One of the unique perks about living in Alaska is getting to be part of the Iditarod and other cool winter events. This was our first year getting to watch the start of the race because we were closing and moving into our house last year at this time. So FYI, the Iditarod just has a ceremonial start through Anchorage; after riding through town, the dogs and mushers are flown to Willow, where the race officially starts. The race is from Willow to Nome, and has an interesting history. It commemorates a rescue trip made by early mushers to bring medicine to dying children in Nome when bad weather prevented any other form of transportation to the city. In Anchorage the race goes through the town, and people cheer all along the way. Here we are watching the dogsleds about a mile from the starting line.
The Iditarod coincides with Fur Rendezvous, which we posted a little about earlier. Fur Rondy started with trappers coming together around this time of year from the villages to trade and sell their furs. This week we went to the snow sculptures, which were pretty amazing. The first prize was a giant-size polar bear playing a piano which was balanced on top of a walrus. Pretty creative, and I don't know how they managed to balance the snow just right so the whole thing wouldn't collapse. The one below is one of the simpler sculptures, but we liked it because we were celebrating Christian's second birthday and it seemed appropriate. We also went to a fur auction, and watched it for a while. The bidding ranged from about $200 for fox skins up to $650+ for bear skins. I didn't know this kind of thing still went on, but I guess people have to acquire all their animal furs somehow. We see furs on the walls of many of the homes we've been to up here. Check out some of the characters we got to rub shoulders with at the auction: one guy had a white wolf hat, a fur coat, and then two wolf heads for gloves. These are actual dead animals! His thumb went in the lower jaw, and the other four fingers were in the nose section, kind of like a puppet. And...they wanted to picture with us! Actually they thought their grandchild would like Christian's froggy hat. Maybe they thought it was a real frog. :) Honestly though, there were quite a few sporting the furs, and it was a unique experience being part of the true Alaskan crowd.
