Guess what?????? You got it! Day 3 of the Rondy dog sled race!!!

I am a bit obsessed with this ferris wheel - number one it's winter, number 2 I didn't do it when we were here 3 times before - so it it's a big deal that I did it without Randy this year!!!

halibut dinner at Simon and Seastreet

I'm on there somewhere!

My "Boss" doing the traffic control - she's a teacher from Sitka

the royal court

she made this!!!

for sale at Fur Auction

lynx

this is the copy of my instructions to let teams go out yesterday day so we didn't dog team traffic pile ups!!!!!  looks simple - but it's not - I screwed up yesterday and let Mari Hoe-Raito go up to the start line before all the teams from the previous heat had come in!!!

 

Second day of the Rondy sled dog race

 we were down to the starting chute by 11 ready for me to do my job releasing teams to the start chute and Randy hanging out at the start if anyone needed help with their dogs - Carl Earhart did ask him to hold a dog but that was about the only thing he did.....

the teams of Remy Coste and his wife Lily pulled out of the race for reasons that we can only speculate and would be based on  hearsay......so down 2 teams to manage!

I did my job a bit better today and am finally catching on to Stacey's notes on my schedule  - she's a freshman high school teacher in Sitka AK so she is very into giving instructions - I will have to be sure and get a picture of her tomorrow 

After all the racers were out and in we headed out to the new clubhouse   it's beautiful!!!!  Some monied group wanted the property the old one was on so they paid them enough to buy new property nearby and build a new club house with bathrooms!!!!!!  a wonderful addition!!!!  We were treated to a lunch of grilled flank steak and chicken   Delicious!!! then because I thought the running of the reindeer was today (it's next Saturday.....} I was all psyched and hyped only to find out when we got downtown and parked that I was a week early!  so back to our house and a nap before fireworks tonight!

volunteer fire chief I met today - he gave me a patch for our daughter in laws father who is also a fire chief in my home town of Montague MI

the only ruff for sale we have found so far - used and not the right kind of fur so Randy said no thanks

my kuspuk

the infamous halibut sandwich

you got to love a place that serve you wine in a mason jar!!!

view looking back from the start line to the line of dog trucks

the dog driver, Jon from Huslia

First day of the Rondy!!

 We arrived downtown (after warmed up leftovers from our breakfast at the White Spot Cafe - reindeer sausage and hash) at the race start area at 4th and D Stl about 10 am, did some walking around talking to people that we knew from racing here 2010-12, both racers and race organizers - like Janet Clark the race marshal, Christine Tozier (her father was very active in the racing community here and the race track by Tudor Road is named after him - that trail system at the Alaska Sled Dog Racing Association- ASDRA= is used in both the Rondy and in the ceremonial start of the Iditarod - we were also invited by Janet Clark to have bar b que at the ADMA clubhouse today after the race) Karoush Partow, Jennifer Probert and Carl Ehrhart, Greg Taylor, Michael Tetzner, Eddie Dayton, Remy and Lily Coste, and many more I can't remember right now!!!   and lots of new people one of which is a racer out of Huslia AK name Jon - Huslia is the town where George Attla (aka the Huslia Hustler) is from - one time when George was down from AK to race, Randy was also at the race and there wasn't enough snow for the planned open class race (story of our lives anymore..........)) and so they put on a one dog short race and Randy beat George (which was pretty much not happening in the lower 48!!!)  and in another heat Randy and George were neck and neck and George leaned over and put his hand on Randy's sled and said "lay your sled down" in not quite as delicate as those words, and Randy did and George won!  Another side note, we have a sled that George broke during the period of time in Michigan and it is now a part of our home decor and sits above my hanging pots and pans rack in the kitchen!!

So back to the race..........we were still walking around and Janet Clark stopped me and gave me a job to do..........go to each of the teams and show them a sign that gave them a 2 minute warning!!!  which meant that I walked through the slushy snow to each driver's truck from one end of the lineup to the other for2 hours!!!  Here I thought I was going to have a cushy job like Randy standing in the starting chute and helping out when needed to hold or untangle a dog!!!!

