Today’s mission was to get all the dogs back to Anchorage. We set 5am alarms (and 5:10 and again at 5:20) to get down to the dog yard to give them breakfast, pack up all the gear in the sled for shipping and transport all the kennels and dogs the few miles out to the NAC cargo depot ready for their flight to Anchorage.
It is always a logistical challenge but we are fortunate we can transport all our dogs in one vehicle with no growls or squabbles. Thanks Kamey and Curtis for the loan of your truck – sorry about the smell.
Before the race we shipped an airline kennel for each dog to Nome. Once the team arrived we used the kennels as their sleeping quarters for a few days then this morning we assembled them for transport home. Due to the early wake up most of the dogs settled in for a sleep as soon as we secured them into their kennels.
Thanks to the guys at NAC for your professional and careful handling of the precious cargo.
The plane arrived safe and sound in Anchorage a few hours later and Linda and Clare met them and loaded dogs and kennels into Hollywood ready for their drive home to Two Rivers tomorrow. It is always a relief to have the dogs home.
And here’s the promised pic of Nomex I missed yesterday. Good boy!
As for the rest of the day for us? Karolyn flew to Anchorage separately and will drive the dogs home tomorrow. Rest and relaxation was the name of the game for those of us left in Nome. The men watched some College basketball, Aliy had a massage and we all took a nap.
Great to hear the dogs are ready to be home tomorrow in more familiar surroundings. Thanks Karolyn, Linda
and Clare for your help. Maybe some dogs will have to ride with Karolyn? Thanks for the pics!!
Bet the dogs will be happy to be home too…back to familar turf and to see all their kennel mates! Safe travels for the rest of the trip!
Thanks to all, the Dogs will be Happy to be Home. Safe travels for the rest of the trip.
Aliy, a good massage & good rest. Have a great time on Sunday.
Thanks to all the helper. Hi, from Florida , Brita.
I can’t thank you guys enough for these very special updates! They made the race even more memorable as you said it right that you can only hit the refresh button so many times! lol! GREAT job, Aliy! SO excited and proud of you!🥰💝👍🏼🌟🌟🎁💐. So happy to hear you got a massage, too, Nome is more deserving! Well your whole team is!😃💝
We love you guys SP Kennels! Aliy you are still my FAVORITE Musher!!! Way to go!!!! LOVE 3 girl Mushers in 7! Woohoo!!!🎉🎊🌟🌟🌟🥰
Nome to Home- thanks for the update Moira. Glad the dogs will be in their own dog yard soon. I’m sure all 14 will have tales to tell the others. I just hope that these few days indoors at Linda’s Retreat haven’t softened Blue Steel! 😍
Safe travels today Karolyn and thanks to everyone involved in the careful transport of these awesome dogs. The rest/relaxation day sounds fabulous. Have another one just like it today!
There once was a musher named Aliy
Who said she did dilly dally
She ran a great race
And came in 4th place
And her fans all showed up to the rally
I LOVE it! Clever, clever, clever!
Thank you so much for all the updates while the Red Team was racing in the Iditarod!
Safe travels back home to Two Rivers. The race was amazing and SPK did fabulous!
WOOF WOOF WOOF
So delighted to hear the ID Team (4 legged division) are headed home to tell their tale or tail-wagging to the rest of the gang!!!
Can’t wait to watch the prize-giving on ID website (???)/Insider – hopefully when it is live…and then over and over!!!
WOOF!!!
Karolyn looks like she’s in heaven in that dog pile.
I’m happy your precious cargo made it to Anchorage.
Enjoy your time in Nome and safe travels to everyone.
Loved your Iditarod Insider video interview and as always followed your progress into the wee hours every night. You, Allen, the dogs and your wonderful team behind the scenes are always first in my book! Such great coverage this year but hear there was much more activity at each stop. Give my boy Kodiak a kiss, hug and a scratch from me when you get back. I am hoping I can carve out a time when I can swing up to visit in the near future. Trish
What a busy day, getting the dogs on their journey home. Thanks Karolyn for driving them home. I am sure, Aliy, your massage was relaxing & well deserved. Thanks Moira for your excellent posts that keep us updated.
Enjoy the banquet.
I also enjoyed the UNCUT interview with Aliy on the Insider. I always appreciate the intelligence and humor with which Aliy approaches interviews.
For my part, despite working harder by going to Iditarod, I am personally glad she took the harder route – stupid of me, I know. But I liked seeing her trying it out differently. I liked knowing those youngsters now knew what it was like to be in front for so many miles. I liked seeing the team so strong at the end of the race. I liked Joar saying his trip along that route last year had been just as slow in many points, but he happened to get ahead of the bad weather. I liked her upbeat attitude all the way through about her choices.
The thing about Aliy is she manages her team well, which some have said is the key to getting a fast, strong team into Nome first.
One thing about the interviews kept coming to mind after my last post. I have not heard Jessie or Pete speak in such depth, nor have I heard Joar as a runner up and those interviews were fascinating and they revealed a look at things, a way to look at things I had not seen in quite the same way.
..
For example, I have known – and in fact assumed – that Aliy is always gauging the temperament and capability of the team. Being 4 time winner of the Humanitarian reward says it all. So it was very interesting to hear the top three finishers touch on these topics. Consistently we heard that they were aware of how others were traveling, faster – slower – stronger, but that did not affect their decisions for much of the race. They knew where they needed to be to remain competitive and kept that in mind. But they also paid strict attention to how their teams were responding to conditions and determined their next move based on that. I heard again, and again getting to Nome safely – as fast as they could – but safely.
..
But as the end of the race approached, they were gauging the strength of the other teams much more closely. Jessie observed in Koyuk that she could not catch Joar and Pete without jeopardizing her team and losing speed. Pete already knew that Joar’s team was stronger and he did not have the luxury of staying in the Elim checkpoint longer and was glad he pushed when he did. Joar knew to stay competitive, he had to follow Pete out.
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I have come to expect Aliy to be honest, reflective and direct. I have just added three mushers to my list of those I want to hear out when they speak. In my heart I felt so good to see the honesty in the top three finishers as well. They revealed themselves to be such good, caring people – without artifice.
Awesome interview to match the awesome performance in ID#47!!! Red Team rocks!!!
Proud you went with the change up of routine for a really, really late 24hr stop!!! I can recall when Martin Buser tried this many years ago (and it didn’t work out for his team, if memory serves).
Loved your remark (something to the effect of…) “Well they call it Iditarod, so why not stop there?”
WOOF!!!
Yes, I agree Margaret, I’m proud of Aliy, and I hope she doesn’t rule this out in the future. I would be thrilled if she aimed for Ruby next year for her 24, just hoping the weather and trails help her, and she blows the rest away.
Awards banquet this afternoon at 4 pm, best wishes Aliy. <3
🙂