2011 Iditarod

So here are some pictures finally!! 

We made it to the start of the Iditarod Willow, AK.  There were lots of people there and we had a blast. 

This guy was from Wyoming and sporting his state flag.

And the teams are off.  There was a team that started every two minutes and a total of 62 participants this year.  So it took a little over two hours to get everyone started.  This guy below actually ended up getting second place.

The start of the race takes place on Willow Lake.  It is about a mile across from one side to the other, and there was a good crowd on both sides of the starting chute to cheer on the teams as they raced by.  And they went by quickly so it was hard to get great shots.

We started on one side of the chute and walked to the end where it was less crowded.  We crossed over to the other side and wondered back to the starting line.  As you can see the dogs under the sign are waiting patiently to start, and some teams were not so patient, they were very anxious to start running.

These dogs were sure ready to go as they strain to get the sled started at the start line.

These are some of the doggie rides to the start, some fancier than others, but all teams looked great and were excited to get going.

It was a great day and turn out for all.  The sun was shining and the temperatures were great.  Fun was had by all. 

Snowshoeing

Last weekend the weather was bright shinny and only about 10 degrees, but it was so nice out.

So we decided to go and enjoy the sunshine and fresh snow at Hatcher Pass.

The trail was already broke and for the most part we stayed on flat ground, so it was pretty easy.

Along the way we crossed a bridge that spanned over a frozen/snowed in creek.

And who would argue that this isn't one of the most beautiful places in the valley?

Two and a half miles later we were warm as could be but ready to head home for a warm cup of cocoa and a snack.

Sunset

Friday night on our way home, Tate and I stopped at a corner just up the road from our house because the view was great, and it was so nice outside.  Here is the sunset we watched for about 15 minutes.  It looks out over the partially frozen river towards some of the many mountains.  It was very beautiful.

When I was done taking pictures of the sunset I turned around to walk back to the pickup.  This is Lazy Mountain, and it looked pink from the light from the sunset.

 

While I was taking pictures Tate was busy climbing on some rocks that were near by.  He sure had fun playing king of the hill.

Two Points

So it has been a learning experience for all of us, but we all love it.  Tate started playing hockey this year for the first time.  And it is also the first time he has been on skates.  He has learned alot and really enjoys it.  He has gone from the first practice where he fell down about every 3 feet, to now he can do pretty good at a race.  He still is having problems getting the stopping figured out, but the time will come.

His team is full of first year skaters so they are all having fun learning together.

This last weekend the team played really well, and so did Tate.  He scored two goals!  Boy was he sure excited and we sure were proud!!!!  He has come a long ways from day one.

Walking on Water

These are pictures of a few weeks ago.  The weather was quite warm for over a week, like in the 40's, so lots of stuff was melting.  It was a very nice day out so we didn't set up our ice shack. 

You could see almost the bottom of the ice, which we estimate to be over 3 feet deep.  This was an old ice fishing hole someone had drilled at some time and now was frozen over. 

These are some cracks in the ice.  It is kind of hard to tell from the picture, but the cracks are at different depths.  Kind of like looking at clouds, you can find all sorts of shapes and creatures.

Tate had just got done with hockey practice, but he was still ready to play.  And since the surface was pretty smooth he had fun practicing some stick handling.

And yes that is a large puddle of water he is skating out of, just like "walking on water."

This picture goes to show how little snow we have, even the mountains are scarce of snow.

Catch Up - Cabin

Well a while back (probably this summer)  I said I would do a cabin tour for those of you who keep up on here.    So I was going through pictures and remembered this, so here is the tour of our first "home" in Alaska.  We really enjoyed staying in this cozy little place, but we sure do enjoy our own place now.

Walking in the front door you enter the kitchen/dining/office area.  It was organized very efficiently.  We did find out that some of our baking pans did not fit in this oven but we quickly learned. :)  These pictures were taken after we moved out and I wad done cleaning, so it does look a little roomier than it was at times.  There is a shelf between the two windows pictured below, and that was where we placed our microwave and directly below that on the counter we placed our dish drying rack.  The dining table set was actually a corner bench so we were always planning before we all sat down and slid in.

This is the loft located directly above the kitchen. The ladder was on a rope and pully system so could be pulled up out of the way during the day if needed.  If the ladder was down, when you walk in the front door you would walk right up the ladder (or just go around).  The full size mattress in this loft is sitting on the floor, because if it was on a frame the edges would probably touch the ceiling. I had to stand in the middle of the loft if I wanted to stand up straight.  And Ellie sure had fun climbing up and down the ladder. 

This shot is taken from the front door.  You can see all the way to the back of the house.  The window in the far back is the window that was in Tate's room.

This is the laundry room slash storage room.  You can't see it but there are shelvesl up above all round this room.  There is also a trap door in the floor that goes to the crawlspace.  There was lots of storage underneithe the house also.  The door to the left is the door that leads to the bathroom.

This is the bathroom.  Just another bathroom.  Right behind the door is the shower and the hot water heater.  That about sums up this room.

This is the living room slash closet slash pantry.  We had a loveseat our tv and clothes hanging up in this room.  To the left, not in the picture, is a cuboard that was made especially for holding cans and goods.  This part of the cabin is actually not part of the "log" cabin, but instead it was a garden shed that was lifted up and attached to the main cabin and then refinished on the inside. 

And this was Tate's room.  And yes, now Tate can say that he used to sleep in a garden shed :) 

So this place was small, but we sure enjoyed living in it the short time that we did.  And if you ever decide to move to Alaska, this would be a great place to rent.

In the Backyard

This morning we were looking out the window and happened to see a visitor.

This cow was munching on our foliage in the backyard, just about 40 feet from the back porch.

We made some noise but it didn't seem to bother her too much.  But if we would have walked out I am sure she would have wondered off.  And as you can see we still don't have very much snow.  The temperature has been hanging between 20 and 35 so pretty nice.