The Race is on!

Sunday was the restart of Iditarod 2011.  (They do a ceremonial start in Anchorage on Saturday, then truck the dogs up the Parks Highway for the "real" start at Willow... about 40 miles from us.)   The teams take off from Willow Lake, heading west across a series of lakes and roads before reaching the Suisitna River

We help out with the trail crossing at Crystal Lake.    The teams transition from the flat lake down a "chute"  (the summertime access trail to the lake), across the road and onto another lake.  This trail is heavily used by snowmachines, cross country skiers, and on Sun we even saw a couple of bikes with snow tires.  To keep the trail open for each team, there are flaggers at each end of the path... when we see a team coming, we communicate with the road flaggers to let them know to stop snowmachines from entering the chute and to get ready to stop cars on the road. 
In addition to our regular team of trail guards, this year we had a volunteer couple from Jacksonville FL... they got the assignment of trying to keep the crowds from encroaching on the trail on the lake.  The teams follow a set of markers across the ice.  We had some eager fans who kept getting inside the markers, leaving little space for the teams to get through. 

These pictures were taken by our friend Susie.  She and Brian had their snowmachine and went down to the start, then came back to watch with us.

Here's the starting arch where thousands of fans gather around the starting chute.

About 3 miles up the trail where we hang out, there's fewer people.  Here's our "camp" as Scottish musher Wattie McDonald went past... he's giving us a big thumbs up for flying the Saltire (St Andrew's) Scottish flag.

left to right... Barb (trail guard) in vest; two visitors from Montana; Scott; Wattie; Gretchen; Pat & Sarah (behind tripod), the gals whose nearby cabin is our Iditarod HQ; and Brian 

Iditarod 2011 Musher Banquet

On the Thursday before the race starts, all the mushers gather in Anchorage and draw their starting numbers from a mukluk.  We were invited to the banquet by Wattie McDonald from Stonehaven, Scotland. 

We had taken our Scottish flag to the race last year, and I got several pictures of him as he went past.  This year, one of our neighbors invited us to one of his fundraisers.  When we met him I got his autograph and I gave him copies of all the pictures I shot. 

Clan Donald

The banquet was at the big convention center... there were at least 1500 people there.  For us it was fun to see some of the mushers up close and personal.  Sitting at the next table was 4-time winner Martin Buser... and nearby was everyone's favorite DeeDee Jonroe. 

After dinner each musher goes up on stage and, after they draw their number, get to say a few words.

The girl holding the mukluk for Wattie's draw is a Make A Wish patient... she also got to be an Iditarider at the ceremonial start.

Wattie draws

Wattie announces he's #38

Current champ Lance Mackey laughs at remarks from Jamaican Newton Marshall as he waits to go onstage to draw his number.

At the banquet, I took copies of several of my photos and got the mushers to sign them.  I even got Lance Mackey's autograph. 

And before we left, we got a photo of Scott with Martin Buser, from Big Lake.