Good times

It's that time of year again when 62 dog-mushers set off on a thousand mile journey across Alaska. This year we went all out for the start of the Iditarod.

We snow-machined out to our friends' cabin which lies on Crystal Lake, part of the Iditarod trail. 

Dan and Marleanna had spent the morning hauling wood, chairs and tables, a grill and an ice-fishing tent out onto the lake, and we all gathered around the bonfire to watch the teams come past.

It was so cool to see bush planes landing on the lake every ten minutes and then taxiing over to the race. 

The snow-maching was even more fun than last time. It was a (relatively) warm, sunny day, and we had the best view of Denali as we cruised over frozen lakes. Another memorable day in Alaska!

Susitna 100

Last weekend Daniel finished his first 100 mile race! He set off in -24 degree temperatures and battled head winds, snow and 15 hours of darkness on his journey across frozen Alaska. The route took him through Dismal Swamp, over the Wall of Death, past Scary Tree, and then back again. Oh, and did we mention that he was man-hauling his gear in a sled?!

The race started at 9am on Saturday morning and Daniel came in just before 9pm on Sunday night. He completed the race in 35 hours and 54 minutes, finishing 4th in the Men's Foot Division. He beat some of the gnarliest athletes in Alaska, picking up a cool belt buckle in true 100-mile style.

Duct Tape Ball

The theme for the 12th annual Duct Tape Ball was 'The Mad Hatter Tea Party, A Royally Tacky Affair'. This ball shows how Alaskans can stick together to raise money for charity.

Event organizers started making the duct tape decorations in August last year. 4000 rolls of duct tape were used to create flamingo golf clubs, large mushrooms, butterflies, a rabbit hole, shrinking doors and a 6-foot caterpillar complete with hookah pipe!

Many of the guests created their entire outfits out of duct tape - who knew a duct tape ball gown could be quite so elegant?! We just went with silver duct tape accessories - an Ascot hat, evening gloves and shoes for me, and a top hat, bow tie, pocket kerchief and walking stick for Daniel. We didn't win any best dressed awards, but we had a thoroughly tacky time!

Thirsty?

Somewhere along the Seward Highway, after Anchorage, but before Girdwood, a pipe comes out of the rockface, flowing with fresh mountain water. We're not sure why it doesn't freeze in winter, but it pours forth all year round, and we often see cars stopped along the road to fill up their water bottles with "Pure Alaskan Water". We've always commented on this pipe and so on our last trip along the Seward Highway, we pulled over to top up our army-green water bottle. A little random, but apparently very Alaskan!

IdidaRide!

When we first found out that we were moving to Alaska, we had to put up with a lot of igloo jokes. We also got asked if we'd get around by dog sled. The answer is no, but we did head back down to Seward to spend the morning dog mushing with Seavey's IdidaRide Sled Dog Tours. Three members of this family-run business compete in the Iditarod Race and all the gear we used was 100% authentic. Our sled had been in eleven Iditarods, and our lead dog, Kenya, has run in three races.

We helped to hitch up the dogs (Kenya, Riddle, Hayes, Cletus and Sprocket) to the tow line of our very own sled, before taking off down the Exit Glacier road. We took it in turns to drive the sled and ride shotgun as we mushed alongside Resurrection River, enjoying great views of Exit Glacier.

It was so much fun to drive the team. They didn't really listen to us, but we enjoyed yelling 'hup' and 'whoa' to them anyway. The sled was super comfortable and it was great fun to cruise along the trail, enjoying the scenery and seeing the dogs' smiley tongues.

We warmed up with some hot chocolate and a snack lunch in a woodstove-heated cabin near the glacier before turning around. There was some excitement when a moose ran across the road in front of us, and again when the guide overtook us a little too closely and overturned our sled! It really was another great Alaskan adventure!

Mendenhall Glacier

Wow, we have a new favorite glacier! It's the most accessible and most frequently visited in Alaska, but those stats are from summer. We went to the Mendenhall Glacier in winter and it was AMAZING!

In front of the glacier lies Mendenhall Lake, which is frozen over at this time of year. Visitors can walk or skate across the lake, right up to some of the large chunks of ice that have calved off the glaciers. 

We walked across the lake, dazzled by the sun sparkling on the snow and ice, and we had the best fun playing around on the icebergs!

State Capital

After more than a year living in the biggest city in the biggest state in the greatest nation on earth, we hadn't managed a trip to southeast Alaska. This is Alaska's most popular tourist destination so we had to go. We cashed in some air miles and flew down to Juneau for the weekend.

The weather was absolutely perfect and we had a great captain on the flight down. He turned the commute into a scenic tour, pointing out mountains and glaciers and stars and lakes. It was incredible!


Although legislation is in session now, it was very quiet in Alaska's State Capital. A lot of shops were closed for the off season, but we enjoyed a stroll around town. We attended the Juneau Symphony's performance of Holst's Planets Suite, which was very good.

On Sunday we went on a lazy drive to the end of the road in Juneau, and around Douglas Island. The landscape was beautiful. What a great trip!

Curling

We went to the Anchorage Curling Club's "Learn-To-Curl" event this weekend. There were a few slips and a lot of slides, but soon we were all gliding smoothly down the sheet, throwing our stones, clearing the hog line, and landing in the house. Our sweep strokes added a dynamic dimension to our curls and we had a super time urging our stones along.

Our last game came down to the wire and we had to get out the measuring tape. Our yellow stone just lost out by an inch.

We only won one game in the end, but since the winners had to clean the ice, our team was happy to lose that last one!

Road Trip

We decided to take a little road trip down to Seward, once again stopping at Turnagain Pass to try some snowshoeing. The views along the coastal highway were spectacular, and the snowshoeing was much more adventurous than last time. At one stage, Daniel's brother was chest-deep in snow and halfway up a tree at the same time!

Sunrise over Cook Inlet (at 11:00am!)

Daniel, showing us how it's done

Brian, stuck in a hole

Turnagain Pass

Brian, Daniel, Vanessa, Susan & Justine

Seward Harbor

Bob's Sleds

Our friendly Alaskan neighbor, Bob White, lent us his flexi-flyer sleds, designed for racing on ice. After a practice run each, we engaged in some serious family races. The clear winner was Daniel's mom!