Happy Trails!

Hello everyone!

I have had a wonderful week enjoying the beautiful weather. Although I wish we had more snow here, I can't complain about beautiful blue skies and temperatures near 50 degrees! It is official, you have more snow back in Pennsylvania than I have here. It has been a rough winter for the eastern U.S. and quite the mild winter for us out here. I'm sure we will have that crazy April snow storm though!

Early in the week, I took a trip out to Lake McDonald on the west side of Glacier NP with my friend Victor. The mountains looked amazing as we drove closer to the park. But, as we drove on the Going to the Sun Road along side Lake McDonald, there was a thick fog hanging over the lake. We parked the car and headed out on foot for McDonald falls, hoping the fog would burn off before we got back to the lake. We took the icy loop trail past the falls, through a tunnel, and back to the road. Despite the treacherous ice, it was a nice little adventure. The sun was shining, and it was quite warm for March 1st in Montana. Thankfully, by the time we got back to the lake, the fog had burned off. Victor and I snapped some photos and watched some unsuccessful fisherman for a while before heading back to the car. We drove about four miles from the hotel then stopped at a turnout to check out the perfect reflection of Stanton, Vaught, and Cannon on Lake McDonald. What a day!

Luckily, I have been able to spend a few hours outside every day this week thanks to this incredible spring-like weather. Yesterday, I took a stroll along the bike path ending at the frozen Whitefish Lake. After sitting at the lake for an hour, taking in the beauty of the mountains, I headed back down the path. I stopped by the river and watched a river otter and several pairs of ducks for a while before heading back home. I love watching the ducks feed on the bottom of the river because they put their rears in the air. It looks pretty funny!

And today, March 6th, is the ceremonial start of the Iditarod!!!! The teams start in Anchorage and race just twelve miles to Eagle River. Crowds line the streets to cheer on the dogs and their mushers, and television crews broadcast the start live. The real race starts on Sunday in Willow where the mushers leave the highways and crowds behind. This is where the real challenge truly begins. The first checkpoint is Yentna Station, a gentle 52 miles away. To find out what the trail is like between checkpoints, visit the link below. Click on the section of trail that you want to know more about.

http://www.iditarod.com/race/route.html

To track your mushers click on the link below. Page down to the box that says "Current Standings" and click on "view full current standings" to get the full list of mushers. You can click on your musher's name to see more information about him/her.

http://iditarod.com/

Like I mentioned last week, you will be tracking your musher throughout the race. Hopefully, most of your mushers will make it across the finish line in Nome. Nome is a neat little town with a population of around 9,000. As a musher nears Nome, the fire siren is sounded and everyone goes outside to cheer the team on as they cross the finish line. The team has finished the race when the nose of the lead dog crosses the finish line. The dogs are immediately fed, massaged, and then left to rest. The dogs get shipped back home within a day of arrival, but the mushers stay in Nome for the huge, much earned celebration feast. Here is a cool tidbit of information: The longest day in Nome, AK is June 21st with 21 hours and 39 minutes of sunlight. The shortest day is December 21st with 3 hours and 54 hours of sunlight. Can you imagine only four hours of sunlight in a day? Do you remember what the shortest day of the year is called?

Well, I will keep you updated with Iditarod news. Happy tracking!