First Day of the Rondy!!!!

What a great dog driver breakfast!!! Country fried steak, little omelets shaped like tacos, hash browns, sausage, on and on and on (no halibut!!) It turned out to be a free breakfast for the dog drivers but $12 for everyone else – there is no way I can eat that many dollars worth of breakfast (but as I saw the price of a cheeseburger in this place was $7.50 – at the Bingo Club is where the breakfast was held – maybe that’s not too bad!) The breakfast was mostly a social gathering and not much media to it – it gave me a chance to ask the photographer there to look at my camera – tried everything he knew including taking the batteries out of his very big camera and nothing - We visited with a lot of people – Cheziks, Gary Frank and his daughter, Streepers, Bill Kornmuller, Arleigh Reynolds and lots of new people. Randy went to the driver’s meeting and I went back to work in the trailer. After the meeting he was required to go around the 25 mile trail – on a sled!!! Behind a snowmobile!!! When he got back he was a little in awe of the trail and had seen 2 moose on the trail………mind you not out in the wilderness……but in the city!!! By the time he got back it was time to go back to our new Anchorage address…..Motel 6. But first………to the Fred Meyer store where I purchased a Nikon normally $150 for $98!!! Just got the batteries charged and maybe on Saturday I will have learned to use it and can download some pictures for you!! Then on the way to the Motel 6..disaster…well semi-disaster….we had had a 6 inch snow fall during the day or more and all the vehicles had packed the snow and made the roads slick, slick!! Soo going up a pretty small hill on a very busy street (Tudor avenue) we were pulling into the left turn lane (after I had already missed the right turn off to the motel….) and going up the little hill and the light didn’t turn green fast enough, and we had to stop and we couldn’t get going again when it did turn green…..so we held up traffic…..and had to back up and try again…..and Randy ended up getting out and putting the chains on the tires…..not a happy camper…..but the chains worked and off we went!!! I vaguely remember as a little girl my dad putting chains on but had forgotten how bumpy it makes the ride!!! Back to Motel 6 for a quick nite and up in the morning at 6:30 – fed and waited for Jess to arrive from the airport by way of the hotel bus – just after 8:30 he arrived and it was fun to see a “family face”!! Off right away to the race site and parked without too much difficulty. Nerves were tight…but under control!!! Lots of activity and people – kind of like a big city parade and for sure the biggest I have ever been involved in!!! Still lots of interest in the rig and wanting to see inside – and finally the big moment – Jess and snowmobile helped up get up the 3 block trek to the starting line – and he was off!!! Naturally we had one glitch…..his gps wouldn’t work at the last minute and so he was worried he wouldn’t be able to know how slow or fast he was going to keep the dogs from using all their energy in the beginning and not have enough to finish – I went back to work on the computer knowing that Randy would be out about 1 ½ hours – back with Jess to the start line to wait with Jess – they have a huge board that they track the progress of each of the teams on the trail and when I came up to meet Jess he said
“ don’t worry they haven’t moved Dad’s number for 10 minutes” (cause it looked like he was stopped and might be having trouble) and then we could see him 2 blocks down the road and they finished!!!! All of them – no dog in the bag =nobody limping =all looked happy!!! And………..Dad was in a pretty good mood!!! The end result was 19th place and I think we are pretty happy with that (they pay down to 20th place…….so that would be a good place to stay in!) Lots more people stopped by to say hello, lots from Michigan – one guy graduated with my brother Mark – Tom Dunn I think is his name and he married Nancy Butzer…remember, Mark? Packed up and drove to the Motel 6 (saw a real ride carnival down by the waterfront with people up on the ferris wheel – are they hardy up here or what?????? Pony rides, and all kinds of activities) back to work on the computer and Randy and Jess fed dogs – ordered in pizza and got free breadsticks for Randy being in the Fur Rondy!
Be looking for some pictures as soon as I learn how to use it – think I will go read the manual!!! Another big day tomorrow!!