The Ceremonial Start of the Iditarod

Saturday, March 07, 2009
Anchorage, Alaska, United States
The eight inches of snow that Anchorage received on Thursday definitely gave a feel of winter to the area and a fitting backdrop for the ceremonial start of the 2009 Iditarod. After a quick breakfast at the Country Kitchen, we started walking toward the official starting point for the race. Spectators walked the sidewalks looking for their favorite mushers and mushers, dogs and dog trucks lined the streets. As we walked we passed dogs hooked to the trucks waiting for booties and to be hooked to the sled line. We did find Martin Buser, whose kennel we visitied when we were here in the summer, Lance Mackey, who has won the last two Iditarods, and Jeff King, who along with Martin Buser has won four Iditarods. All were friendly and Lance Mackey was putting the booties on his dogs.
As the time for the start neared, we stopped at the start line to here the official start proclaim by Sarah Palin . Unfortunately I was unable to get a picture. From there we made our way back to Cordova Street where the race runs along the Days Inn where we were staying. We watched from the street through the first forty seven mushers, then went up to our room where we looked down on the passing mushers.
After the last mushers passed, we joined the Zirkles and rode to Earthquake Park for a good view of Mt. Susitna, The Sleeping Lady, and a faint view of Mt. McKinley over 200 miles away. We also stopped to view the Anchorage skyline. From there we grabbed lunch at Pizza Hut passing a resting moose along the way.
After lunch we rode down toward Ship Creek to view the snow sculptures which are part of the Fur Rondy activities. Fur Rondy is a week long celebration of the Iditarod which runs the entire week before. This also includes a carnival complete with the usual carnival rides even in the snow.
For those of you who have tired of eagles, here are some dogs.

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