Apparently, someone did not get the memo. As I last mentioned, 'the' email finally arrived and we are committed to Nome.
Approximately one week later another email arrived asking what job we wanted in Anchorage. GREAT! Not only do we get to 'do something' for the mushers and the sled dogs in Nome, but another coordinator had Jackie's name and my name on his list as well. He sent a very long and informative email. At the end of the email, he offered the caveat for each volunteer to consider the reason for volunteering prior to selecting a job.
Why did I want to volunteer? While I usually am not at a loss for words, I was not sure that I could find the right words to justify this desire. Then the coordinator offered some suggestions, one of which must have been written just for me. He said that if our goal is to take great pictures and be able to really enjoy the sights and sounds of the race, that we might want to consider being away from the madding crowd and out of town along the trail. THAT'S what I wanted!!!
Remember, there are two starts to the race. So, I thought as long as we are going to be in Anchorage, we might just as well take a job. But what job? Again, no inside responsibilities, please. I wanted to be a 'trail guard'. This position demands that the guard keep the trail clear of hikers and skiers so that the dogs can race through without interference. So I was provided a private link to the ceremonial race trail map.
The trail begins on 4th street at 9:00 a.m. on March 5th in downtown Anchorage and winds its way through Anchorage ending at the Campbell Airfield. This air field is located 10 minutes from Kim's house.
By the way this is not a musher. This is Kim. She
will be our official photographer since she is not
volunteering the race.
Running on paved streets is not idyllic, I might add, for sled dogs. In the event there is not enough natural snowfall on the paved streets, snow is brought in. I do not believe the committee has any trouble finding snow, however.
This picture was taken along the side of the road on the Kenia Peninsula where you can see the multitude of snowmobile tracks. Those are full sized utility poles and the trees are from 20'-40' tall. Plenty of snow to go around for everyone.
The ceremonial trail winds through downtown, south and westerly through the neighborhoods, through parks and green areas, and ends south of town at the airfield. I spent a couple of hours studying the map and was fairly familiar with the route. Then, I found a spot very near the Alaskan Native Hospital where Kim works. When I used the zoom, the google map took me right to the spot that I thought would have great advantage for seeing the dogs coming down the trail, and I believed this would the spot for Jackie and me to serve as trail guards.
There was one problem, however. While the spot did not appear to be reserved by another trail guard, I was not able to click onto the box to insert my name and information. I then sent an email to practically everyone involved with the race - begging for that spot. Apparently a long-time volunteer who lives on the Kenai has his entire team placed along the golden spots towards the end of the ceremonial race. It's about 18 miles long, by the way.
No one responded . I was nearly sinking into despair thinking that we were so close and yet so far away from getting this chance to be so close to the mushers and to watch them with their dogs fly by us at an arm's length. I shivered at the thought.
Finally, I received two emails. One from another group leader who promised to forward my email to the right person. Then, Jim S. notified me that he would take a look at the map and try to put me as close as possible to the spot that I wanted. Then I waited. Each email that I received was forwarded to Kim and Jackie to keep them informed.
Kim was great to talk to about the map of the trail because she knows where all the locations are. When I told her that I wanted R7, and I described the spot, she told me that is where Kelly, Jeena and other other PA co-workers stand to watch the race. Another plus is that there is plenty of parking nearby and we won't have to trudge through snow for miles to get to our spot, if we get that spot!
I wanted the spot identified as R7. Period.
In the meantime, things were looking up for the Nome assignment. An email arrived from our Nome coordinator, Debby, with information about our duties to welcome the mushers after finishing the race. The finish line is designated by the Burled Arch which stands on the main street . I believe the arch is the second of its kind since the running of the very first Iditarod. The first one deteriorated over time and had to be rebuilt. It will be our job to set up the headquarters and prepare for the finishers. That's all I know at this time. I guess we should just be ready to get ready! We will be arriving in Nome on March 10th. Debby will be arriving on March 12th. The majority of sightseers and race enthusiasts arrive between the 13th and 14th in anticipation of the arrival of the winner of the race.
The first musher usually arrives in the 9-day time frame, plus or minus a few hours. The winner will win the prize of $50,000.00 plus a 2011 Dodge Ram truck. I have read that it costs approximately $35,000.00 per year to house, feed, vet and care for a team of dogs. These mushers certainly do not run this race for the money although winning will help defray costs. Many of the mushers have sponsors. The seasoned racers who have placed as a top finisher over the years have garnered very lucrative sponsors which enables the mushers and their dogs to be financially comfortable throughout the year.
And if you are wondering, there is also a prize for the last musher to arrive in Nome. The last musher usually arrives approximately two weeks after beginning the race. He or she receives The Red Lantern. As a tradition, a lantern that hangs from the top of the burled arch is lit when the first musher arrives in Nome and is extinguished when the last musher arrives. Hence, the lantern....you know, turn out the lights when you're finished, I guess!
This year, it does not look as if we will be able to be in Nome to welcome all of the mushers if they take longer than nine days to arrive. Maybe next year...
Before we can worry about Nome, however, we still need to secure our spot in Anchorage. Finally!!! On February 21st, I received an email from Jim S. Simply stated, he said he will put me 'wherever my little heart desires'. I love this man! Sure enough, after responding to him with the exact spot, I checked the map and there it was. It was almost as though my name was in lights! Jackie and I have what is equal to the Golden Ticket: R7.
During this process we needed to secure accommodations in Nome. Now that is a story for another day!
