IDITAROD 2012

Terri, My Iditarider

On September 21st, I received an email from Pay pal that I had a donation.  The attached message was:   Sponsoring "Red". Will be in anchorage as a volunteer and look forward to meeting you at the mushers banquet.  Terri was from North Carolina and I was really intrigued.  How did she know of my dream? 

I sent Terri an email thanking her for sponsoring Red and asking her how she knew of my dream.  She told me that each year she chooses a musher from the Iditarod website and sponsors them.  I was honored that she chose me.  Later I received an email from Terri thanking me for taking the time to blog.  I was amazed, as she told me that she would take her i pad to work and each morning she would check out the blog.  Later I received another email from Terri telling me that she was bidding on my sled.  She won and would be my Iditarider. 

Signing Trail Mail

March first was a busy day for us.  We had a mushers meeting in Anchorage and then a luncheon for our Iditariders.  It was then I got to meet Terri.  Later that evening we had the Iditarod Banquet.  It was quite a time and I was so excited to share it with my friends from Washington state.  Cindy, Jenny, Kathleen, Patty, Jane and Debi all came to Anchorage to be a part of my Iditarod.   We were also joined by locals;  Angie, Mark, Rick, Jane and Bob's daughter Melissa and granddaughter.

Debi, Jane and Jenny at the Banquet

I drew the starting bib of number 40 and Bob drew the starting bib of number 49.  I have never autographed so many posters, hats, shirts, books, and programs.  The banquet lasted well into the night and we didn't get home until after 1 am. 

Trish and Sandy from Washington arrived in the wee hours.  They were troopers as they joined Jane, Debi and Jenny, leaving Anchorage at 5:30 am and heading for Willow.  When they arrived they had fun visiting with the dogs, scooping the kennel...yes, shoveling poop.  They also dug out 20 dog houses that were burried in 2 feet of snow.   Beth and ? were busy with Bob fidding neck lines and tug lines.   We were so grateful for their help.  Linda and Jane came and spent the day sewing.

THE CEREMONIAL START


Cindy, Kathleen, Patty and Terri

We arrived in Anchorage Saturday morning and parked in our designated area.  It was so awesome to be able to share this whole experience with friends from home.  As we were getting our sleds ready Terri arrived.  She was quite excited and spent time with the dogs.  I have to say it was an awesome experience for each of us, sharing in each other's dream.  We had a great time at the Ceremonial start and Terri was also there at the restart in Willow.  She made my Iditarider experience the best ! 



A Moment With Amber

Words are hard to describe the experience when we left the starting chute in Anchorage.  It was incredible !  (A word that I have used a lot to describe my many Iditarod experiences)  A beautiful 5 star day, with Angie on my tag sled and Terri in my sled bag.   It was so much fun.  Usually when you are on the runners it is a real solitary experience...just you and the dogs. 

Angie on the tag sled and Terri in the sled bag...
Photo by Keltron

Our journey started on 4th Avenue in downtown Anchorage and went down to Cordova street where we took a Gee turn and Cordova street blended into the bike trail, going through three tunnels, several overpasses, amongst the numerous people, adults and children alike who wanted to slap hands as we passed.  The 6 - 8 miles were packed with spectators cheering us on.  I was amazed at how well the dogs did with the crowds so close to them.  At times it seemed like there was barely enough room for them to get through the people.  In no time, our trip to Campbell Airstrip was over.
We reunited with our dog truck at Campbell Airstrip where we met our handlers.  The dogs were watered and then unharnessed and loaded into their strawed boxes.  We then headed for home to prepare for the Re-start in Willow the next morning.