Hotel Part 2

Now that I’ve taken a closer look at the calendar I’ve just done some shifting around of my time in Alaska. I want to give myself enough time to explore Anchorage – I figure I need at least a day just to get through the part of midtown where all the outdoor supply stores congregate, then there’s the race start which will cover two days, and I’d love to get in a day of x-country skiing as well.

The Iditarod kicks off on Saturday the 4th in downtown Anchorage, so I’ll be there for that. Then the party moves 30 miles up the road to Wasilla – home of the Iditarod Trail Committee – for the annual Musher’s Ball. The invitation’s on the way, now I just have to figure out what “Alaska casual” means. I guess there’s a band, fireworks, good food. Should be fun.

I’ll stay in Wasilla on Sunday because that’s when the “re-start” of the race is. The whole circus of the Iditarod start in Anchorage is largely a media event. I guess it plays well on TV to have 90 dog teams all yapping and raring to go down 4th Ave, with crowds of spectators lining the streets. But a few miles out of town all the teams are loaded onto trucks and driven up to Wasilla where the real racing begins. It’s form there that they all trek off into the wilds, plus that’s where the Iditarod headquarters is, so it would be cool to check that out too.

There’s still no word back on the volunteering front, so I assume they’re all crewed up. But I’ll bug them anyway to see if they could use an extra set of hands. Heck, I’ll be right there!

So, I don’t quite know what to expect from all this, but I’m going along for what should be a fun ride.