treacherous. I'm also finally thawing out from my day watching the downtown start of the dog race. I was dressed very warmly but according to the paper, when the north wind came roaring down the side streets it dropped the temps into the minus figures. My fingers ached by the time I finished. My backside was still icy when I fell into bed that night. Made me think about my days on the ski sloops.

Alaska is so vast that I feel very insignificant. I'm learning new things constantly as I make my way through the work day. I'm residing at the Marriott where everyday they feed me breakfast and offer drinks, hors d'oeuvres, and freshly baked cookies (plus a dinner that I have passed on) when I return home. Who needs a partner or wife when you get taken care of this well? The heat source in my room is at the foot of the bed and every time it kicks on I feel as if I have a room with a vibrating bed feature

Vast

. I do have a small kitchen that I used last night to heat up June's homemade chicken soup.

There are 7 consultants and an additional 2 full time staff who act as National Guard support persons. They are great companions and we seem to be falling into a nice rhythm. It is rather like being back in college. Since we are very close in age we find ourselves using references that we all understand and relate to - from music to TV shows. We went off on Soupy and Buffalo Bob the other night. Earlier today I found Ralph downloading some music by the Lettermen. I still remembered the words.

We live about 20 to 30 minutes (depending on the weather and the traffic) from Fort Richardson. Elmendorf AFB is our next door neighbor and connected by a very scenic road peppered with illusive moose. At the end of last week I had the good fortune to watch 5 of the new Raptors in flight practice. I pulled over as the formation flew right over the road in front of me - they can fly very, very low to the ground - circled and then one by one made their way back to the landing strip. Pretty exciting. Today it was sunny and in the 40's so the guys took me to the AFB and we gawked at the aircraft - it's almost as good as a museum with the Phantoms, Scorpions, etc. I have to say the Raptors are still the most exciting

Work

. They were out and the cockpits on two of them were open!

My drive to work offers spectacular views of the mountains. I'm including some pictures of the surroundings but unfortunately I've taken several shots from the car - not the best. Yesterday morning there were two moose (or is that mooses?) in the courtyard of the hotel nibbling on tree branches. I could hardly believe it. A female and her two year old son and they were BIG! One of the consultants came in late the night before and thought it was a statue that they had posed next to the front door. Good thing he didn't try to touch it! People here aren't thrilled about them because like your neighbors' dogs they leave a large stack of calling cards. Their remains are reported to be good fertilizer and they show up in many forms as souvenirs. Don't worry I won't be bringing any home although two of the male consultants presented me with a pair of moose scat earrings as a get well present. Don't ask.

The Iditarod is still the hot item in town. The enthusiasm of the Alaskans and the dogs is very contagious. There were hundreds of snow mobiles at the actual start and dozens of people flew their small planes in to land them on nearby Willow Lake. Seeing all of the people in their furs - many of which still have heads, tails, and legs - is a sight

Driving to work

. No qualms here about keeping warm with fur. I'm also learning things like sled dogs "do not come when called" (sort of like my dog at home who thinks he's a sled dog) and will keep running if they get free which means you have to maintain 100% control or you lose your ride home. I make a joke but it could mean your life.

The stories of the mushers are also varied and at times unbelievable. It's not your average subdivision resident that is riding behind these dogs. Like 25 y.o. Daugereau says, "To be a musher, you're on the outskirts of society. You have your 40 dogs and usually the only people you come in contact with are other mushers. It's definitely a solitary lifestyle. You do get lonely, and your dogs become really good friends." She read a book about dog sledding at age 10 and got hooked when she went to a seminar with her father at age 13 where she had the opportunity to run some of all time favorites Susan Butcher's dogs. The next year she moved to Alaska to work in a racing kennel. Interestingly enough she had been diagnosed with dyslexia and was home schooled. Graduated with a 4.0 grade point average all the while obsessing about dogs!

After Germany where everything is recycled, I find myself scratching my head at the complete lack of any attempt to conserve or recycle here

Start

. We have been using individually wrapped styrofoam cups at the hotel! Lots of paper and plastic! I am equally surprised at all of the recognizable restaurant and store chains. And they are all located on streets that run parallel to each other and are numbered or lettered in ascending order. Can't get lost here which is so unlike Italian towns with their winding streets and varied buildings. Target is coming in October and was passing out race mittens with the red bulls-eye logo! Yes, I did get a pair.

OOPS! My first major cold has brought my after work activities to a standstill. The blog has been sitting silently in my computer and the big race is over. My guy Mackey (boy these guys are sneaky) won the race. He was down a number of dogs and kept beating #2, Jeff King, out of the mandatory rest zones. At one of the rest stops King positioned himself with his legs over Mackey's feet as he slept just so he would be awakened when Mackey got himself up and tried to make it out the door. He also stayed right on Mackey's runners blaring his IPod for a good part of the race. That's competitive!

The papers report that Mackey used to be a commercial fisherman and, therefore, he was accustomed to not sleeping much. He made me laugh, after winning the gourmet dinner and several thousand dollars for being the first to arrive at the initial checkpoint, when he said that it was too bad that he received so much publicity because it would mean that his wife would know about the money

The Race

! He also got some phenomenal speed out of his limited team for the last leg of the race. This is a cancer survivor that for two years in a row now has won the Iditarod and the Yukon Quest - Back to Back! He races with his deceased dad's - also a famous racer - number and said he was sure that his dad was there somewhere at the finish line watching. Lance is quite a guy.


Weather here is much like what we are having at home in Michigan. Today I had an early morning meeting and walked outside to find three inches of fluffy white snow decorating my windshield. Just like at home it had to be brushed off the car before I could head to work.

Halibut fishing season started last Saturday.

I'm feeling a little tired out and uninspired. Taking cough meds but still sounding like a truck driver! Goes over big here in Alaska.

Miss all of you!

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Dogs	Dogs Ride	Home	Downtown
Moose Tracks	Bright Moose

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