Approximately one week later another email arrived asking what job we wanted in Anchorage. GREAT! Not only do we get to 'do something' for the mushers and the sled dogs in Nome, but another coordinator had Jackie's name and my name on his list as well. He sent a very long and informative email. At the end of the email, he offered the caveat for each volunteer to consider the reason for volunteering prior to selecting a job.
Why did I want to volunteer? While I usually am not at a loss for words, I was not sure that I could find the right words to justify this desire. Then the coordinator offered some suggestions, one of which must have been written just for me. He said that if our goal is to take great pictures and be able to really enjoy the sights and sounds of the race, that we might want to consider being away from the madding crowd and out of town along the trail. THAT'S what I wanted!!!
Remember, there are two starts to the race. So, I thought as long as we are going to be in Anchorage, we might just as well take a job. But what job? Again, no inside responsibilities, please. I wanted to be a 'trail guard'. This position demands that the guard keep the trail clear of hikers and skiers so that the dogs can race through without interference. So I was provided a private link to the ceremonial race trail map.
The trail begins on 4th street at 9:00 a.m. on March 5th in downtown Anchorage and winds its way through Anchorage ending at the Campbell Airfield. This air field is located 10 minutes from Kim's house.
 |
| This is the commemorative statute on 4th Street in Anchorage. |
By the way this is not a musher. This is Kim. She
will be our official photographer since she is not
volunteering the race.
Running on paved streets is not idyllic, I might add, for sled dogs. In the event there is not enough natural snowfall on the paved streets, snow is brought in. I do not believe the committee has any trouble finding snow, however.
This picture was taken along the side of the road on the Kenia Peninsula where you can see the multitude of snowmobile tracks. Those are full sized utility poles and the trees are from 20'-40' tall. Plenty of snow to go around for everyone.
The ceremonial trail winds through downtown, south and westerly through the neighborhoods, through parks and green areas, and ends south of town at the airfield. I spent a couple of hours studying the map and was fairly familiar with the route. Then, I found a spot very near the Alaskan Native Hospital where Kim works. When I used the zoom, the google map took me right to the spot that I thought would have great advantage for seeing the dogs coming down the trail, and I believed this would the spot for Jackie and me to serve as trail guards.
There was one problem, however. While the spot did not appear to be reserved by another trail guard, I was not able to click onto the box to insert my name and information. I then sent an email to practically everyone involved with the race - begging for that spot. Apparently a long-time volunteer who lives on the Kenai has his entire team placed along the golden spots towards the end of the ceremonial race. It's about 18 miles long, by the way.
No one responded . I was nearly sinking into despair thinking that we were so close and yet so far away from getting this chance to be so close to the mushers and to watch them with their dogs fly by us at an arm's length. I shivered at the thought.
Finally, I received two emails. One from another group leader who promised to forward my email to the right person. Then, Jim S. notified me that he would take a look at the map and try to put me as close as possible to the spot that I wanted. Then I waited. Each email that I received was forwarded to Kim and Jackie to keep them informed.
Kim was great to talk to about the map of the trail because she knows where all the locations are. When I told her that I wanted R7, and I described the spot, she told me that is where Kelly, Jeena and other other PA co-workers stand to watch the race. Another plus is that there is plenty of parking nearby and we won't have to trudge through snow for miles to get to our spot, if we get that spot!
I wanted the spot identified as R7. Period.
In the meantime, things were looking up for the Nome assignment. An email arrived from our Nome coordinator, Debby, with information about our duties to welcome the mushers after finishing the race. The finish line is designated by the Burled Arch which stands on the main street . I believe the arch is the second of its kind since the running of the very first Iditarod. The first one deteriorated over time and had to be rebuilt. It will be our job to set up the headquarters and prepare for the finishers. That's all I know at this time. I guess we should just be ready to get ready! We will be arriving in Nome on March 10th. Debby will be arriving on March 12th. The majority of sightseers and race enthusiasts arrive between the 13th and 14th in anticipation of the arrival of the winner of the race.
The first musher usually arrives in the 9-day time frame, plus or minus a few hours. The winner will win the prize of $50,000.00 plus a 2011 Dodge Ram truck. I have read that it costs approximately $35,000.00 per year to house, feed, vet and care for a team of dogs. These mushers certainly do not run this race for the money although winning will help defray costs. Many of the mushers have sponsors. The seasoned racers who have placed as a top finisher over the years have garnered very lucrative sponsors which enables the mushers and their dogs to be financially comfortable throughout the year.
And if you are wondering, there is also a prize for the last musher to arrive in Nome. The last musher usually arrives approximately two weeks after beginning the race. He or she receives The Red Lantern. As a tradition, a lantern that hangs from the top of the burled arch is lit when the first musher arrives in Nome and is extinguished when the last musher arrives. Hence, the lantern....you know, turn out the lights when you're finished, I guess!
This year, it does not look as if we will be able to be in Nome to welcome all of the mushers if they take longer than nine days to arrive. Maybe next year...
Before we can worry about Nome, however, we still need to secure our spot in Anchorage. Finally!!! On February 21st, I received an email from Jim S. Simply stated, he said he will put me 'wherever my little heart desires'. I love this man! Sure enough, after responding to him with the exact spot, I checked the map and there it was. It was almost as though my name was in lights! Jackie and I have what is equal to the Golden Ticket: R7.
During this process we needed to secure accommodations in Nome. Now that is a story for another day!
This is a very cool adventure. Now I know you've truly gone to the dogs.
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