We were done with our "race duties" about 2 when all the teams came back in (still have not found the race results on line so don't know for sure but we heard that Remy was in first and Karoush in second and they had done the course in about 9 minutes - more details about that when I get a paper copy to take a picture of.......... We hurried over to the White Spot Cafe so we could have their halibut sandwich for lunch before they closed = it took about 20 minute to get there 3 blocks away from where we parked at the race start because of all the one way streets and so many of them blocked because of the snow on them for the race!!!

the sandwich was great but both of us could not eat the bun so the waiter said "I guess you guys needed the halibut platter instead!!"

After Randy napped and I ironed my kuspuk (the traditional women's dress of AK, usually worn with a fur coat underneath with the fur on the skin of the woman) which I work when we got married in Nome in 1998 = 

Left and went to the Egan Center for the Trapper's Ball - which has pretty much been transformed into what ever interests the people that would really attend - which was country western this time - while I was one of about 10 wearing what someone that was a trapper's wife or a native/1st nation woman might wear, most everybody else was dressed in cowboy fashion!!!!!  Danced about 5 dances (Randy didn't want to re-injure his knee) and left at 9 to come  home again!

Up at 7 and plan to get to the race site by 11 and see what happens today!!!

Lots of sleeping going on!!!

Exhausted from our travel to here in Anchorage, Alaska!!!!!  Got into our air b and b and promptly went to bed!!!  Slept till daylight here and I think it was about 9 = went out to breakfast and had reindeer sausage at a pretty famous breakfast place nearby and found out they also have the best halibut sandwich around!!!!!! 

this is a couple we met while having breakfast at this White Spot Cafe - found out it is a local favorite - this couple is from Las Vegas and she is a rescue team member and flies all over the place in the US - he is an air traffic controller and also rescuers in his "free time"!!  very nice folks!!!

my reindeer sausage and Randy's hash

dining room in the air b and b- see somebody in the mirror?

the living room with fire place

Randy in roomy first class

the great breakfast hole in the wall "White Spot Cafe"

this is a picture of Randy racing the Fur Rondy that was hanging in the Rondy headquarters

Randy jus happened to notice it!!!

there's the photo up there with all the other famous mushers - see George Attla!

even the liquor store is in the spirit of the race!!!

This is the mountain view you have just driving around town!!

After breakfast we drove downtown farther and then walked around the area where the race will take place - we aren't sure but we think that they are having a race of about a mile or 2 downtown and brining in the snow for the street to run on - we were invited by the race marshal, Janet Clarke to come to the 

"draw" for places in the race but didn't catch the email in time -instead we went to Goodwill looking for some fur ruffs and other stuff (I got another sweatshirt....) and another hole in the wall restaurant right near us, "Big Jim's" and had the Big Jim burger, with jalapeño ham onion and drippy sauce - delicious!!!!!

came back home and watched tv for a bit and crashed at 9!!!  so here I am at 5 am not able to sleep more!!!

more pictures and more writing tonight!!!

Weaning ourselves from dog racing..........so go to Alaska!!!!!

Sounds like a plan right???  and spend a month there and see as many races as we can an be handlers for anyone that needs us!!!  

As of right now things are not going to be what we  had hope for with the lack of snow in Anchorage == the Rondy is only going to be a mile long race with only some competitors and one day only -- the Iditarod will have the ceremonial start in Anchoragem but will have the re-start in Fairbanks = based on all of that our current plan (subject to chang without notice........) is to be volunteers for dog handling for the Iditarod, take the dog handler class, go to the meet and greet the competitors and dinner, help at the ceremonial run and then go up to Fairbanks where we have a b and b reserved

so far the trip has not been great - too much luggage to drag around the Chicago airpot and going through 2 security check...........  finally we will get on the plane and sit in our first class seats!!!! (we treated ourselves!!)

more later