Blogs from Anchorage, Alaska, United States, North America - page 5

I flew from Cleveland to Anchorage, by way of Chicago. The Cleveland airport seems to have had a proliferation of shops along the concourses. It never fails that my plane departs and lands at the VERY END of the concourse, making for a long, long trek to the gate. I always thought that they should just put gates 25-30 close to the hub and skip the 24 empty gates in between, but now I see that the reason they have 30 gates is so they can fit in more stores, bars, and restaurants! The strangest thing I saw on the plane from Cleveland to Chicago is a guy with a nearly shaved head, except for a block "O" (looked like OSU) growing out of the crown of his head. Weird. While Cleveland airport's restrooms are frequently ... read more

At more than twice the size of Texas, the stories are equally large and unbelievable. But with less than three quarters of a million people, there is room to spread out. It is 1400 miles north to south, and 2700 miles east to west. Alaska extends further west than Hawaii! Having been here twice before does not count, plus it was over 30 years ago! Did you know the Bering Bridge once connected us to Asia and the Russian hinterlands? Russia sold it to us for less than 2 cents per acre! North Pole, Alaska is a town of only 2000 people, but far, far away from the actual North Pole. Do you think Santa lives there? Rape and domestic violence run rampant here. There is one sex offender for every 293 people. The rape rate ... read more

Today is my last day to volunteer because I'm flying home tomorrow. It's been a great experience and I've met really interesting people. I checked the standings today and Mitch Seavey and Dallas Seavey left Kaltag within 5 minutes of each other. Wade Mars, Nicholas Petit, and Joar Ulson left soon after them. Three women are in the top ten (as of this morning): Jessie Royer, Aliy Zirkle, and MIchelle Phillips. Yesterday I checked the dropped dog area. The 80 that showed up Friday eve had been processed and were gone. The volunteers were there till 3:30 a.m. Each dog is checked by a veterinarian, and either a local friend of the musher picks up the dog or the dogs are brought to the prison center where inmates take care of them. Yesterday about 40 more ... read more

It's warming up here. No minus something temperatures in the morning. We start out at about 5 above zero and warm up to 28. Awesomeness! Sad news from the Iditarod trail. A dog has died. I don't have details but I'll fill you in when I know. BTW - I am sworn to confidentiality in my role as a volunteer. I don't put anything on this blog that is not already news on TV and newspapers. The things I take from the website are there for everyone to see. Today was a slow day at Anchorage Network Center. Many of the mushers are taking their 8 hour or 24 hour mandatory layovers. Once they start moving again the positions will start to change. I heard they were flying 80 dropped dogs back to Anchorage so I ... read more

Time for musher profiles. These are veterans who have won many races. Jeff King Bib Number: 34 Hometown: Denali, Alaska Website: http://www.huskyhomestead.com Biography Jeff King, 61, was born and raised in California. He came to Alaska in 1975 to “seek adventure.” He began mushing in 1976 after he heard Jerry Riley’s race finish while listening to the radio. Jeff has an outstanding race record, including a Yukon Quest victory in 1981 and four Iditarod victories. He has three adult daughters, Cali, Tessa and Ellen. All the girls have run the Jr. Iditarod, and Cali finished the Iditarod. King moved to Alaska in 1975 and began r... read more