![[ Mrs. Holmes Home Page ]](graphics/home.gif)
|
 |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
I’m making new friends every day
Friday, March 1, 2002
Hello Everyone!
Are you all ready for the start of the race tomorrow? I can’t believe that the big day is finally here. I’ve been preparing for this trip for almost a year now, so I wasn’t sure it was ever going to come!
Today has been yet another wonderful day. Most of it took place at the Teacher Workshop. The 2000 Teacher on the Trail discussed her adventure following the trail. I learned more about what to expect and saw photos of some interesting places and events. She warned me that mushers are so tired when they arrive at the checkpoints that they will sleep on anything. Rick Swenson found her sleeping bag lying on the floor so he collapsed on it, zipped himself in, and took a long grizzly bear nap! I guess I better pick and choose when to offer my sleeping bag to the mushers. I like the idea of it, but I might want to take a snooze in it occasionally too!
Diane Johnson shared her trail adventure
This year Kim Kavanagh will be the Teacher on the Trail. I met her yesterday and we are looking forward to seeing each other along the trail.
Kim Kavanagh is this year’s Teacher on the Trail
Stu Nelson is the chief veterinarian for the Iditarod. He spent a long time explaining what the vets do with dogs along the trail. The most important things they check for are that the dogs don’t overheat or become dehydrated. The vets try to check the dogs when they arrive at a checkpoint after a musher has fed them, but before they bed down for a nap. The dogs are very well taken care of!
Stuart Nelson, the chief veterinarian
Following the vet’s presentation, there was a book signing with many of our favorite authors of Iditarod books. Here are a few.
Dick Mackey was an Iditarod Champion. He loves to tell stories
Libby Riddles wrote Danger the Dogyard Cat. She was also the first woman to win the Iditarod!
Zuma left her computer behind, but came to say hello too.
A presentation by Susan Butcher was our next event at the workshop. She was just the most amazing person. It is so obvious that she absolutely adores her dogs. She told us many stories of how her dogs do very heroic things. She told us about when she fell through the river ice and thought that this was the end of her life. Then her team came to her and actually pulled her by walking backwards. She stressed what an amazing thing it was because dog teams DON’T go backwards! They were truly watching out for her. She is their hero too. It is this relationship between the mushers and the dogs that intrigues me. I had some pretty teary eyes hearing some of these incredible tales.
Susan Butcher told heroic tales of her dogs. She has won the Iditarod four times.
You won’t believe who I ran into after our workshop. Our hero, Quinn, Jeff King’s Idita-Rider. Quinn is part of the Make-A-Wish Foundation and is very excited about riding with Jeff King. Here he is with Husky.
Quinn with his dog, Husky
Quinn’s mom, Rachel, said that his class will be following the race from Hawaii!
Tonight was a dinner for the Iditarod Support Group, an Internet group focused on promoting the Iditarod. We gathered at the Sourdough Mining Company Restaurant for dinner, but also got to see a chocolate waterfall at the candy shop across the street. Look at all of the chocolate. I felt like I was in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory!
A waterfall of chocolate
Here is the base of the waterfall. Look at the 10 pound chocolate bars at the bottom.
The bottom of the waterfall
At 11:00 Mr. Holmes and I raced downtown to see 4th Avenue as it changed from an asphalt street to a sea of snow. The town brings hundreds of dump truck loads of snow in from other areas and dumps them on the street. Big graders come through and smooth it out. It was quite an amazing process. I’m sure the dogs will appreciate this when they run out of town on the snow rather than on the tar!
Dumptrucks haul snow into town and dump it on Fourth Avenue.
The grader driver is waving to Mrs. Holmes’ class back in Vermont
That’s it for now. Get ready for the start of the race tomorrow and a report on riding as an Idita-Rider!
Mrs. Holmes
Anchorage, - Saturday, March 02, 2002 at 12:01:36 (EST)
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Mrs. Holmes
|
|
![[ Marion Cross School ]](photos/MCS.jpg)
|
Webspace for Mrs. Holmes Iditarod 2002 project was provided courtesy of
ValleyNet of Norwich, Vermont.
