Cernek.org Blog

July 18 we leave Seward to drive back to Anchorage for some rest and relaxation from the rest and relaxation. It is time to catch up on life again and have a little down time. We are getting to know our way around this city quite handily. The Costco certainly gets another visit.

While washing out clothes in the RV park laundry room, I had a conversation with a contract worker that was very interesting. All of a sudden I was listening to his life story.

A few months ago his girlfriend of five years backed up a U-haul truck to his fifth-wheel and moved out, apparently taking some of his stuff with her, while he was gone on a two-and-a-half month job up north. He is frequently gone for long periods of time in his work, but that isn’t particularly unusual in the type of work that is available in Alaska. Being gone on the job is also what makes the pay exceptional. According to my new friend, his situation is not unusual. Many women walk out on their men while they are gone. His theory is, because there are so many more men in Alaska than there are women, the women have a very high opinion of themselves even the not so attractive ones (His words. Originally he was going to say even the ugly ones but caught himself at the last second).

From there he went on to tell me about his bear experiences. Hunting with a buddy, he was alone out in the tundra after they had split up to hunt. He watched one bear come over the rise and didn’t think too much of it. He watched the second bear come over the rise behind the first. That got his attention. He watched the third bear follow the first two over the rise. Now they really had his attention. He looked around to see what his options were, and when he looked back, they were gone. Not seeing which direction they went after several indecisive moments with heart pounding in his ears making it difficult to hear anything, he took off running back to his campsite. Maybe not the best choice in retrospect, but he got away with it. At least he was there to tell the story.

He went on to tell about a bull moose that was always bedded down in the yard of the place he was working out in the wilderness one winter. He walked past where the moose lay every morning to the point of saying “good morning” to the moose as he walked by. For whatever reason one morning the moose decided he was going to do something about this interloper. He got up, very quickly apparently, and chased the guy right into the building where he managed to get the door open and duck inside just in the nick of time. Everyone in the building looked up startled by his unseemly entry. All he could gasp was “moose!”

I doubt that this fellow would ever let the truth get in the way of a good story, but I also believe that he had the experiences he was talking about. When one spends as much time as he does out in the wilderness miles and miles and miles away from civilization, experiences in life are just going to be different.

He is the one that suggested we might enjoy the Iditarod Headquarters in Wasilla on our way to Denali. So on the 22nd, as we head for Denali National Park, we have a stop in Wasilla, Alaska. A town just north of Anchorage and on the Parks Highway, Wasilla is best known for being the official start of the Iditarod Race. The Headquarters are located on the edge of town, and that is our stop en route today.

We have arrived at the headquarters for the famous sled dog race.

Most trophies are ugly to anyone except the person who won them. This trophy is a work of art that would look good on any trophy case.

A good dog story.

He looks a little lifeless, but I guess that is to be expected.

The puppies have been brought out for people to hold. He is so cute and really a chunk. This puppy is solid. He already feels like he is going to be a strong dog.

A team of dogs are in harness and ready to take anyone with the price of a ticket for a ride. This dog has the day off and is not too happy about it. He is really excited, jumping around every time the team pulls out without him.

This dog seems to be a bit happier about having the day off. He isn’t nearly as excited.

We heard a lot of yipping and excitement out of the dogs when we were petting puppies. All the barking and vocalizing seems to have been from the excitement of departure. Here they are returning from the loop ride.

They have obviously done this before. They are a real Iditarod team. This is a real Iditarod kennel where the dogs are being bred specifically to win the race. There is great pride taken in the raising of the dogs. The kennel can win or lose the race.

After a short rest, the team is off on another pull. They are anxious to get going and show a huge amount of enthusiasm in their job. They are all pulling hard to get the “sled” moving and then they seem to settle into a nice steady pace.

The speed of the ride was the main comment of those climbing down from the “sled.”

This tree has been decorated with sled dog snow boots. These boots are very important to protect the feet of the dogs across the snow and ice. They make an interesting Christmas tree decoration.

How fun has this been. We watched a movie about the race. It will be fun next March to see if we can catch the race on TV. Now that we have seen what the mushers have to do to get to the finish line, I have a lot of respect for the sport.

Back into the RV and on to Denali. Hike! (Get moving in sled dog lingo.) Life is good.