by Jane Blaile

It’s a lot of fun being here in Nome to see the finishers. The festivities last for days. The town offers a wide variety of special Iditarod week events, such as a native craft fair, basketball tournament, 3-dog sled races, and Girl Scout pancake breakfasts. I will definitely try to do as many of those as I can!Today brought in another round of finishers. Yes, the crowds of cheering fans have diminished, and that is unfortunate. Now, mushers will get a focused group of people waiting and cheering for them, the people who are close to and mean a lot to them included. It’s emotional to see them being greeted by wives, children, friends, etc. There are long hugs and big smiles. One notable finish was when Sebastian Schnuelle slid into the chute just feet in front of Zack Steer. It was somewhat important in that it delineated Sebastian as in the top 10, and Zack not. Later, Rick Swenson came in 12^th. That’s so good for him because his last 2 races he placed 25^th and 26^th.

I missed Jessie’s finish. That’s because I was flying down the river on the back of Jeff’s snow machine! He invited me to go along with him, so I did. I put on all my layers and drug out the Arctic mittens. Boy, was I glad I did! We had to race down the trail to catch up with Jessie Royer and then zip on a bit further to find Dee Dee. It was a ton of fun, but honestly, I was holding on as tightly as I could, and still felt like I was about to bounced off a couple of times. And when we stopped, I saw that I was frosted with snow

It is such a different world out there on the trial. The mushers and the team move quietly; all you hear are gentle commands, dogs breathing, and sled runners sliding along. It is really quite peaceful.

We zoomed back toward the finish, launched up a snow bank, stopping just beside Front Street. We jumped off in time to see Dee Dee enter the chute. Very cool!

Writing assignment: study the various words that describe our movement on the snow machine. Pick an overused action verb such as: say, talk, walk, lift, look, and use a thesaurus to make a list of more descriptive synonyms for it.

by Jane Blaile

Sunday was a very eventful day for long time Iditarod Air Force pilot Joe Pendergrass. He shared this story with me. He had 10 dogs in his plane, flying from Ruby to McGrath. For their and any passenger’s safety, the dogs are hooked to a cable in the plane. One of the 10 dogs he was carrying got loose and started running from the front, over the other dogs, and to the back. Oh, no! On one trip to the back, he got the cord from one of the headsets wrapped around him. So Joe unbuckled his seat belt and climbed over the seat REALLY QUICKLY and unplugged the headset, and returned to the pilot seat safely. Wow! The loose dog then climbed over the cargo net and got into the extended baggage compartment all the way in the back of the plane. That changed the weight and balance of the plane, so Joe had to push extra hard on the yoke to compensate.

Gee! As if that wasn’t enough already, his door popped open because the dogs were leaning against it really hard. Yikes! He couldn’t get it closed without pulling the dogs away from it. Just about the time he thought everything was going to be OK (What more could possibly happen?) a dog had diarrhea and it went all over the engine cover and back panel and side walls. Ew!

This story has a happy ending. When Joe arrived in McGrath, he got his engine cover and plane cleaned up. Yeah!

Will this make Joe think twice about volunteering for next year’s Iditarod? Not a chance. He is a dedicated race volunteer and this just adds to his list of experiences to share as he sits around the tables with others and their stories of the trail.

Writing: Notice the use of interjections. Use interjections to describe a memorable event for you.

by Jane Blaile

After lunch today, Danny took Jeff to Shaktoolik for some pictures and I went along. We passed over what I think is one of the most beautiful parts of the Iditarod Trail, the Blueberry Hills. It’s a hilly area along the Bering Sea coast. The Bering Sea is frozen part of the way out, but not completely. We landed on a slough on one side of Shaktoolik. It sits on a narrow spit of land between the sea and the slough. It’s one long, straight road. Just one road with houses and buildings on both sides. And it was all I’d heard and read it would be: windy, windy, and windy! It’s definitely the coldest I’ve been yet.

After taking some pictures around the checkpoint, I walked down to the store. When I returned, I was introduced to the principal of the school, and she took me to the school to get a picture of the quilt they received.

Watch the slide show.

by Jane Blaile

We left Kaltag just when a window of opportunity opened weatherwise. There had been a low ceiling and blowing snow earlier, but we made it without any trouble at all. Getting out at the airport, I didn’t notice anything special about Unalakleet. But when I stepped out in the front of the airport, I saw the frozen Bering Sea. The words of Hobo Jim in Yankee Whaler came to mind, “Look away, to the Bering Sea.” The Bering Sea…the Bering Strait – things that conjure up memories of news stories from the 70s. Things that raise history lessons of migrations of native people. Things that project images of crab fishermen dumping piles of crab onto a sea washed deck. The Bering Sea-the Bering Strait.

Words that echo of a place far, far away, which I never believed I would see. The Bering Sea – the Bering Strait, frozen into huge chunks of ice feet thick which in turn are frozen together. A body of water that presents challenges to those who wish to harvest its produce. A body of water that allows access to its rich wildlife.

The Bering Sea.

by Jane Blaile

This place, named because of the wind here, is intriguing. As I walked through town along the coastline, I looked at the blurred sunshine, felt the biting wind, and wondered about the stories of the people here. Who are the people that get into these indestructible boats to fish the icy seas? Are the buildings and houses brightly colored to liven up the grey, snowblown winter landscape? What did the beginnings of Unalakleet look like?

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by Jane Blaile

The big question is, how was the pie in Takotna? Well, the 4 kinds I tasted were wonderful! Banana cream, pumpkin, apple, and blueberry.

