For the Love of Words: Alaska in February: Part 4

Sam drove us into Anchorage on the early side Saturday morning. We met up with Dario around 9 or so and he showed us what we needed to do... Dario had planned to spend the day in Anchorage at a park giving dog sled rides to tourist groups. He also set up stuff to use the event as a fundraiser for Nicolas. We started out by helping set up the chutes for the dog sled teams, putting up temporary fencing (hammering posts in, unrolling the temporary fencing, using cable tie things to attach the fence to the posts... It was pretty windy, we got cold we and were eager to keep working just to keep moving! Once the chutes were set up, Dario showed us the different size harnesses, gave us a refresher course in how to harness and unharness the pups, and walked us through how the next couple of hours were going to go. Because it was "so warm" (HA!), the pups were only going to run for about an hour before switching out the teams. (It actually was warm for the pups though...)

Speaking of "pups" ... something both Dario and Nick said (and so true) was that you can mention a dog and some people will perk up and turn their attention to hear what is being said, but that if you mention a puppy, most people will perk up and pay attention! Dario had 3 puppies there and Nick had 2 of Ugly (his BEAUTIFUL husky)'s puppies... Kala and Fiona. I hadn't heard what Dario had named his puppies so when he had a minute I asked. He told us that he hadn't named them yet, and "why didn't he do that right now" ... ha! Okay, so he pointed out the one which was romping around semi-spastically and said that everyone comments on how rambunctious she is, and since he's Italian, he's naming her Rambina... (cute!) ...then he points to the other female puppy and asked if I would be offended if he named her Chelle. Are you kidding?! No way! So he named her Chelle. Then he pointed to the boy and said, "So that makes this one Sam." Crazy, right? Now there are two sled dogs named after us!

Sam holding Sam, and me holding Chelle... haha!

Again on Saturday we got to see just how much Dario cares for his dogs. He always took such care and precision, being attuned to each of his dogs and what they needed. It kept amazing me just how eager the dogs are to run, to work, and how happy they are... tails up and wagging the whole time. It really is incredible to watch. Sam spent hour after hour helping in the chute between rides... taking care of anything and everything that needed done. Dario mentioned to me a couple of times throughout the day how much of a help Sam was and how great he was with the dogs. Dario also said a few times grateful he was that we were able to come help. I spent the entire day taking tickets/cash for the rides, manning the gate and sending the guests to the sleds. They were so delighted to get the sled ride pulled by the dogs. They kept me smiling the whole day. We made a new friend that day, too. Holly is in college and planning to move to Girdwood to pursue her dream of dog mushing. I had so much fun getting to know her and hearing about all of her adventures. She volunteered also, and floated around between the gate and the chute, doing anything and everything that needed done. The 11am-5:30pm hours went by soooooo quickly!

Me holding Kala

Sam and Fiona

After everything was taken down, the park put back to the way it started, the dogs taken care of, and the trucks packed up... we were ready to head out. On our way out of Anchorage we saw another moose, 5th one this trip I think... just hanging out in someone's yard...

The whole way back to Girdwood we were able to enjoy a glorious sunset... so beautiful!

Turnagain Arm Sunset

Saturday night Sam and I met up with Steve and CeCe for dinner at Maxine's and to hear a band play. Maxine's is a great little restaurant (ok, so all of the restaurants in Girdwood are great and little haha)... the food was fantastic, the band was good, and the company was fantastic. Steve and CeCe are two wonderful people, and we so enjoyed getting to hang out for a while!

Monday we headed back to Chugiak to help Nick again. Jenn and I found the shovels and the sled to clean up the kennels and then we helped pack the drop bags. Mushers have to get all their checkpoint bags together by a certain point, which happened to be Wednesday, so the four of us were helping Nick sort through dog food, his food, and supplies to get the bags packed. I spent a lot of time making sandwiches :-) Nick is French... and I made some interesting sandwiches for him including strawberry jam and brie cheese ... whatever works, right?? I was thrilled that we had the chance to help out Nick. He is a great guy who loves and cares for his dogs. To be able to race in the Iditarod, a musher has to qualify to be eligible to race. Nick hadn't, but because of how well he handles the dogs, the race judges/committee/whatever they are called, permitted him to run veteran Jim Lanier's team when Lanier had to pull out due to emergency hip replacement surgery. Just FYI, Nick was Rookie of the Year, the first Rookie to cross the finish line! How awesome that we were able to be a part of that...