Welcome to Iditarod Blog, Year Two!

Well, it's been a while since I visited my own blog. In preparation for my upcoming trip, I've decided to start this off with a quick entry about the weeks leading up to the Iditarod. I have been on a juice fast/cleanse for the past 7 days, which has been one of the hardest mental exercises of my life. I didn't realize how much food would be calling me during this experience. For the most part, the hunger pangs disappeared after Day 3 or so, and I've only craved real food once or twice since then. However, last weekend was especially difficult. I'm very glad that Marci was off in Southern Cal having a good time, because she probably would have been miserable if she'd had to be here listening to me complain those first few days. I've never wanted food...any food, more in my life than on Saturday (fast day two) and Sunday.

Here I am at the end of day 7, and things are going well. I do feel that I'm doing my body (colon) some good, as I've noticed some return to clear awareness and thinking. If I could get a bit more sleep, I think I'd be doing great. The "elixir" that one must drink on this "diet" (called the Master Cleanse, by Stanley Burroughs) leaves much to be desired. It is so odious, in fact, that I have been forced to take the individual components of the drink separately, in order to cope. First, I do a "shot glass" with approximately 1/5 tsp. of cayenne pepper in purified water, chased by...more purified water. This is about the equivalent of shooting a "prairie fire" at a bar. HOT. After that, I swallow 3-4 tablespoons of Grade B organic maple syrup, followed by a glass of 2 tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice mixed with 16 oz. of purified water. The latter isn't too bad, but the rest...well...let's just say I won't be doing this particular cleanse again any time in the next 50 years.

On to the topic at hand...Iditarod. In the weeks leading up to the Iditarod, Martin Buser won the Kuskokwim 300. His son, Rohn, placed 4th, and received the Rookie of the Year honor. See:
http://www.adn.com/sports/story/8581724p-8474806c.html
This is good news, presumably, for Martin's chances in the 2007 Iditarod. He's got some great dogs this year, and we'll certainly be there pulling for him at the finish line in a few weeks. Go Martin and Happy Trails!

Dad and I will be embarking on this year's adventure on the afternoon of March 2nd. We will fly to Anchorage, where we will "Rent a Wreck" for our drive south to Homer. I've heard it takes about 5 hours if you drive straight, but we're bringing cameras and snowshoes (and a GPS), so it figures to be a sightseeing (and possibly geocaching) adventure on the way to "Rob's Roost" (Dad's cabin) in Homer. I'm looking forward to logging some bonding hours with my dear old Dad, who turns 69 in just over a week. Happy Birthday, Dad!

Dad and my sis are doing the "Iditawalk" this year, which requires that they log approximately 1049 minutes(equivalent to the number of "official" miles in the Iditarod dog sled race) of walking before March 18th, 2007. It's a worthy challenge that I might have done myself had it not been for my cleanse.

We will be in Homer at Dad's cabin until about the 8th of March, when we'll drive back to Anchorage and catch our flight to Nome the next day. We'll be in Nome until the 19th, when we catch the post-banquet flight home. Hopefully some great adventures lie ahead, so stay tuned! I'll be posting from Aunt Bonnie's in Homer and Nome, as time allows. See you then....

Alaska Trip March 14, 2006--Day 11

Today will be a hard one to beat in terms of fun and panoramic views. Before we arrived in Nome, Aunt Bonnie had bid upon (and won) a helicopter flight at an auction- a 30 minute ride in a million dollar helicopter. The helicopter is normally used for mail flights between mainland Alaska and Little Diomede island.

We had to plan our flight based on the fact that the copter can fly at about 2 miles a minute, and that we had a 1/2 hour of fly time. We decided to head out into the country near the Dexter cabin, land on top of Bear Mountain, and then land on top of "Peak 2712," one of the highest in the immediate area. After that, we flew to Aunt Bonnie's Cape Nome house, and then headed back into Nome. We saw some spectacular mountains and had 360 degree views of the countryside. There was no wind and the weather was crystal clear, which made for a great ride.

The copter crew (L to R): "Cruddy" Bob Dunbar, Moi, Marci M.D., Sandy Mazen

Top of Bear Mountain with the Kigluiak (Sawtooth) Range in the background:

Marci on top of Peak 2712:

Cape Nome House from the air:


Following our day of flight and sightseeing, we went and helped cousin Pat with some set design for a local play on the life of Helen Keller, and then had dinner at Pat and Sue's. We played Quiddler until about 12 AM, when we heard on the radio that Jeff King had been spotted outside of Nome by the radio station's spotter vehicle.
We walked downtown and watched Jeff make his way down Front Street with his team, which was highlighted by his lead dog carrying a red light. From my viewpoint it looked like Rudolph leading Santa's team of reindeer towards the finish line.

The vicinity of the burled arch finish was a total zoo, moreso than usual, probably because it was an Alaskan champion this year...I'm glad Jeff won, because he's a nice guy and a great innovator...he also happens to be Iditarod's oldest champion!

Today/tonight the mushers continue to trickle in. As I write this, the 14th musher, Aliy Zirkle, has just completed the race. We expect to see Martin in this evening after his mandatory 8-hour layover in White Mountain. Until next time!