2010 Iditarod

The last greatest race...

The unofficial start of the Iditarod kicked off this morning in downtown Anchorage. They officially start the race in Wasilla, but because so many people come in all over the world to see this they needed the resources of a big city. Heading downtown I didn't know what to expect but was really excited to see how many people really do turn out to watch it.

72 mushers entered the race this year with 16 dogs each...that means that there were 1,152 dogs!!! It is so interesting to read about each of the mushers and why they started doing the race. The great majority are from somewhere in Alaska, but there are also some who come from different countries and several states from the lower 48. I was reading one about a women who is in her thirty's now, but use to be an international model ten years ago. She would always fly out of Anchorage to be in runway shows in Pairs, Japan, and other countries, when one time flying in happened to be the start of the race. She fell in love with the dogs and the race. So she decided to quit modeling and move to Alaska to be a full time musher.

We met so many people downtown that fly in from all over just to see the race. I feel so thankful that we were able to experience something like this.