alvin's blog

2011 Iditarod Standings, March 11, 9am - Sorry for the late post this morning. If you saw my previous post, you know I saw my first Alaskan Northern Lights show last night, and I was out a little late last night. (Wow, can you imagine being an Iditarod musher, out in the middle of nowhere, freezing cold, having a team of dogs pulling you through the wilderness, and having Northern Lights dancing over your head? Double wow.)

Wow, the northern lights in Alaska last night were spectacular! I've never seen them before, so I paid close attention to the aurora forecast yesterday afternoon and evening after missing the lights show the night before. When it looked like the lights would be at their peak in about one hour, I bundled up, got in the car, and drove to an area in town I knew would be dark.

Iditarod facts and history: This page is a bit of a work in progress at the moment, but I thought I'd try to put together a nice Iditarod facts and history page. As I'm getting ready to go to the 2011 Iditarod, the more I keep wanting to learn about the Iditarod history.

Iditarod history

Here are some bullet points that summarize the Iditard history I've been able to learn so far:

Alaska moose news: A Fairbanks, Alaska woman was injured a few days ago in Anchorage, Alaska while attempting to pet a moose, a wild moose. As expected, the moose kicked her.

The moose was reported to be in the Town Square Park area in Anchorage, and had been seen there all day feeding on the trees. The woman, reported to be in her 20s, was kicked in the chest and shoulder by the moose after attempting to pet it. After she was checked by medics, she amazingly didn't have to go to the hospital.

2011 Iditarod News, March 10, 2011 - One thing I forgot to mention earlier today when writing about the 2011 Iditarod mushers reaching the halfway point of the race is that Iditarod musher Trent Herbst has won the $3,000 prize for being the first musher to reach the Iditarod checkpoint, considered to be the halfway point of the race.

The funny thing about the Iditarod halfway prize is that the $3,000 prize is awarded in gold nuggets.

2011 Iditarod News, March 10, 2011 - I just checked the Iditarod checkpoints and distances, and the 2011 Iditarod race leaders are currently at the rough half-way point of the race.

The overall race is 1,131 miles to Nome, Alaska, and the town of Iditarod is 534 miles from Anchorage, and the next checkpoint at Shageluk is 599 miles from Anchorage. A distance of 565 miles would be the halfway point of the race.

2011 Iditarod News, March 10, 2011 - As I reported earlier today, Mitch Seavey was badly injured when cutting open a bail of hay this morning.

I just read in a story on the Alaska Dispatch website that he is headed for surgery in Anchorage, Alaska in an attempt to save the finger that he cut this morning.

I wish Mr. Seavey the best of luck. I know he doesn't know me, but I've met him a couple of times, and everyone in his family and kennel has been very nice to me.

2011 Iditarod News, March 10, 2011, Noon - The Alaska Dispatch reports that Martin Buser is the clear leader of the 2011 Iditarod race here in Alaska.

Mr. Buser, from a town named Big Lake -- which is just north of Wasilla and south of Willow -- is a four-time Iditarod race champion, and already holds the record for the fastest Iditarod race time in 2002 (eight days, 22 hours, 46 minutes, 2 seconds; a little more than an hour faster than 2010 Iditarod winner Lance Mackey).

Sigh, I woke up this morning to read that the Northern Lights -- the Aurora Borealis -- were very clearly visible from Fairbanks in the north to Juneau in the south, including all points in between, including Palmer, Alaska, where I was sleeping.

I've signed up twice to receive Northern Lights alerts (using two different email addresses), but for some reason I'm not receiving them. But this one is also my fault, as I left the earphones in my phone last night, and while a friend and former neighbor tried to call me from Wasilla, I never heard it ring.

2011 Iditarod News - March 10, 2011 - I now understand what happened to the 2011 Iditarod standings while I was out yesterday. It turns out that mushers are required to take a mandatory 24-hour rest (break) somewhere on the route between Anchorage and Nome, Alaska.

Some of the first mushers out the gate yesterday -- and therefore new atop the current standings -- are the ones who have yet to take their mandatory 24-hours rest. This includes Kelley Griffin, Trent Herbst, and Cim Smyth, who were the first to leave the checkpoint at Ophir, Alaska.