Iditarod 2008

Brandi, Emily, Andy and I went to watch the start of the 2008 Iditarod on Sunday. We drove to Wasilla, then boarded a school bus for a 30 minute drive to the small town of Willow. The ceremonial start was yesterday, with the re-start today. The race use to start in Anchorage, but due to poor snow conditions, the race now starts on Willow Lake.

This year 96 mushers started. The race follows the Northern route on even years, and the Southern route on odd years. This is because the tiny villages can't handle all of the activity year after year.

It was an overcast day, but pretty warm (30 degrees) which was nice. We watched about half of the mushers start up the trail. The iditarod is known as the "last great race", and these mushers are pretty tough.

None of us had ever been to the Iditarod start, and it was the place to be. People brought all sorts of food, grills, etc out on the ice. It puts tail-gating to shame. People even built fire pits on the ice. It was a very fun afternoon.

Our bus driver was retired military, and he talked the whole way about the buses in Alaska. I guess they are different than lower 48 buses, because of the cold temperatures. The 4 of us could hardly control our laughter, as he went on and on about these buses. We all learned more than we wanted to know.

As we were waiting for the bus to take us back to Wasilla, wouldn't you know it, we got the same bus driver. He told the exact same stories. We figured he was trying out for the Denali bus driver position. So, on the way back, the traffic was really backed up, so the bus driver decided to take a "short cut." Let's just say, it was a scenic wandering through the middle of nowhere. So, the 30 minute bus ride turned into over 1 1/2 hours.

All and all, a very fun day.