BACK HOME IN WILLOW

Well, here I sit at my laptop...still trying to grasp the past 18 days.  I will have to admit, I am fighting the falling eyelids...still sleep deprived, but I wanted to make a post.   I would like to thank you all for following and sharing my dream.  I am so amazed at the following and so touched by the supporting comments and encouragement that you have all showed me. 

This was truly an experience of a lifetime for me and an accomplishment of a lifetime.  I am so happy to have finished this race.  As one friend wrote "finishing last you can still be a winner".  For me finishing Iditarod was just that.   It was a very BIG Win.  I knew from the beginning that my goal was to go under those arches and that would be my win. 

I thought that I had an idea of what it would be like.   I had no idea the reality...it was far more challenging than I had ever imagined.  I thought that I knew what winds were.   I truly had no idea.  I had never experienced winds like I did on this trail and I had never experienced weather so brutal before. 

I am forever in awe of the dogs who I drove down the trail and all the way to Nome.  They are truly amazing animals.  When I made the decision to run Iditarod, I knew that I was taking on a HUGE responsibility for the safety, health and well being of my team.  I needed to take care of these dogs all the way to Nome.  My goal was to come into Nome with happy, healthy dogs.  I came into Nome with 9 dogs on the tow line and they were just that.  Happy and healthy. 

When we arrived at the house, we were met with "Welcome Home Signs".  I will say that we have a wonderful supportive group of friends here who played a very big part of getting us ready for the trail and supporting and praying for our safety and well being down the trail all the way to Nome.  We came into our house and it was cleaned up and there were more banners and also newspaper articles of the race.  What a joy to come home tired and to a clean house !  There is nothing to have to pick up or clean. 

We just finished feeding the dogs and now we are going to get some much needed sleep.  The nice thing is this will be the first morning that we do not need to set an alarm clock.   I am so hoping that I will sleep in and not wake up early. 

There is still so much to share with you all.  I will work on filling in the gaps and sharing with you experiences on the trail.  Tune in to read about falling asleep on the runners, temps down to - 50 degrees,  trail breaking for 200 miles, Ruby to Unalakleet,  drifted snow, incredible headwinds, side winds, mazes of jumble ice,  ground blizzards, dragging through overflow, sleeping through alarm clocks, sled repairs, the dogs that I dropped and why, and more.