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by Jane Blaile

It’s snowing. It’s a soft, gently falling, beautiful and quiet snow. The one drawback is it makes flying a little more difficult. So, I might be in Ruby awhile longer. No worries, though. It was very, very quiet at the checkpoint when I arrived this morning. I took advantage of the time and called my family using my satellite phone for the first time. It sure was great to hear their voices and get caught up on the news in Phoenix. Then I walked over to offer my help to the vets at the dropped dog line. They needed help getting the dogs off the line, walked around a little, and put back on the line. Walking serves two purposes – it gives them exercise, keeping them from getting stiff and it allows them to go to the bathroom somewhere away from their beds. They were such sweet dogs. If one didn’t get up with prompting from the leash, I would lift it up to a standing position and then walk with it. The dog transport plane won’t be arriving until around noon, so the dogs got a chance to eat some. They gobbled their kibble mixed with hot water. And after that bite to eat, they were sitting up and singing some of their dog songs, feeling full and happy. Pretty soon they will need to be walked again before the plane ride, so I will help if I’m around. I also got the chance to be a checker for Rudi Niggemeier. The checker identifies the musher by bib number and name, counts and verifies the number of dogs on the team, asks if the musher is staying for a mandatory layover, and gets the musher’s signature.

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Watch the slide show!

by Jane Blaile

I didn’t get to help with the dropped dogs again because we flew out of Ruby before lunch and touched down in Galena. There was a real spirit of excitement there – like the whole town came out. In fact, Jon Korta’s family was out there, his wife running the checkpoint. The mushers come into the community hall parking lot and then down a short hill to the parking area. Their drop bags and other things were at the top of the hill, so the volunteers loaded toboggans with their drop bags and slid them down hill. I helped with a few mushers’ bags: Aliy Zirkle, Hugh Neff, and Rohn Buser.

At the parking area, the drug testing team was there collecting samples. They are checking for steroids, analgesics, performance enhancing drugs, and others.

We headed off to Nulato next. That is a really neat place. There is an old section and a new section. The school is located just off the Yukon River and the mushers are led to the ball field to park. Lance had left already, but Jeff King, Paul Gebhardt, and Mitch Seavey were there. The gym is open for mushers to sleep and eat in, and there are signs all over the walls supporting the mushers. Rick Swenson showed up and Jeff King left as we were there.

Next stop, Kaltag. We watched Lance and Jeff traveling along the river on our way. We are staying at the school just up the road from the checkpoint. Lance blew through, taking abut 5 minutes to grab his things and go, with Jeff not far behind in coming in.

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by Jane Blaile

This morning I woke up on the school floor where I slept and instead of the 3 people who began sleeping there, I saw 2 or 3 additional bodies sleeping soundly. I hauled my gear back down to the Iditarod logistics building. I wanted to eat breakfast before I left, and my pilot was there. At 8 o’clock, we headed to the airport and took off for Takotna. It was a beautiful, clear morning – moose chomping on the willows were easily visible. When you see a larger moose next to a smaller moose, you are usually looking at a cow and calf. Takotna has 2 runways…one is way up high on the top of the hill above the village, and one is on the river; it is a very winding river, so the runway is short. I was uncertain as to whether or not I’d be staying over in Takotna, but after a few minutes of looking around, I was convinced. It is a beautiful spot nestled along the river – today’s sunshine make it dazzle. Many, many mushers were inside. As soon as I stepped in the door, Ed Stilestra spoke to me about my trip. He is a really sociable and kind man. Then Blake Freking said hello as well. A lot of them are taking their 24 hour layovers there, so they have time to relax and unwind to be rested and talkative. Shortly after that, I trotted up to the school. There are 11 students in the school, 3^rd – 11^thgrade. Of course, they aren’t having class while the Iditarod runs through, but I met the principal/teacher, Bob Asher. He gave me some history of the school. They have received their quilt from the outside, which I hope to get a picture of later today. Later today? Right now I am sitting in the air terminal in McGrath again. It is 11 a.m. Why am I here again? Well, since the runway in Takotna is short and has a lot of snow on it, too much weight in the plane makes it hard to take off, so Danny took me out first and brought me here. He’s on his way back with Jeff Schultz and then we will all take off from here where the runway is long and well groomed. We are going to Cripple. Jeff Schultz will be shooting pictures there and I just want to see it. It’s a mysterious place which only exists as an Iditarod checkpoint. There is a village of Cripple, but it is not the same place. After visiting Cripple, I will return to Takotna – and PIE!

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by Jane Blaile

Well, at least 5 miles of it! The folks here in Takotna think it’s important for the Teacher on the Trail to actually get to experience the trail from ground’s eye view, not just the air. So Frankie, a volunteer here, took it up on herself to find me a ride down the actual trail. Terry has a 2-seater snow machine and he volunteered to take me along the trail. I was thrilled, so I put on all my layers and jumped on! As we passed trail markers in the twilight, I tried to put myself in the place of the mushers – relaxing, looking ahead for the next marker, enjoying the multiple shades of the blue twilight, listening to the quietness. It was hypnotizing. Experiencing Alaska’s most remote wilderness not through a glass window, but by being in it. The bond between the dogs and the musher must be astounding because they experience such a moving event together. Each dog becomes a part of the musher’s experience and the emotions of it. Doing a monumental task together makes the team one. Impressive. On our return 5 miles, we pulled over to let musher pass. In the darkness the musher’s headlamp turned each dog into a silhouette…a running, breathing silhouette. We sat in silence as team went by just as silently. It was incredible to see.Other lessons I learned: your mind might easily wander as you stare into the night looking for the next marker, the Takotna River flows into the Kuskokwim, and snow on the side of the road can be as deep as your waist. (Yup, I learned that one by experience!)